Familial Bond Short Stories & Alpha Family Emotions Novels

That winter, our whole family went skiing in Aespen, Amestia. It was a popular spot for werewolf nobles and the wealthy. Then, the avalanche struck. My father's first instinct was to scoop up Summer—his sleeping adopted daughter—and flee. My mother, panicked, still made sure to grab the stray puppy Summer had found. They returned to the Moonshadow Pack that same night, posting a flood of photos online and rejoicing over their miraculous escape. Not one of them remembered me. Their biological daughter was still buried beneath the snow, waiting for rescue. When I was finally rescued, I did not look back. I took my mentor's offer to study abroad and left the pack behind. I moved to Cascade City to study medicine. No more pleading, no more shrinking myself in hopes of earning back my family's love. Yet they only seemed more disgruntled. "Rose, why aren't you competing with Summer for our attention anymore?"

I'm Alpha Bruce Smith's most docile and understanding daughter. In fact, I'm the type who obeys literally anyone's orders. When my parents pick me up at the Rogues' den and take me back to the pack, my adopted younger sister, Andrea Smith, begins making fun of me. "I thought the Rogues killed you for sure! I never thought you'd be able to return to the pack, safe and sound! You really are lucky! Why can't you just die already?" With hollow eyes, I just nod quietly. Then, I extend a claw and move to stab myself in the neck without hesitation. My parents are terrified out of their wits. They quickly stop me from hurting myself. But my older brother, Tobias Smith, remains impassive about my condition. "You really love attention that much, huh? What makes you think you can still remain my sister, anyway? You might as well drink some wolfsbane and die!" That night, I grab a bottle of poison and down it immediately. Tobias discovers me afterward. He whisks me to the hospital anxiously. When the doctor tells him that I'd die if he were two minutes later in discovering me, Tobias' complexion turns pale. Some time after that, when Andrea snatches my necklace from me, she loses her balance and falls down the stairs. Her fiance points at me while exclaiming, "It's just a necklace! If anything were to happen to Andrea, you'd better pay the price with your life!" Pay the price with my life, huh? I don't hesitate to draw the silver sword out of its hilt on the wall. Then, I slash my throat with it. My parents happen to witness it. Shell-shocked, they scream at the top of their lungs. "Call an ambulance! Hurry!" Tobias tries to stem the blood flow with trembling hands. He's completely stunned by the ordeal. What everyone doesn't know is that they've been calling me a lowlife during my five-year stay in the Rogues' den. Even if I could live 100 times over, those lives are nothing compared to Andrea. Even if I gave my life, it would never be enough—because to them, my life was never worth anything in the first place.

Three months had passed since I was brought back to the Tervo pack. Melissa Blackwell, the fake daughter, kicked me out of the car in a downpour—again. By the time I got home, I was soaked through. My birth father, Thorold Blackwell, was teaching her about wolves. My birth mother, Seraphina Blackwell, had simmered apples in red wine for her and watched her with a tender smile. The room was full of laughter until I walked through the door. Thorold turned his attention back to his book. Seraphina picked up the cups and went to the kitchen. Melissa rolled her eyes at me. "You really are clingy, aren't you? No matter what I do, I can't shake you." I gripped the hem of my dripping clothes, swallowed the lump in my throat, and went to my room. In that small, dark room, I could hear everything outside the door. Melissa asked coyly, "Mom, Dad, she's your biological daughter, after all. Isn't it a little cruel to treat her this way?" Seraphina soothed her. "In our hearts, you are our only daughter. Blood doesn't mean a thing." Thorold nodded. "Exactly. And even if she doesn't like it, where else is she gonna go? Her adoptive parents are the lowest kind of Omegas. Letting her stay here is compensation enough." I stood up and laughed out loud. So that was it. They thought I would endure everything because I had nowhere else to go. What they didn't know was that my adoptive parents were not the Omegas they imagined, and I didn't need their pack. If this house had no room for me, I would go back to my real home.

