CALENDULA

RAINE

Today, I turned eighteen. No party. No celebration. Not even a birthday wish from the pack. Only my mother tried to make the day feel meaningful. She came into my room holding a small cake, made by the omegas. I knew she must have begged them to make it. On top of the cake, a tiny candle flickered weakly, almost going out.

"Happy birthday, My love. Raine Bittley," she whispered softly before kissing my forehead. Her hand rested on my shoulder, offering a little warmth and comfort.

I gave her a faint smile. "Thank you, Mom."

Her eyes looked at me with love, but she couldn't hide the exhaustion behind them. Once, those eyes had blazed eyes of a Luna. Now, the light in them was only a fading echo.

She tucked my hair behind my ear. "I know everything feels heavy. But today is still your day, Raine."

She didn't need to say out loud what we were both thinking.

We knew too well, in other packs, your eighteenth birthday is a huge moment. At this age, your wolf is supposed to awaken, your rank revealed, and your place in the pack recognized.

But in the Shadowfang Pack? I was nobody. No one cared that I had turned eighteen.

The pain slammed into my chest, but I swallowed it whole. I held my mother's hand, trying to stay strong. "At least I still have you."

She gave me a small smile. "And you'll always have me, My little moon."

But as she said it, her eyes shifted toward the door. Quiet. Alert. I didn't have to look to know who was standing there. Markus Knight. Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack. My stepfather.

My mother was once a Luna-a warrior from the Silvercrest Pack, strong and respected.

Everything changed when my father-Alpha Gregor Bittley-was killed.

Markus had invaded our territory, slaughtered my father in front of my mother's eyes, and destroyed our pack from the inside out.

My mother had been forced to choose: die, or submit to the man who murdered her mate.

She chose to live.

She chose submission.

She became Markus's mate.

And I... I was just an eight year old girl back then, dragged into the Shadowfang Pack. We lived in the Alpha's house, but we were never truly part of it.

My mother and I ate the cake together, but only for a short while. Markus didn't like it when she stayed away from him for too long.

Fifteen minutes. That was all the time we could steal today. After that, my mother left my room.

Now, I sat alone. This house was huge, but it made me feel incredibly lonely.

Yeah... I used to have friends. But they all drifted away when Killian started interfering. He was my stepbrother, two years older than me.

Killian hated me. He hated seeing me smile. He hated it when I was happy. He was like a shadow always watching, waiting for me to fall.

But I hated him too, because he was just a spoiled brat protected by his father's power.

Luckily, he'd been away most of the past year, training outside the pack-preparing to become the next Alpha. Without him around, I could breathe a little easier.

I heard that he will soon be crowned as the Alpha of this Pack, replacing his father.

But I don't know when, I don't want to know, and I don't care. Even if he becomes Alpha, my life will stay the same-mocked and treated like I don't exist.

Tonight, I wanted to go out, to the only place here that made me feel alive: the training grounds.

Usually, it was empty around midnight. A perfect place to train where no one could see me.

But tonight was different.

The sound of clashes and growls filled the air before I even arrived. The grounds were full. Wolves were sparring.