"They're already calling you the cursed one, they are not to be blamed, you're Eighteen and still no wolf? That's gotta be some kind of sick record."
My sister's voice was sickly sweet as she leaned against the doorframe of my room, arms crossed, eyes dripping with mockery.
"Maybe the Moon Goddess forgot you exist, Kiera."
She said laughing. My hands clenched around my gym bag.
Don't cry. Don't react. Don't give her the satisfaction of seeing you hurt.
But it was too late.
The humiliation settled like a stone in my stomach and Cassandra saw it, she always does.
"Seriously though,"
"what kind of Beta can't even shift on her birthday? Goddess, even the omegas pity you."
"The Moon Goddess gives wolves in her own time."
I said trying hard not to sound pathetic.
"Oh, please,"
She sneered, flipping her golden curls.
"Stop using that excuse. You're just a disgrace to the our bloodline."
I paused. That word. Disgrace, I have heard it so many times that it stopped stopped stinging.
Not when Dad makes sure to remind me of how much of it I was to him, the pack whispered it and even I whispered it to my own self.
I turned sharply.
"At least I don't bully people to feel better about myself."
Her smirk twitched.
"Oh sweetheart, I'm not bullying. I'm educating, besides I'm already better than you in every sense."
She stepped closer, invading my space.
"You really think Dorian's going to stay interested in someone like you? A mate who can't even shift?
Goddess, it's pathetic."
The mention of his name sent my heart into overdrive.
Dorian.
My mate….The future Alpha.
The only person in this cursed pack who didn't look at me like I was garbage.
A soft growl sounded behind me.
Finally, he was here to save me from Cassandra's sharp tongue.
I didn't have to look. I felt him. His presence was like gravity, pulling, fierce, undeniable.
"Cassandra."
Dorian's voice was low, dangerous.
"Step back."
Lydia turned pale. She forced a smile and stepped away from me instantly. "Alpha," she purred, with a sweet voice.
"We were just talking."
"No,"
he said.
"You were harassing my mate."
Mate.
He said it so clearly, so fiercely
At least there was someone who wasn't ashamed of me.
Cassandra blinked.
"I—I didn't mean"
"Leave."
She scurried off like a kicked pup.
"Are you ready?"
He said picking up my bag
"You okay?"
"Don't."
"I'm fine,"
I whispered, even though I wasn't.
Not even close.
He reached for my hand, intertwining our fingers,
"I told you, Kiera. I don't care that you haven't shifted, you think I give a damn? I've waited three years for you. I'd wait three more you're mine and will always be."
"I know…"
But I didn't sound convincing. Not even to myself.
He cupped my cheek.
"Then stop looking like you're waiting for me to reject you."
"I'm not,"
I lied.
He leaned in, whispering low so only I could hear.
"You're going to shift, Kiera. I feel it. She's in there, just waiting."
I nodded, eyes burning.
Dorian might believe in me. But no one else did.
Not my father, who couldn't even look me in the eye anymore.
Not my sister, who treated me like dirt. Not even the pack, who whispered behind my back every time I walked by.
No wolf. No worth.
That's how it worked here.
—
By the time I got home, the mask I wore all day was cracking.
"You're late,"
Dad snapped as I stepped inside.
"Again!"
"Sorry. I got held up."
"By Dorian?"
Mom chimed in from the kitchen.
"He needs to stop coddling you. You're making a fool of this family."
I gritted my teeth.
"He's my mate."
"And you're still wolfless,"
Dad barked.
"Do you know what that makes us look like? A Beta family with a defective daughter."
Ouch, defective.
That one hurt more than usual.
"I didn't choose this,"
I said, voice shaking.
"No,"
Cassandra smirked, stepping into the room, arms folded.
"But Dorian did. But of course its for now."
I narrowed my eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She smiled sweetly.
"You really think he's going to make you Luna like this? Can't even shift, can't protect the pack, can't link minds…."
"Shut up."
I said boiling with anger.
"Girls,"
Mom warned.
But she wasn't done.
"The council won't approve you. And when they force him to choose someone else, don't say I didn't warn you."
"You're just jealous….."
"I'm strong. I shifted at fifteen. I earned my wolf. You're just… a burden, Its the harsh reality Kiera."
I snapped.
"Say that again…."
"Kiera!"
Dad roared.
"Enough."
I stepped back, breathing hard. My hands were clenched into fists. Cassandra smiled, victorious. She loved pushing until I snapped, and I always fell for it.
"Get out of my sight,"
Dad growled.
"You're an embarrassment."
So I did.
I ran.
—
I didn't know where I was going until I got there.
The edge of the woods, where Dorian and I first kissed. The wind howled through the trees, and for a moment, I wished I could just disappear into it.
"Why won't you come out?"
I screamed to the forest.
"Why won't you shift? I need you…"
I dropped to my knees, crying heavily, fingers digging into the dirt.
The pain in my chest burned hot and almost felt physical.
"I'm your mate,"
I said to the wind, to the wolf that wasn't there.
"I deserve you…"
But there was nothing.
No stirring…..No voice.
Just silence.
But then… I heard it.
Soft footsteps. The familiar scent of pine and cedar wrapping around me like warmth against the cold.
Dorian.
"How did you know I'd be here?"
He didn't say anything at first. Just crouched down beside me, his presence steady, unmoving but comforting. And then, slowly, he reached for my hand.
"Kiera,"
he murmured, voice low.
"You don't have to do this alone."
I let out a shaky breath, squeezing my eyes shut.
"I don't know if I'll ever shift, Dorian,"
I admitted, the words barely above a whisper.
"What if… what if this is all I'll ever be?"
His fingers tightened around mine.
"Then I'll love you as you are."
That broke me, he loved me this much and I might end up not being by his side.
He held me, arms strong, comforting me in the way only he could.
"You're not weak,"
he said softly.
"You're not a disgrace. And I swear to the Moon Goddess, I will never let anyone make you feel like you are."
I didn't answer right away. But for the first time in a long time, I wanted to believe him.
As if in sync, the wind howled through the trees, but this time, it didn't feel empty. It felt like a whisper, a promise.
Maybe I wasn't broken.
Maybe… my time just hadn't come yet.