Most wolves believed Olivia was simply the daughter of their Alpha and Luna-quiet, observant, and a little strange around the edges. She had her mother's blond hair, and a presence that drew attention even when she stood in silence. There was one thing she did not have. An Alpha's aura.
Everyone pretended not to notice. Everyone pretended it didn't matter. But wolves smell truth, and the smelled it the day she was born. The Alpha claimed her with pride, the Luna held her with fierce love. But beneath their joy, a terrible secret lived. A secret only the highest ranking wolves knew: Olivia was not the Alpha's blood.
Her mother, beloved Luna of the pack, had been violated be a Shadow Fae during a border raid, a creature of darkness and hunger whose cruelty had left a permanent scar on their history. The Luna hid the truth to protect her child. The Alpha hid it to protect his mate. The pack hid it because they loved her, and Olivia grew up knowing that she was different.
Olivia's strangeness began in whispers. At first it was small things, shadows bending toward her feet, candles sputtering when she walked past, wolves feeling "watched" when she stared too long, darkness coiling at her fingertips when she was upset. The whispers spoke of "Shadowborn", but no one dared speak it aloud. Because to be Shadowborn meant her magic came from the Shadow Court itself- a power feared even by the Fae, and yet Olivia was kind and gentle. Nothing like the monster who sired her.
"What the actual fuck Olivia?!" Colts voice boomed across the clearing snapping her out of her thoughts.
The fire crackled softly in the packhouse den, but the warmth did nothing to ease the tightness in Olivia's chest. She sat curled into herself on one of the thick leather couches, knees drawn up, shadows flickering and curling along the edges of her sleeves like anxious pets sensing their master's mood.
"Why are you here?" Colt demanded. Stacy put her hand on Colt's forearm to calm him. "It's well known by now that I have met my fated mate! How dare she come here to interfere with the Moon Goddess's planned destiny for us." Olivia visibly rolled her eyes "Get over yourself Colt, I'm not here for you. I'm here for your Luna". Stacy could feel Colt's anger boiling over. "Colt, go sit with Isaac and Charlie. Let me and Nessa talk to her."
Stacy spoke gently to Olivia. "Please, tell us why you are here." Olivia studied Stacy for a moment. The goddess sent her here to help train, to be trained herself. Olivia decided to tell them the truth, it would be their choice to believe her or not. She took a deep breath and began.
"Last night, I had wondered to the lake in our territory. I like to go there to think. While the pack celebrated the anniversary of my parents ascension." Olivia hesitated "I promise you I'm not crazy. Just believe me, ok?" Stacy and Nessa nodded in unison. "Suddenly the air shifted, the water stilled and then...and then a woman rose from the reflection of the moon in the water. She was tall, radiant, wrapped in silver winds. It was Rhiannon, Goddess of the Moon." Olivia paused to gage their reactions, but there was no surprise or shock in their eyes and decided to continue.
Olivia had fallen to her knees, overwhelmed by the sheer force of her presence. "Rise , child" Rhiannon said gently. Olivia stood trembling. "Why me?" she whispered. "I'm not special, I'm not an Alpha, I don't even know what I am."
Rhiannon cupped her cheek, her touch warm and calming. "You are more than they ever dared to imagine" the goddess murmured. "You carry light from your mother's blood...and shadow from the one who harmed her." Olivia stiffened. "I'm a monster."
"No," Rhiannon said firmly. "You are the balance between realms. You are the bridge and there is nothing monstrous in that."
Olivia's eyes filled with tears. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
Rhiannon lifted her hand, and the shadow around them swirled-not threatening, but obedient.
"You will learn" the goddess said " You will master what others fear. Darkness without cruelty. Shadow without corruption. Power without destruction" Silver light rippled from Rhiannon's palm, wrapping Olivia in warmth. "I am sending you to help another child of mine-a Luna whose destiny is tangled with light and darkness both. You will be her ally, her protector, her sister in magic."
Rhiannon touched Olivia's forehead, and a crescent shaped mark of shimmering shadow bloomed across her skin. "When you walk this path" Rhiannon said solemnly "your true training begins. The world will know you not as a child of violation, but as Olivia, Daughter of the Moon and Shadow". Olivia straightened, breathing deeply as power thrummed through her veins-cold and warm, dark and bright.
