The next morning, something is different. When I walk into Riverside Pack Academy, the hallway doesn't feel the same. It's like the energy has shifted. People are talking about the new girl. About how she told off some bullies. About how she's training with me.
I try to keep my head down like usual, but it's harder now. My brother actually looks at me in the hallway. It's not a kind look, but it's something. Recognition, at least.
"Hey," Marcus says, surprising me completely. "You training with that new girl?"
"Yeah," I say, unsure how to respond.
"Be careful," he says. "She's going to cause problems."
Then he walks away, leaving me standing there confused.
In first period, I'm sitting in the back of the classroom like always. But Sage sits down next to me instead of finding an empty seat closer to the front. The teacher doesn't say anything. She just gives us both a look that says she's aware something has changed.
"So," Sage whispers during a reading assignment. "I've been asking around about the pack structure. About who's really in charge and who just pretends to be."
"Why?" I ask.
"Because I'm trying to understand how a girl who trains as well as you do is completely invisible," Sage says. "That doesn't make sense unless someone is keeping you invisible on purpose."
I hadn't thought of it that way before. I always assumed I was invisible because of who I was. Because of what I represented. But Sage is right. My father is the Beta. I have power in my bloodline. The only way I'm being kept down is if someone is actively keeping me down.
"My father doesn't care about me," I say quietly.
"Your father is a coward," Sage says, and I nearly choke on my own breath. Nobody talks about their elders like that. "He blames you for your mother's death because he's weak. That's not your fault."
"You can't just say things like that," I whisper urgently.
"Why not? It's true," Sage says. She's not even whispering now. She's speaking in a normal voice, not caring if people hear. "The truth needs to be said sometimes."
The teacher asks Sage to be quiet, and she complies, but I can see a small smirk on her face. She's enjoying this.
By lunchtime, everyone has noticed that I'm hanging out with Sage. The social dynamics have shifted completely. Some people are treating me better. Others are treating me worse, like I'm now a traitor for not staying invisible.
Tessa approaches our table during lunch. She's brought two of her friends with her.
"So you think you're important now?" Tessa asks, directed at me.
I don't respond. I just keep eating my food.
"I'm talking to you," Tessa says, getting louder. "Everyone can see that you're trying to be someone you're not. It's pathetic. Your father would be ashamed."
Something hot and angry rises up in my chest. For years, I've swallowed these comments. I've pretended not to hear them. I've made myself smaller and quieter and less visible. But looking at Tessa's smug face, I'm suddenly done.
"My father is already ashamed," I say quietly. "So there's nothing you can do that will make it worse."
The cafeteria goes quiet. Everyone is looking at our table now.
Sage stands up slowly. "I think it's time you learned what happens when you bully someone who actually stands up to you."
"Are you threatening me?" Tessa asks, but I can see fear in her eyes.
"Not threatening," Sage says. "Promising."
Tessa and her friends leave the cafeteria quickly after that. For the rest of lunch, I'm very aware that Sage just defended me in front of the entire school. That I actually defended myself. That something has shifted.
After school, I find a note in my locker. It's in my father's handwriting.
*Come to my office. Now.*
My heart sinks. Already? News travels fast in a pack. Someone must have told him about the incident in the cafeteria. About me standing up to a student. About me stepping out of my place.
I find Sage before I head to my father's office. "I have to go see the Beta," I tell her.
"Your father?" Sage asks. "Why?"
"Because someone told him I've been causing problems," I say.
"Good," Sage says. "Maybe it's time he actually paid attention to what's happening."
I make my way to the Beta's office with my stomach in knots. My father's office is in the center of the pack territory, a place that's always felt cold and unwelcoming to me. I've been here maybe five times in the past year.
When I knock on the door, my father's voice calls out, "Enter."
He's sitting at his desk, reviewing documents. He doesn't look up at me for a full minute. Just lets me stand there, waiting.
"I hear you had an incident at school," he finally says, still not looking up.
