Hayley had always carried herself like a wolf above her rank—cold, distant, always acting as if she belonged to a higher Alpha line than she was born into. That arrogance was exactly why her return to the Seymour pack den was never going to be accepted. In a pack like theirs, weakness was tolerated, but pride without power was a liability. No one even knew where she had disappeared to for the past six months, and before that, her own family had been forced to beg her for resources just to survive.
She was not a daughter they could rely on. Only a burden they could not escape.
The moment she left the Seymour territory, Hayley drifted into the city's commercial district, where neon lights pulsed like restless pack energy against the night sky. The mall was filled with scents of wealth, status, and dominance—everything she once lived inside when Elliot still kept her under his protection.
