A SMALL VICTORY
876 Words
Elora
Lysander is sitting beside me when the room finally stills.
Not quiet—never quiet—but settled enough that I can breathe again.
My siblings aren’t here.
The king and queen decided it would be best they stayed at school, away from sharp tongues and sharper judgment. Rowan would’ve asked too many questions.
Seren would’ve noticed everything. I’m relieved they’re safe from this, even as a part of me aches that they’re missing it.
A victory.
A small one.
The Merrow family is welcome.
I should feel happy. I think. I try to locate the emotion the way one searches for a familiar word on the tip of their tongue. Instead, what I feel is… layered. Uneven. Like the ground beneath me has shifted and I haven’t decided whether to step forward or brace myself.
My whole life has been built around exile.
Around absence. Around being careful, invisible, grateful for scraps of normalcy.
And now—
Now everything is changing.
Do I let myself feel happy?
Or does that feel like tempting fate?
The realization hits me quietly, but it lands hard.
I am not as indifferent about being shunned as I pretended to be.
There’s something under my calm. Something tight and bitter and unresolved.
Resentment, maybe.
Confusion, definitely.
Grief—for the pack I never got to grow up in, the belonging that was taken before I could even miss it properly.
I tense without meaning to.
Lysander notices immediately.
He always does.
His hand finds mine—warm, steady—and before I can think better of it, he leans in and presses a kiss to my cheek.
Nothing dramatic. Nothing possessive.
And yet—
My breath catches.
It’s such a small act. And somehow, it feels louder than any announcement he’s made.
Scandalous, I think faintly.
He murmurs, “This is good. Are you okay?”
I swallow. “I just… don’t know what this means. It’s a big deal. A big change. I don’t want unfair treatment. I don’t want my friends—”
“River and Mera is invited too,” Lysander says easily.
I blink. “they are?”
"Totally" A voice cuts in.
"oh I didn't know you'd be here " says Elora.
“Future beta privileges,” a voice cuts in cheerfully. “Also curiosity.”
I turn.
Casper Ashborne—son of the future beta, broad-shouldered and perpetually amused—leans against the doorway like he’s been there the whole time.
“Where did you come from?” Lysander asks flatly.
Casper grins. “Had to see the drama up close. Also—Elora, your uncle? Incredibly entertaining.”
Kaelynn appears beside him, eyes sparkling. “I totally have a crush,” she sighs.
“Kaelynn, gross,” Lysander, Casper, and I say at the exact same time.
She scoffs. “What? That ‘I don’t care about authority’ attitude? If I were his age, I would’ve rebelled right alongside him.” She fans herself dramatically.
“He’s older,” I point out. “And he has a mate.”
Kaelynn shrugs. “Details.”
Lysander rubs his temples. “I don’t know where any of you came from, but this is getting weird.”
Casper claps his hands together. “We’re going to be a heck of a group.”
Despite everything, I laugh.
And for a moment—just a moment—the heaviness lifts.
The announcement spreads faster than I expect.
The Merrow family is officially welcome within the royal pack’s territory.
Letters follow.
Not just to us—but to others.
Banished families. Forgotten names. Old cases reopened.
The packs begin to stir.
And not everyone is happy.
Days later, as I walk back from class, I hear it before I see them.
“Unfair,” a voice sneers. “All because some exiled woman is sleeping her way into royalty.”
My steps slow—but I don’t stop.
I don’t turn around.
I meet Mera and River near the courtyard instead. Mera’s face lights up the moment she sees me. River looks stunned, like the world is rearranging itself in real time.
“This is really happening,” Mera says breathlessly. “I heard other banished
werewolves are petitioning to be heard.”
I nod. “There’s… something I didn’t tell you.”
Mera’s smile falters. “You’re making me nervous.”
“You’re both allowed to visit the royal pack,” I say quietly.
The silence that follows is heavy.
River blinks first. Mera presses a hand to her mouth.
From invisible… to invited.
I see it hit them all at once—the disbelief, the hope, the fear of disappointment.
And I realize then that their emotions mirror my own.
None of us know how to hold this yet.
The council knows it too.
Behind closed doors, fear is taking root.
Letters from exiled wolves flood in—measured, respectful, damning in their volume. Stories they buried. Questions they never answered.
High-ranking families bristle.
Tradition is being questioned.
Authority is being looked at.
And the most unsettling part?
The king is listening.
Change has a sound.
It’s not loud at first.
It’s the creak of old systems under pressure.
And everyone can hear it now.
- Writer
