Chapter 1

• INDIGO'S POV
• The loud voices fell silent the moment I stepped into the courtyard, replaced by a ripple of hushed whispers.
• I looked nervously at the peering eyes around me. The stares and the murmurs was something I was used to but it didn't make my heart pound any less.
• This was supposed to be a pack meeting but I wasn’t allowed to be any part of it.
• They hated me as much as they feared me.
• I wasn’t naive, they didn't want to give me any advantage over their pack and that was fine. I’d already grown up under their cold glares and biting remarks, to the point where hostility felt like a familiar companion, a part of a daily routine.
• “What are you doing here, Indigo?” My father’s voice cut through the murmurs like a whip, sharp and unyielding.
• I held my breath and took a step backward, my father was always like this but his tone was especially harsh today.
• My gaze darted across the court yard and locked onto a pair of vivid blue eyes. Piper. My sister’s lips curved into a smug smile. My sister disliked me just as much as everyone else did, maybe even more.
• “I-I—” I faltered, taking a deep shaky breath. “I thought the meeting would be over.”
• “But it clearly isn’t!” My father spat.“Get out. Now.” His words were like venom to my skin and I couldn't help but tremble as I stood in place.
• “Didn't you hear me?” He asked and my heart sank as I turned to leave, embarrassment clutching at me. I was foolish for thinking I could ever belong here.
• “Let the girl stay.”
• The raspy command brought me to a halt.
• Kymir.
• My mate. The alpha of our pack.
• We hadn’t made our bond public yet—his choice, not mine—but I’d clung to the hope that one day he’d step up, declare us to the pack, and take me as his Luna.
• “Alpha, she doesn’t need to—” someone began to protest.
• “Let her stay,” Kymir repeated, his tone final.
• A flicker of hope warmed my chest, even as I kept my face neutral. He was standing up for me. Maybe this was the moment things would finally change.
• But then, Piper’s voice cut through, dripping with annoyance. “Honey, I hope you don’t plan to make this a habit. I wouldn’t want the abomination at our mating ceremony.”
• I blinked rapidly as my breath hitched, wondering if I had heard right. “Mating ceremony?”
• Apparently, I’d said it aloud, because Piper’s smile widened, saccharine and cruel.
• “Yes, Indie. Our mating ceremony. Kymir and I will be publicly bonded in a week.” She smiled sweetly, obviously pleased with herself.
• Her words felt like daggers aiming right for my chest.
• “T-that can’t be true,” I stammered, my voice trembling as I felt tears crippling from the corners of my eyes,“Kymir—”
• I was Kymir’s mate, not Piper! This had to be a big misunderstanding.
• “That would be Alpha to you,” he corrected coldly as he approached me, his steely gaze freezing me in place. “I want you to withdraw Indigo, or believe I will make you.”
• “Withdraw?” I took another step back instinctively. “But you’re my mate!” I exclaimed, ignoring the gasps around the room.
• A dry, humorless laugh escaped him. “How pathetic of you to believe I’d ever claim you. You’re an abomination, Indigo. My father might find you useful, but I have no use for a wolf-less mate.”
• Full blown tears blurred my vision as the words sank in. I couldn't believe what was happening.
• “I, Alpha Kymir of the Southside pack, reject you as my mate and as the future Luna of this pack.” His voice was unwavering, merciless. “The sooner you accept that, the better for you Indigo.”
• He turned and strode out, Piper majestically following behind him with a triumphant smile written on her face.
• Snickers erupted in their wake, and then my father’s sneering face loomed in front of me. “You’re a disgrace to our family!” he spat, his words like poison. “You can’t even keep your mate. I am ashamed to call you my daughter.”
• The air grew thick, my chest tight. Panic clawed at me as my heart thundered. I couldn’t breathe.
• “Come on, Indie.” A firm hand gripped my arm, pulling me out of the room. It was Cohen, Kymir’s father and one of Southside’s officials. He was the only one in the entire pack partially kind to me.
• “He rejected me,” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper.
• “You can’t be Luna, Indie,” he replied evenly. “You don’t have a wolf.” He calmly responded
• Before I could respond, a deafening crash echoed through the packhouse, followed by panicked screams and suddenly Cohen wasn't at my side again.
