Brianna wept quietly in the depths of the woods; the burden had become overwhelming, prompting her decision to depart from her home pack in Florida. She could no longer endure the anguish of his treachery. Her Alpha, Ryder of the Blue Cold Pack, was unaware that his interactions with others caused her pain. He was unaware of her significance to him.
She, however, had detected him three years prior, at the age of eighteen. Upon the first full moon following her eighteenth birthday. He experienced pain almost immediately, not due to the presence of another, but because he had failed to scent her and recognise her as his Mate. He had collided with her that day, indeed.
Brianna and her wolf, Layla, were exceedingly anxious as they followed his distinctive woodland scent through the pack house, which bore a hint of blackberry. This scent had guided them directly to him; she stood merely half a foot behind him. He towered over her at 6 feet 4 inches, his physique well-defined. On that day, he wore faded blue jeans and a dark purple t-shirt, and his dark brown hair appeared somewhat dishevelled.
On that day, Alpha Ryder was conversing on his phone when he turned around and collided with her. His deep blue eyes, speckled with green, fixed upon her as he frowned down at her; she stood at a mere 5 feet 6 inches, while he loomed above her. His eyes exhibited no recognition whatsoever. “Do not stand so close, girl,” he remarked nonchalantly before circumventing her and walking away, shattering her heart in the process.
Layla had internally howled in anguish. They were aware of his significance to them, yet he remained oblivious.
It was the very scenario she and her wolf had perpetually dreaded; throughout her life, even after acquiring Layla, and since her childhood when she lost her parents to a rogue assault at the age of ten, no one appeared to acknowledge her existence following her parents’ demise, as if she were invisible.
Her life had been characterised by attending the local K1 to Year 12 school, where she graduated with commendable marks; however, individuals frequently collided with her, admonishing her to be more cautious. No one was aware of her presence; she felt invisible to the entire pack, unless someone was gazing directly at her, and she understood the reason for this.
She possessed no fragrance.
Although she could detect the scent of everyone around her, no one could perceive her odour; she had secured employment and laboured for extended, silent hours in the rear room of a dressmaking establishment within the pack. She had a passion for learning to design and create exquisite dresses.
Many of the she-wolves donned her dresses for the pack’s events and mating balls. For their 16th and 18th birthday festivities. However, she did not; she resided alone in a small cabin, distant from the pack, to prevent them from hearing her sobs and anguish as she endured the pains of betrayal.
Upon the initial realisation of his infidelity, she and Layla had cried out in anguish and fled into the depths of the woods, discovering an abandoned cabin where they curled into a ball and remained in torment until he ceased his involvement with another. Subsequently, remained there for an entire day, unable to return to the pack. Their anguish would have been evident to all, had anyone been observing her.
They were powerless to alter the situation. It inflicted a pain unlike anything she had previously experienced, persisting to this day, and to conceal their suffering, they had sequestered themselves, unable to articulate his significance to them.
She understood that he would never believe her; only by detecting her scent would he acknowledge her as his Mate.
Both she and Layla were aware of this, and they recognised that he would never be capable of achieving it either. The discomfort intensified in his absence from the pack, engaging in copulation with another she-wolf from a different pack. Did not inflict any less pain on her than the she-wolf in the pack with whom he regularly engaged.
For three protracted years, she endured her plight, traversing the corridors of the pack-house, encountering him repeatedly, yet he never afforded her the slightest acknowledgement. When their paths did intersect, as often occurred with others who failed to perceive her presence, he would merely scowl at her, either offer an apology or request that she vacate his path, and then proceed onwards. They had intermittently rebuked her, irate about her direction.
For two years, she clandestinely entered his bedroom in his absence, examined his belongings, caressed his garments, and wept for the man who was her Mate. The man who had never once detected her presence. The man whom she and Layla adored, yet would never reciprocate their affection.
He had even slept curled in his bed, although he was unaware of it. No trace of her lingered; she could roam freely wherever she desired, leaving no evidence behind. She had even occupied his Alpha’s chair, touched his desk, and contemplated what it would be like to be his Luna.
This evening, she was aware that he had been with another individual. He had one consistent companion within the pack, Camila, who was of similar age, a warrior of high rank. She had observed them conversing and engaging in flirtation intermittently. The manner in which he gazed at her physique was also painful. He desired Camila; she was tall and exceptionally fit, composed entirely of muscle, which he found appealing.
Brianna had previously been physically fit, not tall but quite strong. However, the past three years had exhausted her; she had become emaciated, consistently exhibited dark circles beneath her eyes, and appeared rather fragile.
The limited joy she derived from training as a warrior, in an effort to honour her warrior parents, diminished entirely upon her turning 18, despite her aspiration to become a proficient fighter, a pursuit she had not yet been old enough to undertake. She was scarcely a remnant of her former self now.