The pack threw a massive party for my sister, Aria. She got into the Royal Wolf Academy. My father, the Alpha, pinned the pack crest to her gown. It was the ultimate symbol of Stonecrest’s future. His voice boomed over the crowd, "Aria is a once-in-a-generation prodigy! She showed Alpha dominance at just sixteen. She is our fiercest weapon." And me? His other daughter. I stood in the corner. Completely invisible. No one even offered me a drink. At dinner, my mother—our flawless Luna—bragged about every single achievement, "Aria shifted at ten. She won the Northern Trials at thirteen without a single scratch. She only studied for six months to get into the Royal Academy!" An old elder finally glanced my way and asked, "And Cassian? I heard she got accepted somewhere too?" My mother’s smile froze. My father just looked away in silence. Aria broke the silence, "Yes. Cassian's college is pretty far from the pack..." I got a full ride to Columbia University. The acceptance letter has been on my nightstand for fifty days. But nobody asked about it. My mother quickly recovered, forced a smile, and told the elder, "Cassian is just so independent. She always handles things on her own." Independent. Right. Was I 'independent' at ten? Aria and I both had our first shift. She got a rare elixir from our parents to stabilize her power. I was left to fight my rampaging wolf alone, again and again. Was I 'independent' at thirteen during the Northern Trials? A feral beast attacked. I took every hit to protect Aria. My parents rushed to check on her, terrified. I was left to stitch my own wounds in silence. At eighteen, to make sure Aria got into the Royal Academy, I was her sparring partner by day and her tutor by night. I even did the servants' chores when they were away. Does cleaning up every mess my perfect sister makes mean I am 'independent'? The party ended. The guests left. My mother ordered me to clean up the hall. The gifts were piled high. Every single one wa

I am the elder daughter of the Dawnlight pack Alpha. On the day I came of age, my father told my sister and me to choose our future mates from the two sons of the Brightvale pack Alpha. The older brother, Damian, was steady and self-possessed. The younger one, Kieran, counted for nothing in his own pack, and it showed in the sullen, beaten-down way he carried himself. In my last life I chose the younger brother without a moment of hesitation, because I wanted him to know what it felt like to be someone's favorite. But on the very day he became Alpha, he threw me out to the rogues. I was carrying his pup. They tortured me until I died. Right before the end, Kieran stood over me and looked down. "If it weren't for you, I'd have been with your sister Adeline a long time ago. You deserve this!" Only then did I learn that he had wanted my sister for years, and that he had never once meant for me to be the Luna of Brightvale. Then I opened my eyes again. Kieran and I had both come back to the day of the choosing. He knelt before my father, solemn as a vow. "Honored Alpha, the one I love has always been your younger daughter, Adeline. I want nothing to do with your elder daughter, Cassia." Every wolf from Brightvale watched me and enjoyed it. But I only smiled, faintly. Then I turned and chose the brother standing at Kieran's side. Damian. Kieran was still living inside the illusion of his last life, certain he had taken the Alpha title on his own strength. He had no idea that from the beginning to the end, only the mate I chose was ever fit to become Alpha.

On my eighteenth birthday, my three adoptive brothers gave me a present—a stray she-wolf. My eldest brother, Caine, said her obedience might finally tame my vicious temper. Rhael said her delicate nature would make my rough strength stand out even more. Lucian said her beauty might distract everyone from how plain I was. But that she-wolf had only one ambition: to become a Luna. When a blind Alpha from a distant pack came seeking a bride, she volunteered to marry him in my place. She never made it. Worn down by the grueling journey, she died along the way. My brothers were consumed by grief. When an enemy pack attacked, they threw me into the enemy ranks with their own hands. I stared at them in disbelief. Caine accused me, “You knew Sophia might die. That’s why you let her take your place without a second thought!” Rhael glared at me with hatred. “You love throwing your status around and bullying others, don’t you? Today, you’ll learn what it feels like to be completely at someone else’s mercy!” Lucian turned to the wolves around us and ordered, “No one helps her. I want her to know what it feels like to be abandoned by everyone!” When I died, there wasn’t enough left of my body to piece together. Then I opened my eyes—and found myself back on the day Sophia volunteered to marry in my place. Remembering how my three brothers had shielded her behind them in my previous life, I smiled. “Father, I’ll marry him.” Father frowned. “Knox is blind and brutal. Are you sure?” “I’m sure.” Since my brothers couldn’t bear to part with Sophia, they could stay with her forever.

