Eva's POV

Gasps and murmurs erupted as I made my way out of the forest. The look of shock, surprise and awe I saw in everyone’s face did not give me the satisfying feeling I had been aiming for.

For a moment, the entire crowd seemed to hold their breath. Especially my father, stepmother and Percy who all stood around Layla’s black wolf. They all stood there in shock.

In my previous life, I had not known this but I was the first white wolf to exist in more than a thousand years. The fact that my wolf was white was a big shock to everyone but most importantly, it was a blessing to our pack.

The Alpha King gasped, taking a step towards me. His eyes locked with mine and I could see that he was struggling to know whom this white wolf belonged to. I noticed Percy move as well and in a second, he was beside his father.

“Who is it, Father? Do you know? Ask her to change forms.”

The Alpha King’s gaze lingered on me as if he hadn’t heard his son. With my father’s initial shock and surprise clearing away, he stepped forward as well, his handsome face morphing into a frown.

“Eva?” he inhaled sharply, taking another small step forward. “Is that you?”

In this moment, the man before me was my father. His pride shone in his eyes for a minute before doubt crept in. just then, the memory of his favoritism and disdain later was all too real.

Every time he chose between me and Layla, I was always cast aside. I remembered vividly when he had slapped me hard and said, “Eva, the biggest mistake I made was bringing you into this world.”

I closed my eyes briefly, my body trembling uncontrollably. Despite my vivid memories, I couldn’t express my pain and grievances. Not in this form and definitely not now.

Raising my head to the darkened sky, I let out a piercing howl before taking one step back, then another. Eventually, I turned around and began walking away

In that moment, I heard my father’s heart breaking but I didn’t care. He had broken my heart more than a million times before.

“Wait!” I heard Percy shout but I didn’t stop. “Wait, hold on, who are you? Somebody stop her. “Finally, he turned to his father. “Father? You can’t just let her go. That – that – that is a white wolf for goddess sake!”

I stopped as a group of people block my part. Turning to the Alpha King, I tilted my head. There was a barrage of emotions on his face before he finally relented, rising his hands in surrender.

“Let her go.”

At his orders, the men who had stepped in front of me reluctantly moved away. Growling, I walked away with my head held high, but once I was at the edge of the forest, I ran. I ran at full speed and didn’t stop running until all my energy was spent.

Once I was sure that no one had followed me or managed to keep up with my speed, I slowed down and eventually stopped. Under an oak tree, I changed back to my human form, breathing heavily from all the energy spent.

Tired, I laid down under the tree and closed my eyes, not resisting the darkness, I was soon pulled into a peaceful slumber.

By the time morning came, I was reenergized although I was still tired from all the running. It was time to go home. I stood to my feet, noticing with displeasure that I had left my clothes at a different part of the forest.

I couldn’t possibly return home naked.

Sighing, I decided to find my clothes first before heading home. by the time I finally found them, I realized I had been roaming the forest for three hours. When I returned home, my father was waiting at the front door with a visible smile on his face.

His smile widened when he saw me and he called out. “Welcome home my dear daughter. Come, come. Tell me how your night went yesterday.”

Layla and my stepmother stood behind him with an equally charming smile on their faces. Everything seemed eerily similar to my previous life. It was also around this time that my father and I had walked into the house and I had been happy when I saw the smile on their faces.

I scoffed, even though it was the same settings, the same words and the same innocent faces, I now knew what evil schemes hid beneath those smiling eyes.

“Come on in, sister.” Layla said sweetly, hooking her arm with mine and dragged me inside. “I can’t wait to tell you what color my wolf is!”

The same way I couldn’t wait to show you my wolf as well, right? I smiled. Lets see how long you can keep up the act this time. I thought to myself.

Out loud, I said. “What is it? A black wolf?”

Layla caught off guard by my direct and correct guess immediately stumbled, her huge smile faltering for a second. “How did you know? You weren’t there! Now that you mention it, I didn’t see you anywhere around.”

I waved off her question before my father thought too much about it. “I was in the crowd. It was so packed that you couldn’t have found me even if you looked.”

Seemingly pleased with my answer, she went on. “What about you? What color is your wolf? You know being a black wolf makes me a beta, right? One of the powerful wolves in the community.”

She was right. Being a black wolf meant she came from a long line of pure blood betas. It meant whoever her father was, he must have been a powerful man in high position. Alphas had golden wolves, just like my father and were usually very powerful.

As his daughter, I wasn’t supposed to fall too far from the tree. If I didn’t take after my father, I was to take after my mother. Yet, as it happens, both my father and mother – from the little I learned – were Alphas.

I could already see the anxiety in Layla’s eyes as she waited for my answer. If I took after both my parents, I would be one of the most powerful wolves in the community and superior t er who was only a beta.

I smiled sadly. Back then, I couldn’t control my fate so I had allowed my father to push me however he liked. What about now?

“Eva,” my father said suddenly, stepping towards me. “There was a white wolf yesterday.’ He looked into my eyes as he spoke, whether trying to find a resemblance between me and the white wolf or something else, I couldn’t tell.

But I wasn’t giving anything away.

Beside me, I felt Layla panic. Her eyes darted between me and my father.

“Really?” I said finally. “There was a white wolf? I guess I didn’t see it. I must have been too busy taking a run in the forest by then.”

Layla visible relaxed at that, clutching to my arm again. “Don’t worry, Eva. A lot of people missed it. But father is right, there was a white wolf yesterday, she seemed so… majestic, I saw her with my own eyes.”

My father smiled but I didn’t fail t notice that the smile did not reach his eyes. “Tell us then. What color is your wolf?”

Sighing, I shrugged out of Layla’s tight grip. Glancing up at my father, I met his gaze then smiled proudly. “My wolf was… brown.”