They Voted Me Out, So I Rose as a Lycan Warrior Chapter 01

They Voted Me Out, So I Rose as a Lycan Warrior Chapter 01

After the Werewolf SATs, my twin brother, Alpha Sebastian, my Mate, Alpha Nathan, and my best friend, Gamma Clara, all decide to apply to the prestigious Ravenhill Academy.

“Nora, did you apply yet? Don’t forget our pact. The four of us are going to Ravenhill together!”

“Team Ravenhill, let’s go!”

I smile and agree.

But on the day applications are due, all three of them suddenly go silent.

Dozens of calls, hundreds of messages, and repeated calls through our mind link all disappear into silence.

Then I come across a post Rebecca Westbrook, an Omega from our pack, has just shared.

[Alpha Sebastian, Alpha Nathan, and Gamma Clara took me to the coast today! I had the best time!]

My heart sinks.

I pull out Sebastian’s tablet. His password is still my birthday.

But when the screen lights up, I see a group chat I’ve never seen before. They’re voting on something.

“Go to Ravenhill Academy with Nora, or go to Crownvale Academy with Rebecca?”

A: Ravenhill Academy

B: Crownvale Academy

In the end, option B wins unanimously.

Nathan says, “Rebecca only has us. Making her go to college alone would be too cruel.”

Clara agrees. “Exactly. We’ve been with Nora for over a decade. Four years apart isn’t going to change anything.”

Even Sebastian agrees.

“Ravenhill and Crownvale are both within Royal Pack territory. Worst case, we can drive over to Ravenhill every weekend and see Nora.”

My tears fall onto the screen.

They choose her over the promise we made.

With only ten minutes left before the college application deadline, I fill out an application for Lycancrest Academy in the Lycan Realm.

The confirmation appears on the screen with only one minute left before the deadline.

I stare at the words Lycancrest Academy, my fingers frozen for a long moment.

Then my phone suddenly vibrates.

It’s Sebastian.

I answer, and his voice still carries its usual warmth, “Nora, you got your application in?”

“Yeah. It’s done.”

There’s a brief pause before his voice softens as he tries to coax me, “Aww. Is our little pack princess mad at us?”

I don’t answer.

“I’m with Nathan and Clara. We’re picking out your graduation gift. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“Our phones were on silent. We weren’t ignoring you, okay?”

He lets out a soft laugh.

“Come on, don’t be mad. We’re heading back to the den now. We’ll make it up to you.”

Twenty minutes later, I hear the lock click.

Sebastian is the first to walk into the pack house, carrying my favorite red velvet cake.

Nathan has a gift box in his arms, while Clara carries three cups of hot cocoa.

The three of them stand in the doorway, smiling as naturally as ever, as if nothing has happened.

Just like every other time they come home to make it up to me after making me angry.

Sebastian sets the cake on the table and reaches out to ruffle my hair out of habit.

I step aside, and his hand stops in midair. His brows crease slightly.

Nathan pushes the gift box toward me.

“Nora, come on. Don’t give us that face. This is your graduation gift. Open it.”

Clara leans closer.

“Yeah. Are we really going to let something this stupid come between us?”

I look at them and suddenly ask, “Where did you guys actually go today?”

Sebastian barely hesitates before breaking into a smile.

“I told you. We were shopping for your gift.”

I pull out my phone and hold Rebecca’s post up for them to see.

In the photos, Sebastian is carrying her bag, Nathan has draped his jacket over her shoulders, and Clara has her arm linked affectionately with Rebecca’s.

The smiles on all three of their faces finally freeze.

I open the group chat on Sebastian’s tablet, “Was this part of the surprise too?”

Clara’s eyes immediately turn red, “Nora, please. We weren’t trying to hurt you.”

Nathan lowers his voice as he explains.

“Rebecca doesn’t really have anyone in the pack. She’ll be scared going to Crownvale alone.”

Sebastian sighs, his voice carrying the familiar helplessness I know so well.

“Nora, you’ve had us your whole life. Rebecca doesn’t have that. She’s alone.”

I stare at him quietly.

After our Alpha parents die in an accident, he becomes the only family I have.

All those years, whenever I wake from a nightmare, he holds me in his arms and pats my back, telling me, “Your big brother will always be here for you.”

But now he tells me another girl is too lonely, so he has to be there for her.

I ask, “So which one did you actually apply to? Ravenhill or Crownvale?”

No one answers.

But they don’t need to.

Nathan avoids my gaze.

“They’re both in Royal Pack territory. We can still come see you at Ravenhill every weekend.”

Clara quickly nods.

“Exactly. It’s not like we’re never going to see you again. You’re making this way bigger than it is.”

I smile.

So, in their eyes, my four years, my life, and the future I once looked forward to so much can all be made up for with a simple promise to visit me every weekend.

When Sebastian sees that I’m no longer questioning them, he visibly relaxes.

He pushes the cake a little closer to me.

“Okay. Now that you know, we might as well tell you everything.”

“We’ve already decided on our graduation trip. We’re going to the Alps. Rebecca says she’s never seen the snow-covered mountains before.”

I look up at him.

“You already decided. So why are you telling me now?”

He pauses.

“Because you’re my sister, Nora. Of course you’re coming.”

Clara takes out her phone and hands me the itinerary.

Messages are pouring into the group chat one after another, so lively that it feels like the entire pack is celebrating something.

I quickly realize they didn’t just create one group chat.

They even have a graduation trip group.

And just like the other one, I’m not in it.

My fingers slowly tighten around my phone.

Just then, Sebastian’s gaze falls on my neck.

“By the way, Rebecca really likes that necklace of yours.”

My hand immediately covers the necklace. Mom puts it around my neck herself before she dies.

The silver moonstone pendant rests against my skin. On the back, a few words are engraved:

[For my Beloved Nora.]

I hear my own voice turn colder.

“No.”

Sebastian frowns.

“I haven’t even finished. I just wanted to borrow it for a few days. She can wear it during the trip, and I’ll make sure she gives it back. I’ll buy you an even better one.”

“There is no better one.”

His expression darkens.

“Nora, don’t be difficult.”

I stare at him quietly.

The red velvet cake on the table still gives off its sickly sweet scent, the cream around the edges already beginning to sag.

I don’t take a single bite.

My phone vibrates again.

It’s a message from Clara.

[Oh, Nora, one more thing. Tomorrow is the pack gathering. I can’t wear our best-friend outfits with you anymore.]

[Rebecca and I bought matching dresses. I already promised her I’d wear it with her.]