Chapter 1Three days after the pack-wide assessment rankings dropped, I scrolled past a post on our territory's private forum:
"Both she-pups got into NYC packs - how do I split the hunting shares FAIRLY?"
Everyone chimed in: Same amount, obviously!
Then my Beta brother Theo dropped this bomb:
"Older one's a plain omega - wouldn't know what to do with coin. Younger one? GORGEOUS. High-maintenance. One fur-grooming haul? Two grand."
"$800 for the plain one. $8,000 for the princess. THAT'S fair."
My childhood bestie (still in the pack) howled with laughter:
"SO true! We'll watch the hot one anyway."
I laughed till my wolf choked out a whimper.
They're riding off to their glittering city dens.
Me? The throwaway pup.
One minute before the deadline, I torched every NYC pack application.
Locked in somewhere 1,200 miles south - the Island Pack of Hawai‘i.
Their princess game?
I'M OUT.
...
"Millie, little fang! Fruit's ready!"
Mom's voice snapped me out of it - my Luna mother, standing there holding cantaloupe slices, all sunshine and tail-wags.
"Hey, even if the scores aren't great, don't lock your wolf away like this."
I killed the browser tab and padded out.
Mom gave the juiciest center piece to my sister Daphne, then glanced at me with that soft, pitying look - the one she saved for weak-blooded omegas.
"Look, even if you end up at community pack school... we're not gonna judge. We can still feed you."
My phone still glowed with the official text from the State Council.
[Millie Holland, Assessment: 1520/1600. Territory Rank: #7.]
I flipped it facedown.
"Yeah. Thanks."
Alpha Dad and Theo huddled over a giant territory guide, laser-focused on Daphne's future.
"Daphne crushed it - 1380! That's prime ground for a solid state pack. You thinking NYC or L.A.?"
Theo practically glowed.
"NYC, duh. Declan's there."
Daphne melted into Mom's arms, all princess vibes, her wolf preening under the praise.
No one - not one soul - turned to me and asked:
"So what did you get?"
Dad clapped the book shut, his canines flashing in a wide grin.
"Alright, applications later. Right now? Our girl deserves a celebration. Mall run, ladies! Pick anything. Daddy's hunting card is burning. Go shift into something pretty!"
Something flickered in my chest - a growl, or a sob.
It'd been years since I got this treatment. Not since Daphne caught that fever when we were twelve and the whole pack doted on her for months.
"Okay."
I practically bolted to my den.
White blouse. Lip gloss. The whole human-looking act.
I stared at myself in the mirror, heart hammering under my ribs.
Maybe they haven't completely forgotten about me.
I opened my door.
Empty living room.
Their shoes? Gone.
I just... stood there, my claws twitching at my sides.
My phone buzzed.
Daphne's post from three minutes ago.
[Squad goals! Family mall run for my grad haul! ?✨]
Picture showed them in the SUV.
Alpha Dad driving. Theo riding shotgun. Mom and Daphne giggling in the back.
All four of them beaming.
That five-seater?
Never had room for me in the first place.
Fingers shaking, I hit call.
"Mm? Millie, what's wrong?"
Mall chaos in the background. Pop music blasting.
"You guys... left?"
My voice cracked - and so did my wolf's composure. A low whine escaped my throat.
"Oh crap - forgot to tell you!" Mom sounded breezy as hell. "You were holed up in there forever. Figured you didn't wanna deal with the heat."
"Just chill at the den with the AC. There's watermelon in the cooler."
Didn't even ask. Just decided.
"Mommy! Can I get Häagen-Dazs?!" Daphne's baby-voice cut through - pure pup begging.
"Of course, little moon! Two scoops, whatever flavor!"
Mom laughed, then brushed me off.
"Anyway, gotta run, hon. We're helping your sister pick a new collar bag."
Click.
Done.
Chapter 2
I tossed my phone on the bed and went to scrub off the lip gloss.
My wolf paced under my skin, ears flat.
Same old story.
Hide-and-seek as pups? I was always "it." Theo and Daphne would cram into the Alpha parents' master closet together, giggling and pawing at each other, while I stood alone in the creepy attic counting to a hundred - my wolf howling in the dark.
When I finally opened my eyes and started hunting, they were gone. Sniffed every corner of the den. Found nothing.
Turned out they'd ditched me to grab ice cream from the human town.
Guess nothing's changed.
I pulled open my drawer and found this ancient photo album. First few pages showed baby me, maybe two years old - Alpha Dad lifting me by the scruff, Mom licking my cheek clean, Theo being a total goofball with his ears perked.
One New Year's gathering, some elder aunt mentioned:
"Little fang, your brother was obsessed with you back then! Someone said your pelt looked too dark, and he literally chased them down three blocks!"
They used to care.
Then Daphne popped out of the womb with that cream-colored fur and big blue eyes.
Poof. Invisible.
She's got that whole pure-blood princess thing going. I'm... not that.
Pack visits were always the same - "Oh my god, Daphne's like a future Luna!" Then they'd spot me and manage: "This one's sweet."
Sweet. Obedient. Low-maintenance.
My label for eighteen years. My wolf hated it. Hated it so much she'd chew my insides raw every time someone said it.
A knock pulled me back.
I shoved the album away and opened the door.
Declan stood there with fancy dessert boxes, white tee, that bright smile - his Alpha-candidate charm on full display.
"Yo! Guess what I got!" He waved the boxes. "Cakes for both of you!"
I glanced down at two identical lava cakes through the plastic. My nose caught the sugar before my eyes did. Cloying. Thick.
"Cool."
Didn't reach for it.
"Come on, take it! I picked yours out special."
He pushed one into my hands and brushed past me into the living room, his scent - pine and musk - lingering for half a second.
