Chapter 1: A Birthday in the Shadows
Elara Moon stared at the cup cake with just one candle on top. She danced with the small flame in her dark bedroom, making shadows on the walls of her run-down cabin on the edge of Blackwood Pack territory.
"Happy birthday to me," she said in a low voice that resounded through the empty room.18 years old.
Today she turned eighteen, but no one seemed to care. It was never done.
Elara closed her eyes and said, "Please let something change." This was her daily wish.
I want to be more than just an omega.
In the Blackwood Pack, being an omega meant being at the bottom. Omegas had the worst jobs, the smallest homes, and were looked down upon the most. They were the weaklings, the nobodies.
She blew out the light, and darkness swallowed her room. Elara sighed, flicking on her lamp. Her tiny cabin was clean but bare—just a bed, a small table, and a bookshelf filled with worn fantasy works.
Books were her getaway from pack life. Her phone buzzed. Probably her boss at the pack diner telling her not to be late for her shift tomorrow. Elara dismissed it and dragged herself to the bathroom mirror.
A girl with tired green eyes stared back. Her dark brown hair fell in messy waves past her shoulders. She wasn't ugly—just regular. Nothing special. Nothing that would ever catch anyone's attention in a pack that values strength and power above all else.
"Another thrilling year as the pack nobody," she muttered, splashing cold water on her face. Her stomach growled. The cupcake was her only birthday treat, and she hadn't eaten dinner yet.
The small fridge in her kitchen held half a sandwich and some juice. Not much of a birthday feast, but she was used to making do with less.