Phoebe's POV
"I don't have a family. You stopped being my father five years ago." I raised my head, fighting back the tears threatening to spill. "I've served as a servant in this house for years without you caring. It makes no difference if they've officially made me one now. I've been treated like one for ages."
Cameron stared at me, but remained silent. He was aware that Viola and Reginald had always picked on me, but he believed I was overly sensitive, having grown up as an only child before his remarriage.
His daughter—me—took the stepsibling's harassment too seriously, while Reginald and Viola just wanted me to relax and take things less personally.
"Stop creating problems, Phoebe. Your actions last night nearly sparked a war between two packs." Cameron settled behind his desk, lacing his fingers together in contemplation. "The alpha is livid right now. I'll speak with him again once he's cooled off."
I couldn't care less about that. "May I return to my room?" Exhaustion weighed me down. I hadn't eaten since last night, and glancing at the clock, I realized evening had already arrived. No surprise I felt so famished.
"Gather your belongings. You're moving to the pack house to work there starting tomorrow."
I dragged my weary body back to my bedroom and crumpled onto the bed. I didn't bother changing out of my damp clothes. Five hours remained until midnight, when I'd turn eighteen and receive my wolf, but instead I was burning with fever.
The following day, fever still gripped me as I packed my possessions. Someone had retrieved the backpack I'd abandoned, but it was torn beyond use, forcing me to grab another one.
I was born around eight o'clock, so normally, I wouldn't receive my wolf until that time. Usually, others would celebrate this milestone since it marked a huge moment for a shifter, but here I was—no one even recalled my birthday.
"Happy birthday to me," I whispered to myself, shouldering the backpack and heading toward the door.
I didn't want anyone screaming at me to get out of this house, so I rose very early and registered myself at the pack house once I located the pack's gamma.
"You should know better than to run away and bring our pack trouble," Gamma Brennan said with a weary sigh. He led me to my bedroom in the omega quarters, then left me alone.
The room was cramped. A bed pressed against one wall, a cabinet against the other, while my window was tiny with a deadbolt, preventing me from opening it.
I dropped the backpack on the floor and sank onto the hard bed. Dizziness washed over me—my fever would worsen without medicine.
I planned to visit the healer when someone barged into the bedroom.
"You cost us a fortune," Kevin snarled. His father had received a call from Alpha Theodore of the Crimson Fang pack last night, and he wasn't pleased about the trespassing. They'd agreed to meet this afternoon, with Alpha Theodore coming personally.
"You should have let me leave the pack," I glared at Kevin, but lost my edge as the room began spinning.
"And give you the freedom you crave?" Kevin sneered. "I won't be that generous, Phoebe. You cost me my mate—you'll remain in this pack to pay for your mistake."
"Leave me alone!" I screamed at him, but my voice emerged as a croak.
Instead, Kevin crossed the room in two strides and seized my throat. His fingers wrapped around my windpipe so tightly he could crush it if he chose. Yet simultaneously, he could feel how my body burned with fever.
"Watch your tone when speaking to me," he growled savagely, shoving me onto the bed. "It's unfortunate you're still so young." He lowered his face and pressed his lips to my neck, making me recoil with revulsion. "I can use you as your sister's replacement."
"No..." I whimpered as Kevin's hand touched my inner thigh. I wanted to kick him away, but he was too powerful. "Leave me alone."
"Soon, Phoebe. Soon." That was a vow. Kevin wouldn't leave me be. "Once you come of age, I'm going to destroy you even more."
Thank goodness he didn't know that today I had come of age—I was getting my wolf. I held onto hope of finding my mate, someone who could rescue me from this nightmare.
"You'll be my plaything," Kevin kissed my cheek before straightening up, allowing me to breathe in relief. "Soon, little wolf."
After that, Kevin departed. When his presence vanished, I curled up on the bed. Forgetting about finding the healer, I couldn't force myself to leave the bed and drifted off to sleep.
I awakened when my body felt scorching hot, breathing heavily. The sky outside had turned pitch black, which meant this was the moment. I was about to receive my wolf.
Shifting for the first time would be agonizing. Normally, an adult wolf should assist, but I lacked that luxury—I had to endure the entire painful process alone.
But suddenly, this intoxicating scent struck me.
Mate!
The scent was overwhelmingly strong, and I couldn't control myself as I stumbled out of bed, frantically searching for its source while trying to figure out how to shift for the first time.
My feet carried me to the alpha's study, and against my better judgment, I yanked the door open.
My mate was inside!