I was running.

All around me were wolves of many colors black, brown, grey, even white. Their glowing eyes pierced the night, but not a single one of them looked at me. My chest rose and fell in panic. As wolves, they should have been able to smell my scent, feel my presence. But no one turned. No one saw me.

"Why can't you see me?" I whispered, my voice weak.

They passed me like shadows, their paws pounding the earth, their breath heavy in unison. It was like I didn't exist. My legs trembled beneath me, the weight of the silence pressing against my chest. What if I really were dead?

I reached out desperately to touch one of them, but my hand slipped through like smoke. A chill spread up my arm. My knees buckled, and I fell to the ground. My mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out only emptiness.

And then beep.

The sharp sound cut through the darkness like a knife. I turned, searching, but the wolves vanished as if they were never there.

I snapped my eyes open.

The white ceiling of the pack hospital loomed over me, blinding against the dim dream I had just escaped. My body felt heavy, my chest rising and falling too fast. The smell of antiseptic and herbs clogged my nose, the one scent I had hated all my life. My head ached, and when I lifted a shaky hand, my fingers brushed over a thick bandage wrapped around my skull. Pain shot through me, making me wince.

A soft voice pulled me back to reality. "How are you doing, Nora?"

My gaze shifted, and I saw a woman in her early forties standing beside my bed. Of course, in human years, she would have been over eighty, but one of the few blessings of being a werewolf was that age hardly touched us. Her face was smooth, kind, her eyes glowing faintly gold.

"Why am I here?" My voice came out hoarse, and I frowned, the ache in my head pressing down on every word.

She smiled gently. "You were rushed in here by a warrior. Your whole body was soaked in blood." Her voice softened, concern seeping through her tone. "Nora, you've been unconscious for fifteen hours. Are you sure your nutrition is okay?" She looked at me with the eyes of a mother worried for her child.

Fifteen hours?

The memory of what happened rushed back like a nightmare. Helen's sharp heel slamming into my head, the mocking laughter that followed, the weakness in my legs as the world tilted. My chest tightened.

"Oh, moon goddess," I muttered under my breath. Fifteen hours of unconsciousness. Helen had finally pushed me to the edge of death. Sometimes I wondered if the goddess herself had made a mistake in sparing my life when my parents died. Why did I have to remain here, drowning in misery, when I could have gone with them?

Helen had already given me enough scars to fill a lifetime.

I clenched my hands weakly at my sides, my nails digging into my palms. What was I really? I couldn't even shift into my wolf, not at twenty-two. Most wolves shifted by fifteen. Even Helen, who was my age, had shifted long ago. She had it all-beauty, strength, a perfect wolf form. Her long brown hair always carried the sweetest scent, her oval-shaped face flawless, her curves enough to make any man desire her.

And me? Tiny, fragile, almost breakable. My hair was always wild, the strange deep blue-or was it grey?-making me look nothing like the others. I had heard the whispers: She doesn't even look like a wolf. Sometimes, I ask myself the same question.

"Don't worry, Nora," the nurse said softly, pulling me from my thoughts. "With time, you'll heal. Just take this medication and rest. Alpha Johnson said he'll see you soon."

Her words jolted through me like lightning.

Alpha Johnson.

My precious uncle. The man who raised me when my parents were gone. The only peace I had in this pack, the only one who showed me care when Helen made my life a living nightmare.

But... why did he want to see me now?

My thoughts drifted back to the shadow I had seen before collapsing. At the far end of the hallway, someone had been watching me. For a moment, I had thought it was him. But was it really? Or was I just hallucinating from the blood loss?

I touched the bandage again, wincing at the sting. My healing was slower than most wolves. Another reminder that I wasn't like the others.

The nurse excused herself, leaving me alone with my thoughts. The silence wrapped around me, heavy and suffocating. I closed my eyes, and Helen's words replayed in my mind.

She doesn't even know what she is. Uncle would kill us if she found out.

The memory sent chills crawling over my skin. What had she meant? What was I?

The door creaked suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts. My heart skipped. Slowly, the door opened, and Alpha Johnson stepped inside. His tall frame filled the room, his aura commanding respect. His eyes locked on me, and for a fleeting moment, I thought I saw something worry. Or was it guilt?

