Serena POV:

Caleb did not say another word. He picked up Lily, who was now coughing weakly against his chest, and hurried out of the courtyard to find the pack healers.

My father's Beta, a scarred and loyal warrior named Marcus, spat on the ground where Caleb had stood.

"Ungrateful dog," Marcus growled. "The Alpha raised him like a son, and he spits on our Luna's memory by rejecting her daughter."

The news of my rejection spread through the territory like wildfire. By nightfall, the entire fortress knew that the Gamma had abandoned the Alpha's daughter for a wild border Omega.

I sat in my father's study, watching the fire crackle in the hearth. My father sat across from me, his head in his hands.

"I should never have taken him in," my father whispered, his voice heavy with guilt. "I brought this shame upon you, Serena."

I stood up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his broad shoulder.

"You brought me a lesson, Father," I said softly.

As I spoke, I let a fraction of my true nature surface. *A faint, opalescent mist seemed to seep from my pores, carrying the pure, ancient scent of first winter snow. It was the aura of the White Wolf.*

The White Wolf bloodline was a legend, a direct gift from the Moon Goddess herself, granting unmatched strength and a terrifying presence. I had kept it hidden all my life to protect the balance of our pack.

*My father looked up, his eyes widening as the calming, powerful aura washed over him, and a delicate lacework of frost bloomed across the windowpanes.*

"I am not broken by a foolish male," I told him. "I will leave for the Royal City in seven days. I will bring true glory to the Ironblood Pack."

The next morning, the winter sun barely pierced through the grey clouds. I was in the training yard, inspecting the winter supplies, when Caleb approached.

He carried a bundle of rare snow fox fur, a large cut of roasted meat, and a bone hairpin he had carved himself. He set them on a wooden barrel near me, his posture awkward.

"Serena," he started, his voice lacking the confidence he usually had on the battlefield. "I came to apologize for the suddenness of yesterday."

I did not look at the gifts. I continued checking the inventory list on my clipboard.

"Your apology is noted, Gamma Caleb," I replied formally.

He flinched at the title.

"You have to understand," Caleb pleaded, stepping closer. "Lily is just a fragile Omega. In our society, Omegas are at the bottom. Without me, she would not survive the winter. It is my duty as a warrior."

I finally looked at him, my expression blank.

"If she needs protection, you hand her over to the pack Elders," I stated simply. "The Elders provide food and shelter for the weak. You do not need to sever a mate bond to save a life."

Caleb ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated.

"You don't know the border, Serena," he argued. "It's cruel. She has no one but me. She trusts only me."

Before I could answer, a soft crunch of boots on snow caught my attention.

Lily walked into the training yard. She was wearing a heavy, dark blue winter cloak.

*My eyes narrowed. It was the cloak I had sewn for Caleb before he left, woven with dire-wolf fur to keep the freezing winds out. The garment swallowed her small frame entirely.*

"Caleb?" Lily called out, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "The healers said I shouldn't be out in the cold, but I couldn't find you."

She walked up to him and leaned against his arm, then looked at me. *Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she tried to feign a look of apology.*

"Oh, Serena," Lily said softly. "I hope you are not still mad at Caleb. We are going to have our mating bonfire in seven days. I would love it if you came."

She paused, biting her lip, *and for a fleeting moment, a glint of cold calculation appeared in her eyes.*

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me pick out a mating dress. You have such lovely clothes, and I have nothing."

*A cold, precise fury settled in my bones. This Omega had no respect for the pack system. In our hierarchy, an Omega does not speak to a high-ranking female, let alone the Alpha's daughter, with such casual arrogance.*

I did not raise my voice. I simply released a single, sharp wave of my high-tier aura. *It struck Lily not as a blow, but as a sudden, crushing weight, as if the very air around her had solidified. She gasped, a choked, wet sound, and her legs gave way, folding beneath her as she crumpled into the snow, trembling uncontrollably.*

Caleb stumbled back a step, *his expression slack with shock at the immense pressure that had descended upon the yard.*

"Gamma Caleb," I said, my voice cold and echoing with authority. "I suggest you take your Omega to the pack's discipline matron. She clearly needs to be taught the basic rules of hierarchy before she insults the wrong wolf and loses her tongue."