"Where's Daphne? She's not answering my texts."
"Mall. With everyone."
I set the box on the table. My claws twitched.
He blinked. "Oh, shopping trip! That's why. You didn't wanna go?"
So casual. Like I had a choice.
I stared at that cake. My stomach turned. My wolf growled low in my chest.
Three years ago. Freshman year. Declan sat in front of me in pack training. He offered me candy once and I said I hated sweets.
His eyes went wide. "Wait, seriously? A she-wolf who doesn't like sugar? That's different."
After that, it was always dark chocolate. When ordering from the human shops, he'd write: "Zero sugar. She'll claw me if it's sweet."
Three years. All erased.
Now he only sees Daphne - Princess Daphne, sugar-loving Daphne.
First time he came to our den, he caught Daphne in her frilly dress eating strawberry cake. On his way out: "Dude, your sister's adorable. Nothing like you."
"I get why Theo's all over her. Honestly, I'd probably - "
Thought he was joking.
He wasn't.
That joke became the blueprint for every choice he made after.
"You gonna eat that?"
He sat on the couch, eyes glued to his phone. Probably texting her. His tail would've been wagging if he had one out.
"Yeah."
I tore it open, stabbed a piece, forced it down.
Sweet. Sickeningly sweet. My wolf recoiled like I'd just swallowed poison.
"So, pack placement plans?" He kept scrolling, grinning at his screen. "Daphne's thinking finance track. I've been helping her scope out programs."
"What about you? Your mom said maybe community pack, right? That's cool. There are good ones in New York."
"We'll all be in the same city anyway. I'll take you both out on full moons."
I swallowed that nauseating sweetness and walked to the coffee table, opening my laptop and logging into the territory portal.
All those New York pack applications stared back.
Cursor moving.
Delete Columbia. Delete NYU. Delete Cornell.
First choice search bar.
University of Hawai'i - Island Pack.
1,200 miles away. Open water between me and them. No wolf could track that far.
Click. Save. Submit.
My claws had dented the keyboard. I didn't notice until I pulled my hand back.
Declan looked up. "Which New York school you thinking?"
I closed the laptop and met his eyes - my wolf staring out through them, cold and gone.
"Doesn't matter."
Chapter 3
Evening. Paws on the doorstep.
Mom, Dad, Theo, and Daphne stormed in loaded with shopping bags, their wolves still buzzing from the hunt. Daphne spun around in a white silk slip dress, gripping Declan's hand like a trophy.
"How do I look? Dad just bought this for my graduation haul!"
Declan's eyes lit up. His wolf practically purred. "Stunning. Perfect on you."
Mom dug through a bag and pulled out a pink canvas tote. Tossed it to me.
"Millie, thought you could use this for your study materials."
I caught the freebie bag with the designer logo stamped on it. Cheap. Disposable. My wolf's ears flattened against my skull.
"Thanks."
"See? You're so easy." Dad patted my shoulder, his claws barely retracted. "Not like Daphne - always wanting new pelts, costs a fortune. But you? Never ask for anything. Such a good pup."
I stood there, fingers gripping that rough canvas.
They never asked: "Millie, what do you want?"
Just assumed Daphne deserved the whole carcass while I'd chew their bones and smile.
Daphne noticed my silence. Grabbed Mom's arm.
"Mom, did I spend too much? She looks upset."
She turned to me, all guilt, shoving bags at my chest. "Take all this! I don't need it! Mom and Dad gave me eighty grand for graduation. Theo sent twenty thousand. I'm set. You take it!"
The room went dead.
Dad's hand froze mid-air. Theo's face drained to ash-white.
One hundred thousand dollars.
Nobody told me. Not a howl. Not a whisper.
"Millie, it's not like that." Theo jumped in, scent sour with panic. "I'm broke from my internship right now. Next moon I get paid, I'll send you something big. Promise."
"Exactly, little fang." Mom rushed to add, her tail tucking nervously. "Our territory bonds mature next month. I'll give you something then. We'd never play favorites!"
They scrambled to explain. Like I'd caught them poaching from my own den.
I looked at their panicked faces, their twitching ears, their forced smiles.
Almost laughed.
"Forget it."
"Millie, don't be mad at them." Daphne bit her lip. Her eyes found my desk. The old wooden music box with the carved bear - the one that still held Grandma's scent. "What if I trade you? All these clothes for that box? I've always loved it."
That box was the last thing Grandma gave me.
I was ten. Mom and Dad took Daphne to the human theme park. Left me at Grandma's in the countryside den.
Rain pouring down. Grandma walked me through the market with her old limp, bought me that box with egg money she'd saved for months.
She touched my hair, her claws gentle. "Whatever Daphne gets, you get too."
When I wanted to give up - when the pack made me feel like nothing - I'd open that box and breathe in her scent. Feel like Grandma was still watching over me.
Mom jumped in. "Millie, if she wants it, just give it to her. When you get to New York, I'll buy you a new one. Nicer."
Declan added his two cents, scrolling through his phone. "Yeah, she never asks for anything. Don't be stingy. Plus I'll get you some expensive human speakers in New York. Way better."
One after another. Deciding for me.
Trading a freebie bag and empty promises for the only thing that mattered.
My wolf screamed inside my chest. Tore at my ribs.
"Okay."
I walked over. Picked up the box. Felt Grandma's fading scent one last time.
Handed it to Daphne.
She grabbed it, grinning wide. "Thank you so much!"
"Cake time!" Declan shoved Daphne toward the dining room. Everyone followed, laughing, tails wagging.
I turned around.
Locked my den door.
Opened a resale app on my phone.
Started listing everything - every pelt, every trinket, every scrap they'd thrown me - that tied me to this pack.