I swallowed hard, the words stuck in my throat.

"Uncle..." I whispered.

He didn't answer immediately. He walked closer, his boots silent against the floor, his presence overwhelming. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and unreadable.

"Nora, there's something you need to know."

My chest tightened, my pulse racing. His eyes held mine, sharp and heavy, as though he was deciding whether to say more or keep the truth buried forever.

The room felt colder.

My lips parted, but no sound came out. Deep inside, I knew whatever he was about to reveal would change everything.

But before he could continue, the door slammed open.

Helen walked in, her eyes narrowing on me, then flicking to her father. Her lips curled into a smile, but it wasn't kind it was venomous.

"Father," she said sweetly, her voice dripping poison. "What are you doing here with... her?"

The silence that followed was sharp, dangerous. My heart pounded as Alpha Johnson's jaw clenched. His gaze lingered on me, then on his daughter, and I felt the air in the room shift.

Something was about to break.

And I wasn't sure if I was ready for the truth.

"How are you, my princess?" Alpha Johnson's voice was gentle, carrying the kind of warmth every child dreamed of receiving from their father. His lips curved into a soft smile as his gaze settled on Helen.

"Daddy, I would like to see you," Helen said, her tone sharp, her eyes flickering in my direction with a look of pure disdain.

Her glance pierced through me like knives. What did I do to this girl? No matter what I said, no matter how I behaved, she always found a way to ruin my peace. It was as if my mere existence was an offense to her.

"Little Nora," Alpha Johnson said, turning to me. "I will talk to you later. I need to attend to my daughter first."

My heart clenched painfully at his words. The man who stood before me, the one who was supposed to protect me, to guide me, to value me as family, dismissed me with such ease. He chose Helen, again. He always chose Helen.

I tried to hold my composure, tried not to let my face betray the storm raging inside. "Okay," I whispered, nodding.

He rose to his feet, his presence filling the room like a shadow, and walked away with Helen without sparing me another glance.

I was left alone with my thoughts, my heart aching as though it had been torn into pieces. What was it he had wanted to tell me before Helen interrupted? Could it have been something about my dead parents? Some truth I had longed to hear? I would never know at least not now.

I sank deeper into the bed, the wooden frame creaking beneath me. The room fell silent, almost too silent, and the stillness pressed against my chest until it was hard to breathe. My mind drifted back into memories I had tried countless times to bury.

Why did life have to be this way? Why couldn't I have a father who put me first, just once, before anyone else?

I sighed and rubbed my temples. Maybe that was too much to wish for.

Everything that had happened to me lately, all the cruelty, all the whispers, made me wish I could just disappear. Maybe I could run away, like Helen's mother had done years ago. The stories still circled the pack, whispered with venom and curiosity.

When the burden of being Luna became too heavy, when Alpha Johnson stopped accepting her, Helen's mother had nearly turned into a servant within her own home. The rumors claimed it was because she and Alpha Johnson were not true mates he had chosen her, mated with her by his own will, and when the initial love faded, there was nothing left. The bond was shallow, fragile.

The pack members had complained, murmuring that it was doomed from the beginning, because only a chosen mate bond could hold true.

Eventually, Helen's mother ran away. She fled with her daughter, desperate to start over, to escape the suffocating life she had fallen into. But Alpha Johnson chased her down, tore Helen from her arms, and nearly killed her for the betrayal.

And yet... he adored Helen.

Even now, I still didn't understand why he loved her so much, why he could bend mountains just to see her smile. That girl, who wore cruelty on her lips as if it were lipstick, was the apple of his eye.

Sometimes I wondered what my uncle truly was. He wasn't just feared by the pack, he was revered. Even the elders, men who had lived through blood and war, bowed at his word. His dominance was unmatched, his power absolute. And yet... why did he treat me differently? Why was his love always so conditional?

The ache in my chest deepened.

A sudden knock on the wooden door broke my thoughts. The sound jolted me, sharp against the silence.

"Come in," I said softly, pulling the blanket tighter around me.

