My father, Alpha Carmelo Wilson, had received Prince Leo Mills’ promise to leave Capri Jordan be, and so he no longer restrained her. She was free to cause chaos as she pleased. Even when she severed the hands of a maid for spilling hot tea on her favorite dress, he turned a blind eye.

I stood nearby, frozen in horror as I watched the scene unfold. Capri casually flicked the blood from her claws, ignoring the maid’s agonized screams as she collapsed to the ground. She pointed at the damp stain on her dress and looked down at me with a cruel smirk.

“Clean it up,” she ordered.

I didn’t hesitate, not even for a second. I knelt and licked the stain clean, my stomach churning with disgust. Capri burst into laughter, her voice ringing through the room.

“You’re such a dog,” she sneered.

I forced a smile, swallowing my pride. Without power or status, any show of defiance was a death sentence. I knew better than to challenge her.

Not long after, I conveniently fell “ill,” burning with a fever that left me bedridden.

Meanwhile, in the heart of the city, a pack tournament had taken place. The winner, a Delta named Karim Scott, had stunned everyone with his skill. He was a low-ranking wolf, yet he’d defeated every high-born warrior in the competition. His precision with a bow and mastery of close combat left the crowd in awe.

As the tournament ended, a bold female admirer stepped forward, declaring her feelings for him. Karim, however, remained unfazed.

“My heart belongs to another,” he said calmly. “I cannot accept your feelings.”

When pressed, he revealed the name of the one who held his heart: Capri Jordan.

The announcement sent shockwaves through the pack. Capri, already marked by Prince Leo, had been avoided by every male in the city since the bond was announced. No one dared to show her such public affection.

But Karim had, and it intrigued her.

Capri, who prided herself on her combat skills, had always been frustrated with her sparring partners. They were too afraid to truly challenge her, knowing her volatile temper. She had killed before in fits of rage, and no one wanted to risk becoming her next victim.

Curiosity piqued, Capri ran out to meet the man who had openly declared his love for her. She wanted to see this bold, reckless wolf for herself. After all, since her marking ceremony with Prince Leo, the males of the pack had kept their distance. Karim was the first to break that unspoken rule, and Capri couldn’t help but wonder what made him so different.

Karim Scott was nothing like Leo Mills.

Leo, the Lycan Prince, was the future of the pack, the one destined to be a benevolent ruler. Every word he spoke about me seemed to reflect the life he himself was bound to—a life of duty and expectation.

But Karim? He was different.

He was a rogue, a free spirit, untethered by the rigid hierarchy of the pack. His independence was intoxicating, enough to captivate a sheltered Omega like Capri, who had only ever dreamed of such freedom through whispers and tales.

Karim painted a picture of the world beyond the pack’s borders with his words, spinning tales of adventure and romance that made Capri’s heart race with longing. She was drawn to it, to him, like a moth to a flame.

On the night of the pack’s Moon Festival, Capri was caught sneaking out to meet Karim. Our father, the Alpha of the Wilson pack, was furious. He punished her severely, locking her away and forbidding her from leaving the packhouse.

But Karim wasn’t one to be deterred.

While the rest of the pack celebrated the festival with music and dancing, the Wilson packhouse was eerily silent. Karim appeared at the back of the property, where the woods met the edge of our territory. He released a hundred lanterns into the night sky, their glow illuminating the darkness like stars.

He scaled the wall with ease, finding Capri in her room, her eyes red from crying. Without a word, he scooped her up and carried her to the rooftop, where they watched the lanterns float higher and higher, the world below them alive with the sounds of the festival.

Capri was mesmerized, her heart pounding as she looked out at the scene.

Karim pointed to the distant pack grounds, where the festival was in full swing. “See that? That’s just a glimpse of what’s out there,” he said, his voice low and inviting. “A world where you’re not bound by rules or expectations. Where you can be free.”

Capri clung to his words, her heart swelling with a longing she’d never felt before.

When a group of rogue werewolves cornered her in the woods during one of their secret meetings, Karim appeared like a shadow, his strength and skill undeniable. He shifted into his wolf form, his dominance clear even without the title of an Alpha.

From that moment on, Capri was his.

She was swept up in the thrill of her first love, her heart racing with the promise of freedom.

But she forgot. She forgot the trembling voice of Florence Taylor, the Omega she had once maimed in a fit of anger. She forgot the girl’s desperate pleas as she lay bleeding in the packhouse, her hands severed.

“Please,” Florence had begged, her voice barely a whisper. “I have a mate... he’s training with the Delta warriors. When he returns, he’ll come for me. He’ll take me away from here. I just... I just want to be happy with him.”

But Florence never got her happy ending.

She died that night, her mate’s scent lingering in the air, her dreams of freedom and love extinguished forever.

And Capri? She was too lost in her own world to care.

---

As I watched her, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness. Karim’s charm, his freedom—it was all a facade, a fleeting fantasy that would inevitably crumble.

But Capri was too blind to see it.

She had always been the rebellious one, the one who fought against the constraints of our world. And now, she was willing to throw everything away for a rogue who promised her the world.

I knew better.

Freedom wasn’t something you could find in the arms of a man. It was something you had to carve out for yourself, no matter how difficult the path.

And Capri? She was too busy chasing a dream to realize that.

---

The night was silent, the lanterns now just distant specks in the sky. I turned away from the window, my heart heavy with the weight of what was to come.

Capri had chosen her path.

And I? I would choose mine.

But I wouldn’t be naive enough to believe in fairy tales.

Not when the world we lived in was anything but.

Capri Jordan had been missing for several nights, and Alpha Carmelo Wilson and Luna Angie Carr knew the truth deep down.

Yet, they couldn’t bring themselves to believe that their beloved daughter, the one they had spoiled for years, would do something so disgraceful to the pack’s honor.

The Wilson pack was in chaos. Alpha Carmelo suppressed the rumors outside, insisting that Capri had gone on a journey to explore the world. He strictly forbade anyone from mentioning the word “elopement.”

Alpha Carmelo and Luna Angie had a fierce argument, one that even turned physical.

“She’ll be nothing but a chosen mate now! This is what your parenting has led to!”

Meanwhile, my illness, which had plagued me for so long, finally began to subside.

But secrets don’t stay buried for long. News of Capri’s “travels” before her planned mark ceremony reached Lycan Queen Marilyn Jones.

The Queen was furious. She ordered artists to paint portraits of all the eligible daughters of high-ranking pack members, determined to find a new, proper mate for Lycan Prince Leo Mills.

It had been some time since I’d last seen Leo.

He looked haggard, his usual commanding aura dimmed. When he learned there was still no trace of Capri, disappointment flickered in his eyes.

Alpha Carmelo, noticing my absence from the portraits, realized the Queen’s disdain for the Wilson family. He grew anxious.

He studied my face, the one that bore a striking resemblance to my mother, Zhuri Hernandez, and suddenly exhaled in relief.

“Your beauty is the only legacy your mother left you. Use it wisely.”

I bowed my head submissively, agreeing without a word.

Once again, Alpha Carmelo approached Leo, this time about me.

And this time, Leo, weary and worn, nodded. He agreed to meet me.