• “It’s an attack!” someone screamed, their voice shrill with terror. The words were barely out of their mouth before the unmistakable sound of shifting—bones cracking, fur tearing—filled the air.
• Panic set in as warriors who had once stood in their human forms now brought claws and fangs, transforming into wolves with the intention to protect the pack from whatever was happening.
• I was disoriented, smoke filled the air and my eyes stung, people were screaming and running about but I remained rooted to the spot, my heart pounding, confusion warring with fear within me.
• Suddenly, Cohen’s voice cut through the pandemonium. “Indigo, we need your powers!”
• I froze, my heart hammering in my chest as I stared at him running to me, his hand covering his face. My powers. The ones that had never been welcomed, never trained. The ones that made me an outcast, a freak. It had always been clear that my control over the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—wasn’t a gift anyone could use. It was a curse.
• But Cohen wasn’t waiting for an answer. He grasped my arm tightly, his fingers digging into my skin as his eyes widened in panic. “Now, Indigo! We have no choice! We can't hold them down!”
• I was shaking, my breaths coming out as shaky sounds as I tried to look around the smoky area. The last thing I wanted was to unleash my powers in the middle of this—there were too many of them, too many lives at risk. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know how to control it. What if I hurt someone?
• “Indigo!” Cohen screamed at me just as someone running shoved me and I fell down, my arm slipping from Cohen's grasp.
• I gulped and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the sharp sting of my arm scraping against the floor and instead focusing. I felt the familiar pull of the elements within me. Earth. Fire. Water. Air.
• I reached out to them, trying to call on the power that had always been so difficult to command. But it was like trying to catch smoke with my bare hands—fragile, fleeting and impossible.
• “Indigo, please!” Cohen’s voice was harsh, frantic now, as he pulled me up from the ground harshly, pulling me away from the smoke.
• The sounds of people screaming and the smell of burning flesh made my heart clench.
• I could feel the ground trembling beneath me, the vibrations signaling that something was wrong—very wrong. And then it hit me: the earth was responding. It wasn’t my control, it wasn’t planned. My power was wild and I couldn't control the energy that I had unleashed.
• I shoved my hands toward the ground, attempting to channel the energy, but it was futile. The earth beneath me cracked, sending shards of stone and dirt shooting into the air. I gasped, pulling my face swag to avoid being hurt by the flying objects.
• Why was I not getting this right?!
• The air around me swirled, gusting violently as I reached out for the other elements, desperate to try something else. Fire surged within me—hot, painful—but I couldn’t seem to harness it. It was all too much. Everything was too much.
• “No, Indigo!” Cohen shouted, his voice barely audible over the screaming. His grip tightened, but my eyes became blank with realization. My powers weren’t a solution—they were the problem.
• The fire that I had tried to conjure to help burn the intruders welled up in my chest, refusing to be channelled out and I could feel the burning sting in my chest.
• Desperately, I reached for the water element to quench the fire before it consumed me but the water refused to obey me.
• “Stop it!” Cohen’s voice was frantic now, desperate as he saw the pained expression on my face.
• I tried, I truly did. The ground beneath us shook violently, and I stumbled backward, unable to hold on any longer. A sudden burst of energy shot out of me, pushing Cohen away, and I fell to my knees, breathless, dizzy, my vision blurring already.
• “I—” I gasped, trying to breathe through the pain that threatened to overcome me. “I can’t do it... I’m not—”
• I turned, struggling to focus, but my head was spinning. I saw the figures of warriors scattered around us—some of them standing, some writhing on the ground, but the battle still raged. Had I...?
• Before I could even process what had happened, my legs gave out, and I collapsed. My vision flickered. I could hear Cohen shouting, but it was muffled, as if coming from a distance.
• Then silence.
• I don't know how long it has been. I woke up in a strange place. The room was dark and I couldn't see anything, I was about to stand when I heard a voice,
• "She's awake." It sent shivers down my spine immediately, a lazy growl that you couldn't mistake for weakness resounded,
• A sharp feminine voice retorted, "And how do you know that? Can you see her?"
• The growl again. "I can smell her."
• Smell me?
• I wasn't prepared for the burst of light that filled the room, my eyes immediately connected with hard brown eyes and I shuddered at the intensity of his gaze.
• "Look at this little one; she leveled her own pack, we barely need to lift a finger."
• "Get her out of here.”