Born One Minute Too Late, But I Was the True Alpha Chapter 01

Born One Minute Too Late, But I Was the True Alpha Chapter 01

I was born one minute after my twin brother.

That minute cost me the Alpha title.

Eighteen years later, it cost me first place at Westbridge Academy too.

The final rankings appeared on the screen above the training field.

Declan Vale.

First place.

Future Alpha of Greyhaven Pack.

The students around him erupted into cheers.

I searched the rest of the list.

Second place.

Third.

Fourth.

My name was not there.

An hour earlier, I had knocked Declan onto his back in front of four instructors and three hundred students. His shoulder had struck the dirt before mine. My claws had been at his throat.

Everyone had seen it.

Declan looked across the field at me.

For one second, shame moved through his eyes.

Then Brielle threw her arms around his neck.

“I knew you would win!”

My half-sister wore her cheer uniform and a silver ribbon in her blond hair. She was seventeen, beautiful, and very good at looking fragile when people were watching.

Declan accepted her hug.

Our father stepped onto the field and shook his hand.

Alpha Grant Vale did not look at me.

Coach Miller found me beside the equipment shed twenty minutes later.

“Arden.”

He sounded tired.

I folded the wraps I had taken from my hands.

“Where am I really ranked?”

He closed the door behind him.

“First.”

I laughed once.

There was nothing funny in it.

“Then why isn’t my name on the board?”

His mouth tightened.

“Your father spoke to the principal this morning.”

Of course he had.

“A future Alpha cannot graduate below his sister,” Coach Miller said. “Those were his exact words.”

“And removing me completely?”

“He said second place would create questions.”

The skin over my knuckles had split during the fight. Blood gathered in the small cuts.

I stared at it instead of crying.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Arden, I objected.”

“But you still changed the list.”

He had no answer.

When I returned to the Pack House, my family was already celebrating.

A banner hung across the dining room.

CONGRATULATIONS, FUTURE ALPHA.

Declan’s medal sat in the center of the table.

The medal I had earned.

Father poured himself a drink.

“Close the door.”

I did.

Lenora sat beside him. She had become our Luna less than a year after my mother died giving birth to us. She wore white, as she always did when she wanted to look innocent.

Brielle sat on the arm of her chair.

Declan remained by the window.

“You embarrassed your brother today,” Father said.

“I won.”

“That is exactly the problem.”

My wolf pushed against my ribs.

I kept her down.

“You asked me to compete.”

“I expected you to show judgment.”

“You expected me to lose.”

Lenora sighed.

“Must everything become a fight with you?”

“It was a combat examination.”

Her eyes sharpened.

Father set down his glass.

“Declan needs the confidence of the Pack. He will become Alpha. You will not damage his authority over a school ranking.”

I looked at my brother.

“Do you agree?”

Declan finally faced me.

“I was born first.”

“By one minute.”

“One minute is still first.”

He stepped closer.

“From the moment we were born, the result was decided.”

His gaze dropped to the black ink beneath my fingernails.

“Besides, you still have your Nightglass Tattoo, don’t you?”

“What does my shop have to do with this?”

“You already have your own business. Your own money. Your own thing.”

He spread his hands as if that settled everything.

“Why do you need to compete with me for the Alpha title too?”

Nightglass Tattoo had not been given to me.

I had started drawing designs for cash when I was fifteen. I had cleaned the empty storefront myself. I had bought my first tattoo machine with six months of savings.

No one in this room had paid a cent.

Lenora pushed a folder across the table.

“Since we are discussing the shop, Brielle needs a crest for the graduation showcase.”

I did not touch it.

“She can design her own.”

Brielle’s eyes filled immediately.

“I only asked for help.”

“Then ask. Don’t send Lenora to order me.”

Father’s voice turned cold.

“You will design it.”

I looked at the medal on the table.

Then at the folder.

One child received my victory.

The other received my work.

There was never anything left for me.

“Fine,” I said.

That night, I returned to Nightglass Tattoo.

The shop smelled of disinfectant, paper, and ink.

It was the only place where my name appeared on the door.

I sat behind the counter and opened the website for North Coast Advanced Academy.

The application had been saved in my drafts for eleven months.

I had always found a reason not to send it.

Declan needed help with training.

Father needed reports.

Brielle needed another design.

Greyhaven needed me.

At least that was what I had told myself.

I attached my real combat records, my portfolio, and the financial statement from my shop.

Then I pressed submit.