CHAPTER 1: The Invisible Girl

“Move your useless legs, Aurelia! The Alpha isn’t paying you to stand there and look pathetic!”

The shove nearly sent me face-first into the floor. I stumbled, my fingers gripping the edges of the heavy silver tray until my knuckles turned white. My dress was a joke—a thin, cheap long gown that did nothing to stop the cold from the air conditioner. I felt naked, shivering under the judgmental stares of the high-bloods.

“I’m moving, Sarah,” I mumbled, keeping my head down.

“You’ll address me as ‘Ma’am’ or ‘Alpha’s Assistant,’ you little rat,” she hissed, leaning into my ear; her perfume was uncomfortable. “You should be kissing the floor. Most omegas like you die without ever seeing the inside of the Spire. You’re here to serve Alpha Dante and the Luna. One mistake, one drop of wine on this floor, and I’ll make sure you don’t have a pack to crawl back to. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Good. Now get out there. And for God’s sake, try to smile. You look like you’re at a funeral.”

I pushed through the heavy doors and into the ballroom. The heat hit me first—a mix of body warmth, expensive cigars, and the humming energy of a hundred powerful wolves. This was the Moonlight Ball, the night the elite of Nocturna gathered to flex their wealth and wait for the King.

I moved through the crowd, offering champagne to men who didn't even look at my face. I was doing fine until I reached the center of the room.

Luna Genevieve was standing there, she was wearing a long white gown, laughing with a group of women. As I tried to navigate around her, a guest stepped back suddenly, bumping my elbow. The tray tilted. A single glass of red wine tipped over, the dark liquid splashing right across the Luna’s gown.

The silence that followed was terrifying.

"You clumsy, stupid bitch," Genevieve hissed. The laughter died. She looked at her ruined dress, then at me.

"I'm so sorry, Luna, I—"

"Are you talking back to her?" Celine interrupted, stepping forward with a sneer. She looked me up and down like I was something she’d found on the bottom of her shoe. "Look at this thing. It thinks it has a voice." She said, looking at me dead in the eyes.

"I... I was just apologizing, I'm sorry" I whispered, my heart hammering.

"Apologizing isn't enough," Celine said, her eyes glinting with a sick kind of fun. She looked at Genevieve. "She’s being disrespectful, Gen. Is she disobeying her Luna by standing there like an equal? Where are your manners, omega?"

SLAP.

My head whipped to the side. The sting was immediate, a hot, throbbing pain that made my eyes water. The silver tray clattered to the floor, the remaining glasses shattering into a million pieces.

"Sorry?" she mocked. She stepped closer, her face twisted. "You think a 'sorry' from a gutter-wolf covers this? You pathetic scum, I should have your tongue and kick you to the streets."

She leaned in and spat right on my cheek. The warm moisture felt like acid on my skin.

“Next time, know your fucking place. We don't feed animals like you just to mess things up.” She screamed at me.

I bent my head low, holding back the years that tried to spill out. Get a hold of yourself.

“I'm sorry Luna, I should have been more careful,” I whispered, looking directly at Luna

"Get on your knees," Genevieve commanded.

I hesitated for a split second, my pride stinging.

“But Luna, there is glass over there.” I raised my head immediately, begging her with my eyes.

“Do I look like I give a fuck what is there? Get on your knees and clean the place up.”

I swallowed my fear; every word she spoke sank into my bones. Everyone watched me, waiting for the absolute humiliation.

"Did you hear her?" Celine snapped. She didn't wait. She kicked the back of my knees, and I went down hard on the marble. Crack. My kneecaps throbbed, and the silver tray clattered to the floor, the remaining glasses shattering into a million pieces.

"That's better," Celine mocked, circling me like a shark. "Look at you. You’re nothing. You’re a placeholder. A piece of trash we keep around to remind us how lucky we are not to be born low-blood."

"Clean it up," Genevieve added, her face twisted in disgust. "With your tongue, if you have to. Show everyone what a good little pet you are."

Celine leaned in close, her shadow falling over me. "Don't get any big ideas, little girl. You're here to be a floor mat. Nothing more.”

My hands were shaking as I reached for the broken glass. The crowd laughed at me, mocking me, their voices becoming more suffocating. I could hear the whispers—useless, trash, mistake. I felt a sob rising in my throat, my fingers bleeding as I picked up the shards.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped.

The doors at the front of the hall swung open with a bang that echoed in the hall. The air in the room didn't just get heavy—it turned electric. It felt like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room, replaced by a scent that made my blood sing.

Kaelen Thorne stepped into the light. He moved like a predator—slow, deliberate, and dangerous. Every Alpha in the room, including Dante, bowed their heads.

I should have stayed on the floor. I should have kept my eyes on the shards of glass.

But my heart hammered against my ribs so hard it hurt. My lungs seized. I looked up from my hands, blood dripping from my fingers, and at that exact moment, his eyes scanned the room.

He stopped. His gaze locked onto mine.

A jolt of pure, white-hot lightning slammed into my chest. It was a physical blow that knocked the wind out of me. My soul felt like it was being ripped toward him by a giant magnet.

CRACK.

The vibration was so intense that the remaining glasses on the tables nearby disintegrated. The loud pop of breaking glass was the only sound in the silent hall.

I didn't feel the glass cutting my hands. I didn't feel the spit drying on my face. All I could hear was the loud, howling voice of a wolf I hadn't felt in years, screaming in the back of my mind.

I moved my lips, the word falling out of me in a broken breath.

“Mate.” The Alpha looked at him, his expression…cold?