Prologue
The rain fell silently against the enormous glass windows.
Inside, no one paid it any attention.
The delivery room was filled with anxious anticipation. The newest heir to one of the city’s most influential wolf families was about to be born. Outside, bodyguards stood motionless in the hallway while the elders of the family spoke in hushed voices, every one of them waiting for the same news.
A strong wolf.
Born of a powerful Alpha bloodline.
That was how it was meant to be.
At last, the newborn let out her first cry.
Through tears, her mother reached out her arms.
“Please... let me see her...”
The midwife gently placed the baby girl into her embrace.
She was beautiful.
Soft strands of golden-blonde hair already shimmered beneath the lights. Her blue eyes were only beginning to open, and her tiny fingers instinctively wrapped around her mother’s hand.
The young mother smiled.
“She’s perfect...”
But the midwife did not answer.
The color slowly drained from her face.
The elderly healer standing nearby immediately noticed.
“What is it?”
The midwife examined the baby again.
Then once more.
Her hands began to tremble.
“This... this can’t be...”
The silence became almost unbearable.
The father stepped forward.
He was a tall, commanding man whose mere presence demanded respect.
“Speak.”
The midwife lowered her head.
“I can’t feel the wolf inside her.”
Time itself seemed to stop.
No one moved.
The mother let out a disbelieving laugh.
“That’s impossible.”
“She must simply be too weak...”
“She’s only a newborn...”
The healer stepped closer.
He rested his palm gently against the baby’s forehead.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Minutes passed.
Finally, he let out a deep sigh.
“The child is healthy.”
Another heavy silence followed.
“But she is human.”
The mother’s face turned white.
“No...”
“There must be some mistake.”
“Examine her again!”
The healer closed his eyes once more.
“I already have.”
“Three times.”
“The child has no wolf.”
The words crashed over the room like a sentence.
At that moment, the eldest elder of the family entered.
“What happened?”
No one answered.
One look was enough.
He understood.
His expression hardened.
“No one leaves this room.”
The mother pulled the baby tightly against her chest.
“She is my daughter.”
The elder did not even look at her.
“She is human.”
“She is my child!”
“And the future of the pack matters more than a single child.”
The young mother broke into uncontrollable sobs.
The father stood in silence.
His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
His eyes remained fixed on the floor.
He could not speak.
The old healer finally broke the silence.
“It is rare... but it happens. Once or twice every century. The bloodline remains pure. Yet sometimes nature chooses differently.”
“Then nature has made a mistake,” the elder replied coldly.
Silence settled over the room once again.
Only the baby’s soft cooing could be heard.
She wasn’t crying.
She was smiling.
As if she couldn’t understand why everyone had suddenly become so sad.
Three days later.
The rain was still falling.
A black car slowly rolled to a stop in front of an old orphanage.
The mother never let go of her daughter’s tiny hand during the entire journey.
The little girl slept peacefully.
Beneath her soft blanket, she held a tiny stuffed wolf close to her chest.
The mother’s lips trembled.
“I can’t...”
“I can’t do this.”
The father remained silent for a long time.
When he finally spoke, his voice was rough with emotion.
“If we take her back now... it could start a civil war between the packs.”
“I don’t care about politics!”
“Neither do I.”
She looked at him.
For the first time, she saw tears shining in her husband’s eyes.
“Then why?”
The man slowly closed his eyes.
“Because if she stays with us...”
“...she will never be free.”
Sobbing, the mother kissed her daughter’s forehead.
“I’m so sorry...”
The little girl woke up.
She looked at them with her big blue eyes.
Then she smiled.
Her tiny hand reached up and gently touched her mother’s cheek.
That was the moment the young woman completely broke.
“Please...”
“Let her stay...”
The father slowly turned away.
If he looked at them for even one more second, he would never be able to do it.
A few minutes later, the heavy wooden door closed behind them.
Inside, one of the caretakers gently took the little girl into her arms.
“What is her name?”
The man remained silent for a long time.
At last, he answered quietly.
“She has no name.”
The car slowly pulled away.
Through the rear window, the mother caught one last glimpse of her daughter.
The little girl waved happily.
She had no idea she was waving goodbye for the last time to the two people who loved her most.
The very people who lost her forever that same day.
