Iris    

|| A/N ||

Before you proceed, dear readers, know that our FL, Iris, starts as meek, submissive, and obedient—a product of a lifetime spent as a servant, enduring unkindness from those around her.

However, this is only the beginning.

Her transformation will come, but it will be gradual.

Thank you for your love and support!

૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა

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[IRIS]

"Iris! Hurry up, you slowpoke!" a voice snapped, sharp and impatient. "The Ember Howl Kin will be here tomorrow! We still have a mountain of chores to finish, and you're dragging us all down!"

I bit my lip, keeping my focus on the task at hand. "I'm almost done," I murmured, my voice barely audible over the commotion of the bustling pack house.

My hands moved automatically, scrubbing the stone floor even though my fingers ached. My dirty, matted hair clung to my face, and my threadbare clothes, stained and worn from endless work, felt like a second skin. I probably looked like a ghost of a person, hollowed out by exhaustion and unrelenting scorn.

"You've been at it forever!" the voice snapped again, whipping with venom. "Stop wasting time and get moving, you useless unshifted runt!"

The insult landed with a sting, but I didn't react. I had learned long ago that flinching only made them crueler. Their words used to leave me broken and sobbing in the dark, but now? They were just background noise, constant and unrelenting, but survivable.

I had always been nothing to them. An orphan in the Bloodmoon Pack had no value beyond the work they could offer. And an unshifted one? Even worse.

I had no parents to shield me, no allies to defend me. My adoptive Gamma parents had given me a brief taste of love before fate ripped them away, leaving me to fend for myself in the orphanage—and among the wolves who despised me.

At seven, most of my peers had shifted, their wolves awakened by the Moon Goddess's blessing. Their transformations had been met with celebration, their new power a sign of their place in the pack.

But me? At eighteen, I was still human. Still unclaimed by my wolf. Still a failure.

They thought I was weak. Broken.

But there was something none of them knew. Something that both terrified and strengthened me.

I felt it. The bond.

A faint, undeniable pull deep in my soul.

Lorcan Bloodhowl, the future Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack, was my mate.

It didn't make sense. It shouldn't make sense. Someone like Lorcan—strong, commanding, the embodiment of everything an Alpha should be—couldn't possibly be destined for someone like me.

And yet, the bond was there. An ache that grew stronger with each passing day, a whisper in my soul that refused to be ignored.

But Lorcan?

He refused to see me.

He avoided me like I carried a plague, never once acknowledging the invisible thread tying us together.

When our eyes did meet, his gaze was dark and stormy, filled with emotions I couldn't decipher. He felt it, too. I knew he did. But for some reason, he chose to ignore it.

And now, he was preparing to marry someone else.

Ember Valehart, Alpha of the Ember Howl Kin, was everything I wasn't—powerful, strong, confident. Beautiful in a way that turned heads when she entered a room.

A widow with a tragic past, Ember's marriage to Lorcan would forge an alliance between our packs that would make them unstoppable. Together, they would rule the northern territories, their combined strength unmatched.

I had watched the preparations unfold in silence, my heart splintering piece by piece. I understood why Lorcan was doing this. He had a duty, a responsibility as the future Alpha. I wasn't blind to the political advantages this marriage would bring.

But understanding didn't make the pain any easier to bear.

Because the mate bond wasn't just a tradition. It was sacred. It was the Moon Goddess's decree, a force beyond logic or politics. Rejecting it wasn't just an insult to me—it was a fracture of our own soul.

The thought of him standing beside Ember, vowing himself to another while our bond still pulsed between us, made my chest tighten until I could barely breathe. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to keep scrubbing, trying to hold myself together even as I was hurting.

A sharp voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

"Are you even listening?"

I jolted, barely stopping myself from flinching.

"Get off your knees and move to the kitchens before I—"

"I'm going," I whispered, my voice hollow as I slowly rose to my feet. My knees ached from hours kneeling on the cold stone, but I ignored the pain. The other omegas shot me withering looks, muttering under their breath as they stalked off.

I didn't follow right away.

Instead, I leaned against the wall, pressing my palm against the cool stone to steady myself. My head pounded, the weight of it all crashing down on me. I had tried so hard to stay invisible, to survive, to endure. But the bond wouldn't let me.

Every time I caught the faintest trace of Lorcan's scent lingering in the halls, every time I saw the curve of his jaw from across the room, the connection between us screamed for recognition.

And yet, tomorrow, he would belong to someone else.

My fingers trembled as I gripped the edge of a wooden table beside me. I couldn't let this happen. I couldn't.

Not without a fight.

This bond wasn't just my burden. It was his destiny, too.

I refused to believe the Moon Goddess would tie me to him for no reason. There had to be something I wasn't seeing, some reason why I—weak, wolfless Iris—was destined to be with someone like Lorcan Bloodhowl.

I had to make him see.

I had to confront him before it was too late.

If he went through with this marriage, he wouldn't just be severing our bond—he would be cutting out a part of himself.

And a part of me.

I didn't know if I could change his mind.

I didn't know if I had the strength to stand against the entire pack and fight for what was already mine.

But I couldn't let fear stop me now.

I would face him. I would tell him the truth. And I would make him acknowledge what we both knew deep in our hearts.

Because some things were worth fighting for—

Even against impossible odds.