The Moonless She-Wolf: Rejected By The Pack, Desired By The Alpha

When the ones who were meant to be your pack, your blood, your home chose to see you as nothing more than a burden, what else was there to do?

I focused on surviving.

I saved whatever little money I could.

I held on to the thought that maybe, someday, the road would take me somewhere better.

It was a thin kind of hope, almost laughable, but it was the only thing that kept me going.

Up until now, I was just me. Ava Grey. Wolfless. Weak. The disgrace of the Grey family.

That was why, yet again this Friday, I worked my shift at Beaniverse, a busy café in the center of White Peak, over an hour away from the pack's territory. Out here, there were no wolves, no ranks, no one looking down on me. Just people in a rush, running on coffee or lost in their screens. Some of them seemed more focused on putting on a show than actually drinking what they ordered.

"Let's go out tonight."

Lisa's bright voice broke through my thoughts while I wiped down the espresso machine.

I didn't care much about the job itself, aside from the money it brought in every week. Still, I liked being here. Because Lisa was here. She was my only real friend, the one who kept reminding me there was a life waiting beyond Blackwood.

"That's not happening. My dad's expecting me back."

The way her lips dipped in disappointment stirred a small warmth in my chest. At least she got it.

Still, she had no idea the truth. My family wasn't human. They were wolves.

My father, the pack's Beta, only let me keep this job because he was sick of having me around the house. And maybe because every bit of money I didn't waste on gas went straight into paying off the debt from my beat-up Taurus. That old wreck sat outside like a loyal mess. It could break down on me any second, but it was the closest thing I had to freedom.

Anywhere was better than going back home.

"You should just move in with me. We could get a place together and do whatever we want, whenever we feel like it." Lisa brought up that same idea during every shift.

I thought about it too. Not for the fun or the parties, but for the chance to get away. To put real distance between me and the pack.

But there was no running from what you were. Not even if you were a flaw. Not even if you were a werewolf who was wolfless.

My glasses kept slipping down my nose, and I pushed them back up with a quiet sigh. I needed a new prescription, but I didn't have the time or the money for it. I was still wearing the same pair my mom had chosen for me years ago. It only made the difference stand out more. Werewolves didn't have bad eyesight.

But I didn't have