The door creaked open. The nurse entered first, her familiar smile bringing a small comfort. But behind her was someone else. A tall figure stepped into the room, his presence commanding, though not in the overbearing way of an alpha.

He was young, perhaps a few years older than me, yet his aura radiated strength. His pale skin carried a resemblance to my own, his curly short hair neat, his jaw strong. He was well-built, with broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his tunic, the definition of a warrior.

My breath caught in my throat. My jaw dropped before I could stop myself.

He was... breathtaking.

But it wasn't just his appearance that struck me. It was something else. Something deep in my veins stirred, a ripple beneath my skin, as if my very soul recognized him.

He smiled, and the room seemed brighter. "How are you doing, Nora?" His voice was deep, steady, the kind of voice that could anchor you even in a storm.

Shock flashed across my face. "I'm... getting better. But how do you know my name?"

The nurse chuckled lightly. "He is the warrior I told you about, the one who brought you in yesterday. If not for him, you might not be sitting here now."

Realization washed over me, followed by gratitude. My lips curved into a small smile. "Thank you... Thank you so much for saving me. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't found me in time?"

He laughed gently. "I'm glad you can talk now. Yesterday, you were so unconscious, I thought you had died." His tone was playful, but the seriousness behind his eyes betrayed his words.

Relief and something else, something unexplainable warmed my chest.

"I'm Warrior Ellia," he said, stretching out his hand.

I hesitated for a moment, then placed my hand in his. "I'm Nora Anderson."

The instant our skin touched, a wave of heat surged through me, flooding my veins. It wasn't the tingling spark of a mate bond that the elders often described. No, this was different. Stronger in some ways, and yet not romantic.

It was as though my blood itself recognized him.

I stiffened, trying to hide my reaction, but Ellia's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had felt it too.

A warm, almost electric current pulsed between us, leaving me breathless. My heart raced, not with desire, but with confusion.

What was this?

It couldn't be a mate bond. I had read enough, heard enough to know how a mate bond felt desire, passion, yearning. But this was something deeper. Something primal.

Like family.

I pulled my hand back quickly, my mind whirling. Why did this stranger, this warrior I had never met before, feel like... home?

Ellia tilted his head, studying me with unreadable eyes. "Strange," he murmured.

"What's strange?" I asked, my voice lower than a whisper.

For a heartbeat, silence hung heavy in the air.

Finally, he smiled again, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're safe, Nora."

But I wasn't convinced. That moment that spark lingered in my veins like an unspoken truth.

And I knew, deep down, that this wasn't the end. Whatever connected us wasn't chance.

It was blood.

"I have to take my leave now, Nora," Elias smiled, his dimples pressing into his cheeks like they were carved just for moments like this. "The Alpha has me running errands all day. I just came to see if you finally woke up." His voice carried a playful tune, like he was trying to hide the weight of his duties behind light words.

"Alright," I chuckled, though it sounded thinner than I wanted. My lips pulled into a smile, genuine this time. "Thank you for coming. I really appreciate your kindness. Thank you once again."

He paused for a second, his eyes lingering on mine like he wanted to say more. Instead, his shadow stretched across the pale wall of my room as he turned toward the door. "I will see you around after you're discharged," he said, his voice echoing softly, almost too gentle for a warrior.

"You'll be discharged tomorrow, Nora. You are already healing, and I can see you're getting stronger," the nurse added with a bright smile. Her presence always reminded me of sunlight breaking into a dark room temporary, but warm enough to make you forget for a heartbeat how cold the world really was.

As soon as they left, silence poured in, thick and heavy.

"Oh, shit," I muttered under my breath, covering my face with the thin hospital blanket. Why can't I just stay here? I don't even like medication, but these three days of lying in this room have given me a kind of peace I've never tasted before. Peace that doesn't exist outside these walls.

Outside, Helen waits. Her cruelty. Her sharp tongue and sharper eyes. The rot of her presence, the constant reminder that I don't belong, that I am the stain no one wants to see.

Why can't I just disappear?

The door clicked shut and the sound echoed through my bones. My chest ached as I looked around. No Ellias, no nurse, no warmth. Just silence. The kind that presses into your ears until it feels like the world is holding its breath.

