ARIELLE
The Blackstone Pack was a rather small pack that could barely accumulate enough wealth, people, and power to stay afloat on its own without getting absorbed by another, stronger pack.
Blackstone's Alpha and my father, Richard Dunn, was a proud, yet not very prudent man. He was a devoted believer in the Moon Goddess's Temple, and often said that a werewolf's job was to live in accordance with the Moon Goddess's guidance and will.
He, of course, rarely stuck to such grand principles.
My birth was proof enough of that.
Richard had four children – three of them were from his legal wife and the Luna of his pack, Angela Crane, while I, the eyesore of his otherwise perfect family, was born from an affair my father had with a rogue prostitute who, according to the false narrative Angela liked to preach, seduced her poor husband and forced herself on him in order to steal the title of the Luna.
In reality, of course, Richard got a little too bored during one of his hunting trips, wandered into one of the working rogue settlements, and had his way with a poor rogue prostitute who wanted nothing but money from him.
The fact that she got pregnant was just an unfortunate coincidence, even though my father still had common decency to eventually find me and bring me back to his pack to add me to his family registry.
And that day was today, just a few months after I turned seventeen.
I stood in the middle of my father's expansive study, feeling completely exposed. My hair was loose and a bit greasy, while my clothes were old and largely out of style.
Compared to Richard's outfit or the clearly expensive clothes his wife was wearing, mine looked like something fished out of the goodwill's bin.
I did not look like Alpha's daughter – but I was used to that.
"Welcome, Arielle," my father greeted me, a stiff smile plastered over his face. "You are quite a tall girl. How old are you? Seventeen?"
I nodded, my expression unchanged. "Yes, Alpha."
"No need for that," he said with a casual wave of his hand. "You are among family now, so call me Father."
"Yes, Father," I repeated right away. It sure did please him.
"Good," he smiled, leaning back in his leather chair. "I know that you spent your entire life with the rogues, doing mostly physical labour, but things are going to be different now. We at Blackstone strive to preserve the image of nobility above anything else. Our pack may be small, but our entitlement sure isn't."
I nodded, silently agreeing with his words. It wasn't Blackstone that boasted power or a great reputation; it was the Dunn family itself.
My family struggled to swim with the big ones, and they were ready to do everything possible to make it happen.
Exhibit A, Angela Crane.
Even now, just like in my previous life, she looked down on me with unconcealed disdain, practically seething with anger from the mere thought of hosting someone as unworthy as me.
Now, she was standing here by my father's side, her arms crossed over her inflated chest, watching every twitch of my muscle with a permanent frown of disgust on her face.
"I understand, Father," I replied at last, shifting my eyes back at him. "I will do my best not to embarrass this pack. I will train and study hard to make up for the time wasted at the mines."
This answer was meant to sting Richard – I wanted to remind him that despite his stern beliefs and devotions, he had still left a pregnant woman alone, and not even once bothered to check on her or her child until his guilty conscience finally got to him.
"As the daughter of an esteemed alpha," Angela suddenly chimed in, the frown between her brows deepening. "Your job is not to study or train hard, young lady. You are a valuable asset meant to be invested in and return the investment tenfold. But given your... background, I guess the best I can ask of you is not to stand in the way of this family's and pack's greatness."
What a bitch, I snarled internally, forcing another wide smile to my dry lips.
Honestly, I hated it – the hypocrisy in her behavior was making me sick.
In my previous life, I had often put Angela on a pedestal, admiring her grace and charm, along with the ease with which she glided through high society.
Right now, however, all I could see was a vulgar woman, desperate to stay relevant with way too much makeup covering her wrinkled face, and way too much cleavage to keep her husband's hands off young and innocent omegas working in the pack house.
"Of course, Luna," I said with a respectful bow, "I will consider it my life's goal."
"Well, now," Richard interrupted, a small chuckle falling off his lips. "You can call her Mother."
"Mother," the word felt bitter against my tongue. "I am happy to finally have someone to call that."
I had to hold myself back from bursting into laughter as I watched Angela's mouth twitch. She knew she had to reciprocate the kindness, but the mere thought of that was probably making her skin crawl.
But as she parted her lips to push the hated words out, a light knock rapped on the study's door, and as the door swung open, a small, delicate figure glided in, lighting up the entire space with her mere presence.
My heart jumped to my throat, beads of cold sweat covering the entire expanse of my back.
I thought I was ready to face her, but as soon as I saw that fiery red hair and that disgusting smile on her pouty lips, I remembered the painful, burning sensation of the silver blade slicing through my heart, and her horrible, boisterous laughter sending me right to hell.
"Hi, dear sister," her voice was like acid poured down my ears. "Welcome to the Blackstone pack. My name is Serena. It's a pleasure to meet you!"