From birth, I was the unwanted pup. At three, Mom left me for another pack. At five, my eldest brother forced chili water down my throat and made me say it tasted good. My second brother would deliberately ditch me at the pack nursery entrance, leaving me to find my way back through the dark woods alone. My third brother would gang up with other pups to humiliate me. The worst came when both the neighbor cub and I fell sick with moon-fever. Dad didn't hesitate for a second to carry her to the hospital, but he brushed me off like I was faking it. Until—I'd shake uncontrollably and throw up whenever I saw them... That's when they finally started freaking out. Dad broke down crying and begged me: "Sweetie, can you please just call me 'Daddy' one more time?"

I am the youngest daughter of the White family. As rulers of the Moon Shadow pack, the White family showered me with love from the young age. That was until my brothers brought home an orphaned Omega named Calista. In less than a month, she had stolen all the affection that once belonged to me. All it took was a slight frown from me when she tried to move into my bedroom, and my eldest brother, the Alpha, slapped me on the face. My second brother, the Beta, locked me in the cellar. I never wanted to compete with Calista. All I wanted was to live the rest of my days quietly. But on the day of my eighteenth birthday, Calista falsely accused me of attacking her when I shifted. My brothers called me evil, and they cut all ties with me. They believed that I was spoiled rotten and that my jealousy of Calista had made me turn vicious. Little did they know that I had already secretly applied to be the guard of the Land of Winter and to live there in solitude for 20 years. After this farewell, I would never see them again. On the day that I left, they all broke down in regret.

Everyone in my family is one of the strongest pureblood Alphas in the pack—except me. I’m an Omega. My brother and sister awakened their wolves at twelve. I'm fifteen, and mine still hasn't shown the slightest sign of waking. My family was convinced that the Mercer Alpha blood in me simply hadn't manifested yet—and that it was their duty to bring it out. To sharpen my senses, my brother dumped me in Nightwood Forest when I was still a child. When the tracking signal failed, he insisted that I find my own way out. I wandered for a day and a night before collapsing from dehydration. When my mother arrived, she comforted my guilt-stricken brother. “Daniel was only trying to help you,” she told me. Then she turned to him. “Just don't make it so difficult next time.” To provoke my wolf, my sister put me through nerve training using Alpha pressure. I knelt on the floor, trembling and begging her to stop as pain split my head apart. But she only stared at the line spiking across her screen and exclaimed that my Alpha blood was finally responding. My father carried me back to my room. “Vivian is only trying to help you. If your wolf awakens early too, no one will ever look down on you again.” Later, they designed an awakening experiment for me. They locked me in a room at forty-two degrees below zero, trying to recreate the extreme conditions in which my brother and sister had awakened. During the experiment, the thermal barrier failed, and every cry for help I sent through the mind-link was blocked. I watched the temperature keep falling as my eyes slowly closed. That was when I finally understood. My greatest mistake wasn't being ordinary. It was being born into an Alpha family that couldn't accept an ordinary child.

I was a she-wolf in heat. During this cycle, I needed release multiple times a day, or the ache became unbearable. Every morning, I woke up soaking wet, my panties clinging to my slick entrance. Even the slightest movement made the emptiness feel maddening. My Alpha mate, Ethan, was supposed to be home taking care of my needs, but he’d been away on pack business for over two weeks. After patrolling the territory, I couldn't suppress the urge any longer. Panting heavily, I ducked behind a secluded thicket and began to touch myself. Just then, a rough, large hand grabbed my ass from behind, squeezing hard. A shiver ran through my entire body. I intended to snap at the intruder, ready to tell him to fuck off, but when I turned around, my face burned with a blush. It was Liam—Ethan's brother who had just arrived at the pack. He was a tall, handsome Alpha with rock-hard muscles and eyes burning with lust. He hadn't recognized me; he thought I was just some random she-wolf in heat and continued to grope me shamelessly. "Let's see who we have here," Liam murmured, his voice low and teasing. "Just a little she-wolf in heat, acting like a bitch in need." His Alpha pheromones enveloped me, driving my inner wolf wild with the heat. My slick coated my thighs as the wetness increased. My muscles tensed, and my nipples hardened to the point of pain, aching to be pinched by him. Embarrassment warred with desire. I knew this was wrong—he was my mate's brother. What if Ethan found out? But my body wouldn't listen. My hips rocked back and forth of their own accord, chasing the pressure of his fingers. But just then, my phone buzzed. It was Ethan……

