What Do I Have?

Talia's POV

Axton is gazing at me steadily, and even at that, I still can't read him; something tells me whatever he's planning to say is not going to hurt me, but how can I even listen to that when the only words I have ever heard from Alpha's like him are words of rejection.

My head pounds with the expectations of what he is about to say, but I remain calm. Que sera sera. The festival hums around laughter, music, and distant clatter of plates- but at this moment, it feels like it's just the two of us, standing at the edge of something that neither of us can quite define.

"I see potential in you, Talia," he says finally. "You belong here more than you think. Do you want to stay here with us?"

I let out a slow breath. "I don't know." It's the most honest answer I can give. The wolves here are kind, but I still can't bring myself to the conclusion. Not until I'm convinced that I will be fine here.

I expect him to push, to convince me that I should stay, but instead, he only nods, as if he understands something I don't. "Take your time," he advised. "But I meant what I said. This place has room for you if you want it."

I look away, watching the lanterns flicker in the night breeze. "Are you going to the closing ceremony later?" he asks, changing the topic.

I glance at him, a little surprised. I expected him to react to reply earlier, but here he is not even bothered, one but about it. "Yeah. I think so."

"Good." A smile tugs at his lips before turning and leaving me alone with my thoughts. "Then I'll see you there."

I walk through the winding streets, I notice how different this place is from the pack I left behind. Here, people are free in a way I've never seen before. Wolves with scars move through the crowd, laughing and chatting as if their scars don't define them.

A hybrid with one bright golden eye and one dark brown one tosses a coin to a street performer. An elder-wolfless, from the looks of him-sits with a group of pups, tracing letters into the dirt as they watch with rapt attention.

"It's not about what you lack," Axton's words echo. "but what you do with what you have."

I swallow, my gaze not leaving an elder as he patiently helps a young girl sound out a word.

What do I have?

For so long, I've thought of myself in terms of what I don't have. No wolf. No pack. No purpose. But here, that seems to matter less than I expected.

I walk in silence for a little longer, watching the festival preparations. As the sun dips lower, the scent of roasting meats, spiced cider, and warm bread fills the air.

A baker rushes past, nearly dropping a tray of ingredients. I move without thinking, catching a tumbling bag of flour before it can hit the ground.

The baker, a frazzled-looking woman with flour-streaked hair, blinks at me. "Oh, thank the Goddess. I don't suppose you know how to roll out a decent pie crust?"

I hesitate. "I-yeah. I do."

"Perfect," she says, already shoving an apron into my hands.

And just like that, I'm pulled into the whirlwind of festival preparations.

I roll out the dough, my fingers moving on instinct, the motion familiar even after all this time. Someone hands me a bowl of a rich and fragrant blueberry filling. Another person shoves a knife into my grip, and I find myself cutting decorative slits into the top of a pie as the crowd gathers around the stall.

Alpha Axton watches from a distance, smiling with his arms crossed.

When the pies are done, still warm and golden, the first bite sends a ripple of murmured approval through the crowd. People go back for seconds. A little girl beams up at me, with crumbs of pies on her chin.

And for the first time in years, I don't feel like I'm being judged. But rather I feel seen.

As the festival winds down, I sit by a quiet fountain with Luna, the cool stone grounding me after the evening rush. She doesn't speak; she just hands me a cup of juice, and together, we watch the stars blink to life above us.

"Hey, Talia!"

I barely have time to look up before Jasper appears, holding what looks like a tiny, mechanical firefly in his hands.

"Behold-my latest invention!" he announces, causing me and Luna to flinch.

The firefly flutters once sputtering falls apart in a shower of sparks.

Luna snorts. I try to hold back my laughter, but the moment I meet Jasper's exaggeratedly wounded expression, I lose it completely.

Even Greta, who rarely smiles, shakes her head in what I think might be approval.

This is what it feels like to belong, I think. Not to be tolerated, but to be included.

And maybe I don't have to carry my past alone anymore.

Later that night, Alpha Axton finds me again.

The festival is ending now as the last of the lanterns are going down, the music slowing to a soft melody.

"I meant what I said earlier," he says. "You have a place here if you want it."

I don't answer right away. Instead, I tilt my head back, looking at the sky. The stars are sharp and bright, their light undisturbed by the glow of the festival.

For so long, I've defined myself by what I lost. By the pack that rejected me. The wolf I never had. The mate who never wanted me.

But here...

I think about Rowan and Livia, Callum and Greta, Finn and Jasper and Luna. The way they laughed with me and made space for me without question.

They saw me as something more than just what I wasn't.

I exhale, closing my eyes before I turn back to Alpha Axton.

"Yes." Did I just agree to stay in the Misfit Town? Let's see how my stay here will be.

"Alpha, your attention is needed immediately!" A guard calls. My heart skips two beats.