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I had been so filled with rage that I got home from the bonfire in no time. I couldn't stand one more minute of watching the crowd cheer Dante and his newly marked mate on as they publicly displayed their affection for each other. As soon as I arrived at my house, I packed my almost non-existent belongings and ran out like fire was on my trail. I ran as fast as I could through the eerily quiet forest, guided only by the faint silver hues from the moon. It was only now as I ran, moving closer and closer to the Shadow Moon's boundaries, that the pain of Dante's rejection began to fully hit me. My soul wailed in agony with every step I took, and there was a heart-wrenching ache in my chest, causing me to occasionally stop my packing to clutch my heart. I was not sure where I would go yet, but I knew I had to keep going far away from Dante, Tiffany, my mother, and a pack that wanted nothing to do with me and derived joy from my pain. I needed to find a new life for myself, one where I could be free, one where I would not be seen as weak, one where I would be loved. It took me almost twenty minutes to get to the pack borders, and it was only once I saw the demarcation lines from a distance that my body finally gave in to the exhaustion from the run. My legs began trembling, and my fingers were almost numb from carrying my traveling bag as I ran. I could feel tears prickling at the back of my eyes, but I forced them to remain there. I was done crying because of the people of the Shadow Moon pack. Out of nowhere, a group of border patrol personnel surrounded me. I raised a brow, confused by their actions since they all knew who I was. "You can't leave, orders of Alpha Dante," one of them said. I looked between them for a while, waiting for someone to tell me that it was a joke, but they all stood there, no trace of humor on their faces. I let out an obnoxiously loud laugh, unable to understand the extent of their wickedness. Was all the damage this pack had caused not enough? I took deep breaths to calm myself down, but before I could tell what was happening, something began to stir inside of me, and soon electricity was coursing through my body—the same electric sensation I had felt multiple times on the night of my sixteenth birthday. I tried to shove it to the side and focus on convincing the warriors to let me go, but the feeling of power grew stronger, more insistent, coursing through every part of me in a manner that was impossible to ignore. My fingers began to tingle, and the hair on my skin was now standing straight. My eyes widened, and my heart began racing at the realization of what was happening. My wolf was awakening, fighting hard to show herself. On instinct, I let out an ear-piercing growl that surprised even me. This caused the warriors to move away from me, heads all bowed. My pack had been wrong. While my wolf did not show up on my sixteenth birthday as expected, I was not wolfless. Despite failing to shift two years ago, I never stopped believing that I had a wolf. For an inexplicable reason, I held onto faith. And I had been right—my wolf had been there all along. And now, as the electric warmth continued to spread through my body, I knew that the moment was now, and I wouldn't be disappointed like I had been two years ago. I fell to the ground as my knees buckled. The cracking sound of my bones as they moved around to accommodate my body's transformation pierced through the air. My muscles stretched, and my ability to hear noises of birds almost a mile away was an indication that my senses were also sharpening. An excruciating pain swallowed me up, causing me to let out a loud cry. "Ahh!" I groaned in pain as my bones continued to crack and tissues tore to accommodate my body's transformation. *'Let me help you.'* I heard a voice from within me and immediately knew that it was my wolf. Without asking any questions or putting up a fight, I surrendered, letting the new power surging through me take full control. *'Close your eyes and take deep breaths,'* my wolf instructed. *'Visualize yourself as a wolf,'* she continued. *'Allow yourself to connect with nature... with the power of the moon.'* As my bones continued to crack, my muzzle shot out of my nose, fur covered my skin, and as I followed my wolf's instruction, the pain significantly reduced. Slowly but surely, my transformation was complete. I now stood on four legs, my tongue hanging out of my mouth as I panted like a dog. I looked down at myself, and the breath was knocked out of my lungs for a few seconds. My fur was as white as freshly picked cotton and glistened under the moonlight like freshly fallen snow. We had always been told that white wolves were extinct, as there had been no sighting of a white wolf in the wolf community for over 300 years now. While the extent of their power still remained a mystery, white wolves were known to possess unique powers like healing, telekinesis, time control, teleportation, and similar abilities. They were coveted across the werewolf community because they were seen as the most precious gift from the Moon Goddess. My heart bubbled with joy the more this realization dawned on me. Not only was I not wolfless, but I was also a special wolf. I remained in my wolf form, admiring myself for a while. There was a lot of power coursing through me, one that I had never felt before. I could tell that my wolf was very powerful, and with her now making her presence known, I was more confident than