The rumors seemed to spread extremely fast. Within days, my reputation as the Alpha’s daughter seemed to be tarnished almost instantly. It felt like hell for me. Once I was respected and cheered by my pack members, but it wasn’t like that anymore. Everywhere I went, I could feel people look at me with disrespect. Murmurs would be heard again and again about my reputation being unchaste.

I could hear their whispers.

“I’ve heard that Lady Sylvia has been someone.”

“Can she really lead our pack?”

In the past, they would greet me with smiles. But they no longer did that. Instead, they looked at me with judgment. That was when I realized that I had become an outsider in my own home. Realizing that really hurt my heart.

Somehow, every day became a battle to show my strong resolve so that I wouldn’t break down. After all, it meant that Selena’s tricks would work. I could never let that happen!

‘Mother, I really miss you. If only you were here with me,’ I thought to myself.

Still, I needed someone to talk to. Only Fiona could console me. Even then, that wasn’t enough. I yearned to talk to my father, the Alpha. However, that woman really had Father in such a tight grasp. There was never a chance for me to meet him without her by his side.

Fortunately, the Heirs of Packs Great Meeting became another consolation for my own despair. That meeting was extremely important for our pack. As the name said, it was an event where the heirs of various packs would meet each other to discuss what we considered as our threats in the werewolves world as well as find more alliances to be forged. It was our turn to hold the event.

Moreover, it became a chance to show myself to the pack that I was indeed capable as Alpha Marcus’ daughter to be the next Alpha. I became determined to show to Selena and my pack members that I wasn’t someone like the rumors said. Thus, I had to make sure that the event would go perfectly as possible.

Hence, I would spend the rest of the day doing everything as perfectly as possible. For hours and hours, I would spend my time studying with my tutors to learn more about histories and customs of other packs, training with the pack warriors, attending more meetings with the pack council and the pack elders, and coordinating with the castle’s help to ensure the event would run smoothly.

Not only that, I was thinking of fighting off Selena’s rumors. I told the maids to spread how many hours I spent for the pack’s sake. As my confidante, she knew how badly the rumors affected me. She dutifully fought the rumors back by delivering my dishes to wherever I was to dismiss the rumors about me being unchaste. Soon, the rumors fell apart.

One day, a young male that I recognized, Atlas Boone, awkwardly came to me and greeted me, “Good morning, Lady Sylvia.”

I just looked at that young male as I greeted him with a thin smile and greeted him back, “Good morning, Atlas. It’s been a while since you greeted me. What’s wrong?”

More pack members then greeted me again after I made that remark as if they were embarrassed. Eventually, my pack members treated me again with respect. While it was satisfying to see how Selena failed to humiliate me, it also felt sad because I realized my pack members would eat any rumors spread by Selena. That made me become wary of everyone.

However, I knew that I had no time and energy for that. Another good thing that came by focusing my whole energy for the Heirs of Packs Great Meeting was the fact that I could ignore my sadness. While it was extremely exhausting, it managed to keep me off my dark thoughts. It was kind of liberating for me being able to ignore all those rumors due to my strict schedule.

Yet, I knew that I had to address this problem to my father. Since the Heirs of Packs Great Meeting came closer, I had more time to meet him more frequently. I realized that I had to use the chance to discuss Selena with my father. After all, the Alpha was the only one who could put an end to this. Whether I liked it or not, I had to try.

One evening, I got a chance to meet Father without Selena. Immediately, I took that chance. When I found the Alpha, he seemed to be studying some documents in his study.

The moment his steely gaze met mine, his gaze softened. It had been a while since Father smiled warmly just for me. But I knew that it wasn’t enough to ease the suffering I had in my heart. I decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with him through the mind-link because I felt that it would be much safer.

‘Father, I need to talk to you,’ I told him through the mind-link while I was trying to keep my voice as calmly as possible.

As soon as I mentioned him as Father, the Alpha set the papers aside and gestured for me to sit next to him. It was like a code between us if I wanted to talk to him about something personal and he had to respond as my father, not an Alpha. Seeing this made me glad that my father still cared about me.