My mate, Ethan Rickman, is an Omega without a wolf. No official position is willing to hire him. That means we live in poverty, but I've always believed that our love can overcome anything. Seven years after our mating, hunger drives me and our son, Theo Rickman, to dig through trash bins late at night, looking for food. Theo moves quickly and quietly. He's become skilled at it. With a cheerful grin, he whispers to me, "Mom, this bin belongs to an award-winning restaurant! The food's fresh and tastes great. Let's bring some back for Dad!" The next day, I put on the cleanest clothes I own and head to that same restaurant, hoping to get hired as a janitor. If I get the job, maybe I can bring home leftovers before they're tossed out. But when I look up, I see Ethan stepping out of a luxury car worth millions. Behind him stands a woman and child, both dressed in designer clothes. I recognize her instantly. She's Mira Alstone, his childhood sweetheart. The restaurant owner gives me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ms. Everdeen. Alpha Ethan reserved the whole place for Mira today. I have to focus on serving them, so I don't have time for interviews. Maybe come back another day?" In that moment, Theo and I both freeze where we stand.

I was the Female Alpha of the Stormlands pack. But gave up my position to my brother. All so I could stay by the side of Adrian, the Alpha of the Valley pack, the man I had loved in secret for six years. My brother couldn't bear to watch me wait any longer. On Valentine's Day, he went so far as to slip a potion into Adrian's drink and send him to my bed. When Adrian woke, he refused to accept me as his second-chance mate. But he didn't reject the bond either. He simply agreed to marry me, cold as ice. Shortly after the wedding, he dumped all pack affairs on me and left for five years. I gave birth to our daughter Ivy alone and waited for him to come back. Five years later, I pushed aside an important pack meeting and took Ivy to the airport to pick him up. My daughter reached for him, begging to be held. He glanced down and said flatly, "Sorry. I'm a germaphobe." After that, Ivy and I bathed three times a day. I scrubbed the house until it was spotless as a sterile ward. But he still wouldn't come home, and he never once held either of us. Everything changed when I saw an interview. Someone asked, "Alpha Adrian, when were you happiest?" He smiled carelessly. "Last week, I guess. I put Mia to sleep, then pulled Selena into the bathroom." Selena was the mate who had rejected him. She had run off with another wolf and had Mia. Rumor had it they had been living together for the entire five years he was gone. So the rumors were true all along... That night, I stopped hoping he would ever accept me as his second-chance mate. I decided to take my daughter and leave the Valley for good. I reclaimed my title as Female Alpha of the Stormlands, absorbed the entire Valley pack into my territory, and took my daughter out of his life forever!

I am a pureblood Alpha Female. My parents were tied up with pack affairs year-round, so I grew up at their side, living and breathing pack life. After my wolf awakened, every pack duty got dumped on me. When we finally got a break, the whole family agreed to take a trip. Before we left, Mom laid the plane tickets on the table. The five tickets belonged to my parents, Daniel Carter and Vivian Carter; my brother, Marcus Carter; my fated mate, Hale Bennett; and my adopted sister, Leah Foster. Years ago, Leah's father, Gavin Foster, had died saving Marcus during a rogue attack. Born into a frail Omega bloodline and left without a father, Leah had been taken into our family and pampered as one of our own for seven years. I stared at the tickets for a long time. There really wasn't one for me. When I asked Mom what was going on, her eyes darted away. "Don't you have border patrol coming up? I figured you'd be busy, so I didn't buy you one. "Leah finally got some time off. She's been so busy with her job at the council, and we wanted to take her somewhere to relax. The anniversary of her father's death is coming up. We just want her to be happy." Marcus was packing Leah's bags, carefully choosing her favorite pink suitcase. And Hale, my boyfriend of five years, was busy matching her outfits and carefully packing away her passport and boarding pass. "Beatrice, what are you standing around for? Pack up your ski gear and give it to Leah. Gavin saved Marcus's life. We need to show some gratitude." Dad waved at me, motioning for me to get moving too. I stood in the living room, watching my family bustle around. So they did know I existed. They were just using a life debt to wring everything they could out of me. Even my fated mate could defy his instincts and become just one more thing my family was willing to sacrifice to repay their debt to Leah. Since there was no place for me on this trip, I'd give them exactly what they wanted. I lowered my gaze to my phone. The Alpha King

