"Attention! Kasha, it's your coming-of-age ceremony in a short while, and until then, you must get ready."
I had just walked in the door when I heard my stepfather, Takri, yelling at me.
"Kasha, you really disappoint us, this is the seventh time you have failed this month."
My mother, Tina, also expressed her utmost disappointment in me.
As a werewolf, before choosing a mate at the age of eighteen, I must prepare a gift to let my mate know that I'm not a useless werewolf.
But I may be the exception.
My real father was an Alpha of the Dusk Moon wolf pack, but he died in a territorial battle three years ago, who lost at the cost of his life.
And the winner became my stepfather, also known as Takri.
My mother Tina submitted and married to Takri to protect me and became his wife.
Takri didn't really like me and kept me around just to get a free maid.
If I couldn't find my mate before I'm eighteen, I'd be banished by the wolves.
My mother hoped that I would find an eligible mate who could protect me until then.
"I will succeed till the end."
I walked toward my room and closed the door behind me.
The sound of my mother and stepfather talking came from outside the door.
As I lay in bed, staring out the window at the sun, I thought of my father.
He was a powerful yet gentle Alpha.
What I remembered most was what he would always say to me.
"Little Kasha, hide behind me, I will protect you."
In fact, he could have escaped in that battle three years ago. But I was chased by Takri's wolves to the edge of a cliff, and he traded with Takri to save me. He was pushed off the cliff by the wolves, and I survived.
I was the one who got him killed.
Takri also did not treat my father's wolves well, but made them do all the dirty and tiring work. He always punished them for the slightest mistake, even abused them.
During the night, I still couldn't sleep and wanted to go out for a walk.
"Kasha, you'd better read this." My mother stood in the hallway and handed me a letter.
It was signed by the Hobart family.
The letter was an invitation to a party they were holding, and since I was about to turn eighteen, I also wanted to take the opportunity to be able to choose my own mate.
"I don't want to go." I replied as I shoved the envelope back into my mother's hand.
"But we have promised that you will appear at the party on time." My mother said to me seriously.
"You guys committed to them without even asking me if I wanted to go?" I got a little angry, too.
"No matter what, you must attend tomorrow, or else you will be banished by the wolves and wander alone." My mother raised her voice and said to me.
"Okay, I'll be there." I replied moodily, and only then did my mother turn around and go back to her room.
Early the next morning, I was on my way to the Hobart family.
Hobart family was not new to me, for when I was young, my father used to take me to a few parties.
Despite this, I had only been there two or three times.
"This young lady, if you don't have a letter of invitation, please leave here immediately."
As I stood in front of a lavish castle, a middle-aged man in a black suit stopped me.
I took the letter of invitation out of my pocket and handed it to him.
"Level 1 invitation letter, hah, you can go in."
The butler and the soldier next to me both laughed and handed me the envelope.
I didn't understand why they laughed at me or what the first-class invitation letter meant.
When I walked into the hall, there were already many people inside.
The smell of perfume made me dizzy, and I reluctantly found a corner to sit down, just hoping the party would be over soon.
"Why won't you let me attend the banquet? I'm a member of the family too!"
A sound of arguing came and I looked over sideways.
It was a middle-aged man and a young man who looked like they should be father and son.
"Adri, you should know that I don't want you to mess up my party, so you can't attend." The middle-aged man said.
The young man was the future Alpha wolf leader, Adri Hobart.
I was afraid of being seen by them and hid under the table.
"But they killed my mother, can this be pretended as if it never happened?"
Adri questioned angrily, as his eyes turned red and his hands were clenched in fists.
He had blond hair, blue and sharp eyes like an eagle, and he was a head taller than me. He was so handsome that made my heart beat faster.
On his neck, a totem mark from the Hobart family could be vaguely seen.
Any family that had a certain status among the wolves would have a seal that represented their family, and that seal, which was usually given by the family elders at the coming-of-age ceremony, would be given.
But I was confused as to who killed his mother.
"Okay, Adri, you need to calm down, I can allow you to attend the party, but you have to promise that you won't mess everything up, and I won't just let it go with what happened to Kailin." The middle-aged man said as he patted the young man on the shoulder.
Adri's clenched fist was then loosened.
I was also about to stay away from this place from under the table.
"Who are you? Why are you doing hiding there?" Adri's voice came from behind me.
I froze and slowly turned my head to look at Adri, who was standing in front of me and glaring at me.
"I'm here for the party, I dropped my stuff on the floor and I just picked it up." I got out from under the table and stood up and explained nervously because I had lied.
"Who's your master that brought you here?" Adri questioned.
"I was invited to the party, I'm not a servant." I explained again, and I thought I had made myself clear.
"Which family are you from?" Adri asked, staring hard at me.
"The Nader family, my father's name is Kanas." I replied with my head bowed.
"You're the daughter of Alpha Kanas?" Adri looked at me in shock.
"Yes." I replied, he didn't seem to know that my father had passed away.
"Kasha! You are really here! Don't you know that you are the servant of this party? We're so busy now! Come with me!" The butler at the door just now walked up to me and said.
"The servant?" I didn't understand what he meant, I was here for the party, how could I be a servant?
"Yes, the level 1 invitation letter represents the temporarily hired servants, I will never misread it." The butler replied seriously.
I lowered my head, I didn't think I was coming to the party as a servant.
Without speaking, Adri turned to leave.
I was so embarrassed that my face burned.
"Hey, is this Kasha?" A woman's voice came from behind me.