My father’s tone became concerned as he asked me through the mind-link while he held my hands tightly, ‘What’s wrong, Sylvia? Are you okay?’

‘I want to talk about … Selena,’ I told my father through the mind-link as I looked at him.

The Alpha looked conflicted as he turned his head away. It was as if Father wanted to tell me that he didn’t want to have this conversation. When I saw it, it truly hurt me.

‘Father, you must know about the rumors that have been going around about me,’ I continued through the mind-link as I tried my best to keep my voice as calm as possible.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at it. My voice cracked when I finished the sentence. The moment Father noticed the crack in my voice, he looked at me again in disbelief.

‘There were rumors about me being unchaste,’ I continued to talk to Father through the mind-link.

Father narrowed his eyes as he gritted his teeth softly. Clearly, the man was upset. Yet, there were questions that remained in my heart.

‘What rumors? Who spread them? I’ll find them,’ he firmly told me through the mind-link as if he wanted to make sure everyone who did me wrong would be put to justice.

I quietly replied through the mind-link, ‘I talked to many of our maids. It seemed that the one who spread the rumors was Lady Selena.’

For a while, I waited for his response. Yet, the man remained quiet. I knew that he was in disbelief.

‘Do you realize that what you just said is a serious accusation to our future Luna, Sylvia?’ he asked me through the mind-link in a serious tone.

He argued back through the mind-link by saying, ‘Sylvia, Selena has done nothing but trying to immerse herself into the pack. She supported me and this pack wholeheartedly.’

Hearing Father’s response couldn’t help but hurt me further.

I shook my head in frustration as I kept talking through the mind-link, ‘No, Father, you don’t understand. You have no idea of what is happening. She’s not what she seems to be. That woman has manipulated you and our pack. She told the pack that I was unchaste. My reputation was almost crushed. That’s not a good thing.’

Again, my father kept quiet. His gaze became intense as he studied my face like he was searching for something. After what seemed to be an eternity, my father heaved a heavy sigh as he sat back on his chair.

‘Sylvia, I know that you … haven’t accepted Selena yet. Everything is definitely hard on you, especially since you’re losing your mother. But you must know that Selena is trying to help us. That’s the end of our discussion. I don’t want to hear more of it,’ Father said to me through the mind-link dismissively.

When my father said his final answer, that was when I realized that the distance between us was so great that he didn’t even want to listen to me. I could see it in his eyes and how distant his voice had heard in my ears. That almost broke me into tears, but I held on.

I had to admit that his answers felt like a knife stabbed to my heart. How could Father be so blinded by his love for Selena? How could he ignore what was happening right under his nose? Yet, I realized that there was no point in arguing further. If he didn’t believe me now, nothing I said would change his mind.

“I understand, Alpha. Good night,” I said politely, breaking my mind-link with the Alpha.

Father seemed to realize that I called him ‘Alpha’. As the man was about to hold me, I instinctively avoided his touch. Instead, I stood up silently as I walked out of his study without looking back.

The rest of the night went blurry on my mind. I never felt this lonely. Father, someone whom I looked up to, no longer trusted me. It was all because of Selena. My soon-to-be stepmother was winning, but I couldn’t do anything to stop her. The only thing I could do was keep going with Fiona. I really hoped that it would be enough.

I eventually decided to focus my entire time for the Heirs of Packs Great Meeting since it was almost around the corner. There were days where I wouldn’t even meet Father because of how busy I was. In fact, the pack elders and tutors remarked that I worked extremely hard.

Besides, I wanted to make my father realize that Selena wasn’t the good woman that she portrayed to be. I couldn’t let her win. In fact, I had to win. I had to!

‘I’ll win against you, Selena. I will win Father’s trust and everyone’s respect,’ I told myself, determined to beat Selena.

Finally, the day I had been waiting for arrived.

It was the Heirs of Packs Great Meeting. I couldn’t even sleep last night. Our whole territory was bustling with tons of celebrations as the heirs of other packs came by. While I still felt sad because Father no longer believed me about Selena, I knew that I had to put that aside for the sake of our pack.

