The restroom door slammed shut. Cold water mixed with wolfsbane soaked through my clothes. Outside, my mate's voice drifted in. "Let them rough her up." "She'll survive." I bit my lip until I tasted iron. Hours later... I climbed over the stall door with a broken leg. By sunrise, I had already decided. I wouldn't fight for any of them again. Chapter 1 The morning after the First Moon Rite, Obsidian Pack announced the results. Every wolf our age had made their choice. My four childhood friends, the ones everyone said would lead Obsidian Pack someday, turned down Northreach Lycan Academy. All four of them chose to stay in the human world. "The pack matters, but nothing matters more than the five of us staying together." They wanted me to do the same. Leave the pack. Stay with them. And Kael Arden, the Alpha heir I'd been secretly in love with for years, sealed our mate bond beneath the laurel tree. The day my acceptance letter arrived, I ran straight back to the pack house. "She got her acceptance. We don't have to keep this up anymore, right?" I froze. My hands went cold. "Who'd actually leave the pack if they had a choice? Nobody wants to be a rogue out there. We just needed her to go quietly." "Does she think she's special? She's been tagging along since we were kids, acting like she's one of us. What, does she actually think she's the pack princess?" "She's always been a loner. The other girls never liked her anyway. Of course we're staying here with Elena." Every word cut straight through me. My wolf surged under my skin, snarling, clawing to get out. I shoved the door open. They saw my glowing, wild eyes, and for a split second, panic flashed across their faces. Not Kael. Kael didn't flinch. "You're the one who always told us to be more inclusive of Elena. We're finally treating her like a princess, and you're throwing a fit?" "Go live your life out there. Don't worry. We'll come visit you with her." I forced a smile. They didn't know my acceptance was from Hawthorne Defense Institute. They didn't know I'd already signed a classified NDA. They picked her over me. So I'd leave them all behind and never look back. ... "Lillian," Kael said, surprised. "You're not making a scene. You're actually keeping it together. I'm impressed." He expected tears. Maybe a meltdown. I gave him nothing. "If I did lose it, would you still leave with me?" No one answered. Kael adjusted his glasses. He wouldn't meet my eyes. "We were going to stay in the human world. But Elena... she said she couldn't handle it out there. Too dangerous, too complicated. She needed the pack's protection. She needed us to stay." The others nodded. "Your wolf is strong. You've hunted with us, trained with us, grown up right beside us. But Elena's different. She doesn't have a wolf. She's human. She can't go back to the world that hurt her, not without us. She wouldn't survive." "Then why didn't anyone tell me?" Kael's expression remained blank. "She needs us more than you do. You've always been independent. You'll be fine on your own." The rest of them stood there looking completely unbothered, like they hadn't just torn my whole world apart. "I understand." I made myself smile. Of all the wolves our age, I was the only one with white wolf blood. The elders treated me like a rare prize. And those four boys had always protected me. When we played pack games as kids, they used to fight over who got to be my protector. Kael... even back then, he'd always been the one who played my mate. We'd been inseparable our whole lives. I never imagined we'd end up standing in the same room with nothing left to say. The silence stretched. "Elena's eighteenth birthday is in a few days. Don't ruin it by throwing a tantrum." It was Ronan Voss who said it. The same Ronan who'd called me a tagalong five minutes ago. He couldn't remember where he left his own pack crest, but he knew another girl's birthday by heart. "Oh." I looked down. "I already got her something. She likes human-made jewelry, so I ordered a set." He scoffed. "She doesn't want that. She wants your Moonstone Blood Pendant." The air caught in my throat. The Moonstone Blood Pendants were sacred. The Elder Council had brought them back from the Lunar Shrine the year the five of us were born. Five stones. One for each of us. They sealed the Pack Bond between wolves born in the same generation, a bond that was supposed to last forever. My fist closed around my pendant. "Not happening." "Then give her the ceramic wolves." Ronan had already pushed past me into my room before I could stop him, pulling all five figurines off the shelf. "Here. Keep yours. She only wants the four that belong to us." We'd made them together when we were ten. Now the only one left on the shelf was the white wolf. Sitting there by itself. It looked pathetic. My wolf roared. "Touch those and you're dead to me, Ronan!" I lunged after him. My claws slashed the side of his wrist. Before I could get any closer, the other three stepped between us like a wall. Ronan stood behind them, staring me down. Not a shred of guilt on his face. "Fine, we're done. You say that every time you throw a fit. It doesn't mean anything." Chapter 2 Ronan walked out without looking back. I went after him, but Kael caught my arm and yanked me back. His voice turned ice-cold. "Don't do this, Lillian. You've had everything your whole life. Elena's different. She's an orphan." "Show her some kindness. Don't be so selfish." Hadn't I given enough already? She was human. Defenseless. I taught her self-defense myself. She'd never been anywhere. I spent all