Harper's POV
The central square of Silvergray pack was bustling with young people.
For the sake of better social division, every member of the pack needed to undergo an appraisal of their maturity in terms of strength, speed, and intelligence upon reaching the age of 18.
Only the members who passed the appraisal were free to choose their own position in the pack, while those who failed were demoted to Omega and could only perform the lowest level of work.
Today was the day the results of the appraisal were announced.
In general, most of the wolf shifters in the pack would be able to pass the test. So the boys and girls around were excitedly discussing what kind of positions they would choose in the future, or what they would dress up as for their upcoming Coming of Age Party.
However, I stood nervously in the crowd, crossed and clasped tightly my hands, praying to the Moon Goddess that I would pass the appraisal.
Alpha Carter stepped to the pulpit with a sheet of parchment. He slowly opened the thin sheet of parchment, and my heart tugged at it.
After unfolding the parchment, Alpha Carter began to read the notice on it: "In the presence of the Moon Goddess, the results of this year's talent appraisal of Silvergray Pack will now be announced.
"Kelly, qualified."
"Osborn, qualified."
"Mia, qualified."
...
Finally, it was almost my turn and I felt my heart pounding violently. However, Alpha Carter suddenly paused for a few seconds and gave me a meaningful look. It was a look that bordered on pity, which made my heart drop heavily.
"Harper Laurier, failed appraisal. I, Carter, Alpha of the Silvergray pack, announce that you have been demoted to Omega."
The announcement rang through my head like a huge roar, my legs instantly lost strength and I fell to the floor, unable to believe what I was hearing.
The crowd around me began to whisper.
"Oh my goddess, Harper has been demoted to Omega. Elena will be furious when she finds out, she values her family's reputation above all else."
"I heard that Harper hadn't been able to complete the shift successfully, it could be that she had lost her wolf, no wonder everyone called her 'Miss Freak'."
"Can't she even shift? If she wasn't Alpha Carter's daughter, she would have been kicked out of Silvergray Pack a long time ago."
"She's just an adopted daughter. Kelly is the real daughter of Alpha Carter, and also the first-place winner of this year's talent appraisal. As an Omega, Harper was no match for Kelly's little finger."
The comments and taunts around me penetrated my ears, like a sharp sword piercing my heart, shattering my pride little by little.
18 years ago, Alpha Carter and his wife Elena, the most powerful couple in the Silvergray Pack, had been childless for many years. It was then that they made a decision to adopt me as a baby, as their child. However, not long after I was adopted, Elena found herself pregnant and she soon gave birth to Kelly.
After she had a daughter of her own, Elena decided to send me back to the orphanage. Upon I was returned to the orphanage, I developed a fatal fever. Couldn't bear to let me die like that, Alpha Carter took me home for treatment.
From then on, my status in the family became a bit awkward.
The other packmates would often compare me to Kelly, but she couldn't stand to know that her "fake" sister had anything better than she did.
So from a young age, I learned to live by watching Kelly's every mood and trying not to overtake her, not even daring to run faster when I was running with her.
Except for that one and only time.
At the age of 13, I had my first shift and felt my wolf for the first time. She was a beautiful reddish-brown wolf, and I named her Mila.
Since I became the first one of my peers to have a successful shift, Alpha Carter was so happy that he rewarded me with a big cake. It was also the happiest day of my life. After that, however, I began to notice that Mila was getting weaker and weaker.
Until one day, I found myself couldn't feel her anymore.
From that moment on, I have never been able to shift and become a talentless freak in the eyes of others.
Unable to endure the verbal attacks around me any longer, I clenched my fists, quickly stood up from the ground, lowered my head, and left the square in a hurry before the announcement was over.
I was walking on the way home in frustration when a person hit me hard from behind, causing me to fall heavily to the ground. My elbow hit the gravel on the ground and bright red blood immediately gushed out.
As I struggled to raise my head up, I saw Kelly standing in front of me with her arms crossed in a condescending manner, making no excuse at all for having pushed me.
She said in a sarcastic tone, "Harper, why could you run away so fast? After all these years of being so brazen about staying in my home, I thought you didn't know what it was like to be ashamed of yourself."
I got up from the ground, clutched my injured arm, and bowed my head without speaking.
Yet, Kelly stepped forward and grabbed my hair vigorously, forcing me to look up, "Now you should finally have an understanding of the gulf between you and me. No matter how hard you try, you are doomed to never catch up with me."
I looked away, trying not to see her smug smile.
However, Kelly kept on grabbing my hair and shook my head, "I just didn't expect you really to be demoted to an Omega. Mom will be very angry when she finds out. You are simply a scourge born with doom. It is no wonder that your parents abandoned you."
Even though I'm used to Kelly's nasty words, she always manages to poke me in the place where it hurts the most.
Before being adopted, I was dumped at the orphanage gate a few months after my birth. Except for a necklace with my name engraved on it, my biological parents did not leave me anything.
In all these years, I have never had any word from them and never heard that they were in search of me. I have no idea why they left me and I don't even know if they are still alive.
I never wanted to compare myself to her, all I wanted was to live a peaceful life, but she always took pleasure in putting me down. If it were possible, I would rather be born into a normal family, instead of living in the shadow of Kelly, as the "worse daughter" of Alpha.
As Kelly spoke more and more aggressively, her beautiful face gradually became blurred and hideous, like a curse that I could never get rid of.
Furious and annoyed, I grabbed Kelly's hand and bit her hard with my teeth.
"Bitch! How dare you bite me?! Get off me." Kelly screamed and let go of my hair, only to find that I was still biting on it.
Kelly kicked my stomach violently. I acted as if I didn't feel any pain, and used my blunt canine teeth to grab hold of her wrist with all of my might, as if I wanted to rip a piece of flesh from her body.
It started to rain, and the large drops of rain were falling on me, taking the heat out of my body. I gradually lost my strength, and Kelly pinched my chin with her hands and threw me to the ground.
I tried to stand up, but she stepped on my shoulder with her foot, causing me to fall back to the ground heavily.
"You have the nerve to bite me now?! Have I said anything wrong? Listen! Harper, you are a piece of shit that nobody wants! If it wasn't for my dad, you would have died in the orphanage. You are not allowed to go home today, just lie here and reflect on yourself!"
My head hit the ground, making me dizzy for a moment, but Kelly's angry curse still rang in my ears. I was no longer able to hold my head up in the freezing rain.
Before I was completely out of consciousness, I saw a man walking up to me...