This was a chance for me to show that I was indeed the rightful heir of the Golden Fang Pack. It was also the same for these heirs. All of them were working hard to prove that they were befitting as the next Alphas. Furthermore, all of us were checking on each pack’s condition to see whether one of us was weak or not. The event became a point for us to show how strong our packs were.

Not only that, I also had to be very careful. From what the maids had told me, Selena had tried to find ways to ruin my reputation. Thankfully, nothing had happened as I became extremely careful for the past few months. Nevertheless, my stomach has been churning for the past few days.

‘Something will happen,’ Fiona told me.

I knew very well what happened the last time I brushed off Fiona. That was the reason I wouldn’t ignore it. So, it kept me awake for the last few days.

But I also knew that I had to make sure this event went smoothly. I noticed that my soon-to-be stepmother was nitpicking every single thing about the event. Clearly, this was her another attempt to belittle me. Thankfully, Father was by her side. That way, she was only reduced to making unsavory remarks instead of putting them into action.

As the heirs entered our main hall, I prepared myself to use what I was getting from my training and study. I would never let Selena ruin the event I had been working so hard for the past few months. Thus, I walked into the stage as soon as all of the heirs had come to our hall.

“Greetings to you future Alphas! I hope the journey from your pack to the Golden Fang Pack is blessed by the Moon Goddess,” I said, starting my speech.

I announced to them loud and clear, “I, Sylvia Lindbergh of the Golden Fang Pack, welcome you with open arms. From today until next week, we will hold the the Heirs of Packs Great Meeting. I hope you guys will enjoy your stay at the Golden Fang Pack.”

After that, I made a speech about the importance of this event. The heirs were looking at me attentively. Father also looked at me proudly, but his attention was quickly diverted by Selena who pretended to fall. When Father took her to the clinic quickly, Selena let out her smirk to be known to me as if she told me that the Alpha no longer put his attention solely on me.

When I saw it, I felt really sad. After all, my soon-to-be stepmother still managed to hurt me. The worst part was that she knew it. It made me feel even more lonely, but the show had to go on. Thus, I continued to go through just to make sure the event would go well.

Just when I thought everything went perfectly, Selena came back again to the hall after she went to the castle's clinic accompanied by my father. Again, she looked at me maliciously as if she found something that she could use to strike me. Without me realizing it, I prepared myself to counter whatever she had to humiliate me. Then, I was proven correct.

“My goodness, the future Alphas are indeed looking very impressive. You heirs are very dedicated to your packs’ futures. It’s an honor for me as the future Luna to accept you all here and make sure the future Alpha is doing this event well,” Selena said gracefully to the other heirs as she let out a fake smile at me.

To my surprise, one of the heirs responded, “I think Lady Slyvia has done an extremely impressive job. I can’t imagine an event that is as perfect as this event. We all should look up to her.”

Without missing a beat, the young man continued, “Not to mention, she did this just months after her mother passed away. Surely, the future Luna should’ve helped her, no? Otherwise, what’s the point of her being the future Luna?”

Selena seemed to be taken aback that someone, especially one of the other packs’ heirs, would disagree openly with her opinion. Frankly, she wasn’t the only one. I was also surprised that someone defended me.

“W-well, I’ll keep that in mind,” Selena said while she gritted her teeth, not expecting that Elias wouldn’t stay quiet like any other heirs.

When I saw who was defending me earlier, I realized that he was the heir of the Onyx Sky Pack named Elias Hummell. Although I knew the pack was a relatively new pack, it was known for its strong warriors and their silver craftmanship. In fact, their warriors rivaled the Golden Fang Pack’s warriors in terms of strengths.

After that, Selena quickly excused herself by saying that she was ill. However, she looked at me with eyes full of hatred before she left the room in embarrassment. Even if I still had no idea about what evil things she would do, this felt like a small victory to me.

“Thank you, Lord Elias,” I told the man, thanking him for what he did earlier.

