Meeting my mate.

My eighteenth birthday turned out to be the absolute worst day of my life. 

It was the day when my inner wolf finally awakened, only to reveal the devastating fact that I was the weakest omega in the entire pack. 

As if being the favorite target for local bullies wasn’t humiliating enough, it seemed the Moon Goddess herself harbored a personal vendetta against me. 

Overnight, I plummeted to the absolute bottom of werewolf society, and for an orphan with no bloodline to protect her, that kind of weakness was practically a death sentence.

​The only saving grace in my life was my foster family, or more accurately, my foster father.

 As the pack's Beta, Wilson held a position of immense power and respect. Being raised under his roof granted me societal privileges an ordinary orphan could only dream of, but those exact perks only painted a larger target on my back.

 My foster siblings detested me, and my foster mother, Ebisha, barely tolerated my breathing.

 According to the story I had always been told, Beta Wilson found me abandoned near the pack borders by a rogue wolf shortly after I was born.

Unlike everyone else, he took pity on me and brought me home. To me, Beta Wilson was more than a foster father. He was the only person who truly cared about me.

My foster mother, Ebisha, and her children made sure I never forgot that I did not belong.

​I silently scrubbed the wooden floors, keeping my head down as I tried to ignore the cruel whispers and mocking stares passing around me. 

​"This is such a disgrace to wolf society," Abigail muttered, watching me with blatant disgust.

​Abigail was Wilson and Ebisha’s biological daughter, making her my flawlessly beautiful, deeply cruel foster sister. 

She snapped her fingers impatiently, urging me to hurry. "Make sure everything is spotless, Lucia. The Alpha’s son is arriving today, and I refuse to let him think our family is pathetic just because we adopted a useless omega orphan."

​The venom in her words stung, I was helpless and couldn't say anything to her. 

She kicked down the bucket of soapy water to the ground, smiling at me with contempt. 

 Abigail delighted in tearing me down, and I had long since learned that enduring the abuse was safer than fighting back. No one in this pack would ever take the side of a nameless stray over the Beta's daughter.

​"Yes," I replied quietly, keeping my tone submissive and not meeting her evil glare. 

​"And do something to cover your hair," she added with a snarl. "It’s blinding." 

​My hair was my greatest liability, a long shiny length of silver strands. 

While rumors whispered that certain high-tier witches occasionally carried the trait, a werewolf with silver hair was entirely unheard of. That freakish feature alone had been enough to alienate me long before my omega status was revealed.

​"Sure," I murmured, instinctively compliant.

​Once the floors were finished, I retreated to the small, cramped corner of the estate they called my room. It wasn't a real bedroom, it was a shack-like space tucked away at the edge of the property. 

Sometimes I felt like a twisted version of Cinderella, though I had long since stopped believing a fairy godmother would ever come to rescue me. It was an impossible wish and I had come to accept my fate. 

​I picked up a scarf and wrapped it tightly around my head, carefully concealing every shiny strand. Catching my reflection in the small mirror, I noticed a few stubborn silver wisps still escaping near my temples.

 My light blue siren-shaped, eyes had huge bags under them from exhaustion. 

Exhaling a soft, defeated sigh, I headed back downstairs to prepare for the prestigious arrival of the Alpha's son. 

​I had never actually met the Alpha's son. I had only ever stolen fleeting glimpses of him from the back of the room during formal pack gatherings, where I was occasionally permitted near the high tables solely because of my foster father's rank. Even then, I was never truly noticed by anyone.

​By the time I finished setting up the venue, the guests began to pour in. The arriving wolves looked right through me. Because I couldn't bear the humiliation of standing around like an uninvited ghost at a party meant exclusively for the "cool," recognized elites of the pack, I slipped out to the courtyard. 

I sat quietly in a far corner, trying to look entirely occupied with nothing at all. I shared classes with many of these people at school, yet not a single one spared me a glance.

​A moment later, the door clicked open and Abigail stepped outside. With her rich brown hair styled to absolute perfection and flawless makeup highlighting her features, she was undeniably breathtaking. 

​"Lucia, they’re here," she said sharply, her eyes narrowing as she took in my presence. "You… I don't know, just go make yourself invisible. I don’t want the Alpha seeing you. This party is meant to impress him, not irritate him, and your presence would definitely do the latter. So scram."

​Despite the rudeness of her demand, I simply nodded. "I’ll make myself invisible," I promised softly. 

I hated how much I sounded like an obedient, broken puppy, always agreeing without putting up a fight, but I constantly reminded myself that submission was the only way to survive.

​As I turned to walking into the darkness of the gardens behind, an expensive luxury car swept into the estate's driveway. The customized license plate bore a familiar royal emblem, immediately signaling the status of its occupants. 

The Alpha's son had arrived.

​The exact moment the passenger door opened, a strange, powerful scent hit my senses. It wasn’t unpleasant; in fact, it was crazily intoxicating. It was an alluring, rich fragrance I had never smelt before in my life. 

​Instinct pulled my gaze upward. I needed to know where this amazing smell came from. 

​Standing by the vehicle was a tall, strikingly handsome young man who held himself with an aura of lethal authority. I recognized him instantly as the Alpha’s son.

​Our eyes locked across the crowded courtyard. A strong blaze of heat rushed through my veins. 

My heart thumped so fast that I was sure it would pop out of my chest. 

 In that exact moment, as if compelled by the power of the moon goddess, the same breathless word escaped from both our lips at the same time. 

​"Mate."