"And that's when I opened my eyes and I was standing in the shadows near the clearing. The Moon Goddess sent me here." Devany spoke to Stacy "She speaks the truth." Quickly Stacy relayed the message to Colt via the link.
Colt spoke softly "Is there more?". At that Olivia's face crumpled. "You don't have to tell us" Stacy said gently, taking a seat beside her. "Not if it hurts too much." Olivia swallowed hard. "It hurts either way. And...you deserve to know"
Nessa and Colt sat across from them, silent, giving her space but watchful enough to intervene if she broke. Olivia had never told anyone this-not fully. Not even her mother, especially not her mother. Because the truth was uglier than the lie she lived under.
Olivia took a deep breath. "My mother always claimed I was sent to spend time with the children of other Alphas so I'd build alliances. But that wasn't why." her voice cracked.
"He used me, my father. The Alpha who raised me".
Colt's aura shot up angrily, but Charlie placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him grounded. Olivia took a shuddering breath.
"He never trusted anyone but himself. He always worried the other Alphas were plotting against him. So when I was twelve, he realized something." Stacy leaned in, "Realized what?"
"That the other Alpha children liked me." Olivia laughed hollowly. "I was small, quiet, harmless looking. Just the odd little girl without an Alpha aura. Someone who made no one feel threatened." Her shadows recoiled at the bitterness in her tone.
"He used that, made me ask questions, made me look desperate for attention." Stacy frowned "What kind of questions?"
"About territory disputes, about new alliances, about family secrets, heirs, pack instability, anything he thought he could us to his advantage." Olivia looked down at her hands " He trained me to listen for mistakes, fears, things the didn't mean to reveal. I was a child and I didn't understand why any of it mattered...until he started punishing me when I returned without enough information."
Nessa's jaw tightened. "He made you an informant."
"He made me a weapon" Olivia whispered "A tool". Her shadows darkened behind her, curling like smoke toward the ceiling.
"What did he do with the information?" Colt asked, though the answer was already clear in his expression.
" He destabilized them" Olivia said flatly. "Sent rumors. Exploited tensions. Threatened them indirectly. He didn't need armies-he had me." She wiped her eyes " I was the perfect little spy. Too kind-looking to suspect. Too weak to be dangerous. Too naive to know I was being used."
Stacy reached over and took her hand. "You were just a child." she said firmly "None of that was your fault."
Olivia shook her head "You don't understand. I didn't stop him because...I wanted him to love me. More than anything." A small, broken sound escaped her. "I thought if I did everything perfectly- if I was useful- then maybe he wouldn't see me as the reminder of what happened to my mother. Maybe he'd forget to hate me" Her shadows trembled violently at the confession.
Dixie whispered "Oh, Olivia..."
But Olivia kept going, needing to empty the poison she'd carried for so long. "The worst part" Olivia whispered "was when I started hearing things. Realizing things. About me." Her throat tightened "The other Alpha children...they'd whisper behind my back. About why I didn't have an Alpha aura...." she covered her face with her hands. "and still, I kept spying for him. Because I thought that was the only way I'd ever be wanted." Her voice cracked on the last word.
Stacy squeezed her hand tighter. "Olivia, you don't need to useful to be wanted. Not here. Not with us." Olivia's breath hitched.
Hunter spoke softly "Did he ever find out about your magic?".
Olivia nodded slowly. "Yes, a few days after Stacy's birthday party. When it awakened...he looked terrified of me. Like I'd become the very thing he hated. The thing he believed had tainted his bloodline."
"What did he do?" Colt asked.
Olivia whispered the words like a curse. "He hid me."
Stacy's eyes widened. "He kept me out of sight. Away from visitors. Away from the pack. Like I was defective." she curled into herself again. "That's when Rhiannon came to me. At the lake. She told me my magic wasn't a stain-it was a gift, and that she would send me where I belonged."
Stacy's chest tightened "And she sent you here" Stacy whispered. Olivia nodded. "To you. To train with you. A place where shadow and moonlight can finally exist together instead of being forced apart." She looked up, eyes wet but glowing softly in the shadow light.
"I'm done being used. I'm done being ashamed. And I'm done with letting the man who raised who raised me decide my worth."
Stacy pulled her into a fierce embrace. "You're chosen family now" Stacy whispered against he hair "and no-one, no Alpha, no fae, no shadows-is ever going to use you again". Olivia clung to her, shaking.
For the first time in her life, the shadows didn't whisper fear. They whispered belonging.