Chapter 2

Callum

(Three days before her arrival…)

I was knee-deep in reports, budget approvals, event scheduling—all the usual student council stuff, when I picked the mindlink.

“We’ve received word,” My father’s low voice spoke through the mindlink, “that she is transferring to your school.”

Mother’s voice popped into the line, far too excited. “The only female alpha! Your future fiancée!”

Right. Her.

—The Female Alpha.

“Make a good impression, Callum,” my father said. “...This isn’t a game. She’s the key to our pack’s future.”

“Oh, you must win her heart!” My mother chimed in.

Toby, my ever-eager future beta and current vice president, stayed by my side throughout the mindlink. “You mean that female alpha? The one with the royal bloodline? The princess?! President, then what about our plans...?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Pause everything. Postpone the meetings. I’ll be reallocating my time to meeting my future mate.”

I’ve always known that, as heir to the largest pack in the country, I couldn’t marry just anyone. My future mate must be powerful.

I was raised from a young age to respect my future fiancée—the only female alpha, powerful, mysterious, and noble.

I’d never met her, but I’d knew her enough —

She was disciplined, strong, and commanding. The rumors painted her as the kind of wolf who didn’t kneel—one who made others do it for her.

Admirable.

I took quiet pride in being betrothed to someone like her, it being something I never resented; in fact, I was certain we’d find common ground.

(The morning of her supposed arrival…)

I pressed my blazer smooth and made my way to the gate with a bouquet of deep red roses. The moment I arrived, of course, the crowd noticed. They always do.

Girls swooned, squealed, scrambled to get my attention.

But I wasn’t here for them. I came for her. My rightful mate.

“Callum! Who’s the lucky girl? Those roses are divine!”

My attention was pulled back by the flash of pink acrylics, gemstone charms, and her usual effort to disguise real claws beneath layers of glitter—Jessica. I knew her more for appearances than substance.

I gave her the usual response: a cold smile.

Absently as I waited, I spotted her, or rather, a commotion. A pack of girls were circling someone: plain sweatshirt, scuffed jeans, hair tied back in a way that screamed utility, not aesthetics. Definitely not royalty.

They shoved past her. One barked something about “barehides.”

A wolfless insult.

She stood up calmly. No fear. No stuttering apology. Just brushed the dirt from her knees and corrected the girl’s behavior with the precision of a blade.

Something in my chest shifted.

And then her scent hit me. Not strong, not obvious, but just enough to trigger recognition.

…Mate.

It was an indescribable feeling, but when her scent hit me, both I and my wolf knew exactly who she was.

But......Just a wolfless.

The crowd surged as a black luxury car pulled up, engine humming like it had something important to say.

“She’s here!” someone screamed.

Out stepped a girl with long, wavy hair and legs for days—gloss, ribbons, curated perfection. Her noble entrance left no doubt—she was the one I had been searching for.

I was already walking over to her, the crowd parting when I was forced to stop. I looked down, stiffening slightly at who was in my path.

The wolfless girl from earlier.

She looked up at me. Our eyes met.

Her mate scent grew stronger, intoxicating, pulling me in—yet all I felt was disgust.

This couldn’t be. This shouldn’t be. How could my fated mate be…

Wolfless?

So poor. So shamed. Not worthy of me at all.

I tried to walk past her but her hand delicately pinched my sleeve. “Ah, wait…excuse me, we—”

“Step aside,” I said flatly, pulling from her soft grip.

She didn’t say a word, but I felt the moment snap between us like a stretched wire cut clean.

But I had someone far more important.

I strode toward the glamorous girl stepping out of the luxury car and presented her with roses.

“Welcome to our school,” I said smoothly. “It’s your first day here. Would you like me to show you around…?”

The girl smiled, she was clearly the one I was meant to choose—

— The true Female Alpha.

Liora

I couldn’t hear my inner wolf as well, not with this charm suppressing so much of me, but I could still feel her restless.

Callum—the name I now knew thanks to all the shouting—was tall, broad-shouldered, and almost painfully put together. My fated mate.

The mate bond is a blessing bestowed upon us by the Moon Goddess, and a fated mate is a destined lover.

But he looked straight past me, as if I hadn’t existed at all.

His attention shifted, smooth and certain, to the girl stepping out of the luxury car, bouquet still in hand.

“May I ask your name?” he said, offering her the roses.

The girl smiled sweetly, her voice practiced. “Bianca, and you?”

“Callum,” he said softly. “I’ve waited so long for you.” He walked beside her with a kind of attentiveness that was the opposite with me—like he belonged at her side.

Bianca…?

Before I could process, another shove caught meoff guard.

Jessica sneered. “Gods, will you move out of the way! You’re just a wolfless, you wouldn’t dare talk to Bianca!”

I narrowed my eyes, my patience thinning.

Jessica turned her attention to Bianca, already angling herself to bask in reflected glory. “Are you the female alpha of the royal pack…?”

The others surged forward, eager to hear the answer, elbowing past me like I didn’t exist.

“Look! She’s stepping out of that luxury car! She must be...!”

“Just see how extravagantly she’s dressed! She has to be...!”

“The princess... the one and only Female Alpha!”

Now it makes sense. My plans were exposed—the whole school expected the Female Alpha’s arrival today. But by posing as a Wolfless, I stayed unnoticed.

I’d arrived on a bicycle in worn jeans and a hoodie. She’d happen to step out of a luxury car in heels and imported perfume.

And now... they’ve all misidentified Bianca as female alpha.

How ridiculous.

How could she be? I’m—

Bianca paused.

Then she smiled, holding those roses close to her nose. “Thank you guys very much. And why, yes. I am the female alpha.”

......What?!