Today was supposed to be my 18th birthday. Yet, I, Aria Williams, was unhappy about it. All I felt was nothing but emptiness. My pack, the Silver Thorn Pack, had made it clear to me. I was an outcast.

My mother, Luna Mara Williams, was the widowed Luna of the former Alpha. However, I wasn’t born of that union. Instead, I was born to her second husband, who was a human, named Jonathan Malloy, that died not long after my mother was pregnant with me.

Although the pack members treated my mother with respect, they hated me. It was reasonable, though. I was a hybrid, after all. Not only that, I hadn’t shown any shifting capabilities. That made me even less than a rogue.

Suddenly, a voice woke me up from my train of thought.

“Aria, sweetheart, are you ready?”

It was my mother’s voice.

“Ready for what?” I asked her, forcing a smile in return.

“Your birthday celebration, sweetie! We have a little surprise for you downstairs,” the Luna answered as she walked into my room.

As soon as she came here, her presence gave me a sense of comfort. However, I knew that there was still something that felt heavy. I had no idea why, but I could feel it close.

“Mom, I really don’t want to celebrate,” I said weakly.

I couldn’t help but look down as I continued, “Not when I’m still just … me, a human. I-I haven’t even shifted to my wolf form. I don’t think I can. I’m a failure.”

The Luna sternly said, “Don’t say that, Aria Williams!”

“You are still my daughter. To the hell with what people say,” my mother continued in an insistent tone while she brushed a stray hair behind my ear.

“Besides, I ordered the chef to make you your favorite cake!” she happily announced.

I perked up at the mention of cake and asked, “Chocolate?”

“You’re correct! Now come downstairs to the hall, okay? The pack is waiting,” my mother said while she was offering me her hand, which I reluctantly took.

For a while, I tried to control my breath. After all, the whole pack was waiting downstairs for me. Or, rather, they were forced to wait for me.

The truth was indeed very hurtful. I knew that no one wanted to wait for me, a hybrid. Not even my supposed mate, Benedict Harrow.

Still, I needed to come downstairs to please my mother. While the Luna seemed strong, I knew she had been getting weaker since last summer. My mother had worked tirelessly days and nights for our pack, but it weakened her. Only I knew about it as I worked alongside with her as her secretary.

“Mom, do you think they’ll really care?” I asked in a very quiet voice as I glanced at her before we opened the gate.

“Of course they will! They love you, Aria. You just have to give them a chance,” she replied excitedly.

Soon, the Luna opened the gate. The pack members looked at me for a while before the rain of confetti fell upon me and my mother. But I knew. They never really welcomed me.

“Surprise!” they all shouted with facades of enthusiasm.

“Whoa!” I said, forcing a smile as I felt my heart sink.

Nevertheless, I knew that I had to thank them.

So, I forced myself to say, “Thanks, everyone.”

Just like that, the party went on. But I felt detached. It was as if I was a mere observer in my own life.

On the other hand, I glanced around to search for Benedict, my fiancé, and the Alpha of the pack. That man promised me that he would attend my birthday party. Yet, he was nowhere to be found.

“Mom, have you seen Alpha Benedict?” I asked.

“He said he’d be here,” my mother replied while her eyes were searching the crowd.

“But you know how busy he can get,” she gently said as if she was trying to comfort me.

I just nodded my head slightly. Benedict had been distant lately. In fact, I knew that he was spending more time with Marina Lovell, his ex-lover, than with me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said, trying to dismiss my worries.

As the party continued, both my mother and I parted as I greeted the guests. However, I could feel the buzz of my phone in my clutch. The moment I saw the phone to check the message, my heart dropped. It was a message from our pack doctor, Tonya Lewis.

[Doctor Tonya: Aria, you need to come quickly. It’s urgent. Meet me at the right wing of the hall.]

Without further ado, I ran to the right wing of the hall. When I arrived at that place, a group of pack members stood together with pale faces. I knew something went terribly wrong.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice trembling.

