Chapter 1

Aurelia’s POV

“Stop slouching, Aurelia, you look like a broken broomstick!” Aunt Rosalind snapped, shoving my shoulders back so hard my spine popped.

“Ouch! Aunt Rosalind, stop!” I pulled away, adjusting the straps of the simple violet dress I had spent three weeks saving up to buy.

“Look at you,” she scoffed, crossing her arms as she looked me up and down with disgust. “Tall, flat, and straight as a board. You don't have a single curve on your body! What male wolf is going to look at a stick that looks like the number one?”

“I’m just tall,” I whispered, staring down at my flat shoes. “There’s nothing wrong with being tall.”

“In this pack? Everything is wrong with it!” Aunt Rosalind sneered. “She-wolves are supposed to be soft, curvy, and busty! Look at your cousin Alyssa! Now that is a female fit for a high-ranking wolf!”

Alyssa strutted out of her bedroom, smoothing down a tight red satin gown that showed off every curve. Her golden hair fell in thick waves around her shoulders. She looked like a queen. I looked like a shadow standing next to her.

“Is my little cousin actually trying to go to the pack prom tonight?” Alyssa giggled. “Mom, tell me she isn’t wearing that.”

“She thinks she’s going,” Aunt Rosalind said coldly. “She thinks if she hides under that cheap purple cloth, someone might accidentally mistake her for a real woman.”

“Alyssa, please,” I choked out, holding back the sting in my eyes. “I just want to go. Just to see the lights. I’ve stayed home every single year because of what you all say to me.”

“And you should stay home tonight too!” Alyssa laughed, stepping closer. “Garrick is picking me up in ten minutes. Delilah and Sienna are coming with their dates too. If you show up looking like a starved pine tree, you’ll just embarrass our entire family!”

“I am going,” I said, stepping past her toward the front door. My heart was hammering against my ribs, but a strange, desperate flame was burning in my chest. “I’m nineteen. I have the right to attend the pack gathering.”

“Go then!” Aunt Rosalind yelled after me as I grabbed my clutch. “Go let the whole pack laugh at you! Don’t come crying to me when nobody asks you to dance!”

I slammed the front door shut, cutting off her shrill voice. My hands were shaking as I walked down the stone path leading into the heart of the luminescence district. The night air was cool against my skin, but my face was burning with shame.

Her words repeated in my mind with every step. The dress hung straight down my body. Every other she-wolf in the pack spent their teens training their bodies to look lush and enticing for the seasonal mating runs. I had spent mine hiding behind oversized sweaters in the darkest corners of the library.

By the time I reached the Grand Lyceum ballroom, the doors were wide open, spilling warm golden light and booming music onto the marble courtyard.

I took a deep breath, clutching my hands together in front of my waist. ‘Just go inside. Just stand by the wall. Prove to yourself that you can exist in public.’

I walked through the archway into the grand hall.

The room was packed. Crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, casting glitter across hundreds of dressed-up wolves. Males in tailored dark suits were laughing, spinning curvy females around the polished dance floor.

I stepped near a pillar, trying to make myself as small as possible despite my height.

“Hey, look who actually showed up!” a loud voice called out.

My stomach dropped. I turned my head slightly and saw Alyssa standing by the punch bowl, surrounded by her friends.

Sienna was leaning against a table in a fitted emerald gown, while Delilah held a glass of sparkling wine, smirking right at me. Garrick was standing beside Alyssa, his arm draped casually over her waist.

“Is that Aurelia?” Sienna asked, squinting through the crowd before bursting into a loud laugh. “Oh my god, it is! Who let her out of the house?”

“Did she lose her way to the forest?” Delilah added, loud enough for three nearby males to turn and look. “She’s so flat I almost didn't see her standing there!”

“Careful, Delilah,” Garrick snickered, taking a sip from his cup. “If the wind blows too hard through those open doors, she’s going to snap in half like a dry twig.”

A wave of cruel laughter erupted from the group. Nearby wolves turned to see what the commotion was about. Whispers immediately began to ripple through the crowd.

“Look at her height...”

“She doesn't have any hips at all...”

“Is she sick?”

“Why would she wear a gown like that when she has nothing to fill it out?”

Every word felt like a slap. Tears rushed to my eyes. I pressed my back against the cold stone pillar, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole. I had tried to be brave. I had tried to step out of the dark. And all it had gotten me was public humiliation.