I used to be treated like a princess in Lumenclaw Pack. But the first day after my eighteenth birthday, my Alpha dad brought home a charity case—Callie from the welfare center. Everything flipped. Ryell, my own brother, ditched me for her. Jovan, my future mate? Shielded her. Even Dad called her sweet, kind—"a thousand times better than you." Graduation Day. Strike 101. They picked her. Again. "Aren't I your real family?" Dad hesitated—but only to hide Callie behind him like some precious thing. Her fake tears. His real slap. "Such a petty wolf. I wish I'd never had you." Ryell sneered, "Having a sister like you makes me sick. Get out!" I didn't scream. Didn't cry. Just packed and walked. They thought I'd break like always—cry, forgive, crawl back. But not this time. I called my mom. Took her offer. Moved to her distant pack. If they wanted me gone, wish granted. So why the hell did they come begging when they realized I meant it?

Right before my mating ceremony, I drank the glass of milk my mother had brought me. It didn’t take long for my consciousness to slip away. When I opened my eyes, I found myself locked inside a basement, a silver lock barring the door. Shifting, I threw myself against the door desperately, even when my flesh was torn and bloody. At last, I broke free. I dragged my broken body to the ceremony, only to find my adopted sister, Maeve, standing on the altar in a gown far more extravagant than mine. My mate—the one who had my heart—placed the Luna crown that was meant for me on Maeve’s head. Maeve sank into my mate’s embrace, her frame fragile. “Ulric, I feel like I’m dreaming. I’m so happy. My sister’s going to kill me if she finds out.” Ulric brushed his fingers against her cheek and assured her, “Relax. She’s fast asleep. The ceremony’d be over by the time she wakes up. Besides, she already has my love. All you’re asking for is a ceremony. I’m sure she’ll understand.” My parents stood nearby, their faces wistful. “Look at them. They are perfect for each other. If only Isobel weren’t around.” “Maeve is the true Luna. Isobel doesn’t deserve Ulric.” I stood at the door, my feet pinned to the ground and my tears rolling down my cheeks. As it turned out, there had never been an accident. It was all a setup. Not a single wolf in this world had ever loved me. In that case, I would give them what they wanted. This fake family and unfaithful mate were out of my life for all I cared!

Everyone in the pack knows that Sienna Mallory is raised with love. When her wolf is unstable, the ex-Luna personally makes potions for her. Whenever she suffers the slightest injustice, the Alpha always stands up for her. She calls them her mother and brother. But everyone in the pack knows that I am their real daughter and sister. When I have a fever of 104 degrees, Mother complains that I'm getting in the way of her pack duties. When I'm trapped in the forest by a rogue wolf, my brother only orders me to learn how to survive on my own. Then, at Sienna's 18th birthday, my mother places the family necklace around her neck, and my brother publicly promises to protect her forever. That's when I finally understand that they aren't incapable of loving someone. They just don't love me. So, I accept the Northland pack's only exchange scholarship to its academy. My mother hides my pack ID, and my brother destroys my application materials, thinking they can trap me with them forever. But they don't know that I've already passed every part of the selection process. In three days, my permanent pack transfer will take effect, and my mind-link with my original pack will be severed completely. By then, even if the Alpha personally orders me to return, he won't be able to bring me back.

My elder sister, Alice, was a white wolf. A witch had foretold that my power would devour hers, that the moment I shifted during our coming-of-age ceremony, she would die. The only way to save her was to suppress my power, let her shift first at the ceremony, and break the curse. To save her, my parents spent eighteen years breaking me. And the night before our ceremony, they followed the witch's orders and locked me in the basement with silver-banded iron chains. "Be good, Maria. The silver will only delay your shift. Just get through tomorrow, and your sister lives. Then we can all stop suffering." The chains pressed against my chest. I could barely breathe. But something was wrong. My shift was starting, early. I slammed my fists against the door. "Mom, it's starting. I'm shifting now—" "Don't lie to me." Her voice cut through, sharp and loud. "The witch said both of you shift on ceremony day. Or are you really that eager to watch your sister die?" Footsteps faded down the hall. The pain hit, searing, ripping through every bone. I curled into the corner, feeling my wolf slip away.