The pack doctor, Tonya, came forward as she said, “Aria … it’s your mother, the Luna.”

“What happened with Luna Mara?” I asked Tonya.

“She collapsed. We need you to come here,” the doctor said with a heavy tone as if she was trying not to cry.

“No! She was fine just a moment ago!” I shouted in frustration.

However, I knew that the Luna wasn’t fine when I saw her. She was lying on the floor. Her pale face had said it all.

“Mom!” I shouted my heart out.

“Aria,” my mother called me with a voice that was barely a whisper.

She continued, “I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t say that! Just stay with me!” I kept shouting as tears streamed down my cheeks.

This had to be wrong. I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me. It was just too much for me to handle. Without realizing it, I began calling the Alpha through my mind-link.

‘Benedict? Where are you?’ I called Benedict through the mind-link in desperation.

No matter how many times I tried to contact him through the mind-link, the man who was supposed to be my fiancee still hadn’t responded yet. Where was he? The Luna, who had raised him into the capable Alpha, was dying, but the man wasn’t even here.

Then, I found the answer. From his mind-link, I could hear a feminine laugh. I knew very well the owner of the laughter. It was Marina’s laugh.

‘So, you’ve been with her all this time,’ I thought to myself sadly.

Soon enough, I ended my mind-link. It was useless, after all. Since the time was getting tighter, I would rather focus on my mother than the reason why Benedict couldn’t come.

“Benedict … is coming, right?” my mother asked.

My lips quivered as I answered her with a lie, “Yes, he’s on his way to meet us, Mom. He’s worried sick.”

“I’m glad I can trust him to protect you. I hope you’ll be happy, Aria,” the Luna said her final words as she closed her eyes.

Not long after that, my mother drew her final breath.

It was the moment when I realized that my world had shattered. Someone whom I dearly loved had gone from this earth. Not only that, her death would haunt me as I lied to her.

In her last drew of breaths, she was still thinking that my fiancee would come. But he would never go to meet her for the last time. This would be something that I would bear with regret until the end of my life.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said quietly as I kissed her forehead for the last time.

‘Benedict won’t come,’ I bitterly told myself in my heart.

It had been a week since my mother’s death, and I felt lost. The pain in my heart wouldn’t go away. Not only did I lose my mother, but I also lost Benedict. After all, the Alpha hadn’t come to see me nor the wake of my mother.

Again and again, I kept calling him through the mind-link to no avail. My fiancee wouldn’t respond even once. Eventually, the rest of the pack decided to cremate my mother per our pack’s tradition.

Honestly, it was really gut-wrenching to see the Luna’s lifeless body. There was no way that I would expect that this would turn out like this. In fact, I still couldn’t even believe this.

“Goodbye, Mom,” I said to her as I sent her to the crematorium.

Soon enough, the rain fell as my mom was being turned to ashes inside the crematorium. I planned to bury my mother’s ashes under the old oak tree where I used to play. Both she and I had lots of great memories there. Surely, it would be a fitting place for it, wouldn’t it?

However, fate didn’t seem to favor me.

Just when I was about to bury my mother’s ashes, I saw two people. Benedict and Marina. Instantly, I gritted my teeth out of anger. Why the Alpha didn’t even come to my mother’s funeral? Was everything that the Luna had given to that man nothing for him?

The first thing Benedict said to me was, “Aria?”

He seemed to be surprised, especially with Marina by his side. Meanwhile, his likely mistress just smirked as she held him tightly to show off to me. But that was the least of my concerns.

“What’s wrong?” he asked again.

“What’s wrong?” I repeated in a sarcastic tone, trying to control my rising anger.

I kept asking him angrily, “You’re spending all your time with her! What about me? Did you even know about what happened to my mother?”

Before Benedict could answer, Marina spoke first, “Oh, Aria, you’re overreacting. We were just having some fun. Besides, I was having such a hard time here.”

