Return of the Wolfless Queen

Aria's POV

"Miss, are you... are you absolutely certain about this?"

Gamma Thomas stares at the form like it might bite him. His pen hovers and shakes.

"The sacrifice. You'd be..." He swallows hard. "You'd be jumping off that cliff. In a month. Dead. And you're the Alpha's most cherished daughter. How could your family possibly bear to..."

"Yes."

The word comes out easier than it should. I smile at him. Watch his face do this thing...crumbling, like paper in a fire.

"I'm willing to die."

He sets the pen down. Leans back in his chair. It creaks. "But your brothers. Your parents. They adore you. And Beta Marcus, he's your..."

"Fiancé?" I finish for him. A laugh bubbles up. Bitter. "That was before."

"Before?"

"Before I couldn't shift."

Silence. The kind that sits heavy between people.

His face does that thing. That thing everyone's face does now when they look at me. Pity mixed with something uglier. Disgust, maybe. Or relief that it's me and not them.

The pack link crackles through the air. I feel it...that electric buzz when the Alpha speaks to everyone at once. It's like a frequency I can almost hear but can't quite reach. Everyone except me.

Thomas's eyes glaze, his spine straightens without him meaning to. Receiving the broadcast.

I wait, I'm good at waiting now.

When his eyes clear, he looks at me different. Sadder, somehow.

"Your father," he says slowly. "He's asking for volunteers again. Fifth time this month. Still no one's come forward." He pauses. Seems to weigh his next words. "And he's announcing Princess Elena's birthday celebration. Three days from now."

Princess Elena.

Not just Elena, not his daughter. Princess.

"Your brothers are already ordering gifts for her," Thomas continues. Watching my face too carefully. "Your mother's commanding the whole pack to bring flowers. Everyone's talking about it. Biggest celebration in years, they're saying."

Something tightens in my chest. Sharp and familiar.

"My birthday's four days from now."

The words slip out before I can stop them.

Thomas goes still. "They... I'm sure they remember..."

"They don't."

He opens his mouth. Closes it.

"Can we just finish this?" I lean forward. "Please."

He slides the death certificate across his desk. The paper whispers against the wood. Official. Final.

"You'll be the only participant," he says quietly. "In one month, on the full moon, you walk to the Cliff of Shadows. Alone. And then you..." He can't finish it.

I pick up the pen. It's heavier than it looks.

Aria Silvermoon.

My handwriting looks strange. Like someone else wrote it.

"Your brothers love you," Thomas tries again. Desperate now. "Your family...they took you in when you were just a child. Raised you as their own. And Marcus, he's been your promised mate since you were children. Surely..."

"That was in the past."

The bitterness leaks through. I don't even try to stop it anymore.

"Once they found out I'm wolfless, everything changed. Marcus and my family stopped mentioning the engagement. Just... stopped. Like it never existed. Like planning a future with me was some embarrassing mistake they'd rather forget."

Thomas's face creases. He looks older suddenly.

"I'm the Alpha family's adopted daughter," I continue. Might as well say it all. "They found me in the forest when I was five. Alone. Half-dead. No memory of anything before."

He nods slowly. Everyone knows this story.

"As a child, I was powerful. Stronger than pups twice my age. Faster. My senses were sharper. Everyone said I'd awaken some rare gift when I came of age. That I'd be extraordinary."

I pause. Let the silence sit.

"I was happy then."

"What happened?" he asks softly.

"Elena arrived."

The real daughter. The one they'd been searching for all those years. The one who came back perfectly timed, like fate had a sick sense of humor.

"After she came home, my power started fading. Slowly at first. I'd tire easier during training. My senses dulled. Then it got faster. By the time I turned eighteen and should have shifted..." I shrug. "Nothing. No wolf. No connection to the moon. Just emptiness."

"Wolfless," Thomas says. Like a diagnosis.

"Abandoned by the Goddess herself," I agree.

He finally stops trying to dissuade me. Just hands me the certificate with both hands. Almost reverent.

"The volunteer's identity stays secret," he says. "Until the night of the sacrifice. No one can know it's you."

He pauses. Looks at me hard.

"The dark energy at the cliff...it's been stirring again. Getting worse. The elders are worried. Without your sacrifice..." He swallows. "The entire pack could be in danger."

I fold the certificate carefully. Tuck it into my jacket. And I feel its weight against my heart.

"Thank you, Gamma Thomas."

"No." His voice cracks. "Thank you. You're saving us all."

Am I? I want to ask. Or am I just choosing the only ending left that means something?

But I don't say it, I just nod and leave.

Outside, the sun's too bright, it makes my eyes water.

I head straight to the bank. The teller recognizes me. Her smile falters when she sees my face.

"I'd like to withdraw everything, please."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

It's not much. Just the small allowance I used to get back when they still considered me family. But it's enough for what I need.

The bakery next door smells like honey and warmth. Like home used to smell before it stopped being home.

"The usual, Aria?" Mrs. Chen asks.

"More than usual. Bread, cheese, fruit. Those sweet rolls the kids love. Um... actually, just give me as much as this will buy."

I slide the coins across the counter.

Her eyebrows rise. "That's... that's quite a lot, dear."

"I know."

She doesn't ask questions. Just packs everything carefully while I wait.

The streets are busy, people clustered in groups, talking loud. About the Alpha's announcement. About the party.

"Still no volunteer for the sacrifice. Can you believe it?"

"We're running out of time. The full moon's in a month."

"But Princess Elena's party! Did you hear? The Luna ordered roses. Roses. In winter!"

I keep my head down. Try to slip past.

"Hey, isn't that..."