I didn’t really expect my twenty-first birthday to be anything special, but I sure as shit did not expect to be sitting solemnly in the main house of the compound, wearing all black, because of a death in the pack.

And I definitely didn’t think that it would be because Alpha Samuel was the pack member who died, not when he was young and seemingly healthy like he was.

Just goes to show you. Any of us can drop dead without a moment’s notice.

I glance around me at other members of the pack, everyone mourning, some openly crying, and decide that this definitely has to be in the top ten for worst birthdays ever.

My wolf coming-of-age. I thought maybe I’d feel different, but it turns out I simply feel the same. Nothing special. No big change or anything. Same old Margot Solus going to waste in the Silvercrest pack.

Everyone is wearing black, even the young kids. Though, like most kids, they’re not really aware of the mood of the situation and are instead playing with each other. We already had the funeral, though, and now the pack is gathering in the main house to share stories about Samuel and celebrate his life.

It’s a lot easier to celebrate a life, though, when it’s been a long and happy one. And I know I’m not the only one thinking this.

All day I’ve heard whispered conversations between pack members about what happened to Samuel. I helped Odette with food prep this morning, since working in the food hall is part of my pack duties, and she commented more than once to me about how worried pack members are.

“It’s not right,” she mumbled. “Something’s not right.”

I don’t overly care about how Samuel’s loss will affect the pack. My goal is still the same and it involves getting free of the pack altogether, so this really doesn’t have any impact on me. But still. Thinking about Samuel and his loss raises some odd feelings in me.

He’s the only person who ever knew me before I joined the pack as an infant. Granted, the first thing he did when he found me was ditch me with Odette, but I still have mixed feelings about the whole thing. He’s the one who gave me the lost wolf surname of Solus. I often thought that maybe he knew more than what he told me. And more than once I daydreamed about confronting him, and Samuel coming clean with some sort of earth-shattering truth about my existence and where I truly belonged.

A child’s fantasy, really.

And now he’s dead anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

A hard truth, maybe, but a truth nonetheless.

I look over my shoulder at the window behind me and the bright sunlight outside. It’s too nice to be cooped up in here with all these sad and confused people I didn’t really care about.

What do you think? Try to sneak out and hope no one notices?

I get up from my seat and casually, oh so casually, start to walk toward the door of the room.

Don’t be so damn suspicious, Margot.

Before I can reach it, though, it opens and who else walks through but the Tripdick.

As soon as the pack notices Leo, Ranveer, and Apollo, the conversation starts to dry up. I don’t like how close I am to them, and therefore observation, so I take a seat in a more secluded nook in the room, hoping no one, especially them, can see me from where I’m at.

The three men, for their part, look solemn enough. It checks out considering one of them is going to have to take over for Samuel now.

I frown. It’s a terrible fate for the pack. Look at how they treat me! Samuel at least made sure I had a roof over my head and never spoke down to me.

These three had gone through their own coming-of-age four years ago, but they hadn’t changed either, and they definitely haven’t matured at all. Maybe only their bodies—they’ve certainly been filling out the past few years. Their strong, sturdy, and muscular bodies are a far cry from what they’d been when they were teenagers.

I still had hoped I’d feel different somehow, but maybe the whole thing is some sort of hoax meant to convince us to grow up or something.

What a joke. I’ve been through enough shit half of these werewolves haven’t by my age. I know that I still hate it here and I can’t wait to leave. I belong somewhere else. Somewhere better.

Behind the Alpha trio, Luna Alydia steps through the door. Her face has its usual cool composure, but I’m close enough to her that I can see the grief in her eyes.

I can’t imagine what she’s going through. I’ve never loved someone the way she loved Samuel, and I’ve never had anyone love me the way Samuel loved her. The best I have is Odette, and that’s more of an impatient tolerance.

Of course, presumably I lost my whole family, hence why I’m some found orphan, but I have no memory of them, so there’s nothing to miss and no one to grieve.

I don’t know if that’s better or worse.

Alydia says something to the Tripdick, and even though I’m close, I can’t hear what she’s saying. She’s the one in charge of the pack now, until a new Alpha is chosen. It can’t be an easy burden to bear.

Just count your lucky stars that it’s not you.

Alydia steps in front of the Tripdick and raises her hands. She doesn’t even need to say anything. The pack just falls silent and waits for her to speak.

“Thank you all for being here today,” she says. Nothing more than the usual boring tripe expected of a leader and also someone who’s dealing with the loss of a loved one but still has to play host to a bunch of people. “Samuel was many things, but he was most proud of being the Silvercrest Alpha, and he would have been so pleased to see you all here remembering him.”

Blah blah blah. Even if it is true, and I have no doubt it is, the words still feel hollow and empty. Who truly knew Samuel? Other than Alydia that is, since she was his mate. He was the pack leader but because of that he had to keep everyone at arm’s length.

“I’m sure you all have questions,” she continues.

Understatement.

“As you all know, the next Alpha would normally be the direct heir, but Samuel didn’t have the chance—”

She cuts off here and I look away. I don’t want to see the naked grief on her face. It’s not for me to witness. I’m not sure it’s for anyone to witness.

When Alydia clears her throat, I look up again. “Luckily, we have been blessed with three options for the next Alpha of the Silvercrest pack.”

Blessed, cursed. Tomato, tomahto.

Alydia gestures to the Tripdick, then turns to face them. “Samuel meant to choose one of you as the next Alpha on your twenty-fifth birthday if we still hadn’t conceived. But I must confess a truth that will be difficult to hear. Samuel was taken from us. Samuel was murdered.”

The gasps that spread throughout the pack are loud and, well, expected. I find that even I’m leaning forward on the edge of my chair.

Who killed Samuel? As an Alpha of a pack, he has a lot of enemies, but he also has, or had, a lot of power. It’s not an easy feat to take down an Alpha, and certainly not one of such a large pack as Silvercrest.

Alydia shakes her head and the discord dies down once more. “I don’t know if we grew too complacent or content…but it doesn’t matter. We are in a position of weakness now. I will work with the council to make a plan, but in the meantime, I, as your Luna, will be acting leader of the Silvercrest pack. We cannot have a power vacuum. Not now. But rest assured, the Alpha will be either Leo Moreno, Ranveer Mehra, or Apollo Pickford.”

The three men at least has the good sense to look solemn and serious.

The crowd begins to talk again and this seems like the best time to once more attempt my escape. I glance around to make sure no one is watching me and—

The scent slams into my face.

It fills my nose, then seems to take over my whole head.

What…?

I blink, trying to clear my senses, but the scent consumes them all, overwhelming me. I blanche, then stumble to my feet.

My skin is on fire and my stomach twists painfully, forcing me to clutch it with my arms while my vision spins.

What’s happening? Is this my wolf’s coming-of-age? Was I wrong before when I thought it was nothing?

The whole room, everything around me fades away until there’s nothing left but me, my body, and the scent. The scent is everywhere. The scent is everything… And I need more of it. I need it all over my body, filling my senses.

Fingers wrap around my wrist, jerking me back into existence.

“Stop making a fucking scene,” a deep voice growls at me, and the hand yanks me away from my chair. I stumble after the person out of the room, unable to do anything else.