Elias responded back respectfully, “My pleasure, Lady Sylvia. But the event is indeed very meticulously done. You’ve done a superb job.”

“I hope the Golden Fang Pack and the Onyx Sky Pack will be able to make a good alliance from this event,” I talked to him.

In turn, the young man responded, “It’ll be a great honor for the Onyx Sky Pack.”

Frankly, there was something weird inside my heart when I saw Elias for the first time. I didn’t know how to describe this feeling. It felt fuzzy.

As we continued to the dinner party, I realized that I kept looking at Elias without realizing it. As soon as the dinner was over, I noticed that the heir of the Onyx Sky Pack was going to the garden. Immediately, I grabbed a chance to talk to Elias more.

The more I talked to Elias, the more I saw who the man was. While the other heirs were aloof and proud, this man was different. He was caring, sincere, honest, and brave. It felt like a breath of fresh air when I was conversing with him.

“You seem to be stressed by something,” Elias said, noticing my sadness.

In turn, I asked him back, “Well, all of us have a lot to live up to, aren’t we?”

“You’re not wrong in that regard,” he replied.

Both of us knew how heavy the task of being the future Alphas was. It was definitely stressful, especially since everyone looked up to us all the time. We were supposed to be perfect as we represented our packs. Otherwise, we would be scrutinized for making mistakes.

“What I mean is … there’s something more,” he started to talk again, but more quietly.

Without stopping, he asked, “Are you okay?”

His honest observation really struck me. For a while, I had no idea how to respond. Besides, it had been a while since someone asked that out of sincerity. In that very moment, there was something inside of me that cracked.

The man looked at me sympathetically as he nodded.

“I understand the feeling. There’s always this pressure that makes you want to prove that you’re fitting to lead your pack. You want to tell those naysayers that you’re worthy of leading them,” he said.

“Well, that’s exactly what I’m feeling. But it’s been even harder because I felt that I lost the respect from my pack members because someone spread out unsavory rumors about me,” I told him.

He immediately responded in a concern from his tone as he spoke, “Who would do something like that?”

After a long time of consideration, I decided to take a risk by confessing to him, “Well, it’s the future Luna, Lady Selena Wilde. Ever since she arrived, she tried to undermine me. She spread some rumors to make the pack doubt me. Even my father no longer trusts me. He prefers her over me. I really don’t know what to do.”

Elias was silent for a moment as if he was processing what I just confessed to him. To my surprise, Elias put his hand on my shoulder gently as he looked at me. Before I could even respond, he talked, “You’re stronger than you think, Sylvia. Look how perfect this event is despite what that woman did to you. You never back down. Never let Selena or anyone else make you doubt yourself.”

“Thank you, Elias. I really need to hear it,” I told him, thanking him sincerely from the bottom of my heart.

He smiled warmly as he said, “Don’t worry. You’re not alone. I’m your friend here. Talk to me whenever you want. I promise you that I’ll try to help you as best as I can.”

“I would like that,” I responded.

After that, the man grinned as he continued, “It’s settled then. From now on, we’ve got each others’ backs. No matter what.”

When I returned to my room, I felt there was a sense of comfort that I had been missing for the longest time. Elias’ words came back to my mind. It gave me more strength to be more confident of myself. For the first time in weeks, I slept peacefully.

Even though the future was still uncertain, I wasn’t alone. I had a friend. That was very reassuring. I didn’t need to be afraid.

As the Heirs of Packs Great Meeting were reaching its peak, the atmosphere became even more tense because we had heavy tasks to make sure our pack was seen a strong. While I had to make sure that I was up for the task, I also had to deal with Selena. After being humiliated by Elias, it seemed that Selena had made it her mission to humiliate me every turn.

When I had a meeting with the pack council to get a potential alliance with Ivory Wings Pack, my soon-to-be stepmother made a sarcastic remark as she said, “It seems that Lady Sylvia has to learn more about negotiating with such a powerful ally. She seems a bit lost here.”

