Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
001.
Harlow Hades had a particular beauty standard for every she-wolf in the pack.
For anyone to be considered attractive, she needed to have beautiful, blemish-free porcelain skin, glossy hair that shone when it reflected the sun, a slender body with just the perfect curves, and small lips.
Seyra... had none of that.
Except for the slender part, of course. But she had learned a long time ago that being slender with a freckled face didn’t excuse the fact that she didn’t fit into that standard.
Her sister, Astrid, however, had all of these, and the male wolves in the pack fell to their knees in front of her.
Seyra knew she could never have that. She’d been the unwanted daughter for so long that she had gotten used to being ignored, just like she was now as she stood with a big basket of fruits, watching the male wolves in the pack beg for Astrid’s attention.
"Tonight is the mating ceremony, Astrid," one of them quipped. "Please accept me. I could reject my mate for you."
"No, accept my proposal."
The men kept going on and on until they began fighting amongst themselves for her attention.
"Boys, boys!" Astrid called in that sweet voice she always used to get them to listen. "Relax. I’ll choose the man who can complement me. If you want to be that man, you have until tonight to do something about it."
Seyra watched as the men’s faces lit up at the challenge. They smiled at Astrid and rushed past Seyra like they didn’t even see her.
Just like they always did.
She was always ignored. Always overshadowed. And always looked down on.
But tonight, everything was going to change.
Tonight, Cassiel—the man she had been secretly dating for months—was finally going to present her to everyone as his mate.
The thought alone brought a smile to her face.
"For the moon’s sake, wipe that ugly smile off your face," Astrid barked.
Gone was the angel who made men kneel. Standing in front of Seyra was the sister she’d known all her life.
"From how pathetic your life looks, I don’t see what’s so funny that you’re smiling."
Seyra rolled her eyes. "You don’t have to be so mean about it."
Astrid scoffed. "You still have the audacity to talk?" She turned to face Seyra with a glare. "I’ve always told you. You don’t get to speak when I speak."
"And I have always told you," Seyra said, fixing her with her own glare, "you don’t get to talk to me like that. I am your older sister!"
"And yet..." Astrid hit her where it hurt the most. "You have no mate. No male wolf chasing you. No suitor. Not even a secret admirer. Tell me, big sister, do you deserve that kind of respect?"
Seyra’s grip on the basket tightened, Astrid’s words cutting into her like blades.
"Let’s even mention the fact that your wolf is no different from a goat," she snarked, circling around Seyra. "So sickly, so frail, so weak!"
Seyra bit down on her lower lip.
"So, tell me again, big sister," Astrid laughed. "Do you deserve it?"
Seyra’s silence was the answer she needed. Astrid chuckled lowly and sauntered away.
Seyra stood there, her eyes watery and her heart breaking into pieces. She sniffed and blinked several times so the tears wouldn’t fall.
"I’m not weak," she muttered. "My wolf is not frail. The moon goddess just decided to put me on her blacklist. I’m a wolf too, and I deserve to be treated as one."
With that, she followed after Astrid, her head up while ignoring the looks she got from the pack members.
Seyra entered the house, and the next thing she felt was a smack on her cheek. The box of apples fell from her hand, landing with a big thud, the apples falling out and rolling everywhere.
Her shocked eyes snapped up, meeting her mum’s angry ones. "Mother..." Her voice broke.
Salome looked at her daughter like she was the most repulsive thing on earth. "How dare you talk back to Astrid? Are you out of your mind?!" she snapped.
Seyra looked at Astrid, who stood beside her mother with a tear-stained face and pouted lips. "What? I didn’t—"
Another slap landed on her cheek. "You dare call Astrid a liar?" she snapped, pointing her index finger at Seyra. "I’ve always told you. Astrid is the most special wolf in this pack. You are nothing. So the least you could do for your pathetic self is to try to be on her good side. Because once the Alpha chooses her as the lady royal of this pack, you won’t even dare to breathe the same air as she does, you hear me?!"
Seyra let out a pained chuckle. "Fine," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Defending myself wasn’t going to yield any results anyway. Why do I bother?" She looked straight at her mother. "Why do you hate me so much? I am your daughter too!"
"Shut up!"
"Is it because I am not pretty?" Her tears were falling heavier now. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help it. She had kept all these bottled up for so long. "Is it because my wolf didn’t come out as majestic as Astrid’s? Is it because I am not enough?"
