Nyra doesn’t see the ball flying toward her until it hits her nose with a loud thud. Her head snaps slightly to the side, thin streaks of blood trickling from her nose.

"Didn’t see you there, ghost wolf." The culprit, a notorious junior, grins from across the training field, lazily spinning another ball in his palm as everyone laughs at her.

Nyra glares hard at him, touching her nose only to realize that she’s bleeding

The group laughs harder like it’s funny seeing her bleed. "Aw she looks mad. What are you going to do about it? Shift into a house cat and scratch us?"

This time, everyone around them laugh at her. Even the trainers, and seniors laugh at the nickname.

House cat. Ghost wolf. Half wolf...a few of the many names they’ve given to her over the years.

Why, you might ask? Because she has been wolfless since the day she was born.

Most powerful werewolves shift at the age of twelve. Thirteen? You’re average.

But Nyra is almost eighteen, and she hasn’t even shifted once!

Nyra grabs the ball from the floor angrily, then pulls the safety pin holding her shirt together free.

"Don’t you dare..." The senior that threw the ball at her frowns. "That ball is expensive!"

It’s Nyra’s turn to smirk.

She’s about to burst the bully’s ball, when the sound of the academy bell slices through the open field -- it is time for pack training.

"Drop that ball and change into your training gear!" One of the teachers yell at her.

Where was he when they threw the ball at her? She grumbles, but still drops the ball, following behind as everyone chooses their partners for the hand combat.

As usual, no one picks her. No one wants to fight with the only wolfless girl in the academy anyways.

And this is exactly how her day has been since the moment she was old enough to understand.

For a start, her parents don’t even want her. They only wanted her elder sister--Anna. She was just the mistake and disappointment they had to raise.

While Anna had all the good things, she only got old clothes and rags.

While Anna ate dinner with the family, Nyra only got the leftovers. And if everyone finished their food that night, she would stay hungry.

While Anna had time to make friends, her parents made her stay at home and do all the housework and homework. That’s why she had been so eager to shift during her thirteenth birthday.

She thought she would shift into a very powerful wolf, just like her sister had at just twelve years old. So that way her parents wouldn’t have a reason to hate her anymore.

But during the ’Awakening Rite’, nothing happened. Only pain, and a set of very short wolf claws.

The entire pack had laughed at her that night, and Nyra’s parents only seemed to hate her more when they realized she was practically a useless werewolf.

She shoves the memory away, searching her bag for her combat uniform. But instead she finds three bad eggs are broken inside her bag, making her clothes and books smell like a dead rat.

Ew.

"Who put these in here?" She yells pouring the entire content into the sand.

No one responds, but she sees a group of senior girls laughing very suspiciously close to the ring.

Nope. Not today. She carries one of the broken eggs, aiming to throw it at them, but somebody trips her and she falls face first into the sand.

Everyone laughs again. No one bothers to try and help her.

Across the field Anna, her elder sister is also laughing at her. She is sitting on the bleachers without the slightest hint of shame. She’s-- as usual-- draped over her boyfriend, Adrian, showing him off like a trophy.

And honestly, she has every reason to.

Because Adrian Blackwood isn’t just any wolf.

He is the future Alpha of Moon-Crest Pack, the only child of Alpha Darius and Luna Selene Blackwood, the most feared and respected leaders in the werewolf territory.

At just Nineteen, he is already considered one of the strongest Alphas in the entire pack. His wolf is unusually dominant, and is rumored to have already defeated his own trainer during combat training.

But more than his abilities, Adrian Blackwood is devastatingly attractive.

The kind of face that would make models weep in envy. Tall, athletic, broad-shouldered with a cinched waist. He has an effortlessly intimidating frame, with dark hair that usually falls into his silver eyes.

Girls held their breaths when he walked past. The boys either envied him or admired him, no in-between.

And everyone in Moon-Crest knew better than to cross him if they didn’t want trouble.

Everyone except Nyra, apparently.

Because Adrian Blackwood seemed to reserve a special kind of trouble for her no matter how hard she tries to stay clear from him.

It started years ago when Adrian suddenly decided she was his new target; he threw the entire contents of her bag into a waste bin that day.

Then the next time, he plastered gum in her sandy-brown hair. Then he would pay her classmates to put sharp pins on her seat...and most times would embarrass her in public.

Nyra secretly suspects Anna made him do it, since she hates her so much.

But the humiliation from him only grew worse as they grew older. And whoever Adrian made his enemy, everyone made their enemy.

Nyra learned very quickly that being hated by the future Alpha was even worse than being hated by her own parents.

.

.

.

After the fall, Nyra decides she doesn’t want to be here anymore.

She storms back to her bag, picking up the few things that don’t have rotten eggs on them, before storming away from the training ring.

But Adrian isn’t Adrian if he lets her go without humiliating her in front of everybody.

He picks up another ball, aims it, and throws it at her head again. Everyone laughs again. Even the instructors smile, not daring to call the future Alpha to order.

*Right, very mature of the future Alpha* she thinks sarcastically.

Anna giggles and presses a kiss to his cheek, muttering something that makes him grin.

Nyra doesn’t stop walking. She forces her expression to remain blank as she walks away. Because showing emotion only made them bully her harder.

Finally, she reaches the Hale house. Her parents, Mary and Jack are seated on the dining table, already serving dinner.

They don’t even acknowledge her presence at first, not until her father’s eyes land on the dried blood beneath her nose.

"What happened now?" He frowns.

Before Nyra can answer, the door behind her opens. Anna comes in sighing tiredly; "She embarrassed herself at training. Again."

Their father scoffs.

"Of course she did. Because she’s useless."

Useless. He says it so easily, like disappointment is the only language he knows when it comes to her.

Meanwhile, their mother reaches over to place another piece of chicken in Anna’s plate, her face softening with affection Nyra has always wanted.

"I heard Adrian took you to see the Luna today." her mother says proudly.

Anna smiles shyly, twirling a strand of golden hair around her finger. "It wasn’t a big deal, Mom."

"Not a big deal?" Mary laughs lightly, "Just imagine it, our Anna becoming Moon-Crest’s next Luna. The goddess can’t choose better."

Future Luna. Of course.

The date for the Moon-bond ceremony hasn’t even been announced yet, but everyone is acting like the Moon Goddess herself has already written Anna’s name across the sky.

Honestly, Nyra wouldn’t even be surprised if they ended up being mates.

They’re both beautiful but cruel, and admired by everyone despite their disgusting personalities.

A future Alpha and his equally vicious Luna-- it suits them.

Nyra watches them act like a happy family. Already tired of wishing they would one day treat her well, because she has already decided it-- she would run away the moment she turns eighteen.

Just two weeks and three days from now.

When her mother sees her still standing there, she frowns. "Go clean yourself up. You are ruining our appetite."

--

That night, they don’t leave any food for her, so she stays upstairs hungry.

Downstairs, Nyra can hear the commotion as a messenger from the Blackwood mansion, delivers the official invite.

"The invitation for the Moonbond ceremony!" Mary gasps happily. "It’s finally here!"

"The Moon Goddess will finally choose Adrian Blackwood’s destined Luna," Anna squeals happily as she reads the letter out loud. "And only the highest-ranking families received invitations!!"

Nyra’s eyes roll so hard. Great. Now she would be forced to attend the Moonbond Ceremony too. She thought she still had more time before the entire pack would become obsessed with Adrian and Anna’s future mating.

Whatever, at least she can leave after that and start a new life far away from here.