Serena POV:

Lily stayed on the ground, shivering in the snow. She looked up at me, tears welling in her eyes, playing the perfect victim.

"I just wanted to be friends," Lily whimpered, slowly reaching into the pocket of the oversized cloak.

She pulled out a folded piece of fabric and held it up, trying to look innocent.

"I even brought this to show you," she sniffled. "It's the veil I'm going to wear for the mating ceremony. Caleb gave it to me."

She shook the fabric loose. It was a delicate, translucent silk veil, heavily embroidered with silver moon-grass along the edges.

*The moment I saw it, all feeling seemed to drain from my face, leaving behind a mask of cold fury. A hot, venomous anger ignited in my veins.*

It was my mother's veil. It was the veil my mother had worn when she became the Luna of the Ironblood Pack. Before Caleb left for the border, he had begged to take it as a talisman to bring him safely back to me.

*Caleb's face went corpse-white.* He lunged forward, trying to snatch the veil from Lily's hands.

"Lily, put that away!" Caleb panicked, his voice trembling. "I told you not to touch my private chest!"

Lily pulled her hands back, crying louder.

"But you saw me take it out in your tent yesterday!" she argued, her voice echoing in the yard. "You didn't stop me! You said I would look beautiful in it!"

*A predator's instinct took over. I did not run; I simply ceased to be where I was and appeared over Lily in the space of a heartbeat, a blur of motion that only the highest-ranking wolves could perceive.*

I snatched the veil from her hands with a sharp tug.

"You dare touch the legacy of a Luna?" I hissed, my voice vibrating with a low growl.

I looked at Caleb, my disgust clear.

"You cannot even protect the relic of a dead Luna, yet you claim you can protect the border?" I mocked him.

Lily rubbed her empty hands, muttering under her breath.

"It's just an old piece of cloth from a dead woman," she grumbled. "Dead things are unlucky anyway."

A deep, dangerous growl ripped from Caleb's throat. He turned to Lily, his eyes flashing with a violent warning.

"Shut your mouth, Lily," Caleb ordered harshly.

The surrounding warriors in the yard had stopped their training. They were glaring at Caleb and Lily with pure disgust.

Unable to bear the shame, Caleb grabbed Lily by the arm and dragged her away from the yard, slipping on the snow in his haste.

I stood alone, holding my mother's veil to my chest. The faint scent of her was long gone, replaced by the damp smell of the border, but the memory remained.

I vowed to the Moon Goddess right then. I would wear this veil on the day I entered the Royal City. I would restore the honor of my bloodline.

Over the next few days, I prepared for my departure. *I descended into the pack's stone-vaulted storerooms and gathered the remaining medical supplies, herbs, and silver-laced weapons I had bought with my own wealth.* I distributed them directly to the border warriors who were preparing for the winter patrol.

On the fifth day, a loud horn echoed through the valley. *It was not the raw blast of a war horn, but the clear, imperious note of a royal trumpet.*

I walked out to the main courtyard to see a massive procession entering our gates. *Dozens of armoured royal guards marched in chilling synchronicity, their movements precise and economical. Behind them, ten large wagons, pulled by giant draft horses with hooves like dinner plates, were laden with chests of gold, bundles of high-tier magical beast pelts, and crates of rare healing potions.*

The captain of the royal guard stepped forward and bowed deeply to me.

"Lady Serena," the captain announced loudly. "King Alexander sends these courting gifts to ensure your journey to the Royal City is comfortable."

The entire fortress went completely silent. The sheer wealth displayed in the courtyard was enough to feed our pack for a decade.

Just then, Caleb walked through the gates holding a cheap parchment envelope. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the mountains of gold and pelts.

*He approached me, his confusion plain on his face.*

"Serena... what is all this?" Caleb asked, looking at the royal guards. "Are these... gifts?"

I took the cheap envelope from his hand. It was the invitation to his mating bonfire.

I looked at him with a calm, indifferent expression.

"No, Gamma Caleb," I lied smoothly. "I am simply organizing my mother's old dowry for my journey. You may leave now."

I looked at Caleb’s confused face and smiled. He had no idea that in seven days, I would be gone—and that the King’s gifts were not my mother’s dowry. They were courting gifts for a woman he had just rejected.

Let him wonder. Let him drown.