I shouldn't have come. Aunt Rosalind was right. Alyssa was right. Nobody wants a girl like me.

I turned on my heel, ready to sprint out of the ballroom and run all the way back to my room so I could lock the door forever.

Suddenly, the music stopped.

The heavy bass that had been shaking the floor vanished in an instant. The loud chatter, the clinking glasses, and the burst of laughter all died down into a suffocating, dead silence.

I froze, my hand resting against the pillar.

A thick pressure settled over the room, making the air feel instantly dense and hard to breathe. It was the undeniable aura of a Royal Alpha.

The massive double doors at the main entrance swung wide open.

Standing in the doorway, flanked by guards, was a male who commanded the room without saying a single word. He was broad-shouldered, toweringly tall, dressed in a black suit with a fur-trimmed royal cloak resting on his shoulders. His dark hair was brushed back, and his sharp, sculpted jawline looked like it had been carved from marble.

Prince Regaleon.

The ruler of our kingdom's military line and the most powerful wolf in the entire realm. Beside him stood his Beta, Ryss, whose eyes scanned the room with cold authority.

Every single wolf in the ballroom immediately dropped to one knee or bowed their heads in deep reverence.

“Your Highness,” the Pack Elder stammered, rushing forward and bowing low. “We... we were not expecting your presence at the youth gala tonight!”

Regaleon didn't answer the Elder. He didn't even look at him.

His striking golden eyes swept slowly over the crowd of bowed heads. Alyssa immediately straightened her posture, pushing her chest out and smiling up at him with eager eyes. Sienna and Delilah quickly adjusted their dresses, trying to catch his attention. Every single female in the room was holding her breath, praying the Prince’s gaze would land on her.

Regaleon took a step forward. His boots echoed loudly against the floor. His eyes locked onto the dark corner by the pillar. Directly onto me.

My heart stopped beating in my chest. No. He’s looking past me. He must be looking at someone standing behind me.

I quickly spun around to look, but there was nobody behind me except a solid stone wall and a draped silk curtain.

When I turned back, Regaleon was already crossing the room. He walked gracefully, his long strides cutting straight through the middle of the crowd. The crowd parted instantly, wolves scrambling out of his path like dry leaves in a storm.

Alyssa took a hopeful step forward, her eyes wide. “Your Highness…”

Regaleon walked right past her as if she were made of glass. He didn't even blink in her direction.

He stopped directly in front of me.

Because of my height, most males either looked straight at me or slightly down, but Regaleon towered over me completely. He was so tall, so broad, that his shadow swallowed me whole. The intense scent of cedar, mint and power rolled off him, wrapping around my senses like a plush blanket.

My wolf, who had been dormant and silent in my chest for years, suddenly woke up with a roar.

“MATE!” she screamed inside my mind.

I gasped, staggering back half a step. My spine hit the pillar.

Regaleon reached out, his long, broad fingers gently catching my wrist to steady me. The moment his bare skin touched mine, a jolt of lightning shot up my arm, exploding straight into my chest. Sparks danced across my skin, hot and undeniable.

The entire ballroom gasped in collective shock.

“Prince Regaleon?” Ryss, his Beta, stepped up behind him, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked between me and his master. “Is... is she...?”

Regaleon didn't answer his Beta. He didn't break eye contact with me for a single second. His eyes burned with an intense, raging fire that made my knees go completely weak. His fingers tightened around my wrist, pulling me a fraction of an inch closer to his chest.

“I’ve found you,” Regaleon’s deep voice growled, vibrating straight through my ribcage.

“Me?” I whispered, my voice trembling so hard it barely carried. “You... you must be mistaken, Your Highness. I’m nobody. I’m just... I’m just a stick.”

Regaleon’s eyes narrowed darkly. The temperature in the room instantly dropped several degrees as his Alpha presence flared violently.

“Who called you that?” he demanded, his voice dropping into a snarl that echoed off the high rafters.

The entire room fell into terrorized silence. Over near the punch bowl, Alyssa and Garrick went dead pale, their faces draining of all color.

Regaleon’s hand left my wrist and slid slowly up to my waist, his broad palm resting firmly against the small of my back. He pulled me flush against his hard body, completely ignoring the hundreds of stunned eyes staring at us.

“Answer me, my sweet girl,” Regaleon whispered softly near my ear, his breath hot against my sensitive skin. “Who dared to speak to my Queen like that?”