my free time showing her the pack's territory, every waterfall, every ridge, every sacred site. When the other girls froze her out, I pulled her into our circle. I made her belong. And for what? So they could toss me aside and leave me with nothing. I looked up at the boy I'd loved for six years. "What about you?" "Kael, was all of this because you have feelings for her?" "Did you seal our bond because you knew I'd never do long distance? Because you thought that would be enough to trap me here?" He hesitated. Then he pulled me into his arms, so hard it felt like he was trying to crush me against his skin. "No. My wolf and I chose you. You're my mate. It's just... Elena's your best friend. I couldn't leave her on her own. I thought you'd worry about her." I pressed my face into the hollow I'd dreamed about for years. And I felt nothing. "But leaving me alone out there, that's fine?" My voice almost broke. He didn't answer. "I'll visit you every month. Okay?" Whatever was left inside me shattered. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down. His thumb lifted to wipe away the tears I hadn't even noticed falling. I turned away. His hand hung in the air. His face went blank. His jaw clenched, and the patience drained out of his voice. "Lillian, grow up. Elena just needs people she can count on." "We're meeting Elena soon. We'll talk when you've calmed down." He let go of me and checked his phone. [I'll be there soon. Get the drinks started.] He smiled as he sent the voice note and walked out. I checked my phone. Nothing. The four of them had already started a new group chat with Elena Marlowe. Our old group, the six of us, had been dead silent for weeks. I wiped my face and called Elder Alden Holloway. "Elder Holloway, I'm leaving the pack. I report to Hawthorne Defense Institute at the end of July." He sighed. I could hear the heavy weight in it. "A wolf's path belongs to the wolf who walks it. Obsidian Pack respects your decision. Come to the pack hall tomorrow for the pack meeting. We'll formally process your departure." Chapter 3 The next morning, I caked concealer over the wreckage under my eyes and drove to the pack hall. My phone wouldn't stop buzzing the whole ride. PackNet notifications, all from Elena. I opened them. Photos from last night. They'd taken over the whole pack tavern, then taken Elena up Moonshadow Ridge to watch the sunrise. Elena's caption read: [The five of us will be together forever!] The comments were already piling up. [I'm so jealous. I want four hot guys protecting me too.] [She really replaced the childhood bestie huh. Queen energy.] I laughed under my breath and liked every single photo. Then the old group chat lit up, the one with the six of us that had been dead for weeks. [Elena was just posting whatever she felt like. You're the one who didn't show up.] [Don't be mad. We didn't leave you out on purpose.] [Elena just needs people around her. Don't take it out on her, okay?] I muted the chat. Elder Holloway and the council were already waiting. I signed everything. A flash of sadness crossed Elder Holloway's eyes, but his voice stayed steady. "You'll always be one of ours. If the human world ever turns on you, Obsidian Pack's doors are open. But... we always thought you'd be Kael's Luna." I managed a smile. "So did I." I was the first of the five of us to leave. The pack meeting started that evening. Kael and the others walked in with Elena in the center, flanked on all sides like she was royalty. That's when it hit me. Elena wasn't just accepted. She was popular. The other girls were already swarming her. "You know our pack has a pick-me girl, right?" One of the women laughed, sharp and mean. The rest of them snickered like they'd been waiting for this. "Who else? Lillian. She's always hanging around the future Alpha, the Beta, the Gamma, all of them. Everyone says she's been shopping for a mate from that group since day one." Someone let out a dramatic sigh. "No wonder she thinks she's above the rest of us. She's the precious white wolf, after all." I stared them down. I had never acted like I was better than anyone. My friends had always told me I didn't need anyone else, that having them was enough. After Elena came along, she'd pout every time I talked to the other girls. "You've got me as your best friend. Ignore them!" I had mistaken their possessiveness for loyalty. Elena gave them a syrupy smile. "That's just how Lillian is. Try to be patient with her." "That's hilarious. Why should we?" "She's got some nerve." They all laughed. "She grew up glued to a bunch of guys and thinks she's some kind of princess, but she doesn't exactly have the life to match. Now she's a rogue out in the human world. She won't even get the chance to throw herself at them anymore." My four childhood friends were right there. Kael, Ronan, Julian Thorne, Mason Calder. Not one of them said a word. They acted like they couldn't hear any of it. They just stood off to the side, glasses in hand, and let it happen. I hurled my champagne glass at the stone floor. It shattered, and champagne sprayed the girls nearest to me. Someone shrieked. "Who did that?!" I folded my arms. "I did." I didn't raise my voice. I didn't have to. The whole hall went quiet. Every girl who'd been running her mouth a second ago shut up fast. Their faces went pale when they looked at me. I looked at Elena first. Then at the four of them, standing right there, doing nothing. "A princess complex? Throwing myself at you? Name one time. One time I ever did any of that."
Not enough history yet to show a trend.