"Not really," I say carefully. "I just—"
"You spoke back to a student. In front of the entire cafeteria," he says. Now he does look up, and his expression is cold. "That's not appropriate behavior for someone of your status. You embarrassed yourself and the family."
"She was bullying people," I say.
"So?" my father responds. "That's how the pack works. The strong lead, the weak follow. If you can't handle it, you need to be quieter, not louder."
"So I'm supposed to just accept being bullied?" I ask.
"You're supposed to not bring attention to yourself," he says sharply. "Your brother understands this. You should too."
I want to argue. I want to tell him that he's wrong. That maybe the pack is wrong. That maybe strength shouldn't mean cruelty. But I can see there's no point. He's already made up his mind. He's already decided I'm a disappointment.
"You're done with after-school training," he says. "You'll come home immediately after classes. This nonsense with the new girl needs to stop."
"That's not fair," I say.
"Life isn't fair," he responds. "Get used to it."
I leave his office feeling like I've been hit with something physical. No more training. No more the only place I feel like myself. All because I dared to stand up to a bully.
When I get home, I find Sage waiting for me outside my house. I don't know how she found my address, and I don't ask.
"What happened?" she asks immediately.
"I can't train anymore," I say. "My father pulled me from the program."
Sage's expression goes dark. "Because of what happened today?"
I nod.
"That's not fair," Sage says. "You're one of the best fighters here. Better than your brother, from what I've heard."
"My father doesn't care about that," I say.
"Then maybe it's time to show him that your father's opinion doesn't matter," Sage says. She steps closer. "I'm training at night. On the old mountain path past the territory borders. Come if you want to keep getting better."
"That's forbidden," I say. "Training outside pack supervision is against the rules."
"So?" Sage asks. "You going to let rules stop you from being who you really are?"
I know I should say no. I know I should go inside and accept what my father has decided for me. I know I should be the invisible, quiet girl I've been my whole life.
But standing there with Sage, I realize I don't want to be that girl anymore.
"What time?" I ask.
Sage smiles. "Midnight. At the old oak tree on the north path."
I spend the rest of the evening lying in my bed, waiting for my house to go silent. This is crazy. This is dangerous. This could get me in serious trouble.
At 11:45, I climb out my window and make my way into the dark forest. I don't have a flashlight. I don't need one. My wolf senses help me navigate the shadows.
When I get to the old oak tree, Sage is already there. But she's not alone. There are two other girls with her.
"Everyone, this is Aria," Sage says. "The one I told you about."
The taller girl steps forward. "I'm Kira. Sage says you're the strongest fighter in your pack, but nobody knows it."
"I'm Mira," the other girl says. "I transferred schools three times because I kept beating people up. I'm done hiding that part of myself."
Sage continues, "We're building something. A group of girls who are tired of being told what we can and can't do. Who are tired of the hierarchy being used as an excuse for bullying. We're going to change how our packs see strength."
"How?" I ask.
"By showing them," Sage says. "By training. By being warriors. By not letting anyone, not our fathers, not the Alphas, not anyone, tell us we're less than."
I should leave. This is rebellion. This is dangerous. This could get all of us in real trouble.
Instead, I take off my jacket. "Show me what you've got."
For the next three hours, we train harder than I've ever trained. These girls are strong. Different kinds of strong. Kira is strategic. Mira is raw power. Sage is a perfect balance of both.
By the time we stop, the sun is starting to rise, and I'm more exhausted and more alive than I've ever felt.
As I'm heading back to my house, Sage runs up beside me.
"This is going to change everything," she says. "For all of us."
"What if my father finds out?" I ask.
"Then he finds out," Sage says. "And maybe he finally has to face the fact that his daughter is extraordinary."
I make it home and climb back through my window just as my father is leaving for work. He doesn't even notice I've been gone.
When I get to school the next day, Tessa is gone. Her locker is cleaned out. Her friends are avoiding eye contact with everyone. Someone tells me that she transferred to another pack school, but nobody seems to know why.
I look at Sage across the cafeteria, and she gives me a small nod.
That's when I realize that Sage didn't just come here to be my friend.
She came here for a reason.