Chapter 1 the weak

The air was cold and bitter that morning, but Amelia Miller barely felt it. Hurrying down the path to the packhouse, she clutched the bundle of freshly laundered clothes to her chest. Her fingers were numb from washing in icy water, her cheeks raw and red from the chill, but her mind barely registered the discomfort. She had grown used to it-used to being ignored, used to being invisible.

Today, though, was different. Today she turned 18, a day she had hoped would bring change, finally. The day she finds her mate.

The pack had always made Amelia feel like an outsider. Her half-sister, Caroline, was the golden child, the favored daughter of Alpha Miller and Luna Hannah. Amelia, the product of a short, regretted relationship before her father had met Luna Hannah, had never belonged. Her father seldom spoke to her, and Luna Hannah treated her with thinly veiled disdain. The rest of the pack followed suit, making sure Amelia knew she was only tolerated and never loved.

The idea of finding a mate had been Amelia's hope, her one wish. Perhaps he could see her and understand her-even love her. Maybe this was the one to break chains binding her in loneliness since childhood.

She reached the door of the packhouse, took a deep breath, and smoothed tangled brown hair, adjusting the plain brown dress. The door opened abruptly, and she found herself face-to-face with Caroline, who smirked in her smugness.

"Oh, look, the little servant girl thinks she's part of the family," Caroline sneered. Perfect blonde curls bounced as she crossed her arms. "Don't forget your place, Amelia. You're not wanted here."

Amelia's eyes dropped to the floor, her heart sinking in her chest. It was her birthday, yet somehow, the sting of Caroline's words felt as if it could never get any different-as if there was nothing she could do to fit in. But she swallowed her pride, clinging to the one hope she had left: her mate.

As she stepped into the main hall of the pack, an overwhelming presence nailed her feet to the ground. She spun around, her heart jackhammering in her chest, her gaze setting on him-the Alpha himself, Jackson Thorne. His gaze was piercing, and at that moment, as their eyes met, something lit in her chest. Her heart beat wildly.

The bond. It was true. Alpha Jackson Thorne was her mate.

She didn't even have time to process the shock before a scornful laugh cut through the silence. Caroline stepped forward, her hand slipping possessively onto Jackson's arm. Amelia's blood ran cold as she watched her half-sister entwine herself with the Alpha, looking at Amelia with a satisfied smirk.

"Isn't it sweet?" Caroline, glanced up at Jackson with adoration. "I've waited so long for this day.

Jackson's eyes held on Amelia's for the span of a heartbeat, before turning to ice. He glanced at Caroline and back to Amelia, and in that instant, Amelia felt the knife of betrayal pierce her chest.

"Amelia Miller," he said, his voice cold, "means nothing to me."

And in that instant, her world came crashing down. The connection that had bound them, the hope she had held on for, disappeared in less than a second. She opened her mouth to protest, but words wouldn't flow. Her Alpha was hers, her partner, yet here he was dismissing her as if she didn't mean more to him than the speck of dust on the floor.

Then Jackson turned to Caroline and, in front of the whole pack, pressed his lips onto hers. The room was filled with gasps, but nobody came to intervene, because they knew exactly what it meant: he chose Caroline for his Luna.

Amelia's heart wrenched in pain as the rejection seared right through to her very soul, a dull ache settling within her chest as Jackson and Caroline simply walked away, leaving her there, humiliated and abandoned.

Her half-sister had taken everything: the love of her family, her place in the pack, and now her mate. Amelia turned to run out of the hall; though behind her, the laughter echoed on. The packmates formerly ignoring her now looked upon her with sneers, mocking grins.