The room suddenly felt colder. A shiver ran down my spine and I wrapped the blanket tighter around me. Alone. Always alone.

Why does it feel different after Ellias  leaves? Why does the emptiness sharpen, almost like something inside me reaches for him, only to grab air? First the Alpha, now Ellias  both holding back pieces of something I'm not allowed to see. Something I'm too small to understand.

What is this feeling?

I stared up at the ceiling, my thoughts clawing through me. If only I could see the Moon Goddess, maybe she would have the answers. Maybe she would tell me why I was cursed to live this way wolf-less, unwanted, unloved.

If I had my wolf, she would be my friend. My companion. My other half. I've heard so many stories  whispers in the corridors, drunken boasts at the feast fires, gossip from young wolves fresh after their first shift. They say your wolf speaks to you, becomes your comfort when the world turns cold.

They say it's like having a sister who never betrays you, a brother who never abandons you. They say your wolf teaches you strength, whispers courage when you think you're too weak to rise.

But me? Nothing. Silence.

I've never shifted. Never heard that voice in my head. Never felt that bond everyone else seems to carry so easily.

Every time I see a packmate talking to themselves in low murmurs, their eyes glazed in that tell-tale way, I know it's their wolf. I see the tiny smiles tug at their lips, the secret conversations I'll never be part of. And jealousy burns me alive from the inside out.

Why me? Why was I chosen to be less?

Maybe the Moon Goddess is punishing me. Maybe she hates me the way the pack does. Maybe that's why she never gifted me with my wolf.

I turned on my side, pressing my palm against my chest as if to calm the storm inside. The truth waiting for me tomorrow made my stomach churn.

Even with my health unsteady, I still have to leave. Still have to face Helen's cruelty again. Still have to pretend I'm strong when all I want is to break into a thousand pieces.

I sighed, long and heavy, trying to empty the pain out of me. The room blurred as my eyelids grew heavy.

And then, without warning, I drifted.

At first, I thought it was sleep. But it wasn't.

The world around me changed, slow and strange, until the white walls melted into silver shadows. The ceiling dissolved into a night sky, painted with a thousand stars that pulsed brighter than I'd ever seen. The air carried a hum, soft but unshakable, like it wanted to speak but couldn't yet find the words.

My breath caught.

This wasn't the hospital.

I looked down at myself, but my body shimmered like smoke, fading and solid all at once. A dream  but no dream I'd ever known.

And then I saw it.

The moon. Full, luminous, so close it felt like I could reach up and touch it. My chest ached at the sight, my heart beating against my ribs like it was trying to answer some call only it could hear.

A voice not spoken, but felt  brushed through me like the wind.

"Nora..."

I froze. My hands trembled. My heart skipped so hard it hurt.

Who was that?

The sound was soft, distant, but familiar in a way that tore me open. Like a whisper I'd been waiting my whole life to hear.

I spun around, searching the silver shadows. Nothing. Only the stretch of stars, the endless pull of the moon above.

But the voice came again, clearer this time.

"Nora..."

The air grew colder. My skin prickled. My chest tightened as if invisible hands were pressing down, forcing me to listen.

Was it?

Could it be?

My wolf?

Tears stung my eyes before I could stop them. My throat closed around a sob I didn't dare release. For the first time, I felt the brush of something inside me. Something that wasn't just my loneliness screaming back at me.

But then the silver sky began to crack. A shadow cut across the moon. Darkness swallowed the stars one by one, like teeth biting through light.

And just as the voice was about to speak again, the entire world shattered into blackness.

I gasped awake, my chest heaving, my blanket damp with sweat. My heart thundered in my ears so loud I thought it would burst.

The hospital room was back. White walls. Silent air. Empty bed beside mine.

But I wasn't the same.

Because for the first time in my life, I wasn't sure if I was truly alone.

And somewhere deep inside, I swore I heard a faint, broken whisper a voice cut off too soon.

Tomorrow, Nora.

I swallowed hard, pressing my fist to my chest. Tomorrow. Something waits for me tomorrow.

But is it my wolf? Or something far more dangerous?