“Anyway, this place is such a mess. You need to get it together, Aria,” Marina said, making another snide remark that I didn’t take very lightly.

“Well, perhaps if you’re not busy doing Moon Goddess-knows-what with my fiancee, I’ll have more time, Marina,” I icily replied to her.

As I expected, Benedict took that woman’s side and defensively responded, “Please give her a break, Aria. Marina is having a hard time!”

Marina quickly played victim as she pretended to cry, causing Benedict to go to her instead of me.

“I want to bury Bettina here,” she said as she brought a bright pink-colored urn.

When I heard it, I was left in shock.

“Bury Bettina, that little mutt?” I repeated again, bewildered.

“Why not?” the woman dismissively asked as she shrugged with a smug face.

Then, she arrogantly continued, “She was my beloved pet. My needs matter too, you know.”

I felt the anger bubbling up inside me.

“This is not about you! Do you want to bury your pet in her place?” I angrily asked her.

“Exactly!” Marina shouted back at me, proudly showing that she wouldn’t back down at all.

“If I want Bella to rest here, I will. It’s only fair,” she stated coldly.

Without realizing it, I began slapping Marina to the point where she fell. I had no idea that I could be that strong, but it happened. The young woman immediately turned to Benedict who quickly defended her.

“What the hell is wrong with you? It’s Marina’s pet. It’s not that big of a deal,” he angrily berated me.

I couldn’t help but scoff dismissively. However, it seemed that I made the Alpha even more upset because he did something unthinkable to me next. The man grabbed me by my collar.

“Are you trying to undermine me, Aria?” he icily asked in his Alpha voice.

Even though I was a hybrid, I could still feel the pressure of the Alpha voice. Instinctively, I shook my head to get off the pressure. While Benedict was still not satisfied, he just gritted his teeth angrily because he knew that I was still his betrothed.

However, I was really wrong when I thought that my wish would be respected. Marina glanced over at the silver-colored urn that I brought. As soon as I saw that woman’s malicious smirk, I knew that she wanted to do something bad.

“Benedict, Aria must’ve felt alone to the point she even copied me, pretending that her pet died so that she could bury it here too,” Marina began speaking maliciously as she pointed at the urn.

“How dare you!” I shouted in anger.

But before I could do anything, Benedict spoke again in his Alpha voice, “Throw that urn.”

Although I tried my best to not do that, I still threw the urn. Even when I tried to reach for it, it was already too late for me. The moment the urn fell to the ground, it shattered into a million pieces. My mother’s ashes scattered everywhere, drifting in the wind.

I could never believe the fact that Benedict dared to order me to throw the urn just like what happened earlier. All my memories with my mother came rushing into my mind before they slowly disappeared. My heart was so pained.

‘I’m sorry for not being able to protect you, Mom,’ I angrily said in my heart.

If only I wasn’t a hybrid, I might be able to protect you even more. Unfortunately, I was born as one. Was this my sin for being a hybrid?

No matter how I tried to replay what just happened, I knew that it already happened. The late Luna’s ashes had been carried by the wind. I couldn’t do anything at all.

“No!” I shouted in desperation as I tried to catch the ashes and failed.

“Aria, you shouldn’t be jealous of Marina. You should be more reasonable,” the man kept talking in a dismissive tone.

“Shut up! Do you know about what happened?” I angrily responded to him.

“Ask anyone what happened. My mother, Luna Mara Williams, died!” I continued before he spoke again.

The Alpha was stunned. His eyes widened for a while as if he were in disbelief, but he quickly shook his head as if he didn’t believe me. The same thing with Marina. It seemed that she didn’t expect this to happen.

Marina’s face went pale as she responded, “There’s no way it can happen! Aria must’ve lied! She’s a hybrid that we can never trust!”

“Do you think I’d lie about something as serious as this?” I coldly asked her.

