My bare feet sank into the cold, moss-covered stone beneath the ancient trees, the same trees that glowed silver every full moon, humming with power no one else seemed to hear. I was the only one who felt it. The only one it's spoke to. The moon goddess breathed life into everything in our land.
Lyra
The Mother of All Wolves. The One Who Breathed Life into our bones. The One who chose me the broken, useless, unwanted omega to carry her voice and gave me powers I wasn't ready for.
I didn't want it.
I didn't ask for it.
I just… existed.
This is my story..
My name is Sofia Volkov
Or, as the pack will call me,
The mistake.
The disappointment.
The girl with no Beta blood no wonder she's weak.
Today is my eighteenth birthday.
I woke up to the sound of silverware clinking against porcelain, the sound of them eating breakfast in the dining hall of the Beta Quarters in the pack house.
I didn't hear laughter.
I didn't hear "happy birthday."
I didn't even hear my name.
It has always been like that…
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the muffled voices of my mother, father, and Vanessa chatting over eggs and honey-roasted potatoes the same meal they ate every Sunday evening
No one came to check on me.
No one knocked on my door.
No one remembered.
I pulled the thin blanket over my head and tried to disappear.
I didn't cry.
I never cried.
Crying meant they'd won.
And I wasn't ready to let them win.
I remembered the lessons from school, the ones they forced me to attend, even though I wasn't "worthy" of training, learning.
On your eighteenth birthday, the Moon will call you. You'll feel her pull. You'll shift not because you want to, but because she commands it." don't fight it, just let your wolf take complete control.
That's all I had.
No ritual will be done for me nobody will be there to guide me,
No elder will be standing beside me, hand on my shoulder, whispering, Breathe Sofia you will be fine.
It will just be me.
And the Moon.
I slipped out of the pack house quietly, silently and walked into the woods without permission.
No one noticed.
No one ever did.
I reached the Moonroot Grove, the sacred circle of ancient trees where every wolf comes to meet their inner beast.
I sat down on the cool grass, knees pulled to my chest, waiting.
Waiting for what, I didn't know I didn't even know if I had a wolf, What if I was truly broken?
What if I was truly… nothing?
Then I heard it.
A whisper soft, warm, familiar inside my head.
Hello, Sofia.
I froze.
My heart skipped.
Who is that?
I'm your wolf. My name is Lily.
I blinked.
You… you're really my wolf?
Yes. And you're about to meet me properly. It's going to hurt. Badly. Your bones will break. Your spine will feel like it's splitting. Your skin will burn like it's being ripped off. But don't fight it. Go with the flow. Let me guide you. The pain will end. I promise.
I swallowed hard.
Will it… hurt a lot?
Yes. More than anything you've ever felt. But you're stronger than you think. And you're not alone. I'm here. Always.
I closed my eyes.
And waited.
The shift hit like a storm.
It started in my toes a searing, twisting agony that shot up my legs like lightning.
My spine cracked not once, not twice but again and again, each vertebra grinding against the next like broken bone.
My fingers curled inward, nails digging into my palms until I tasted blood.
My jaw stretched wider, wider, wider until I thought my skull would split open.
My skin… oh, my skin… it didn't peel. It melted hot, liquid fire poured over me, burning every nerve, every memory, every scar.
I screamed a sound I didn't recognize raw, guttural, animal.
I thrashed on the ground, clawing at the earth, biting my lip until I tasted copper.
And then
It stopped
Fur burst from my pores.
Claws ripped from my fingertips.
Teeth tore through my gums.
I collapsed onto all fours panting, trembling,
And then…
I stood.
I padded silently towards the lake, and I caught a glimpse of my reflection, of my wolf unlike any other. Majestic. Ethereal. Beautiful.
My wolf color is pure white, like freshly fallen snow, with a crescent moon shape etched into my forehead, as if the moon itself had kissed me with its gentle glow. My fur shimmered like stardust, and my eyes… my eyes were the color of lavender at dusk, a mesmerizing blend of purple and blue, with a hint of gold that seemed to dance in the moonlight.
My gaze was piercing, yet gentle like the moon's soft beams on a summer night. My ears were pointed, perked up, listening to the whispers of the forest. My tail was a plume of white, flowing like a river behind me.
"You did well, Sofia," Lily said. "Let's go for a run."
I ran. Through the trees, under the branches, over the streams I ran like I'd been born to do this. The wind whipped through my fur.
Four paws. Sharp ears. Eyes that saw the smallest things.
I was alive.
I chased rabbits. I splashed in puddles. I rolled in the dirt just to feel it on my skin.
I can't believe I really have a wolf. Sofia you have much more i will tell you everything later but you can't shift in front of your family or pack members yet Lily said..
Why? I will explain later I promise, she responded, okay if you say so.
Let's continue our run.
And I was… happy.
Eventually, I stopped at a small lake — silver under the moonlight.
I drank deeply, licking the cool water from the surface, feeling the liquid slide down my throat.
Then…a scent hit me.
Vanilla and chocolate and something earthy to it.
I froze.
My nose twitched.
My ears perked.
Mate,"Lily said the words I wasn't ready for.
I blinked.
Mate?
Yes. And he's close.
I felt a jolt — half- nervous half-terror.
Who could it be?
Someone from the pack?
Someone who'd laugh at me?
Someone who'd reject me?
Someone who'd deserve me?
I didn't want to hope.
I didn't want to dream.
I just wanted to be left alone.
Then I saw him.
Stepping out of the shadows a massive black wolf, eyes glowing gold.
King.
Damian wolf.
I recognized him instantly from the training grounds, from the pack runs, from the times he'd stood beside Vanessa while she mocked me.
But now..now he wasn't beside her.
He was here.
And then
he shifted so gracefully like an Alpha that he is.
One moment, King stood before me proud, powerful, and unyielding.
The next Damian stood there tall, barefoot, shirtless, eyes wide with shock, his human form emerging like a ghost stepping out of smoke.
His voice cracked when he spoke raw, trembling,
Mate.
I stared.
My heart stopped.
My wolf whimpered not in fear, but in recognition.
It's him, Lily said.
The one who watched them break you. The one who never stopped them. The one who never saw you.
I shifted back painfully, slowly back into human form, standing naked under the moon, tears cutting tracks.
With just one question in my head.
Moon Goddess why?