Chapter 4

Another hour of pretending I care about who ruled who a hundred years ago while trying not to get caught staring out the window like I'm planning my escape.

Which, let's be honest—I kind of am.

Because no matter what the lesson is, no matter who walks into the room or who thinks they're going to end up mated to a throne, I can't stop the one question that's been chewing through my brain for weeks:

What happens after I turn eighteen?

Three days.

Three more sunrises.

And I'll either feel my wolf awaken inside me—or I won't.

There's no in-between. No "maybe later." This is the deadline. This is the moment everything either starts... or ends.

And no one is waiting for me. No one's watching me with hope. There's no prophecy tied to my name. No one thinks I'll surprise them. Hell, most people have already written me off. I'm the failure. The glitch. The wolfless omega who's supposed to scrub their floors and keep her head down.

I can feel the countdown in my bones. Every hour, every second, dragging me closer to something I'm terrified of.

I was so lost in my own head that I didn't even realize the class had gone silent—until the silence broke. Loudly.

Laughter exploded around me. Not the fun kind. The ugly kind. The kind that digs under your skin and scrapes at your ribs from the inside. I blinked fast, yanked out of my thoughts like I'd just surfaced from underwater, only to find myself in the middle of a nightmare.

The teacherwas staring at me.

That look on his face.

Not anger. Not even annoyance.

Pity.

The absolute worst emotion in the world.

"I asked you a question, Selene," he repeated, this time slower, as if I were hard of hearing. "Would you care to answer?"

I stood up too fast, the chair scraping loud against the floor. Awkward and jumpy. Definitely not cool. My face was already burning. I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks and behind my ears. The more I tried to seem unaffected, the more I felt like a lunatic.

They laughed harder.

A couple of them whispered my name with fake concern, others mimicked the way I stood, like I was some circus act. Ava's snort cut through the chaos like a blade, and of course—of course—she stood up, all smooth grace and smug confidence.

"The Alpha bond is the final element of legitimacy," she said, like she was reciting from the godsdamned textbook. "A wolf without a mate cannot ascend the Alpha throne. Without that sacred bond, the leadership is considered unstable, unfulfilled, and vulnerable to challenge. That's why tradition insists the Alpha be mated before coronation."

A beat of silence.

Then applause.

Actual applause.

I wanted to sink into the floor.

"Very good, Ava," the teacher said, smiling like she'd just solved world hunger. "Thank you."

She gave a slight bow before sitting back down, shooting me a quick smirk over her shoulder. Victory, sealed.

I sat back down slowly, resisting the urge to facepalm so hard I knocked myself out. Stupid. I hadn't heard the question. I hadn't even realized he was talking to me. I'd been too deep inside my own mess of thoughts, spiraling about my birthday, my non-existent wolf, Leon, Ava, fate—everything I couldn't fix.

Stop thinking, I told myself. Just focus. Just get through the day.

The rest of the class passed in a blur. I kept my head down, pretended to take notes, tried not to look up when Leon spoke once—his voice low, steady, confident—or when Ava giggled at something he said. Tried not to notice how even the teacher seemed more engaged when the high ranks spoke.

Eventually the bell rang, and just like that, it was lunch.

I didn't move right away. I waited until the room emptied out a little, then grabbed my things and slipped out like smoke, hugging the wall. No one noticed. Or if they did, they didn't care.

The cafeteria was already buzzing by the time I got there. Shifters packed into tables, laughter echoing off the high walls, scent trails lingering in the air—cheap perfume, fur, hot food, and something underneath it all that always smelled like pride. Silver Claw pride. I never really understood it.

There were three sections in the cafeteria, unofficial but real.

The ranked wolves sat closest to the center—the Betas, Gammas, Deltas, future Alphas, all surrounded by their cliques, their followers. That was where Ava sat, of course. Where Leon sat. Where I didn't belong.

Then there were the mid-rankers, the enforcers and trackers, the ones who had wolves but not power. They acted like they didn't care about status, but their eyes always flicked upward to were the high ranked ones sat

And finally, at the far edge of the room, like some kind of afterthought, was the omega section.

It wasn't labeled. There wasn't a sign. But we all knew. Everyone knew. That side of the cafeteria near the east wall was where the ones like me sat. The invisible ones. The silent ones. The ones who didn't get choices.

I made my way there, keeping my head low.

The good thing about this school—maybe the only good thing—was that the cafeteria was free. Always had been. Every Alpha who'd ruled Silver Claw had contributed to its upkeep, passed down through generations. A legacy of feeding the pack's future, they said.

Though, of course, not all meals were equal.

We omegas didn't get the same portions. The meat was always dry, the fruit slightly bruised, and if there was dessert, we weren't touching it. Still, it was food. And I wasn't in a position to complain. Not when some of us didn't even get three meals a day outside this place.

I grabbed my tray—some kind of grayish meat, mashed potatoes that tasted like chalk, and overcooked vegetables—and made my way to my usual spot in the corner. Same table every day. Same seat. Tucked against the wall, facing the door, where I could keep an eye on everyone and no one had to see me unless they tried.

I sat down quietly, focused on eating fast and invisible.

But today, something changed.

A girl slid into the seat across from me.

She looked about my age—maybe younger. Light brown skin, tight curls tied up in a messy bun, big nervous eyes, and a hopeful smile that made my stomach twist.

"Hey," she said, awkward but genuine. "Mind if I sit here?"

Too late now.

I shrugged, eyes flicking back to my tray. "You already are."

She let out a soft laugh and settled in. I could feel her watching me.

"I'm Lissa," she said after a few seconds. "It's my first week here. Just transferred in from Red Hollow."

Red Hollow. A smaller pack down south. Not as strict as Silver Claw. I'd heard they didn't treat omegas like garbage over there.

I nodded. "Selene."