Chapter 3 Lyra's Invisibility Among Her Pack

You would think that being around wolves as a child would give you a sense of belonging, as if you were a member of a pack, family, or group. However, it only intensified the pain of invisibility for me.

In the Nightshade Pack, every day felt like a silent war in which I fought for attention, recognition, and significance. And I lost every day.

As usual, I woke up before the sun. I lived in a little shack that was nothing more than cold drafts and rotted wood. On Pack lands, most Omegas were assigned at least a shared cabin, but since I had no family and no title, I was left in a dilapidated hut near the edge of the forest, nearer to the shadows than the safety of the territory.

I pulled my thin cloak around me as I rolled out of bed, my feet slamming into the frozen floorboards. I told myself that it had once belonged to my mother. She was hardly in my memory. A lullaby, a laugh, the sensation of her arms encircling me during stormy evenings. That was all I had left. And a birthright that nobody wanted to respect.

The smell of roasting meat and herbs welcomed me as I made my way through the woods to the Pack kitchens. The other Omegas hurried about, their feet moving in unison and their hands smeared with flour. Nobody gave me a look. Nobody gave a greeting nod. I couldn't be seen.

I sat down by the fireplace and started kneading dough. I briefly forgot how the others avoided me as if I were carrying a silent curse thanks to the repetitive motions. More times than I could remember, I had heard the whispers.

"She is the one who is cursed."

"No wolf. Not worth it.

Her blood is peculiar. "Royal," they say. However, it doesn't matter if her wolf is silent.

The words used to hurt me. They now merely lingered in the recesses of my consciousness, like a bothersome hum that I was powerless to stop.

Lady Mariana, the Beta's mate, swept into the kitchen as the sun rose higher. She was tall, elegant, and as sharp-tongued as her heels.

"Where is the tea?" She let out a bark.

I moved forward with a steaming cup before anyone else could. I lowered my head and held it in both hands.

She accepted it without giving me a look. "Lyra, you're good for something at last."

Her tone was brimming with contempt. I remained silent. I didn't.

Silence was what invisibility had taught me. I was safe in silence.

I slipped out of the Packhouse after my duties. My feet carried me to the boundary of the area, where birds sang songs I would never be able to repeat and trees swayed like sentinels. It was my haven. I wasn't pressed down by the air here. I could breathe here.

I took a seat under my favorite tree, an old pine with gnarled fingers for roots. I listened to the rustling while leaning back and closing my eyes, listening to the rustling leaves and hoping, like I always did, for a whisper from Aira.

However, she said nothing.

I muttered out loud, "You're still not ready," not sure if I was addressing her or myself.

There were moments when I felt her presence, like the ghost of a thought pressing against the back of my mind. At other times, it seemed as though she had never been there.

I was startled out of my reverie by a low growl that ripped through the trees. I leaped to my feet. Out of the brush came three boys, young warriors in training. I recognized Dax, Ren, and Colin. They always wanted to make fun of me.

"Omega, didn't your shift end an hour ago?" Colin gave a sneer.

"I-"

Dax chuckled and said, "She's probably hoping her invisible wolf will finally speak."

"Or perhaps she's simply evading kitchen duty again," Ren added.

Like vultures, they circled me. Despite my heart pounding in my chest, I refused to back down.

"I'm not hiding," I muttered. "I completed my tasks."

Colin took a step forward, his smile ruthless. Then it's possible that you're searching for a partner. We don't mate with ghosts, Lyra. I apologize.

I balled my fists. I wanted to yell. I wanted to yell at them and let them know that I was real, alive, and angry. However, I didn't.

Because I would have to acknowledge my concern.

"Give her space."

It was a sudden, sharp voice. Another Omega, Rina, entered the clearing, but she had enough friends to not be singled out like me.

The boys whispered to themselves and crept off, their laughter echoing in the distance.

Rina gave me a quick look. "Out here, you shouldn't be by yourself. Not while they're sniffing around.

I whispered, "I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be,"

With gratitude and pain, I watched her go. She was unable to comprehend. Nobody did.

Later that evening, when I got back to the Packhouse, the dining room was a hive of activity. Families, elders, and warriors occupied long tables. The high wooden beams reverberated with laughter. They passed around platters of root vegetables and roasted meat, but I didn't get any.

In order to eat in the kitchen, I waited for the final plate at the edge of the room.

I saw him then.

Caden Kael, Alpha.

His elite surrounded him as he stood at the far end of the hall. He was wider and taller than I had anticipated. The room stooped around him as his presence attracted attention like gravity.

He ignored me. He didn't, of course. Why would he?

He was a member of Moonblade royalty. I couldn't be seen.

His head turned for a moment, though, and his piercing storm-gray eyes met mine across the hall.

And something stirred deep within me.

Aira?

However, the feeling vanished as fast as it appeared.

He turned away and went back to talking.

I also reminded myself of my identity.

Only Lyra.

The invisible girl with a broken past and a silent wolf.

Not much more.

Not yet.