Chapter One: The Girl Without a Wolf
1178 Words
The night my pack sold me to the devil began like every other humiliation in my life.
With laughter.
The Moonshadow Pack gathered beneath the full moon, forming a wide circle in the clearing. Torches burned along the edges of the training grounds, their flames flickering against the tall pine trees that surrounded us. The air smelled of smoke, damp earth, and the sharp metallic scent of anticipation.
It was the night of shifting.
Every year, wolves who had come of age gathered here to prove themselves before the Alpha and the entire pack.
For most of them, it was a celebration.
For me…
It was a public execution.
“Look who showed up.”
The whisper came from behind me, followed by a soft snicker.
I kept walking.
I had learned long ago that answering them only made things worse.
“Maybe tonight the miracle finally happens,” another voice said mockingly. “Maybe the useless girl finally grows a wolf.”
More laughter followed.
My fingers tightened around the sleeves of my worn jacket, but I kept my head down as I stepped into the clearing.
The moon hung high above us—large, silver, and painfully bright. Its light spilled across the ground like liquid glass, bathing the wolves in its glow.
Moonlight gave wolves strength.
Moonlight awakened the wolf inside them.
But for me…
It had never done anything at all.
Twenty-two years.
Twenty-two years under this same moon.
And still nothing.
No wolf.
No shift.
No power.
Among werewolves, that wasn’t just unusual.
It was shameful.
My eyes lifted toward the raised stone platform where Alpha Kael stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His dark hair stirred in the night breeze as he watched the gathered pack with sharp, calculating eyes.
Beside him stood Beta Marcus and several of the pack elders.
Judges.
Witnesses.
Executioners of reputation.
The moment Alpha Kael’s gaze landed on me, his jaw tightened.
Not with anger.
With disappointment.
That hurt more than anything.
Because once, long ago, my mother had been one of the most respected wolves in this pack.
Strong.
Loyal.
Fearless.
People used to look at me and expect the same greatness.
Now they only saw her greatest failure.
Me.
“Lira Vale,” Alpha Kael’s deep voice echoed across the clearing.
My stomach twisted.
“Step forward.”
Every eye turned toward me.
Some curious.
Some amused.
Most simply waiting for the entertainment to begin.
I forced my legs to move.
Each step toward the center of the clearing felt heavier than the last.
The dirt crunched softly beneath my boots as I stopped several feet away from the stone platform.
Alpha Kael studied me for a long moment.
“You understand why we gather tonight,” he said.
I nodded.
“Yes, Alpha.”
My voice sounded steady, even though my heart was hammering.
“Then show us,” he said.
A murmur rippled through the pack.
Some leaned forward eagerly.
Others crossed their arms, already expecting the outcome.
I closed my eyes.
Just like every year before.
Just like every failed attempt.
The moonlight washed over my skin, cool and electric.
I reached inward, searching for the wolf everyone insisted lived inside me.
Come on.
Please.
Just once.
Just this once.
For a moment…
I felt something.
A flicker.
A spark of warmth deep inside my chest.
My breath caught.
Hope surged through me so quickly it almost hurt.
There.
Something was there.
Something real.
My hands trembled as the sensation grew stronger, spreading through my veins like fire.
Gasps rose from the pack.
“She’s doing it—”
“Wait—”
The warmth surged.
Brighter.
Hotter.
Then—
It vanished.
Like a candle blown out by the wind.
The silence that followed felt heavier than stone.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
The clearing looked exactly the same.
My body hadn’t changed.
My hands were still human.
And the pack was staring at me.
Again.
Nothing.
A cruel laugh broke the silence.
Then another.
And another.
The sound spread through the clearing like wildfire.
“She failed again.”
“Twenty-two years and still nothing.”
“Maybe she’s not even a real wolf.”
My chest tightened, but I forced myself not to react.
Humiliation was nothing new.
I had lived with it my entire life.
But then Alpha Kael raised his hand.
The laughter died instantly.
His expression had changed.
Something darker had settled into his eyes.
“Tonight’s gathering is not only about shifting,” he said slowly.
A ripple of confusion moved through the pack.
“What do you mean, Alpha?” someone asked.
Kael’s gaze remained fixed on me.
“Earlier this evening,” he said, “I received visitors.”
The word visitors made the elders shift uneasily.
A cold feeling crawled up my spine.
“Visitors from where?” Beta Marcus asked.
Alpha Kael didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward the dark tree line beyond the clearing.
Then he spoke a single word.
“Vampires.”
The reaction was immediate.
Growls erupted across the clearing.
Several wolves shifted partially, claws extending as their instincts flared to life.
“Impossible!”
“They wouldn’t dare cross our borders!”
Kael’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
“They did.”
Silence fell again.
My heart began to pound harder.
Vampires.
Every wolf knew the stories.
Beautiful monsters who ruled the night.
Creatures who fed on blood and commanded terrifying supernatural power.
Our kind had fought them for centuries before a fragile treaty ended the war.
That treaty had kept the peace.
Until now.
“What did they want?” Marcus asked grimly.
Kael’s gaze moved back to me.
Something in my chest tightened.
“The treaty between our races has been broken,” Kael said.
“That means a debt must be paid.”
A murmur of unease spread through the pack.
“What kind of debt?” someone asked.
Kael didn’t hesitate.
“A life.”
The clearing erupted again.
“Whose life?”
“Who are we sacrificing?”
Kael raised his hand once more.
Then he pointed.
At me.
“The vampires demanded a tribute,” he said coldly.
“And we have agreed to give them one.”
My stomach dropped.
“Alpha…?” I whispered.
His voice showed no mercy.
“Lira Vale,” he announced to the entire pack.
“You will be delivered to the Vampire King before sunrise.”
The world tilted.
“What…?” My voice came out barely above a breath.
Kael’s expression didn’t change.
“You will serve as payment for our debt.”
A roar of shocked whispers exploded through the clearing.
But I barely heard them.
Because only one thought echoed inside my mind.
They weren’t sending me away.
They were giving me away.
To him.
The ruler of the vampire empire.
The monster whispered about in every supernatural territory.
The devil himself.
Lucien Draven.
And somewhere far beyond the forest…
The hybrid king was already waiting.
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