Chapter 1

Clarissa’s POV

The hallway was buzzing with the usual chatter, the faint scent of perfume mixed with the lingering smell of lunch from the cafeteria. It should have felt like any other day, but everything about today was different. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked through the crowded corridor, every step heavier than the last.

It was supposed to be a day like any other-until I saw him.

Derek Piper, the son of the alpha of Crescent Moon pack, stood near the lockers, surrounded by his friends, their laughter echoing through the hallway. His presence was enough to silence the noise of the school, and all I could focus on was him. I should have known better than to believe in the impossible. I should have known better than to think that he, of all people, could actually feel something for me.

But he had been kind before. A rare, fleeting kindness that made my heart flutter in a way I thought I’d never feel again. For a moment, I let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, Derek was different. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t invisible to him.

My wolf stirred in me, but it was weak, silent-just as it had been for years. The bond we should have shared had been fractured the day I turned eighteen, the day the wolf inside me never woke up. I had been marked as weak, nothing more than an omega in a pack that only valued strength. A burden to be carried, an afterthought.

But today-today felt like it was going to be different. I had dressed carefully, hoping my appearance might catch his attention. A fleeting glance. A smile, even.

I was fooling myself.

The moment Derek looked up and met my eyes, he hesitated. He turned to his friends, laughing off whatever thought had crossed his mind, and that was when I felt it.

The rejection.

The words he spoke next weren’t loud, but they pierced me like a knife through the heart. “I’m not interested, Clarissa. I don’t know what you were expecting, but I’m not your mate.”

His words hung in the air, suffocating me. I stood frozen, every ounce of my being wishing I could disappear into the floor, into the walls, anything to escape the weight of his words. The laughter from his friends wasn’t just background noise-it was a reminder of how small I was, how insignificant I had always been in this pack.

The wolf inside me-the one I never truly had-remained silent, just as it had for years. It didn’t respond to Derek’s rejection. It didn’t give me the comfort I needed. It didn’t do anything.

I wanted to run, to scream, but instead, I just stood there, my breath shallow, my body trembling as the eyes of everyone in the hallway burned into me. My peers, those who were supposed to be my packmates, watched as I was humiliated. Some smirked, others looked away, pretending not to notice, but the damage had been done. The whispers began, too quiet for anyone to catch, but loud enough for me to hear.

I wasn’t just rejected. I was abandoned, thrown away like something worthless. The sense of isolation was unbearable.

Derek walked past me, not even sparing me another glance. His friends followed, and with each step, they left me standing there in a haze of shame. A single tear slid down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it away, not wanting anyone to see my weakness.

I forced myself to turn and walk in the opposite direction, though every step felt like a weight pulling me down. I didn’t belong here. I never had.

As I made my way to the bathroom, the door creaked open, and I was greeted by the sight of the mirror. I stood in front of it, staring at the girl who stared back at me-the girl who had always been different. My hair, dark and unkempt, hung limp around my shoulders. My skin was pale, almost as though it, too, was ashamed of what had just happened.

I couldn’t see what others saw. I couldn’t see the way my appearance might have been the reason for the rejection, but I could feel the weight of it. I wasn’t just blind in the physical sense; I had always been blind to my own worth.

With trembling fingers, I wiped away the tear that had fallen, my reflection blurring in the process. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep pretending that this life, this pack, was my home. I didn’t know how much longer I could pretend that I belonged here.

But I had no choice. I was stuck.

The rejection wasn’t just Derek’s words. It was the pack’s treatment of me, the cold stares, the laughter behind my back. It was the fact that my wolf had never come to me, had never given me the strength I needed to survive this life.

With a shaky breath, I turned away from the mirror. There was nothing left for me here. No hope. No future. Just the crushing reality of my place in this world.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the next class, but I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to face anyone. But there was no choice. I had to go back. I had to endure the stares. I had to survive.

Somehow.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything had just changed, that the path I had been walking down had been irrevocably altered.