Chapter 1 THÈ FORGOTTEN WOLF

HAILEY QUINN

I crept through the still halls of the packhouse, my feet bare and silent on the freezing, creaky wooden floor. The building always seemed to weigh heavily at this time, as if the walls themselves bore the burden of secrets too black to ever be spoken. Bleak morning light poured through the grimy windows, rendering jagged shadows that crawled across the walls. They shadowed me, a perfect picture of my existence-always lurking in the background, always ignored.

Mornings were not good news, not promises of a new day to me. They were heavy chains. Chains that dragged me along with never-ending tasks, never-ending pain, and never-ending reminders I did not belong.

My ribs hurt with every breath, bruises swelling on my flesh from yesterday's torments. I winced when I crouched down to pick up a shoe left in the corridor. I didn't care who had lost it. If Luna spotted it on the floor, it would be my doing, of course. That was how things stood here. Facts didn't matter.

I had learnt all those years ago that standing up for myself, defending myself, and even grumbling "it wasn't me" made things worse.

I was the orphan. The wolfless one. The useless one.

Since my mother passed away, the Alpha and Luna of the Cedar Pack had "taken me in". But I was not a daughter. I was not even a servant. I was a punching bag, a shadow, a girl who had to endure cruelty disguised as charity.

"She's wolfless," I always heard behind my back. Weak.

No wolf, no value. That's how things were here.

As I stepped into the kitchen, the air within it was heavy and sour. Dirty plates from last night's feast were spilling over in the sink, scraps of food rotting in cold grease. My stomach churned, yet I rolled up my sleeves and started washing, water biting at my bruised hands. I washed in silence, the noise of the water drowning out the storm in my heart.

That's when she spoke up.

Armenia, my wolf, my secret.

"They don't deserve us, Hailey," she growled softly, her voice low and heat-filled, a warmth wrapped in flames providing me with the much-needed heat I so desperately desired. "Let me out. I'll show them what real strength is."

I closed my eyes, fighting against the pricking in them. "We can't," I whispered in my throat.

And then my mother's voice arose in my memory, as vividly as if she were standing by my side. The world will fear what it doesn't know. Make Amenia a secret, my love. Promise me.

I had vowed, and so I endured. The taunts. The punches. The shame. All for Amenia to be kept a secret.

That night, as I was dusting the grand hallway, I heard something strange. Guttural noises. A mixture of moans and whimpers that chilled me to my bones. Irresponsible as it was, I crept towards the Alpha's quarters, drawn by curiosity I knew would harm me only.

And what I saw nearly gave me a heart attack.

The Alpha, the Luna, the Beta, the Gamma... they were all engaged in some dirty, grim activity. The Luna stood bent while the Alpha's balls are deep inside her, and her head bobs on the Beta's dick, and the Gamma has his mouth on her nipples, and the Beta has his mouth on the female's Gamma nipples. I stood there numb as groans could be heard as men took turns with her, their bodies jerking around like animals, as lust itself appeared to have gotten hold of them. My chest constricted with revulsion. The mate's bond was meant to be sacred, something pure, but here it was twisted and broken into something filthy.

I moved back, my steps quiet. I shuddered as I leaned against the wall, trying to get the vision out of my head. This was the Cedar Pack. This was what we were to follow, to honour. My lips shook, but I remained silent. I couldn't.

Before dawn's first light, I had pushed the vision deep inside, burying it under the merciless work. The hall sparkled, the kitchen shone, and breakfast was ready even before the first pack members stirred. But when the Luna came in, her unnerving eyes swept over everything and pinched.

"This is not good enough," she smirked, her voice slicing through me with knives. "More effort from you the next time, please."

"Yes, Luna," I breathed, my gaze on the floor.

The rest of the day blurred in work and cruelty. Dishes were hurled at me when they didn't like what was served. Mud boots scraped over floors I'd just cleaned. Plants swaying from hallways when I bent to dust, welts screaming every time I moved. By night, my body is heavy, my spirit exhausted.

And so, as on so many previous nights, I slipped out the back door into the forest. The trees were my sole solace. In their midst, the air felt less heavy. There, I could breathe.

But then I heard my name "Hailey!"

The word made me pause, Chilly, authoritative, merciless.

I moved slowly, and he was there. Thomas Cedar, the Alpha's son. Future pack leader. All a future Alpha would be-broad shoulders, angular jaw, a power that radiated from him. But his eyes... his eyes were always tinged with disgust when they came to me.

"Come here," he ordered. No argument.

My steps were hesitant, but I obeyed. The closer I came, the more his smell wrapped around me-pine and cedar, pungent and earthy. My chest tightened. Heat ran through me, deep, wild, unstoppable.

My breath caught. My knees trembled.

Mate.

The connection exploded through me, irresistible, untamed. My heart thrashed as I looked at him, certain he could feel it too.

But instead of joy, his face twisted in anger. His jaw clenched, fists curled.

"You," he snarled, contempt in his voice. "You're my mate? The Moon Goddess must be joking."

The words hurt more than any punch I had ever received.

He laughed afterwards, a harsh and cruel one, shaking his head. "The Moon Goddess is having a twisted joke."

Tears pricked my eyes, but I hardened myself. My lips trembled, my voice an unsteady whisper. "I... I'm your mate."

His eyes turned icy, his face as hard as steel before he said the words that ripped me apart.

"I, Thomas Cedar, reject you, Hailey Quin, as my mate."

The bond burnt. Flames of searing pain cut across my chest, indepth pain, ripping my soul apart. I gagged, tears streaming down my cheeks as my legs buckled out from under me. The time that was supposed to be filled with love, redemption, freedom... was filled with pain and destruction.

But amidst the pain, I stood up straight. My voice shook, but it remained strong. "I, Hailey Quin, accept your rejection."

The pain doubled, stinging, blinding, before flattening into an aching empty space. The bridge was broken, severed, so that only an emptiness remained where hope had been.

Thomas looked at me, waiting, as if he figured I would beg, kneel and plead for mercy. I didn't, so he laughed and strode away.

And just like that, he disappeared. Disappeared in the trees and left me crumpling on the forest floor, fighting for air.

There were muffled sobs that rocked my frame. My illusions had been shattered in a second. I had fantasised about this moment my whole life, fantasised about finding home, love, someone who would see me and now. nothing.

"You deserve than this, Hailey," Amenia whispered inside of me, her tone strong, unbreakable. "He doesn't deserve us. None of them do."

I wiped away my tears, my body still trembling, but inside of me something shifted. Something hardened.

I had endured years of brutality. Years of silence. Years of nothing.

No more.

That night, standing beneath the dark sky, I swore.

I didn't know why or when. But I would be leaving. I would be leaving this place. I would be running from the Cedar Pack, from their cruelty, from their hypocrisy. I would be breaking free from the chains that bound me here.

And someday... someday, they would know who I truly was. Not the wolfless orphan. Not the useless servant. Not the rejected mate.

But Hailey Quin.

Vessel to such powerful wolf, the the world hadn't prepared for. A woman hardened by suffering, sharpened by rejection, and destined for bigger things than this cell.

I tilted my chin, wiping tears from my face.

One day, I'd be free.