Claimed by the Alpha I Hate – Episode 01
The bucket in Daisy Storm’s hands was heavier than it looked, but no one crossing the Eastwind courtyard offered to help. Preparations for the Winter Solstice celebration had turned the pack house into a blur of pine garlands, silver lanterns, and hurried footsteps. On any other morning, Daisy might have disappeared into the work without complaint. Today was her eighteenth birthday, however, and every sideways glance carried the same silent question: Why hadn’t she found her wolf?
When the bucket caught against a raised stone, water sloshed over Daisy’s shoes. Two girls nearby laughed instead of reaching for it. Daisy steadied the handle and looked directly at Mila, who stood watching with folded arms. “Aren’t you going to help?” she asked, hating the strain she heard in her own voice.
Mila’s smile sharpened. “Oh, so Defect Daisy can talk?” She stepped close enough for Daisy to smell the expensive perfume she had undoubtedly chosen for the celebration. “Talk to me again when you can actually shift. I only speak to real wolves.” The girls behind her snickered, and humiliation burned hotter than the cold water soaking Daisy’s socks.
Daisy had heard every version of the insult. Wolfless. Defective. No better than a human. She had spent years telling herself that her wolf was merely late, that the Moon Goddess had not forgotten her. Turning eighteen was supposed to prove it. Instead, she had awakened unchanged, with no second heartbeat in her mind and no wild presence beneath her skin.
“Be nice, Mila.” Scott’s voice cut cleanly through the laughter. The courtyard quieted as the Alpha heir approached, handsome in the dark formal clothes he would wear that evening. Daisy’s grip loosened around the bucket. Scott had always possessed the power to make the rest of the pack retreat, but today his intervention felt like something more—a promise that she would not stand alone much longer.
Mila’s cruelty vanished behind a practiced look of obedience. “I’m sorry, Alpha Scott. I promise I’ll be a good girl and behave.” The sweetness in her tone sounded false to Daisy, yet Scott merely corrected her title. He was not Alpha yet; the position would become official during the Winter Solstice ceremony that night.
“Then I’ll see you tonight,” Mila said. Her gaze lingered on him before she walked away with her friends. Daisy noticed the look but refused to give it meaning. Mila flirted with anyone who held power, and Scott had never given Daisy reason to believe it mattered. At least, that was what she told herself as the courtyard filled with noise again.
Once they were alone, Scott wished Daisy a happy birthday. His smile softened the ache that had followed her since morning. “Year eighteen is off to a great start, as you can see,” she said, glancing down at the spilled water. She wanted him to reassure her that the delayed shift changed nothing between them, but the words lodged behind her pride.
Scott lifted her chin just enough to restore the hope Mila had bruised. “Tonight will be special,” he told her. “That’s a promise from the future Alpha.” He offered no details, and the secrecy made Daisy’s pulse quicken. For months they had kept their bond and their relationship quiet while Scott prepared to inherit leadership of Eastwind.
Daisy imagined him standing before the entire pack after the ceremony and naming her as his mate. Once the new Alpha claimed her publicly, even Mila would have to stop treating her like something shameful. Perhaps Daisy’s wolf would awaken beneath the solstice moon, completing the future she had pictured. She held tightly to those possibilities because the alternative was too painful to examine.
Scott left to attend to the ceremony, and Daisy carried the bucket inside. The pack house glittered with decorations that Eastwind could scarcely afford. Tables bowed beneath food, candles shone in every window, and a ceremonial platform waited beneath the open night sky. It was extravagant for a small, struggling pack, but no one wanted Scott’s ascension to look modest.
In a quiet corridor, Daisy pressed a hand to her chest and whispered a prayer. “Moon Goddess, if you’re listening, please give me my wolf.” She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the answer stirring within her. “And please let Scott and me finally make things official tonight.” Saying the hope aloud made it feel dangerously close to real.
Beyond the celebration grounds, two unfamiliar men approached under cover of the arriving guests. Nolan Fenrir moved with controlled purpose, his attention taking in the guards, exits, and nervous pack members. Beside him, Elias studied the lavish decorations with open skepticism. Neither man had come to honor Eastwind’s new Alpha.
“Hell of a Solstice celebration for a poor, tiny pack,” Elias murmured. The excess confirmed what their earlier intelligence had suggested: Eastwind’s leadership cared more about appearances than stability. Music and laughter provided useful cover, allowing outsiders to cross spaces that should have been secured.
Nolan’s expression did not change. “We’re not here to party, Elias. We’re here to investigate.” Somewhere inside the pack house were records that might prove Eastwind had been communicating with enemies no werewolf territory could afford to ignore. Nolan intended to find those records before the ceremony ended.
While the strangers slipped into the crowd, Daisy returned to her duties with renewed determination. She accepted the birthday wishes of the few people willing to offer them and ignored the whispers following her. Tonight would answer everything. Scott would become Alpha, she would stand at his side, and perhaps her wolf would finally answer the moon.
Still, Mila’s lingering look troubled her. Daisy pushed the thought away each time it surfaced, reminding herself of Scott’s promise. He had protected her in the courtyard. He had called the evening special. A mate bond was sacred, and whatever uncertainty existed between them would end beneath the solstice light.
As dusk settled over Eastwind, the first ceremonial bells rang through the trees. Daisy looked toward the glowing platform, her hope bright enough to eclipse every insult she had endured. She did not see Nolan vanish into the restricted wing, nor did she notice Mila watching the same platform with a secretive smile. Daisy only knew that the night she had waited for had finally begun.