Never An Alpha's Daughter Again

On the third day of the Fall Hunt, I lagged at the very back of the pack. My calves trembled violently. Ahead of me, everyone had already shifted into their wolf forms.

I was left alone, struggling on the steep, jagged rocks with nothing but two weak human legs. My wolf had never emerged.

I tapped my walkietalkie with trembling fingers, desperate to reach James. His response was cold and impatient. "Are you seriously throwing a tantrum right now? Sarah is injured!

We need to carry her back to camp first. Stop playing the victim!" Sarah was James's wife. Next, I dialed Michael, my fiancé.

His tone was even colder than James's. "Sarah is hurt, Emily. I don't have time for your petty, jealous drama. If anything happens to her, you and I are done.

We'll be enemies for life!" With my remaining breath, I tried to reach my father, Alpha Robert. The line went dead immediately. He had cut me off.

A week later, the pack search party finally found me. I had been slaughtered by rogues.

Carved into the stone where my torn body lay was a single line of blood: In my next life, I will never be an Alpha's daughter. "You're telling me she gave her Moonstone to Sarah?" Beta Wilson kept his head bowed. "Yes, Alpha Robert.

The Moonstone was blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. Without it, Emily couldn't channel even the faintest shred of wolf power.

When the search team found her Moonstone, it had been shredded by rogue claws." James said nothing.

He stared at Beta Wilson for a long, suffocating moment, then grabbed a ceramic mug off the desk and hurled it at the floor.

Sharp shards bounced up, slicing across the back of Beta Wilson's hand.

The old Beta didn't even flinch. "It wasn't just the Moonstone," Beta Wilson continued, his voice heavy. "Emily also traded her Ancestral Fang with Sarah.

That talisman carries the protective magic of past pack champions to repel rogues. The search team found Emily's talisman inside Sarah's backpack.

The one Emily wore around her neck was Sarah's—a plain, powerless wolf tooth.

A fake." "Even if she only thought about giving it away," James sneered coldly, "it just proves I didn't waste years raising her." "James," Beta Wilson looked up, his eyes pleading. "Emily didn't just think about it.

She actually did it. Sarah claimed her own talisman was cracked, so Emily handed hers over without hesitation. The search team verified it—Sarah's talisman wasn't cracked at all.

It was a worthless replica." My father's voice, full of Alpha authority, boomed across the hall. "Hell will freeze over before that girl stops making trouble for Sarah!

Why would she voluntarily swap anything with her? Isn't Emily always complaining that we give everything good to Sarah and leave her with scraps?

We handed her toptier gear for this hunt. What more could she possibly want?!" My ghost rushed forward, desperate to shield Beta Wilson from the flying porcelain shards.

But the debris sailed straight through my translucent body, cutting his weathered skin. Tears spilled from my eyes. "Beta Wilson is telling the truth!

Sarah told me hers was cracked, so I offered mine! Please, stop hurting him! He watched James and me grow up!" My voice couldn't pierce the veil between life and death.

I was nothing more than a corpse. Sarah's eyes turned red with delicate tears. "Beta Wilson, I knew Margaret blessed Emily's Moonstone with her own hands.

How could I ever dare ask for it?" She let out a soft, helpless sigh. "I know Emily has always been jealous of me.

But stealing my Ancestral Fang out in the wild hunting grounds is simply too much." "You liar!" I ground my teeth so hard they felt ready to shatter.

But I was only a wandering spirit.

No one could hear my fury or pain. "Still, as James's wife, I won't hold it against her," Sarah murmured, dabbing at her eyes. "She shouldn't gamble with her own life just to spite me.

Beta Wilson, please don't humor her games anymore. Tell her to come home.

I'll apologize to her." A sharp voice cut her off. "Why should you apologize to her?" My soul turned toward Michael, my fiancé.

He glared coldly at Beta Wilson. "She sneaked deep into rogue territory and stole Sarah's talisman, and now she plays the victim?

Tell Emily we aren't falling for her childish tricks.

If she doesn't come home today, she never has to come back at all!" I stared at him, numb, cold tears streaking my ghostly face. Michael... did you truly see me as such a monster? Beta Wilson's face was lined with bitter helplessness. "Alpha Robert...

Luna Margaret... She is your flesh and blood. James's sister.

Michael's fated mate..." My mother, Luna Margaret, raised her crystal glass, flashing an elegant smile at the surrounding pack guests. "Emily?

She hardly qualifies as Robert's daughter." "Exactly," James added, his expression stone cold. "When Margaret fell gravely ill, her dying wish was to see Emily one last time.

Where was she? Out partying! Sarah was the only one who stayed by our mother's side! We raised an ungrateful viper."

No... That's not what happened! I wept, shaking my head violently. Mom, the day you almost died, I had no idea!

Sarah texted me from James's phone telling me you were completely fine and resting!

That was the only reason I went to celebrate my best friend's birthday! Sarah sighed softly and wiped her tears. "Emily hates me. I know that. Maybe it's best if I leave the pack.

