Chapter 3

Over the weekend, Mom and Dad took Chloe and me to the annual Moonlight Ball to formally introduce me as their trueborn daughter.

It was a major gathering where Alphas and high-ranking wolves from neighboring packs mingled.

The moment we entered the grand ballroom, Chloe was in her element.

Clinging to Mom’s arm, she flashed sweet smiles, charming every pack elder and high-society lady into singing praises of her poise and manners.

I stood alone by the bar, watching the shallow circus with disgust.

A bloated, balding Alpha was bragging to a circle of listeners about how much pack money he invested into the youth warrior camps and how deeply he cared for the pack's future.

I walked over with my champagne flute.

Stella murmured: *He's embezzling pack supplies to pay off his personal gambling debts.*

I looked right at him. "Did you mean you embezzled pack resources for yourself?"

The man’s boastful smile froze, and cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

A little further, an overly decked-out female wolf was giggling, showing off the diamond bracelets her Alpha husband bought her, bragging about their eternal bond.

As I walked past, Stella scoffed: *She stole him from another female. The real mate was exiled and lives in isolation.*

I paused. "Is your Alpha husband really your fated mate, or did you just steal him?"

Her face went ghostly pale, nearly dropping her crystal glass.

Looking around at all these polished, smiling faces filled with venom and greed, my patience ran out.

I stepped up to the stage, grabbed the host's microphone, and let my voice boom across the entire ballroom.

"Everyone, shut up and listen."

"Take a good look around you. Greedy Alphas bleeding their packs dry, serial cheaters stabbing their mates in the back, shameless grifters stealing pack funds, and social-climbing homewreckers posing as ladies..."

With every word I spoke, another face in the crowd turned white.

"You show up in tailored suits and million-dollar jewelry, pretending this Moonlight Ball is about unity and pack honor."

"Ask yourselves: do any of you actually care about pack bonds?"

"You're using this fancy party to build corrupt alliances, backstab your neighbors, and scheme against each other. Doesn't it sicken you?"

Dead silence fell over the hall. It felt like the air itself had frozen.

Dad was the first to rush up, his face livid.

"Rose Anderson! Shut your mouth right now! Are you trying to offend every pack in the territory and destroy Silver Creek?"

Chloe hurried over as well, pretending to be the peacemaker.

"Rose, please stop! These are just the unspoken social rules between packs. You’re embarrassing Mom and Dad..."

I shoved her arm off, speaking louder into the mic.

"Rules? Bullshit rules!"

"Hypocritical customs don't hold a candle to basic honesty."

"You call yourselves high-ranking werewolves?"

"You're just a bunch of rotted trash in expensive clothes!"

Mom and Dad turned bright red with rage and stormed off.

I set the microphone down. As I turned, my eyes caught a lone man standing quietly in the farthest corner of the ballroom.

He was dressed in a sleek black suit, tall, sharp, and completely detached from the superficial crowd around him.