Salome seethed. "I said shut up!"
"I want to know why!" Seyra snapped, her voice rising. "You buy whatever Astrid wants, take her wherever she wants, Father treats her like she’s the very air he breathes, you both let her get away with anything and everything! But me? I get punished for her offenses. When I talk back, you call me and my wolf a goat and send me to the barn to sleep beside goats, telling me that’s where I belong."
Seyra took a step forward, her heart aching. "So I want to know why you hate me so much. And if it’s because Astrid is better than me... if the table flips one day and Astrid is in my shoes, will you love me?"
For a moment, Salome said nothing. She just stared at Seyra. Astrid noticed this and broke out in another sob, holding Salome’s hand.
"Mother, did you hear her? She wants me beneath her. What if she kills me?"
Seyra snickered and shook her head.
Salome frowned. "Apologize to your sister, Seyra."
Seyra said nothing. She bent down, picked up the apples, and took the box. "I’m sorry for hurting your fragile feelings, Sister."
With that, she walked away without another word. She had already gotten her answers. Her parents never loved her. In a pack like Harlow Hades, where beauty was currency and wolf statures were considered class, she was nothing. And her parents? They saw her as an embarrassment.
Seyra shook her head. She was never going to be enough for them.
Seyra released a long, heavy breath as she stared at herself in the small mirror in her cramped-up bedroom. She’d decided to put today’s incident behind her. She wasn’t going to let her mother and Astrid ruin her mood before the ceremony.
She sighed. She was dressed in a blue satin dress she had saved all summer to buy, just for this special occasion.
The dress fell down in beautiful, elegant waves, hugging her slender frame before flowing gently to the floor. The soft blue satin shimmered under the light, making her freckles stand out against her skin.
She let her silver hair fall down in messy waves and stole a bit of makeup from Astrid’s room to apply on her face. She looked good.
When Cassiel announced her as his mate tonight, everyone would finally respect her. She wouldn’t be looked down on anymore.
Satisfied with how she looked, she followed the back door and headed for the pack’s ceremonial ground immediately. She knew using the front door would only cause trouble.
The moon shone bright, the wind rustling. She breathed in the cool night air.
"Tonight is going to be a good night," she said to herself with a smile.
She stepped onto the ceremonial ground, and all eyes turned towards her immediately. She wasn’t that easily unnoticed. Having long silver hair and a freckled face wasn’t really hard to miss.
She watched as some people snorted and looked away. Others muttered insults under their breaths.
"Ugly thing! I bet she stole that gown from Astrid’s closet."
"Look at her, acting like she belongs here."
"Pathetic."
Seyra took a deep breath and ignored them. Instead, she kept herself busy by looking around for Cassiel. He’d told her through their special mindlink to wait for him at the center of the ground.
But he was nowhere in sight.
And she hated how everyone looked at her like she was some kind of parasite.
"Where are you?" she asked through the mindlink.
"I’ll be there soon, starlight," Cassiel said, and she found herself blushing. "Wait for me, okay? I love you."
Seyra smiled. "I love you too. But you have to hurry. The wolves here look like they want to kill me."
"Almost there."
She cut off the mindlink and looked around. Everyone was seated, except those who were eager to get their mates today, of course.
For two years, she had watched people get their mates here. Today, it would finally be her turn. The thought alone filled her with so much excitement.
She looked up at the higher podium, where the Alpha usually sat to watch. But he wasn’t there this time. Only his Beta, Magnus, Cassiel’s father, was seated there.
She couldn’t believe it. She was about to get mated to the Beta’s son. She wanted to tell everyone who doubted her, "In your face."
"Seyra."
Her heart skipped at the sound of his deep voice.
Cassiel.
He was here.
Her smile widened, and she turned, her hands spreading wide to hug him in front of everyone, but her eyebrows creased when she saw him walking to where she stood with... Astrid.
And worse, they were holding hands.
"Cassiel," she called, her eyes fixed on their interlocked hands.
Cassiel smiled at her while Astrid had a smug smile on her face.
"Why are you holding her like that?" Seyra asked, her head running through different scenarios, but she decided to keep calm and hear him out first.
"Oh." Cassiel pulled Astrid closer, much to Seyra’s shock. "Astrid and I are mates."