Tell her to come back.

As long as she's here, I'll stay out of sight so she won't be upset." "Stay right where you are," Margaret said, gently stopping Sarah before turning a harsh glare on Beta Wilson. "Michael is right.

In this house, my goddaughter matters far more than my rebellious daughter.

If she refuses to return today, she will never be Robert's daughter again!" A sharp, phantom agony tore through my chest.

I clutched the gaping wound where my heart used to beat and gritted my teeth. Don't worry, Mother. I don't want to be your daughter anymore either.

Didn't I carve it in blood before I died? In my next life, I will never be an Alpha's daughter. Sarah didn't show up for dinner that evening.

James was away at a pack council meeting.

Michael had planned to leave, but after a moment's hesitation, he carried a dinner tray up the stairs and knocked on Sarah's bedroom door. "Michael?" I whispered in disbelief. "Michael, stay away from her!" My ghostly hands tried to drag him back, but they swept uselessly through his shoulders.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside. "I'm sorry," he murmured. Sarah was sitting on the edge of the bed, gently rubbing her tearstreaked eyes.

She didn't look up, but Michael hesitated before sitting beside her. "If only I had seen her true colors sooner, I never would have taken her side, doubted you, or let her bully you." I froze. Michael... what are you talking about?! Sarah looked at him with rimmed eyes and offered a fragile smile. "It's fine.

It's only natural for Emily to look down on me. I'm just an outsider with no noble bloodline.

Being targeted by her is nothing new." She paused, her gaze flickering across Michael's tense jawline before she lowered her voice. "She's a spoiled Alpha's daughter.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that she reached out to rogues to get rid of me. Her exboyfriend Kevin... you know, that rogue ringleader. She never truly cut ties with him.

To them, eliminating an eyesore like me is as easy as snapping their fingers. Don't be too hard on her." My soul trembled violently. I... reached out to rogues to kill her? Kevin.

My exboyfriend. We had dated for less than three days back when I was young and stupid. At the time, I had no clue he led the most notorious rogue band in the territory.

The moment I found out, I ran and blocked him everywhere. I never imagined Sarah would spin such a venomous lie using his name.

Michael clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. Watching his hardened face, I realized this wasn't the first time he had heard this lie. Suddenly, everything clicked.

I finally understood why his gaze had grown so cold and contemptuous toward me over the past months.

Every time I had desperately tried to ask what went wrong, all I received was disgust. So that was why.

I closed my eyes as bitter tears streamed down my face. "I'm sorry..." Michael lowered his head, resting his elbows on his knees. "If I had opened my eyes earlier instead of defending Emily while she humiliated you... you wouldn't have suffered so much." I gritted my teeth to keep my phantom body from collapsing.

Michael looked up, his own eyes burning red. "Thank the Goddess you met James. And Robert and Margaret treat you like their own.

I can't imagine how much regret I would feel if my blind defense of Emily had pushed you over the edge." A subtle flush crept up Sarah's cheeks.

The next morning, my best friend, Jessica, arrived at the Adams estate.

I watched her in confusion until she began boxing up every single belonging I owned. "She carved it in stone," Jessica announced, staring down my family and my fiancé with utter disgust. "She said she will never be an Alpha's daughter in her next life.

So leaving her things in this house feels filthy." James and my parents froze, their faces darkening instantly. Michael frowned.

Alpha Robert narrowed his eyes, his Alpha aura flaring dangerous and low. "Jessica Brooks. Do you have any idea what you're saying?

As a pack member, you are directly defying your Alpha." "Defying?" Jessica let out a cold, venomous laugh. "Alpha Robert, I gave you my loyalty. I was loyal to the Adams Pack.

I earned hunt points in every single Fall Hunt since childhood. I never missed a single border patrol.

My loyalty was earned in blood." She paused, letting her searing glare sweep across every guilty face in the room. "Yet you and Luna Margaret murdered your own daughter.

Emily carried your pure bloodline. She was an heir to this pack. But you chose to swallow the poisonous lies of a stray rather than grant your own child a shred of trust.

Does an Alpha like you even deserve my loyalty?" Luna Margaret's face went pale with rage. "You dare insult us?!" "I dare tell the truth!" Jessica didn't take a single step back. "An Alpha's power rests on justice.

If you have no honor, don't expect our loyalty.

I haven't betrayed the pack, but I refuse to kneel before an Alpha who murdered his own child." Sarah's eyes immediately flooded with tears, her voice trembling softly. "Jessica, I know you're grieving, but speaking to Robert and Margaret like this..." "Shut your mouth," Jessica cut her off with lethal frost. "You're a stray with no standing here.

What right do you have to speak before full pack members?" In werewolf hierarchy, someone without pack status held no voice in official gatherings. Sarah's face drained of color.

She parted her lips, but swallowed her words in fear.

James stepped forward, his voice a low growl of pure warning. "Jessica, out of respect for your history with Emily, I'll overlook your insolence today.

