No Bonds to Hold Me, but a Wolf to Run With Chapter 01

No Bonds to Hold Me, but a Wolf to Run With Chapter 01

On my eighteenth birthday, I found out I wasn’t my parents’ biological daughter.

My first thought was simple—I was going to have two homes.

Instead, the four of them sat down for a family meeting and unanimously decided to lavish all their love on Sienna.

My biological parents, the Hartwells—the wealthiest family in the Red Moon Pack—argued that they had raised her for eighteen years and couldn’t bear to let her go.

My adoptive parents, the Greys—the Alpha and Luna of the Red Moon Pack—said she had suffered out in the world and deserved compensation.

And me?

Nobody mentioned me.

We shared the exact same birthday. The Greys bought Sienna eighteen gifts to make up for eighteen years of missing love.

The Hartwells bought her another eighteen to celebrate the days they spent together.

Thirty-six presents covered the table. In front of me sat a single slice of cake without a candle.

As the party wound down, I asked quietly, “Which house am I going to tonight?”

My biological mother, Eleanor, kept her head down as she cut the cake, and my adoptive mother, Claire, paused with a tight smile.

“You’ve always been so self-sufficient, sweetie. Mom knows you can take care of yourself.”

I smiled and nodded.

Looking down at my Harvard acceptance letter, I made a silent wish for my eighteenth birthday:

Goddess Moon, please protect me so I never look back.

The exact moment the wish crossed my mind, a flash of lightning shattered the dark through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Thunder rolled overhead, and the midsummer rain hammered down, instantly blurring the glass.

Claire was helping Sienna unwrap her last gift.

It was a dress. She held it up against Sienna’s chest and smiled, saying the size was an exact match.

Eleanor walked over with a plate of cake and reminded them to take pictures before the frosting melted.

My adoptive father, Victor, and my biological father, Marcus, scrambled to adjust the lighting.

All four of them were so busy that none of them looked at me.

When I set my fork down, Claire seemed to glance in my direction.

I waited two seconds, but she simply reached past me to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Sienna’s ear.

“My precious girl, come stay at our place tonight,” Claire said, taking Sienna’s hand. “We’ve already got your room ready, right down to the Swarovski crystal chandelier.”

Eleanor immediately protested, unwilling to let her go. “She just found out about her heritage today. She should stay somewhere familiar. Our pack scent can comfort her wolf. Once she adjusts, she’ll have plenty of time at your place.”

“But we just got her back,” Victor argued.

“We raised her for eighteen years too.”

They were fighting over which bed Sienna would sleep in.

Not a single person answered where I was supposed to live.

Sienna’s lips parted slightly. “Does Big Sis want to—”

“Sienna, look at the camera.”

Marcus pulled her back. “Let’s get a group photo first. The four parents and Sienna.”

I picked up my acceptance letter and walked out of the banquet hall.

The rain was heavy, the thunder loud—the kind of weather beasts despised.

A server asked if I wanted to wait until the rain slowed down before leaving.

Through the glass doors, I saw the five of them huddled close together.

The camera flash went off once.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the rain.

Slipping away to where nobody else could see me, my wolf, Snow, finally snapped.

Shifting in human territory was dangerous, but I couldn’t control the grief.

She took over control of my body, running through the torrential rain and thunder, letting out bursts of mournful howls.

I didn’t return to the Grey household, nor did I go to the Hartwells’ newly discovered Rose Manor. Instead, I wandered everywhere like a stray wolf.

Finally—in the small hours past my eighteenth birthday—I bought a ticket for the cheapest overnight seat I could find.

It was so quiet.

It felt like the whole world had abandoned me.