Chapter 4

Layla’s POV

The following days passed in constant dread. I kept the secret to myself, not even sharing it with Olivia, who had grown increasingly distant as she immersed herself in her romance with the rogue Raze.

Tonight was supposed to be our transformation night—Olivia was brimming with excitement, but I couldn't summon any joy. Everything was spiraling toward disaster.

In the clearing, Agnes shoved us forward, voice harsh. "Line up, brats! Moon's up!" Clara smirked, Finn grinned meanly. My pulse raced. Olivia's eyes shone with anticipation.

Agnes chanted, rough and loud. Olivia went first. She gasped, falling, shaking hard. Her eyes turned silver, and she screamed, raw and loud. Rose-gold fur grew fast, her wolf, Snow, standing tall—strong, fierce, blue eyes soft but powerful. The kids gasped; some clapped.

Olivia's wolf looked at me, voice happy. "Layla, I did it! Snow's so strong!" She pranced, eyes bright. "Your turn! You're gonna be awesome!"

"I hope," I whispered, heart racing, desperate for my wolf. I stood under the moon, begging. Please.

Nothing came—just emptiness. My knees buckled, shame burning.

Clara laughed. "No wolf! Layla's a reject!"

Finn jeered, "Worthless trash!" Their words hit hard.

I looked up at Olivia, expecting comfort, but something had changed. Her wolf's eyes narrowed, disappointment evident. "Layla... no wolf?" Her voice was different now, an edge of dismay replacing her earlier warmth. "I thought we'd both be free."

"I tried," I sobbed, tears stinging.

She stepped back, her wolf form suddenly distant. "Snow needs to run. I... I need to think." Her hesitation was new, unfamiliar. Then she turned and trotted away, leaving me alone with my failure. I watched her go, noticing how she didn't look back once.

That night, sleep fled me, my mind tangled with despair. Wandering the yard, I heard murmurs and froze. Olivia, pressed against a tree, kissed Raze, the rogue. His scarred face smirked, hands roaming her curves. Rage and betrayal surged. "Olivia!" I snapped, voice raw.

They parted, Raze's arm around her waist, fingers digging into her hip. "Look what we have here," he sneered, voice dripping with contempt. "The wolfless wonder. Must be real disappointing, huh? To wait all these years only to find out you're defective." His eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. "Olivia's evolving, moving up in the world. She's got Snow now—strength, power, a future. What do you have? Nothing."

His hand slid to her ass, squeezing with a sickening leer. "A wolf needs another wolf, not some broken human pretending to belong. She's found where she truly fits now—with me. You're just holding her back."

"Olivia, don't!" I pleaded, tears stinging. "He's a rogue! He'll destroy you!"

Olivia's eyes flickered with guilt, then hardened. Where once I'd seen unwavering loyalty, I now saw calculation. The shift ceremony had changed everything.

"Layla," she said, her voice cooler than I'd ever heard it. "Snow's shown me what I can be. What I deserve." She gestured at the space between us. "I've spent ten years carrying us both, making sure we survived. But now..." She shook her head. "I can't keep protecting someone who can't even protect herself. No wolf means no place in this world."

"You're my sister!" I shouted, voice breaking. "Ten years we've fought together, and you're throwing me away because I didn't shift?"

Raze laughed, low and vile. "Sister? Pack is blood. Wolf is family. You're neither." His eyes raked over me, predatory and disgusting. "You're just baggage now, holding her back from greatness."

"I'd die for you, Olivia," I sobbed. "Don't leave me!"

Olivia's expression hardened further, Snow's newfound power evident in her stance. "I can't be responsible for you anymore, Layla. Without a wolf, you'll always be a liability. I need to think about my future now." Her voice dropped. "Stay out of my life."

They turned to his truck, her hand in his, her steps determined. She glanced back once, a flicker of the old Olivia visible for just a moment before being swallowed by her new reality.

"Olivia, please!" I screamed, clawing at the truck's door. "We're family!" The engine roared, dust choking me as they vanished.

I stumbled to our room, heart shattered, and found a dusty whiskey bottle under the cot. I drank, the burn numbing my pain but not my grief. Olivia’s laughter, our shared dreams, our tears—they haunted me. I drank until the room spun, my failure crushing. I couldn’t protect her. I was nothing.

I wandered to an alley. Two rogues jumped me. Rex’s nails clawed my arms, blood pouring. He slammed me into the wall, my lip splitting.

“Time to break you, wolfless,” he growled, ripping my dress. The second rogue’s claws cut my thighs, blood pooling. A fist hit my ribs, pain bursting. I screamed, but Rex’s boot crushed my stomach, blood flooding my mouth. My vision blurred, body broken, heart dead.

“Kill me,” I whispered, tears falling. “I don’t wanna live.”

Rex laughed, cruel. “Crazy bitch is gone! Talking nonsense!” He punched my face, nose bleeding, pain blinding.

“Finish her,” the second rogue sneered, clawing my shoulder. “She’s done.”

Clara watched, laughing. “She killed Jett! Slut deserves this! Lock her in prison!”

I was fading, body giving up. “End it,” I sobbed, voice gone. No sister, no wolf, a murderer. Death was better.

A roar shook the night. The rogues froze. Clara gasped, “Alpha Kael?!” Kael appeared, brown hair wild, green eyes burning. A scar cut his brow, jaw tight, a mole near his lips. His muscles screamed power, his presence huge, unstoppable.

Clara collapsed, trembling, urine soaking her skirt. “P-please… I didn’t see anything!” she whimpered, voice breaking under Kael’s terrifying glare.

Kael’s growl was fierce. “Touch my woman, you die!” His claws ripped into Rex’s chest, tearing out his heart, blood spraying. The second rogue lunged, whimpering, but Kael’s fist crushed his skull, heart ripped out, blood pooling. He turned to Clara, eyes blazing. “You’re next!”

Clara screamed, scrambling into the dark. Kael’s snarl followed her into the dark. “Run, bitch. But I always find my prey."

I collapsed, blood soaking my torn dress, body trembling, pain burning. I was barely conscious, my vision fading. Kael knelt, hands soft, lifting me. His scent—pine and musk—hit me, and a spark lit inside.

Mate. My soul felt it, the bond locking in. His eyes, full of pain, scanned my broken body. He growled, voice cracking. “Layla, my mate,” he said, thumbs wiping my blood and tears, lips kissing my cheeks. Each kiss warmed me, my skin alive.

“Why save me?” I sobbed, blood in my mouth. “Who’d want trash like me?”

He held my face, eyes fierce with love. “You’re my mate, Layla. The moon chose you. My everything.” His lips brushed mine, breath warm, air electric. My body leaned into him, craving his strength. “Be my Luna.”

“You don’t know me,” I whispered, tears falling. “I’m broken.”

“I know you’re mine,” he growled, eyes locked on mine. “I’ll kill anyone who hurts you. ” His arms tightened, muscles hard, safe. My heart raced, his warmth pulling me from despair.

“Yes,” I whispered, voice shaky, drawn to his fierce love.

His teeth grazed my bleeding neck, a growl vibrating through his chest. “Mine. Every scar, every tear—they all belong to me now."