Text: Your student loans are about to default.

If I miss another payment, I lose my spot at The University.

But every single job interview I go in for, the interviewer just snaps, "How did this Wolfless even get past security?"

That one word—wolfless—undoes everything else. It shows up on my CV and suddenly my entire application is invisible.

Jenny, my best friend and the Alpha King's daughter, invited me to work as a server at the mating ball after she heard about my situation.

When I took the job, Jenny had grinned and said, “Most of the unmated Alpha heirs are coming tonight—you never know, maybe you’ll meet someone.”

But we both knew it was just a joke—I was already mated.

So here I am, in this fancy ballroom, carefully laying out the overpriced desserts Jenny ordered from her private pastry chef onto the dining table, just like I was assigned to do.

And just then, Jenny made her entrance—sweeping into the ballroom in a red evening gown. Within seconds, guests were drifting toward her like she had her own gravitational pull. She greeted each of them with that sugar-sweet smile she’d perfected ages ago, even if she forgot their name the second they walked away.

It’s still kind of wild that we ended up friends, though I guess that was due to us being classmates.

I didn't want to interrupt Jenny, so I decided to head to the kitchen to help out instead.

But then Jenny called out to me—clear and bright, like she wanted people to hear—and instantly, heads turned. All at once, the room seemed to freeze. A wolfless girl, in a server's uniform, getting called over by the Alpha King's daughter? You could feel the confusion ripple across the crowd. People stared. Whispered. Some barely masked their surprise.

I wasn't surprised, I was almost used to it by now.

But Jenny didn’t seem to care—and that meant more to me than I expected. She took my hand and pulled me aside to talk.

"Can you believe Stacy actually came up to me and tried to start a conversation? Like everything’s fine? Unreal."

I was a little thrown—wasn’t she just chatting with Stacy like everything was fine? But then Jenny clarified, and suddenly it made more sense.

"Do you know what she did last time? She actually asked me for my dad’s phone number! Her Alpha father’s pack is tiny, and she thinks she could become my new stepmother?"

"But come on, King Richard's been divorced and single for years—can you really blame Stacy? I mean, he just got voted Sexiest Alpha again, didn’t he?"

Jenny’s smile faded instantly. She wasn’t just venting—she wanted backup. She wanted me to hate Stacy too, to treat her like some mutual enemy just because Jenny did.

"What do you mean by that? Do you think my dad should be with Stacy? He’s single because he’s still in love with my mom! I’ve told you, I am not letting any of my friends get involved with my dad!"

I was very familiar with Jenny's intense "protectiveness" over King Richard. She once had a very close friend who tried to flirt with Richard, and when Jenny found out, she immediately cut all ties with her.

I mean I totally get why that would bother her, but if you’ve seen Richard, you’d understand why those crazy girls act the way they do. He’s the most attractive man I’ve ever seen.

"I mean, you can’t really stop girls from daydreaming, right? Every she-wolf’s probably jealous of whoever ends up Luna queen." I said it casually, hoping she’d take it as a joke.

Any woman who becomes Richard’s Luna would be envied by everyone. But obviously, it could never be someone like me.

Sure enough, Jenny’s attention shifted. She said, "I really envy you—you found your mate right at eighteen. And a Beta, too. His pack might not be big, but for someone without a wolf, that’s kind of a big deal."

Her words sat uncomfortably with me. Did she really think being wolfless made someone less? The thought stung, but I didn’t say anything.

Jenny, clearly curious, continued, “So how are things between you two?”

I sighed, a little disappointed. “He hasn’t replied to my messages in a while. I guess he’s just too busy with his new job.”

To my surprise, Jenny actually looked kind of pleased, “Is that so? Well, I mean... you can’t really blame him.”

For a second, it felt like Jenny was actually enjoying my awkward situation—but I shook the thought off. Maybe I was just reading too much into it.

As two she-wolves passed by, I caught them whispering about a "handsome young man." They didn’t say who, but something in their tone piqued my curiosity. I found myself turning to look.

That’s when I saw him.

Adam.

My mate. A boy from my college, tied to me by the bond—we shared a wonderful time together, and I worked so hard just to be someone who could stand beside him.

My heart swelled at first. He looked incredible. Black suit, perfectly tailored. Polished shoes. Collar sharp enough to cut glass.

But then my heart caught in my chest. I hadn’t told him I’d be here. And yet, there he was—perfect suit, perfect posture, at the center of everything I didn’t belong to. Adam couldn’t even reply to a message, but he found the time to dress up and show up for a mating ball?

“I thought you weren’t replying because you were busy,” I said, stepping forward. “What are you doing here?”

He looked surprised at first, but it disappeared almost instantly. His expression cooled. “Just... here with friends.”

I looked into his face, searching for something—recognition, care, anything—but he wasn’t looking at me anymore. He was looking past me.

And maybe it was just my imagination, but he, once again, deliberately put space between us, as if he didn’t want anyone to see us together even though we were fated mates.

“Surprise!” Jenny chirped, looping her arm through mine. “My Valentine’s gift to you!”

Right…I almost forgot—it was Valentine’s Day.

Still, something didn’t sit right. He reached out to Jenny—but couldn’t be bothered to answer even one of my messages? I couldn’t help but wonder if he was ever really here for me at all.

I blinked at her, then at him. The red of her dress. The red of his tie. Her hair curled, her makeup perfect. They looked... coordinated.

And I looked like I’d wandered in from the kitchen.

Jenny’s eyes flicked down and found the stain on my shirt. I saw her notice—just for a second—before she covered it with the same tight, generous smile I’d seen earlier that day, when she handed me the uniform.

“You’ve worked hard,” she said, like a compliment, like it wasn’t also a reminder. “I’ve got a spare dress upstairs—go change and join us!”

Maybe the dress would be beautiful. Maybe it would make me look like I belonged here. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how I ended up in this shirt in the first place.

Jenny always had a way of making it sound like a favor.

I nodded and followed her instructions.

The second-floor hallway was quieter than the rest of the house. The room she sent me to was still lavish, but in a completely different way. Gone were the jewel-toned silks and eye-catching flourishes Jenny loved to flaunt downstairs. Instead, the space was layered in gold wallpaper, soft-toned furnishings, and delicate lace curtains. It exuded a calm, confident elegance—understated but undeniably expensive. The bed alone probably cost more than my student loans.

This wasn’t Jenny’s style. Not even close. There was something almost unsettling in how different it felt—more mature, more grounded, like the person who put this room together actually cared about balance and atmosphere.

I lingered in the doorway for a second, taking it all in. A glittering chandelier overhead, the soft hum of distant music from downstairs, the faint scent of sandalwood clinging to the room like a memory. None of this felt like mine.

I stepped inside and let the door click shut behind me.

There was a suitcase at the foot of the bed, half-unzipped. Button-up shirts stacked inside—crisp, immaculately pressed, and definitely not Jenny’s.

I hesitated. Her room? Maybe not. But the dress was right there, hanging neatly on the back of a chair.

I took one step, then another.

Then the bathroom door swung open.

Steam rushed out into the room, thick and hot and immediate. The temperature jumped several degrees. The scent hit next—cedar and skin and something faintly metallic, like heat over stone. I could hear the water still dripping. I could almost taste the steam in the air, dense and clinging.

For a moment, everything blurred, then the haze started to clear, and I saw him.

The last thing I expected to see. A half-naked man, wrapped in nothing but a towel, with the most defined muscles I’d ever seen.

It was Richard. King Richard.