It was, by all appearances, an ordinary day.
The sun hung lazily above the Silver Pack territory, its warmth touching everything—except her.
Lily.
An omega by birth… yet treated as something far less.
Within the Silver Pack, she had never known the comfort of belonging. Raised among orphans, she had grown not as a child of the pack, but as a servant to it. From dawn to dusk, her small hands had been burdened with labor, her existence reduced to quiet obedience.
Even among the other orphaned children, she remained… different.
Softer.
Heavier in build.
Shorter than most.
And thus, an easy target.
Mockery had followed her like a shadow she could never outrun.
Yet, despite it all—
Her heart still dreamed.
In merely four months' time, she would come of age.
And with that… the sacred bond.
A mate.
The one destined soul who would see her—not as a burden, nor as a mistake—but as something worthy.
The thought alone was enough to make her endure everything.
---
That afternoon, as she often did, Lily slipped away toward the outskirts of the territory, where the forest began.
There, with a few children who tolerated her presence, she found fleeting moments of freedom.
Laughter.
Carelessness.
A life that almost felt normal.
But today…
Their steps carried them further than they had ever gone before.
Deeper.
Into the part of the forest where the trees grew older, darker… and unnaturally still.
The Forbidden Woods.
A place spoken of only in hushed warnings.
No one was allowed to enter.
No one dared to.
---
From a distance, unseen—
Two figures watched.
The Alpha's son and daughter.
Their eyes gleamed with cruel amusement as they recognized her.
"Look at her," the girl sneered softly. "That useless omega dares to enter the forbidden forest."
A wicked smile curved her lips.
"Father will be pleased to hear this."
And without hesitation, they turned back—ready to deliver the news to the Alpha of the Silver Pack.
---
Unaware of the danger closing in behind her…
Lily wandered further ahead.
The air here felt different.
Heavier.
As though the forest itself was breathing… watching… waiting.
Then—
They saw it.
A house.
If it could be called that.
It stood crooked among the ancient trees, its structure half-consumed by moss and creeping vines. Ferns curled around its edges like silent guardians of something long forgotten.
And from within—
A faint, flickering light.
Alive.
---
One of the children froze.
"We… we shouldn't be here," he whispered, his voice trembling. "This place… I heard stories…"
His eyes were wide with fear.
"They say a witch lives in the deep forest. She steals youth… devours souls… and never lets anyone leave."
The others stepped back instinctively.
All except—
Lily.
Her gaze remained fixed upon the house.
Unmoving.
Unblinking.
As though something inside it had already found her.
Calling to her.
Pulling her closer with an invisible thread.
"I just want to see…" she murmured softly, more to herself than to anyone else.
Curiosity.
Stubbornness.
Or perhaps…
Something far more dangerous.
---
Step by step, she moved forward.
The ground beneath her feet felt colder.
The air—thinner.
Her heartbeat… louder.
Until she stood before the door.
For a brief moment, she hesitated.
A strange unease coiled within her chest.
As if her instincts were screaming at her to turn back.
To run.
But she didn't.
Slowly… she turned—
And in that very instant—
A hand shot out from the darkness within.
Cold.
Unnatural.
Unyielding.
It seized her wrist with terrifying force.
---
Lily's breath caught in her throat.
Her world stilled.
And from within the shadowed depths of that cursed house…
Something had finally claimed her.