But if you disrespect our Alpha again, don't blame me for getting rough." "James," Jessica held his gaze without flinching. "You're just as guilty.

You're her biological brother, yet you helped an outsider drive her to her death. Do you even deserve the title of brother?

Do you deserve the pack's respect?" James clenched his fists, veins bulging along his forearms. "Enough!" Alpha Robert slammed his palm onto the mahogany table, cracking the heavy wood right down the center. "Jessica Brooks, by my authority as Alpha, I order you to leave Emily's things and get off my territory.

As of today, you are banned from this estate without my explicit permission!" Jessica clutched the box of my belongings tightly against her chest, a mocking smirk dancing on her lips. "Of course I'll obey your Alpha command.

But hear me loud and clear: not a single one of you is welcome at Emily's funeral.

She wasn't worthy of being your daughter, and you certainly never deserved to be her parents." With that, she spun on her heel and strode out the grand double doors.

Luna Margaret shook with fury, pointing a trembling finger at Jessica's retreating figure. "She... she's staging an open rebellion!" Alpha Robert didn't say a word.

He watched Jessica's silhouette vanish into the distance. A storm of dark emotion flickered beneath his cold eyes—rage, tangled with a whisper of guilt he dared not admit.

Sarah dabbed at her tearful eyes, whispering softly, "Alpha Robert, Luna Margaret, it's all my fault...

If it weren't for me, Emily wouldn't have..." "It has nothing to do with you," Margaret said, taking Sarah's hand.

But her voice lacked its usual certainty. "Emily brought this ruin upon herself." Yet as she spoke, she couldn't bring herself to meet Robert's eyes.

Late that night, I overheard Sarah whispering into her phone: "Of course not. Moonstones get shattered in the hunting grounds all the time.

Who would ever suspect me?" So it was true...

My Moonstone didn't crack by accident... "Emily was delightfully pathetic," Sarah sneered softly into the receiver. "All I had to say was, 'I smell rogues nearby, I'm so terrified,' and she shoved both her Moonstone and her talisman into my hands.

I paid Kevin a fortune to ambush her along that trail. Who knew she'd hand over her only lifelines beforehand? Without the Moonstone, she couldn't summon her wolf's strength.

Without the Ancestral Fang, Kevin's rogues tore into her without fear. Every penny I spent on that contract was worth it." Muffled chuckles sounded from the other end of the line.

Meanwhile, Michael called my phone over a dozen times. Every call went straight to voicemail.

Frustrated, he typed out a series of text messages. [I picked five different suit styles for our mating ceremony.

If you don't come home right now, I'm picking the ugliest one for you.] Silence. [Emily, I know everything you did to Sarah. That's why I ignored you lately.

What you did went way too far. But... I thought about it for a long time. I do love you.

I'm doing my best to make things right with Sarah on your behalf, but you're my only fated mate. Whatever mistakes you made were just childish jealousy.

I'm willing to help you change. Text me back when you see this, Emily. I'm waiting for you to pick our mating clothes.] He had no idea I was standing right beside him.

A bitter, broken smile touched my lips. Michael. We knew each other for ten whole years. Weren't ten years enough for you to know who I really was?

Why did it only take a few poisoned words from an outsider for you to completely write me off? Michael stayed awake past three in the morning, his eyes glued to our chat window.

In the past, I had never taken longer than ten minutes to reply.

Now, hours had passed with total silence. "Michael?" Sarah's soft voice sounded as Michael threw on his heavy winter coat, ready to walk out into the night. "Emily wouldn't leave me on read this long," he muttered, grabbing his keys. "I'm worried something really happened to her.

I'm going to find Beta Wilson and Jessica." "Wait!" Sarah grabbed his arm, her face twisting with troubled hesitation. "Actually..." She sighed and let her hand fall away. "Never mind.

Just go." "What is it?" Michael frowned. "It's nothing..." "Is it about Emily?" "Really, it's fine.

Don't worry about it." "Sarah, tell me!" After another breath of feigned reluctance, Sarah bit her lip and sighed softly. "You're losing sleep worrying over her, while she's spending the night with her ex." She unlocked her phone, revealing a photo of Kevin and me standing under pale moonlight.

The angle was cleverly chosen—it looked like a secret lovers' rendezvous. In reality, that was the night I dumped him.

He had cornered me in an alley, threatening to butcher my family if I revealed his rogue identity, and I had nodded frantically in terror.

But through this framing, it looked like a treasonous meeting between two conspirators. The veins along Michael's neck bulged with sudden fury.

Sarah pulled her phone back immediately. "I wouldn't have shown you if you hadn't pushed... She's still a girl, after all.

Even though she did terrible things to me, I didn't want to expose her..." Michael walked back to his bedroom with whiteknuckled fists, his eyes burning with hurt and rage.

He pulled up my chat window and typed out one final, freezing sentence: [I reject you as my fated mate.] Standing just inches away from him, I clenched my phantom fists and whispered, "Fine."