Elara Throne.
Better known across the Mooncrest Pack as the useless burden. The girl who once carried the pride of her lineage, now a symbol of shame.
Growing up, Elara often heard the omegas complain about their place at the bottom of the pack's hierarchy. How they were dismissed, stepped on, treated like they didn't matter. She used to listen with sympathy, thinking they were treated unfairly. As the beta's daughter, she had privilege and protection, and she used to go above and beyond to help them, to be kind when no one else was.
But everything changed on her sixteenth birthday.
The day everyone her age awakened their wolves, celebrated the union with the other half of their soul.
Everyone… except her.
When Elara didn't shift, her world turned upside down. Overnight, she went from being the beta's daughter to a nobody. The omegas she once pitied now looked at her with a twisted sense of superiority. Because even they had wolves. Even they had a rank.
But Elara?
She had nothing.
No wolf.
No power.
No place in the pack.
Just silence inside her and a storm outside,her life that was already not good became worse.
"Elara!!!" Her father-Roman Throne's voice boomed from downstairs, vibrating through the wooden floorboards.
She froze.
The fury in his tone made her skin crawl. He was angry, again. But she didn't know what she had done to provoke him this time. Then again, she didn't need to do anything. Her very existence seemed to offend him, everyone.
Huddled on the edge of her bed, she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself in a desperate attempt to feel safe.
The man she used to call "Dad" had disappeared long ago, replaced by a stranger who could barely look at her without disgust. The last time she remembered warmth in his eyes was years ago, before tragedy struck.
Her mother had died when Elara was five, sacrificing herself to protect her daughter from rogue wolves. Elara remembered very little of that night, just flashes of silver claws, her mother's blood, and the way her father's scream pierced through it all.
After that night, everything changed.
Roman was never the same.
Then came Selena, her stepmother.
And with her, came her daughter Mona.
"ELARA! COME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Roman roared again.
Elara flinched violently. She gritted her teeth, burying her face into her knees. She didn't dare move. Going downstairs meant facing his wrath, and that felt more dangerous than anything outside these walls, she wanted to stay in her room praying that Roman doesn't come into her room and she remains safe.
Outside, she could dodge the bullies. But inside this house? She was alone. Vulnerable. And cornered.
She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered to herself, "Just some more days… Just hold on until your eighteenth birthday. Find your mate. Get out. Just survive."
But her prayers were not answered, suddenly, the door burst open with a loud, bone-jarring crack. Elara's head snapped up.
Roman stood in the doorway, towering and livid. His broad frame filled the entrance like a shadow descending upon her. Behind him followed Selena, dressed in her usual pastel silks, her face carefully painted in concern. Mona trailed them both, stepping in like she belonged there more than Elara ever had.
Roman's eyes were wild with rage. "What the hell did you do this time?"
Elara stood up slowly, chest tight. "I don't… I didn't do anything."
"Don't lie to me!" he snapped.
Selena let out a soft, exaggerated sigh and gently placed a hand on Roman's arm. "Darling, let's not shout. Just listen to her first…"
That sickly sweet voice made Elara's stomach turn. She knew the act. Knew it too well. Selena always spoke in that broken, forgiving tone, pretending to be the calm peacemaker while fanning the flames behind the scenes.
"Dad, please don't be mad at her," Mona said gently, stepping forward in her lace-trimmed skirt. Her tone was coated in syrup. "I only asked to borrow her necklace. I didn't think she'd push me. I must've slipped on my own. "
Elara's hands curled into fists.
Lies. All of it.
She hadn't touched Mona. She had only said no. No, to letting her stepsister wear the only thing left of her mother. The only memory she still had.
Roman's glare darkened. "You pushed her over a necklace?!"
"I didn't push her," Elara said quickly, breath hitching. She tried to tell him the truth.
But he wasn't listening.
"After everything she's done for you," he barked, pointing toward Mona, "you humiliate her like this? Look at her, still defending you. That's what real dignity looks like. That's the difference between a girl raised with grace… and one raised motherless."
Elara felt her world tilt.
Her lips parted in shock, but no sound came out. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears, it drowned out everything else.
Motherless.
That word, spoken by her own father, sliced straight through her chest.
That was it.
Something in her snapped.
"I am not a child with 'motherless behavior,'" she hissed, lifting her chin. "I'm my mother's brave daughter. And this girl, the one you call so eloquent is nothing but a ru—"
The sound of the slap came first.
Her head whipped to the side, cheek stinging. She staggered, catching herself before she fell.
He had hit her.
Her own father had just slapped her because he believed his stepdaughter more than his own.
She looked up at him, eyes wide with disbelief, the side of her face pulsing with heat. Tears filled her vision, but she refused to let them fall.
He was supposed to protect her.
Instead, he stood there, breathing heavily, face full of hatred.
"How dare you talk back to me like that!" he shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders. His grip was rough, unforgiving. He shook her like she weighed nothing.
"Honey," Selena cut in with a practiced gasp, placing a hand to her chest, "it's alright. She's just acting out. She'll accept Mona and me eventually. Don't be too hard on her. I'll speak to Mona. If Elara doesn't want to give her the necklace, that's fine."
Elara clenched her jaw. That voice..Selena's voice was like nails on glass. Always sweet. Always fake. Always designed to make Elara look like the monster.
"Are you even listening, Elara?!" Roman growled, releasing her roughly. "This is what grace looks like! Despite how awful you've been, Selena still defends you! But not today. Today, I'm done tolerating your attitude. You will give that necklace to your sister, or I will discipline you my way."
Elara's breath caught in her throat.
Her fingers flew to the gold chain around her neck. She clutched it desperately, backing away.
"No," she said, her voice shaking. "I will not give this necklace to her. I'll never hand it over to these snak—"
"Shut up, Elara!" Roman's voice exploded through the room making Elara shudder in her place, her hands shook looking at her father who was looking at her with so much anger that one would argue she was his enemy rather than his daughter.
But Roman, he was done.
Done with her defiance. Her stubbornness. Her shameful presence.
A beta's daughter without a wolf, how laughable. People whispered. They questioned his bloodline. His reputation. His failure of a daughter.
All that humiliation he faced because of her and still, he had let her stay.
But this? This was the last straw she was acting like a spoiled child, not obliging to his orders?!
Without a second thought, Roman grabbed Elara by the hair making her his in pain and yanked hard at her necklace with his other hand.