Chapter 3

The teacher finally walked in, older wolf with greying hair and a limp he never explained. He dropped a stack of papers on the desk and started writing on the board without a glance toward us.

I could still feel Ava's stare on the side of my neck.

But at least I had something to look at besides her face. Something to think about besides the fact that I didn't have a wolf. That I might never have one. That my birthday was in three days, and every second felt like it was tightening a noose around my throat.

If it didn't come—if my wolf didn't show—I was done. Officially marked as a failure.

Some packs kicked wolfless members out. Others let them stay and suffer.

Silver Claw? They liked to make examples.

My nails dug into my palms as I stared blankly at the notes on the board. I didn't take them. I didn't even see them. I was too busy thinking about how many more mornings I could survive like this. How many more bleach-soaked uniforms, how many more smug insults, how many more fake apologies masked as accidents.

Something had to give. Eventually.

Either me, or them.

The thing is... Ava isn't just some random mean girl with pretty eyes and a mean mouth. No. She's the Beta's daughter. That means something in Silver Claw. It means power. It means immunity. It means she can rip someone's hair out in the hallway and still get praised for having "spirit."

And her older brother? He's next in line to be Beta after their father steps down—once Leon takes the Alpha title, that is.

Leon.

Gods, that name.

The moment it crosses my mind, I can feel my stomach twist in that ridiculous way I hate. The same way it does every time I see him. Because Leon isn't just some powerful wolf. He's the wolf. The one every girl in this gods-forsaken pack dreams about. He's twenty-one. Tall, broad-shouldered, with that midnight-black hair and those eyes that look like they were carved out of onyx. Cold. Distant. And he carries it all like he was born with the world under his heel.

Which, let's be honest, he kind of was.

Leon's father is the current Alpha, and one of the fiercest leaders Silver Claw has ever had. But tradition binds even the strongest. And here, in our sacred, rule-bound little hell, no wolf can take the Alpha throne without finding their fated mate. The bond has to be sealed before the title is passed down. That's how it has always been

So, Leon is still waiting to find his.

While everyone else watched

Some wolves find their mates early, just after their first shift. Some don't find them until their mid-twenties—or not at all. For Leon, the whole pack is holding its breath. The longer he goes mate-less, the more pressure builds. Everyone wants to be the one. Girls throw themselves at him like he's the Moon Goddess reincarnated in leather jackets and growls.

And Ava? She's made it her life's mission to convince everyone—including herself—that she's the chosen one.

Her birthday's in three days.

Funny. Mine is, too.

The irony could kill me.

She's everything I'm not. Tall, perfect, vicious in all the right ways. Blonde hair that always falls in perfect waves no matter the weather, ice-blue eyes that command attention, and a voice sharp enough to slice through steel. She walks into a room and people move. I walk in and people don't even look up—unless they're checking if I've tripped yet.

Ava's been parading around for weeks, telling anyone who'll listen that she's going to be Leon's mate. That it's fate. That it's written in the stars. No one questions it. Not unless they want to end up with a bloody lip and a black eye.

Because Ava doesn't just talk. She acts. She's ambushed girls in the hallways, clawed faces, pulled hair, smashed heads into lockers—all for the crime of daring to glance at Leon for too long.

And what does the pack do?

Nothing.

No one says a damn thing. No punishment Nor warnings Because Ava is untouchable. Because she's the Beta's daughter.

Not that any of it has anything to do with me. I'm not stupid. Leon doesn't even know I exist. I'm invisible to him. Just another shadow in the halls, another nameless omega he'll never speak to, never look at.

And that's fine.

Really.

Because the last thing I want is Ava's eyes on me for real. Right now, I'm just a speck. Not worth her time. But if she ever thought I was a threat... even by mistake...

Yeah. No thanks.

So when the classroom door opened and Damian walked in—with Leon right behind him—my whole body stiffened like it always does. Like it's been trained to.

Damian is Ava's older brother. Twenty years old. Sharp-featured, all cocky grins and dark eyes that don't hide how much he enjoys being cruel. He only ever pays attention to me when he's bored and looking for something to kick. He usually finds me.

They strode into the room like they owned the air itself. A couple of other high-ranked wolves followed them in—names I didn't bother to learn because they didn't matter. They all sat in the front row, the seats reserved for the important ones. The ones that mattered. The ones with wolves who answered when they called.

The moment Leon sat down, a wave of whispers swept through the room. Girls sighing. Fanning themselves. Eyes wide and full of dreams they'd never realize. It was pathetic, but also... familiar. Because even I couldn't stop the way my gaze moved toward him.

And then, instinctively, toward Ava.

She was sitting three rows ahead, but her focus was locked—completely, obsessively—on Leon. She hadn't even blinked since he walked in. Her lips were parted slightly, her body angled toward him like she thought that would make the bond appear faster. It was disgustingly d esperate. But in a weird way, I almost felt bad for her.

Almost.

The teacher called out drawing their attention back to him ending the chaos as he started writing today's topic on the board: The Role of Alpha Bloodlines in Pack History.

Fantastic.