Chapter 2

Numb, I grabbed a tissue and wiped the lipstick off my hand.

My wolf couldn't help crying along with me.

When I was little, they used to love playing blind man's bluff with me on the grass.

I was always the one wearing the blindfold.

Back then, I thought they were so quick. No matter how hard I tried, I could never catch them.

They even found ways to hide their scent so I couldn't tell where they were.

Then, one day, I tripped. When I pulled off the blindfold, I found I was the only one left on the grass.

They'd been using the game to sneak off to the bakery for dessert behind my back.

Even after I grew up, they still used the same trick to get rid of me.

I opened a drawer and took out a yellowed photo.

It had been taken when I was a month old. In it, Mom held me gently, my brother held up a toy to entertain me, and Dad was beside us, gazing at me fondly.

Back then, the other kids in the pack used to tell me, "Daphne, your family really loves you. Last time someone in the pack made fun of you for being born a low-ranking Omega wolf, your Beta brother beat them up and warned them never to look down on you again."

Back then, they still loved me.

But everything changed after Miranda was born.

Like Mom, Dad, and my brother, she was a noble Beta.

She was beautiful too, the prettiest werewolf the pack had seen in 100 years.

Whenever pack members came to visit, they couldn't stop praising her.

"I'm so jealous. You're both noble Betas, and your son and daughter are pure-blooded Betas too."

Dad laughed and agreed, then turned and pushed me into a corner.

He was afraid the other pack members would see me and discover that Mom and Dad also had a low-ranking Omega daughter.

From then on, there was no love in their eyes when they looked at me. Only disgust.

I wiped away my tears. Then someone knocked at the door.

I put the photo away and went to answer it.

It was my mate, Oliver Reed. He was carrying two identical mango-filled cakes.

Mango was Miranda's favorite flavor.

"Daphne, guess what I brought you?"

I'd already seen them, but I shook my head.

He held up the cakes in front of me.

"It's a cake. Aren't you excited?"

I said nothing. I just looked at him flatly.

"Miranda was right. You really are slow. Someone gives you a present, and you don't even react."

He shoved the slightly lopsided cake into my hands, then walked past me into the living room.

"Where's Miranda? I haven't seen her anywhere."

"They went to the grocery store."

I closed the door and put the cake down on the table.

He nodded, went into the kitchen, and put the other cake in the fridge.

"Daphne, why didn't you go with them?"

I was about to explain.

But he cut me off with a laugh.

"You didn't want to go again, did you? Miranda told me you keep to yourself, and I didn't believe her.

"Daphne, you never fit in. That's not good."

I went cold inside. He hadn't even heard his own future mate out before deciding I was a loner who never fit in.

I looked at the cake on the table, its mango filling almost oozing out, and bitterness welled inside me.

When Oliver first started trying to win me over, he took me out to dinner.

A server set a glass of mango juice in front of me. I didn't even have time to react.

Oliver spoke up first. "Sorry, she's allergic to mango. Could we get strawberry juice instead?"

That was when I learned he'd asked my classmates about my likes and dislikes and written everything down in a notebook to win me over.

I remembered how red his face had been.

"I like you. Everything you like and don't like matters to me."

But after he came home with me and met my Beta sister, he slowly changed.

The notebook where he'd recorded my likes and dislikes ended up forgotten in a corner.

He often came over to see me, but his eyes kept drifting to Miranda without him even realizing it.

Whenever he watched her bite into a mango, juice on her lips, he'd smile fondly without even realizing it.

"Your sister's adorable. She's not awkward like you. No wonder you say your family favors her. If I were them, I'd..."

At the time, I thought he was joking.

Only now did I realize how often people hide the truth behind jokes.

"What are you thinking about?"

Oliver came over and took my hand.

I snapped out of it and shook my head.

He looked at me and hesitated.

"Daphne, there's something I want to talk to you about."

I stared into his eyes.

My wolf roared in alarm.

"We agreed we'd have our mating ceremony once you started college, but I've been thinking about it these past few days. Let's put that on hold for now.

"Your sister Miranda is going to need me to take care of her at college. Once she graduates, we'll think about the mating ceremony again."

He pulled me into his arms.

"Daphne, you're her older sister. You have to think about her. Don't get in the way of her studies.

"She's not like you..."

I knew how he would've finished that sentence.

She's not like you.

She's a noble Beta wolf, and you're just a scrawny, low-ranking Omega wolf.

Every word he said tore me apart, body and soul.

I couldn't help myself. I desperately reached for the bond between us, trying to find some proof that he still loved me.

But there was always an invisible wall in the way.

I knew he was using his power to block our connection.

It left me unable to sense even a trace of him.

I gave a bitter laugh and finally faced the truth.

I pulled out of his arms, looked at him calmly, and nodded.

"Whatever you say."

He smiled at me, relieved.

He unwrapped the cake on the table, picked up a fork, and held a bite up to my mouth.

"Try it. Mango, your favorite."

I looked at the cake he was holding out, my nails digging into my palms.

I was about to refuse when his phone went off. It was a message from Miranda.

He immediately dropped the fork and texted her back, a faint smile on his lips.

"Miranda says she's decided to go to college in the North Lake Pack, where I live. What about you?"

He glanced up at me, then went back to typing.

"Your mom says your grades aren't great. There happens to be a not-so-great school in my pack that takes anyone who applies. Just pick that one.

"That way I can take care of both of you, and on weekends I'll take you out for something good to eat."

My sister was part of every plan he made.

A dull ache throbbed in my chest.

A notification popped up on my phone. It was a message from Blackwood University.

[Dear Daphne Hope, congratulations on your admission to Blackwood University. We hope your next four years with us will be rewarding.]

Oliver locked his phone and looked up to find me staring at mine. He thought I was looking up the school he'd mentioned.

"Don't worry. That school's admission standards are really low. Want me to put in a good word for you?"

He came over to take my phone, but I pulled it away.

I switched off my phone and turned to look at him.

"No need. I've already accepted an offer."