Sensing that I wasn’t playing around, the woman faked crying again as she approached Benedict. I couldn’t help but feel disgusted by how stupid the Alpha could be. The only thing I hoped for this pack that it wouldn’t be ruined by a stupid man like my fiancee was.

“Aria, you have to understand. I know that you’re jealous. The pack needs a strong Luna. You’re a hybrid and you haven’t even shown to us whether you were able to shift or not. Please don’t lie to us,” he sternly said.

“If you don’t trust me, feel free to call the pack doctor, Lady Tonya Lewis,” I told him coldly.

Finally, the Alpha called the pack doctor, Tonya, to come into his presence.

“Lady Tonya Lewis, is that true that Luna Mara Williams died?” he asked in his Alpha voice.

As a response, the pack doctor nodded.

Tonya sharply glanced at Marina as the doctor coldly responded, “She may be a hybrid, but mind you, she’s Luna Mara’s daughter. Why would she lie when nobody will protect her now?”

After that, Tonya made a sarcastic remark, “She has been calling the Alpha through her mind-link to no avail. I wonder why.”

When Marina heard a sharp remark from the pack doctor, she went quiet. While Lady Tonya herself was a rigid woman who was shocked to see me, a hybrid, being brought here by my mother, she was a loyal aide. She had seen how I truly was despite being a hybrid, so she was on my side.

Benedict still looked shocked. Clearly, he was still trying to process everything. Not to mention, he was definitely feeling ashamed after he heard the pack doctor’s remark to him.

Eventually, he spoke, “Where is Luna Mara’s body? I want to visit her.”

“We already cremated her,” I coldly answered.

The moment Benedict heard my response, he approached me. His eyes were showing guilt, but I no longer cared about it. It was way too late.

He quietly said, “Aria, I’m sorry. I-”

I cut him off as I angrily yelled at my fiancee, “Shut the fuck up, Benedict! Do you know the urn you ordered me to throw away?”

Benedict went very quiet as I pointed at the broken urn.

“The ashes are stored inside the very urn you just ordered me to throw away in your Alpha voice, Benedict,” I kept talking as tears streamed from my cheeks.

“How could you do that to the very Luna who raised you! You were not even here when she died!” I yelled at him again.

“Don’t bring my past into this!” Benedict angrily yelled at me.

When I heard what the Alpha had just said, I scoffed before I responded, “My mother raised you. She believed in you. And now, you’re just throwing everything away for her?”

He defensively stated, “You know how I was. I was a rogue when your mother took me in. But that doesn’t mean I owe you anything. I have a pack to think about.”

The words hit me hard. My heart was shattered even more. How could I be so blind to fall for this kind of man? I was such an idiot!

Marina followed along as she said, “Maybe you should think less about yourself, Aria. After all, you’re the one who can’t even shift into a wolf.”

That was it. I had enough. Without further ado, I approached Marina and let out a silver dagger that my mother had given to me. After that, I quickly rushed into her before she even had time to react.

‘I’m done with all of this,’ I said to myself.

I might be a hybrid, but it didn’t mean I didn’t go through the harsh training every werewolf in our pack had gone through. All those training sessions had made me a very good spotter that could attack quietly. That was what I just did to Marina.

Marina quickly screamed as she held her bloodied cheeks.

“What are you doing?” Benedict angrily confronted me.

“You should be grateful that I spare her for desecrating the late Luna’s ashes,” I coldly retorted.

This time, I looked back at the Alpha as I walked closer to him and shoved him away in anger.

“You’ve done nothing but hurt me! You were supposed to be my fiancé, my partner, and you chose her instead!” I shouted my heart out.

Again, Benedict tried to talk, but I didn’t want to hear it.

“This is it, Benedict,” I quietly said.

My voice broke as I spoke, “I can’t do this anymore. I’m breaking off our engagement.”

His face fell, the realization of what I was saying hitting him like a punch to the gut.

The man quickly said, “Aria, please-”

“Goodbye, Alpha,” I coldly cut him off.