When the Blackridge Pack invaded, I hid inside a closet with my daughter in my arms. The first rescue mech to break through the encircling wolves and leap into the building was piloted by my own brother, Kyle. But after opening the closet and taking one look at us, he simply turned around and headed for the room next door, where our adopted sister, Layla, was hiding. "Wren, you're the Luna. You're supposed to put the pack first. I'll take Layla out first. I'll come back for you and Mia on the second trip." We waited for an hour, and the second trip never came. I contacted my mate, Damian, and asked if he could send someone to get us out. His response was ice-cold. "Stop being so difficult, Wren. There are only so many rescue slots available. Kyle said you two were well hidden, so just hang in there a little longer. I'm the Alpha of the pack. You can't expect me to play favorites just because you're my mate." When I tried contacting him again, I discovered that Damian had already blocked our mate bond. Ten minutes later, wolf claws tore through the building's load-bearing walls. Half of the exterior wall came crashing inward, and the air quickly filled with wolfsbane. I used my own body to shield my daughter and preserve the last bit of space where she could survive, but there was nothing I could do as the wolfsbane slowly spread deeper through her body. I did not know how much time had passed before the next search-and-rescue mech finally arrived. They pulled Mia from the wreckage, barely clinging to life. But no one saw me, already buried beneath the ruins. My soul drifted above them. When I saw Mia being carried out, I thought at least my daughter had survived. Then they tossed her onto a metal cart. Her wolf soul was already being poisoned by the venom. Still, no one seemed concerned. The physician on duty had just picked up an antidote syringe when my biological mother, Elara, reached out and stopped him. "It's fine. That little bit of wolfsbane isn't enough to put Mia's life at risk. Save the Moondew for Layla first." Elara gently pressed down on the physician's wrist. "If Wren chose to run away by herself and abandon her daughter, then Mia should learn exactly what her mother's selfishness costs." As it turned out, they all thought I had abandoned my daughter and escaped on my own. None of them knew that I had already been left behind forever beneath those ruins.

My Alpha mother had a mark burned into my heart, a Submission Mark, all to guarantee I'd claim first place at the Ascension Trials. The mark was simple in its cruelty: whenever my heartbeat dipped below the intensity of combat training, it would scorch the flesh around my heart. No drifting off. No rest. Not even an extra breath during sparring. When I passed out from exhaustion, she'd pull out an iron whip soaked in silver solution and lash it across my hands. She called it "awakening the wolf's instincts." "You're a she-wolf. If you fail, you become the lowest thing in this pack and every male wolf will have the right to walk all over you." "Every drop of blood you shed is a stepping stone to the top." "Iron doesn't become a blade without fire. I've already begged the Moon Goddess for her blessing. Why can't you just push harder?" Today was the first round of the Ascension Trials on the pack's sacred calendar. I was the first contestant to break out of the underground arena, and instantly the pack's Record Keepers swarmed around me. My mother stood just outside the arena. Flush with pride, she triggered the Submission Mark and pushed my combat reflexes to the absolute limit of my wolf form. "Look at my daughter move, like she has Moon Goddess guidance. All thanks to my one-of-a-kind Branding Enhancement technique." But Mom... two days before the Trials started... Your mark, running at full power, burned my heart to nothing and stopped it cold. What more could you possibly want?

The day Alpha Kyle Locke came to deliver the marking token, he brought two, just like always, and let my sister Serafina Voss choose first. One was a custom-made moonstone collar, a specialty piece from Frost. The other was a wolf fang pendant, the kind sold in every shop in town. Neither of us said anything. Everyone just waited for Serafina to reach out first. Never mind that this token had been chosen for my marking ceremony with Kyle, not hers. But this time, I moved first. My fingers landed on the moonstone. I spoke before anyone else could. "Can I be the one to choose, this time?" Kyle frowned. "Ella, Serafina's health is delicate. The moonstone will help settle her wolf. Yours is already steady. The pendant is more than enough for you." I didn't pull my hand back. I looked at the two tokens in front of me, and it finally hit me. Every choice in my life had been made exactly like this. Serafina's blood ran nobler, so she always got to choose first. I was the one who gave ground, every single time, right up until Kyle came along. Everyone had expected Kyle to pick Serafina as his Luna. In the end, he chose me instead. I thought, for once, I was the one who'd been chosen, not the one left with the scraps. It took me a long time to understand that the position of Luna was mine, but the priority behind it always belonged to Serafina. Not this time. I wasn't going to be the one who came second, not anymore.