“Thank you for your concern, Lady Selena. It seems that I need to learn more from you. Do you mind sharing your experience that can help our pack?” I retorted calmly.

Selena was taken aback by my retort. When she looked at Father as if she was looking for assurance, she got nothing of it. After all, we were discussing important matters to get alliances from other packs.

Instead, the Alpha firmly said, “Lady Selena, please go out if you have nothing important to say.”

The woman just quietly nodded as she left the room. While I would just let her in the past for my pack’s sake, I wouldn’t let her step on me like I used to do. Elias’ assurance made me realize that I wasn’t alone at all. Honestly, it gave me an instant boost for my confidence.

Nevertheless, she looked at me with fury as she left the room. Somehow, my gut told that it wouldn’t be a good thing. I had no idea why, but I felt something would go wrong.

“I hope everything will go well,” I told Elias after I finished the meeting with my pack council when we met at the garden.

The Onyx Sky Pack’s heir smiled as he said me in assuring tone, “Everything will be alright, I’m sure of it.”

Soon, the final night of the meeting came to us. We finished the meeting with a grand banquet. The atmosphere was a huge contrast compared to the last few days. It felt more relaxed as the meetings had been done. More alliances had been forged. The Golden Fang Pack managed to preserve its reputation and gained more allies, including Elias’ pack, the Onyx Sky Pack.

When the last course was being served, my father gestured me to stand up to make a speech that was common to close the Grand Meetings of Heirs. Immediately, I stood up to walk up to the stage.

“Greetings to all of us, the future Alphas! I, Sylvia Lindbergh of the Golden Fang Pack, am truly thankful that we’ve reached the end of the Grand Meetings of Heirs. I hope this meeting will help our packs to forge new alliances and discuss important matters,” I started the closing speech.

After that, I continued, “I wish for us to keep flourishing under the Moon Goddess’ blessings. With this, I announce that the Grand Meetings of Heirs is finally over.”

Everyone clapped as soon as I finished my sentence, including Father. It had been a while since I met him, but I could see how proud he was. I truly hoped that this would make him and our pack members realize that I deserved to be his heiress.

Although I was supposed to be happy for this, I still felt wary. I knew that Selena would do something, but I had no idea what that was. The only thing I knew that something would go wrong no matter what. Unfortunately, I was right.

“Lady Sylvia,” Selena called me politely.

The woman then continued to speak, “I’m really thankful that you managed to do such a heavy task before the other heirs. It must’ve been very hard, isn’t it? Not to mention that you’re doing this after your mother’s passing.”

“It must be tiring for you taking care of everything, including the Alpha,” she said as she sipped wine from her cups while she curled out her fake smile.

“Lady Selena, I’m proud to support the Alpha,” I calmly responded to her as I tried my best to keep my voice as steady as possible.

“It’s my duty as his heiress to support him and learn to be a good Alpha just like him, Lady Selena,” I continued as I looked at her as intensely as her.

Selena seemed that she wanted to scoff, but she forced herself to smile more. Seeing her like that made me relax because I thought it was over. Just when I thought that she would no longer do anything, that woman struck me to when I was loosing my defense.

“Well, that’s extremely dutiful of you, Lady Slyvia. But some might say that you’ve taken your duty a bit too far. Besides, it’s not every day the Alpha’s daughter is mistaken as his mistress,” she calmly said.

Everyone in the dining hall gasped in unison. The only thing I could do was look at her in shock. Somehow, no words came out of my mouth. This accusation was so ridiculous to the point that I had no words to retort. In fact, I didn’t think everyone in my position could.

‘How dare she accused that!’ Fiona shouted angrily inside me.

My whole body trembled as I processed what just happened. How could she suggest something that was so vile? This was insane! I never expected her to stoop this low, but here we were.

Immediately, I looked at everyone’s faces. My pack members, my staffs, my elders, the heirs, and Father. Everyone looked so bewildered by that statement.

“It makes us a bit worried, Lady Slyvia, especially when there were rumors of you being unchaste going around. Can you lead our pack with that kind of reputation?” she mercilessly continued to harass me.