The Girl the Pack Treated as a Joke Was Actually a Powerful White Wolf Chapter 04

The Girl the Pack Treated as a Joke Was Actually a Powerful White Wolf Chapter 04

My mother gave me an approving pat on the head. “Good. You’re finally learning your place.”

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving me stranded in the dark corner of the hall.

Seeing me sidelined, Ethan grabbed the mic, stepped forward, and clinked his glass to draw everyone’s eyes.

“Alright, listen up!” his voice echoed through the speakers.

“Why is our guest of honor lurking in the back? Come on, let’s raise a glass to our top cadet!”

Squad members and old friends raised their glasses toward me with wide smiles.

They toasted my acceptance to RCA, congratulating me on the chance to serve under the Alpha King himself.

They toasted an SS-rank wolf—a lethal rarity shared by fewer than a thousand wolves in the entire world.

Then, crystal shattered.

A loud, violent crash silenced the room.

Serena had “accidentally” sent the champagne tower toppling to the floor.

Every head whipped in her direction.

Tears spilled freely down her cheeks, her voice fragile and trembling.

“If only… if only I hadn’t drank the glass Lyra handed me before the Final Trial…”

She let out a ragged, choked sob.

“I wouldn’t have gotten sick. My combat scores wouldn’t have tanked, and maybe… maybe that RCA acceptance letter would’ve been mine.”

She wiped her nose and forced a brave, pathetic smile through her tears.

“But Lyra made it. I’m really… so happy for her.”

The room fell dead silent.

The smiles froze. The warmth directed at me turned into sharp, piercing scrutiny. A few packmates slowly lowered their drinks.

My mother rushed over, wrapping Serena tightly in her arms with a heart-wrenching sob.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart. You have ten times her spark—it was just bad luck.”

Nolan glared at me, his eyes burning with disgust, as if repulsed by the viper he thought was standing before him.

I locked eyes with Serena.

Beneath that veil of helpless tears, a sliver of sickening triumph peeked through.

“One,” I spoke up, my voice cutting through the heavy air. “I never laid eyes on you the entire morning of the Final Trial.”

“Two, the Wolf Rank Assessment measures a full year of combat rankings, shift control, tactical reviews, and the Final Trial combined.”

I didn’t yell, but every cadet in that hall heard every syllable loud and clear.

“You’ve been dead last in combat for three years and failed your basic shifts. Even with a miracle in the Final Trial, RCA would never take you.”

I took a slow step forward, pinning her with my stare.

“Royal Crescent only takes ninety-nine cadets from across the realm. What made you think you belonged there?”

I paused, letting out a soft, mocking laugh.

“Your crocodile tears?”

Serena’s expression completely shattered. A fresh wail ripped out of her throat, and she collapsed into Nolan’s chest.

The anger on Nolan’s face faltered.

He wasn’t stupid—he knew the testing protocol. He knew I hadn’t touched her.

Yet he still shielded Serena over the Luna he had sworn to protect.

“Enough, Lyra,” Nolan frowned, voice heavy with exasperation. “She’s already hurting. Just apologize and let it go.”

She smeared my name, and I was supposed to apologize?

“I did nothing wrong. I will never apologize.”

Nolan’s eyes went pitch black.

His Alpha aura detonated, crashing down on my shoulders like a tidal wave.

In front of every single member of this pack, my own Alpha was using his dominance to force me to my knees.

I clamped my jaw shut and locked my spine.

An SS-rank wolf answered to no one—least of all an ordinary Alpha like Nolan.

Before he could push harder, Serena stepped between us, grabbed a glass of champagne, and downed it in one breath.

“Please, don’t fight! Lyra, it was just a stupid joke! I’ll drink this to beg your forgiveness!”

“Serena, no!” My father shoved me brutally to the side, lunging for her.

“You’re allergic to alcohol! What are you doing?!”

I slammed back into the shattered glass.

Behind him, my mother rushed past, grinding her heel directly into the back of my hand.

Panic took over Nolan’s face. He scooped Serena into his arms, wholly blind to everything else. “I’m taking her to the clinic!”

They rushed out.

Leaving me bleeding in the ruins of my own celebration.

Ethan picked his way through the shattered crystal and pulled me to my feet.

“Lyra, are you okay?”

I reached down, picked up an unbroken glass from a nearby table, and lifted it toward the stunned faces in the room.

Enjoy the party, everyone,” I said, my voice dead and razor-sharp as I lifted my glass.

“You won’t see me again.”

I was never setting foot in this pack again.