The Invitation Nobody Wanted
911 Words
The silence lasted exactly three seconds.
Then the courtyard erupted.
"Impossible!"
"A wolfless girl?"
"The Academy has lost its mind!"
Servants whispered.
Warriors frowned.
Even the royal wolves pulling the black carriages became restless, pacing against their harnesses.
Only Alpha Victor remained perfectly still.
His face had turned the color of fresh snow.
The envoy lowered the parchment but didn't take his eyes off me.
"You will leave at sunrise."
I blinked.
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
"I haven't even packed."
"You won't need much."
"I own three dresses."
"Then deciding should be easy."
A few servants snorted.
I couldn't help smiling.
"So this isn't a mistake?"
The envoy's expression never changed.
"No."
"My name wasn't confused with someone else's?"
"No."
"You definitely mean me?"
His answer came without hesitation.
"Especially you."
A strange chill crawled down my spine.
That wasn't reassuring.
It sounded like he'd been looking for me.
For a very long time.
"Enough."
Alpha Victor stepped between us.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"My daughter is not leaving."
The entire courtyard froze.
Serena looked at him in disbelief.
I probably looked the same.
Daughter?
That word hadn't crossed his lips in eighteen years.
The envoy folded the parchment carefully.
"With respect, Alpha..."
"This is not a request."
"It's my pack."
"It is."
"My family."
"It was."
The envoy's silver eyes hardened.
"But the Academy's authority outranks every Alpha in the kingdom."
The words struck like a slap.
No one argued.
No one even breathed.
For the first time...
I realized Mooncrest wasn't just a school.
It held power over the packs themselves.
Alpha Victor looked at me.
Really looked.
There was something in his eyes I'd never seen before.
Regret.
"I need a moment."
He turned and walked toward the manor.
"Lyra."
I hesitated.
Then followed.
His study smelled of cedar and old books.
He closed the door.
Locked it.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally...
He walked to a shelf hidden behind a faded tapestry.
I frowned.
I'd lived here for eighteen years.
I'd never noticed it.
He removed a small wooden box.
Old.
Dust covered every corner.
His hands trembled.
That frightened me more than the Royal Court had.
He opened it.
Inside lay a tiny silver bracelet.
Worn.
Scratched.
No larger than a child's wrist.
"I should have destroyed this."
I picked it up carefully.
Tiny letters were engraved inside.
For Lyra. Come back to me.
My throat tightened.
"...Who wrote this?"
He closed his eyes.
"Your mother."
I looked up so quickly the bracelet nearly slipped from my fingers.
"You knew her."
"Yes."
"You told everyone you didn't."
"I lied."
"Why?"
He looked older than he had an hour ago.
Because if you knew the truth...
"They would have killed you."
"They?"
The word barely left my mouth.
Alpha Victor didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he took the bracelet from my hands.
His thumb brushed over the tiny engraving as though he'd done it a thousand times before.
"I promised her."
His voice was almost a whisper.
"I promised I'd keep you hidden."
I stared at him.
Hidden?
From who?
"You've never hidden me."
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"You think I made you scrub floors because I hated you?"
I blinked.
"I..."
"No Alpha's daughter should have lived the life you did."
He looked away.
"I made you invisible."
The room fell silent.
"Because invisible people survive."
For the first time in eighteen years...
I didn't see the Alpha of the Ashwood Pack.
I saw a tired old man carrying a promise that had become too heavy.
"So everyone calling me worthless..."
I swallowed.
"...that was because of you?"
His jaw tightened.
"I allowed them to."
The words hurt far more than I expected.
Every insult.
Every lonely birthday.
Every meal eaten alone.
Every time Serena reminded me I didn't belong...
He had watched.
And done nothing.
"You could've stopped it."
"I know."
"You didn't."
"I know."
Anger flared inside me.
"You don't get to protect someone by destroying them."
His shoulders sagged.
"I ran out of better choices."
A heavy knock echoed through the study.
"My Alpha."
The royal envoy.
"We leave at sunrise."
Alpha Victor closed his eyes.
"Tell him... she needs more time."
"I'm afraid," the envoy replied through the door, "time is the one thing she no longer has."
A strange chill crept across my skin.
"What does that mean?"
Neither man answered.
The silence was answer enough.
That night...
Sleep refused to come.
I sat on the windowsill with the silver bracelet wrapped around my fingers.
The moon hung impossibly large above the mountains.
Somewhere beyond those peaks...
Mooncrest Academy waited.
A place I'd dreamed about as a little girl.
A place that apparently wanted me.
For reasons no one would explain.
A cold breeze drifted through the open window.
Then...
A voice.
Soft.
Female.
Ancient.
Don't trust the Academy.
I shot to my feet.
"Who's there?"
Only silence answered.
Then the voice returned.
Closer this time.
As if someone stood right behind me.
He broke his promise.
My pulse hammered.
"Who are you?"
A long pause.
Then—
Your mother couldn't save you.
The room suddenly turned cold.
So I will.
Before I could speak again...
Something moved outside the window.
Not a person.
Not a wolf.
A pair of enormous golden eyes opened in the darkness beyond the manor wall.
Watching me.
Waiting.
Then they vanished.
Leaving only one whispered sentence echoing inside my mind.
Run before the Academy arrives.
- Writer