I had ever been before. This was the first time in two years that I felt free, happy, whole. As expected, my celebration was cut short. A howl echoed through the forest, destabilizing all the animals. My wolf growled in recognition of that sound—it was Dante. Our old mate, the one who had rejected and betrayed us. Without thinking, I began running through the forest, my paws burying their prints into the forest's soil. I never wanted to see Dante or anyone from the Shadow Moon pack again. "Rayne!" Dante yelled through the mind link. "Stop!" he ordered using his Alpha command. Unfortunately for him, that no longer worked on me, as I had renounced the pack. I continued running, not minding him. "Rayne, please," Dante begged. I turned sharply toward him, growling right in his face as I stopped running. Dante flinched and took a step back. I moved to the back of a tree and shifted back into my human form, putting on a cloth from my bag before walking back to Dante. I internally rolled my eyes, already knowing what this was about and not really interested in hearing his excuses, but I had one last message for him. "Rayne, I'm sorry," Dante started. "I... I... I had no idea that you... that you were..." "Oh please," I hissed, cutting him off. He publicly rejected me and marked my ex-best friend within the same hour. There was no excuse good enough for me to forgive him. Nothing he was going to say would change my mind. Dante bowed his head in shame, only irritating me further. "I made a mistake, Ray," he said. Hearing the nickname he once used for me caused a deeper crack in my heart. "I allowed my parents and Beta Kane to get to me. But I want to live my truth now... our truth," he continued, taking a step closer to me and holding my gaze as his eyes shined with what an onlooker would call passion. But I knew better than to fall for his act now. "You're my mate, Ray. I can still feel our bond. It's still here," he said, pointing toward his heart. I shook my head vigorously, letting out an obnoxious laugh. "No," I said firmly, in spite of the searing pain in my chest. As much as I wanted everything he was saying to be true, I knew Dante was only saying this because it was now evident that I was not wolfless—but most of all, because I was a white wolf. "For two years, all you've done is join everyone in hurting me. I know you were the one who told your father to put the Alpha command on me so I'm unable to fight back. And as if that wasn't enough, you rejected me in front of everyone and marked Tiffany as your mate within the same hour." Saying these words out loud caused my heart to ache even more, and I could hear my wolf whining in pain inside of me from the broken mate bond. "I'm sorry," Dante said. "Tiffany is my cousin. She was my best friend," I yelled. "We can fix things now, Ray. We can go back to—" "Stop!" I warned, no longer able to stand Dante's lies and his attempt at fondness with my old nickname. "Whatever we had is in the past, far behind me. Our bond is broken and can never be repaired," I finished, picking up my bag and heading back toward the pack borders. "Rayne, please," Dante begged, grabbing onto my hand, his voice oozing with desperation. "We can find a way around Tiffany. I can't lose you, Rayne. You're a white wolf... I need you; the pack needs you." Dante's words did the opposite of what he intended them to do. Of course, he only wanted me back because of my wolf. I wriggled my hand out of his grip. "I don't belong to the Shadow Moon pack. And most of all, Dante, I don't belong to you. I no longer belong to this pack; I renounced my ties." "Rayne, you can't do this; you're still a part of this pack," Dante rushed out. "You can't leave," he added. I let out a growl, surprising both myself and Dante. "Watch me!" I groaned, picking up my bag and walking away, my head held high. I felt confident and prouder of myself than ever before, despite the hurt I was still feeling. "Rayne, wait!" Dante yelled, and I could hear the stomping of his feet a distance behind me. But I kept walking—there was no looking back. I got to the border, where the border patrol once again gathered to block my way. "Move!" I growled, and to my surprise, the warriors paved the way for me, falling to the ground in the process, necks turned in submission to me. *'You're welcome,'* my wolf said, causing me to smile. This was probably one of my white wolf abilities. "Rayne, please," Dante's anguished scream echoed through the forest, but instead of stopping, I got out of my clothes and shifted into my wolf form. I was done hearing his excuses. I deserved better... better than Dante and better than the Shadow Moon pack. I ran as fast as I could, using my white wolf power to mask my scent so Dante could not come after me. The further away from the Shadow Moon pack I got, the freer I felt. It was like a heavy weight was being lifted off my shoulders—I was no longer surrounded by a pack that treated me badly, I was free from a mate who only wanted me for the power I possessed, I was free to be whoever and do whatever. Although I was not sure about my next steps or what the future had in store for me, I knew I was strong. I had survived rejection from my mate and pack, and betrayal from my ex-best friend all in one day. I knew I could face whatever challenge was ahead of me, and this time, no one and nothing would stand in my way. With these thoughts in mind, I looked up to the full moon hanging high up in the sky and howled, reinforcing my independence and strength.