Chapter 1

When I remained silent for too long, Ryan Blackwood urged me on.

"Serena, you're twenty-one now."

"With your abilities and reputation, an ordinary pack being willing to take you as a mate is already them doing it for the sake of the Hawthorne family."

"Just pick someone and stop wasting everyone's time."

I bit my lip, humiliated, a dull ache spreading through my chest.

In werewolf society, every wolf is required to undergo an ability assessment upon reaching adulthood.

And the Royal Talent Selection is the most coveted opportunity for young wolves across the entire North.

Those who rank near the top not only become eligible for recruitment by the most prestigious packs,

if their mental power, bloodline, and mate compatibility all meet the highest standards,

they can also be placed on Alpha King's list of potential Luna Queens.

At last month's Royal Talent Selection, I stopped hiding my abilities.

My name was printed clearly on the official assessment report.

Serena Hawthorne.

Ranked No. 1.

First in mental power.

First in combat assessment.

First in bloodline compatibility.

Even my pheromone control received the highest possible rating.

At the bottom of the report was the official seal of the Royal Talent Council.

Yet not a single person in the Hawthorne family had bothered to read it.

All because Celeste had walked out of the assessment center with tears in her eyes.

"I think I did terribly this time."

"My mental control was a mess. There's no way I'll rank well."

Mom immediately pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay. Your ranking doesn't define you."

"We can help you get better training and better resources. There's always a way."

Dad smiled as well.

"Our Celeste doesn't need a ranking to prove herself."

Adrian waved it off without a care.

"What are you worried about? Even if your scores are bad, I can support you for the rest of your life."

Ryan gently comforted her.

"Celeste, don't cry."

"Even if you didn't do well this time, you still did better than Serena."

What they didn't know was that I had been hiding my abilities since I was six.

I transformed earlier than almost every wolf my age. I could memorize a training manual after reading it once, and during combat practice, I often knew what my opponent would do before they moved.

Celeste needed weeks to master the same exercises.

The first time she realized she couldn't catch up with me, she locked herself in her room and cried all night.

Once, after realizing she still couldn't catch up with me, she completely broke down.

"Why does my sister learn everything so fast?"

"Why am I still not as good as her no matter how hard I try?"

"Am I just stupid?"

She cried for the entire night.

The next morning, she refused to even come downstairs for breakfast.

Mom stayed with Celeste all night.

The next morning, she called me into her room. Dad and Adrian were already there.

"Celeste needs confidence more than you need another perfect score," Mom said.

Dad nodded. "You're stronger. Letting her win once in a while won't cost you anything."

Adrian picked up my latest training report and folded it in half.

"From now on, your scores stay inside this family. Celeste doesn't need everyone comparing her to you."

I was only six years old.

That was the day I learned that, in my family, being gifted was acceptable only if no one else could see it.

I was only six years old then.

That was the first time I realized that even being gifted could be a mistake.

From that day on, I learned to finish second.

I slowed down during training, concealed my mental power, and deliberately made mistakes during combat assessments.

Whenever my scores dropped, my parents praised me for being "easygoing."

What they really meant was that I had finally learned how to make Celeste comfortable.

As I grew older, everyone in the North came to know that the Hawthorne family had a beautiful and exceptional daughter.

Celeste Hawthorne.

She was stunning, charming, and naturally gifted at socializing.

Young Alpha heirs from the most powerful packs across the North began sending courtship applications to the Hawthorne family.

At every elite gathering in the North,

there was always a line of young Alphas eager to ask Celeste to dance.

And me, the eldest daughter of the Hawthorne family, was practically invisible.