The crowd began to disperse long before I found the strength to move.
One by one, they drifted away from the stone circle some whispering, some laughing outright, others refusing to meet my gaze at all. The celebration that had been meant for my coming of age had shifted into something else entirely.
A spectacle.
My humiliation complete, they returned toward the manor without hesitation.
Without sympathy.
Without me.
I remained where I was, standing alone at the center of the ancient stones, still dressed for a transformation that had never come.
The moon hung overhead, bright and merciless.
Mocking.
I couldn't say how long I stayed there.
Long enough for the chill to seep through the thin ceremonial silk and settle deep in my bones.
Long enough for the truth to become unavoidable.
Defective.
Broken.
Worthless.
No wolf.
No mate.
No future within the Silvermere Pack the only home I had ever known.
When my legs finally responded, they nearly buckled beneath me.
I reached out blindly, catching myself against one of the standing stones. Its surface was rough beneath my palm, biting with cold as I steadied my breathing.
Carved into the ancient rock were the words that had defined my family for generations.
Strength Through Unity. Unity Through Blood.
My fingers traced the inscription, trembling.
I had the blood.
But without the wolf, I had no strength.
And without strength…
I had no place in their unity.
A broken sound escaped me half laugh, half sob—echoing sharply against the silent stones.
No.
I wouldn't cry.
I wouldn't give them that satisfaction.
I pushed myself upright and began the slow walk toward the manor, every step deliberate despite the way my body threatened to collapse beneath its own weight.
Not the main entrance.
I couldn't face anyone.
Instead, I slipped through the servants' door and into the shadows beyond, moving like something insubstantial. Like a ghost haunting a place it no longer belonged.
My room was tucked away in the east wing, far from the heart of the family quarters.
"To give you space to study," they had always said.
Now I understood.
They'd been keeping their distance long before tonight.
Even in the corridor, I could hear it—fragments of conversation drifting from passing wolves.
"I always knew something was wrong with her."
"A waste of good bloodlines."
"Darian made the right choice."
"They should send her away before she embarrasses them further."
My mother passed without speaking, her disappointment rolling off her in palpable waves.
Mira followed behind her.
She slowed just enough to lean close as she passed.
"Guess you're not so special after all, sister."
Within minutes, the ceremonial grounds had emptied completely.
Even my father had gone, his broad back retreating toward the manor without so much as a glance in my direction.
"Father."
I hadn't realized I'd spoken until he turned slightly.
"Not here, Aurelia," Alpha Cassian said, dismissive and sharp. "We'll discuss this later. In private."
Discuss what?
How your heir is worthless?
How I've shamed our family?
How I'm not even worthy of being called a wolf?
By the time I reached my room, my hands were shaking.
I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, finally allowing the tremors to take hold.
The ceremonial dress clung to me like a second skin.
I tore it off, letting the expensive fabric slide to the floor in a heap at my feet.
In the mirror, I forced myself to look.
Green eyes stared back at me too bright, too human. Not the molten amber of a true wolf.
Dark auburn hair tumbled down my back in waves.
Pale skin, unmarred by any sign of the beast that should have lived beneath it.
Attractive enough by human standards.
Among wolves?
Nothing.
A defect.
Somewhere, somehow, I would find out why my wolf hadn't come.
I would discover what was wrong with me.
And I would fix it.
Then
Every single person who had laughed tonight would regret it.
The thought should have frightened me.
Sweet, obedient Aurelia Veythorne plotting revenge?
As I zipped my bag closed and took one last look at the room I'd grown up in, something kindled in my chest.
Not a wolf.
Not yet.
Something darker.
Hungrier.
They wanted to see weakness?
Fine.
I grabbed the first clothes I could find jeans, a sweater, boots and packed quickly.
One bag.
Just the essentials.
There wasn't much here that was truly mine anyway.
As I turned toward the door, it opened before I could reach it.
Darian stood there.
"Explain what?" I asked before he could speak, my voice colder than I'd ever heard it. "That you're an ambitious coward who'd rather break a promise than risk his precious reputation?"
His expression tightened.
"You made yourself very clear tonight, Alpha."
"It's not personal," he replied, though he didn't sound entirely convinced. "You understand the position I'm in. I need a strong Luna."
"I'm not strong."
"Yes," I said quietly when he opened his mouth again. "The whole pack heard you."
I stepped past him.
"Goodbye, Darian."
"Where will you go?"
I paused, glancing back over my shoulder just once.
"Somewhere I can become what you said I'd never be."
Strong.
I walked into the darkness of the Forbidden Woods, leaving behind everything I had ever known.
Behind me, the manor blazed with light and laughter as the Silvermere Pack continued their celebrations.
They'd probably already forgotten about me.
Good.
Let them forget Aurelia Veythorne the defective heir.
My feet found the old hunting paths by instinct, trails I'd walked a thousand times before.
Tonight, every shadow felt different.
Every sound sharper.
I was no longer the Alpha's daughter on a supervised walk.
I was prey.
Or perhaps something more dangerous.
Something with nothing left to lose.
Because when I came back
I would come back
They wouldn't recognize what I'd become.
The forest swallowed me whole.
For the first time in my life, I felt something that wasn't quite hope.
Close enough.
Freedom.