The Pack’s Princess and Her Three Knights

I was born with a wolf so weak that most wolves could barely sense my presence. As children, I was left behind on a hunting trip for three days. Everett, the boy who would become my mate, and my childhood friends Miles and Nolan found me and swore they’d never forget me the way everyone else had. For years, they were my knights. Then Sadie Miller was brought home to Blackthorn, and they started forgetting me. On my twenty-forth birthday, my mate Everett took all five of us to an amusement park. The log flume seated four across. They filled the front row, leaving me to sit behind them. As we plunged downhill, all three snapped open their umbrellas, shielding Sadie from the spray. The waterfall ahead tore through my flimsy poncho, soaking me head to toe. Sadie turned around with a gasp. “Audrey! Where’s your umbrella?” Everett, Miles, and Nolan exchanged a glance. None of them spoke. But I knew. They’d forgotten me. Again. Once, they’d left me on a mountain. A border patrol found me before the rogues did. On our graduation trip, they’d left me burning with fever in a hotel room and gone home without me. Now they couldn’t even remember an umbrella. In the restroom, I stared at my pale reflection and let out a bitter laugh. If they wanted to keep chasing after her, it was time I stopped making room for them in my life. I took out my phone and called my mother. “Mom, I’ve decided to take over the company overseas. I want to leave Blackthorn, too.” “All right, sweetheart. I can have everything ready in three days.” Three days. Then I’d leave them all behind.