Ren Pov:
It was my eighteenth birthday.
No one cared.
They never did.
In the Gambino family, only the strongest were worth attention—that's what my father always said.
But that wasn't entirely true.
Strength wasn't the only thing that decided your worth here.
I would know.
My name is Ren Gambino… and this is the story of how my own family learned to ignore me.
My eighteenth birthday was supposed to mean something.
For most people, it was a milestone. A celebration. A night where you were seen.
For me… it was just another reminder that I wasn't.
The grand hall of the Gambino mansion was overflowing with people—laughter, music, expensive perfume filling the air. Crystal chandeliers shimmered above, casting golden light over smiling faces.
None of it was for me.
It was all for my twin sister.
Elena Gambino.
The perfect daughter. The pride of the family.
And then there was me.
Ren Gambino.An omega. Not rare. Not strong. Just… there.
I stood in the far corner of the hall, fingers curled tightly around the sleeve of my shirt, watching as people gathered around her—praising her, admiring her, loving her.
No one even glanced in my direction.
They never did.
It hadn't always been like this.
There was a time—long ago—when my father used to look at me with warmth instead of indifference. When my presence didn't feel like a mistake.
But that changed the day the doctors spoke.
Autism.
A word that shouldn't have meant the end of everything—but it did.
They said it was mild. Manageable. That I would grow out of it.
My family didn't wait to find out.
From that day on, I became invisible.
My brothers stopped talking to me.My sisters avoided me like I carried something contagious.And my father…
Dante Gambino—the most feared mafia boss, the strongest Rare Alpha of the Moon Pack—
He stopped looking at me like I was his son.
I reminded him too much of my mother.
Lilly.
The woman who died bringing me into this world.
They said I looked just like her.
Maybe that was another reason I was so easy to ignore.
Or hate.
After she died, my father remarried. And while my stepmother adored Elena, she made sure I knew exactly where I stood.
Nowhere.
I spent most of my childhood locked away in a small room on the ground floor, far from the luxury and warmth that filled the upper levels of the mansion.
Drawing was the only thing that kept me sane.
Lines. Colors. Worlds that didn't hurt.
But tonight… tonight, I had allowed myself to hope.
Maybe this time would be different.
At exactly midnight, everything changed.
A sudden energy surged through the room, electric and alive.
The shifting had begun.
Gasps filled the hall as Elena transformed first—her wolf emerging in a burst of white light.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Her fur shimmered like moonlight, flawless and pure.
Applause erupted instantly.
And then—
She found her mate.
"Alexander," someone whispered.
Of course it was him.
My father's friend's son. A strong alpha. Perfect for her.
I watched as my father stepped forward, pride clear in his voice.
"That's my daughter," Dante said. "My princess."
The words cut deeper than they should have.
"I promise I'll take care of her, uncle," Alexander replied confidently.
Laughter. Celebration. Joy.
Everything I wasn't part of.
Then Elena's eyes found mine.
A slow, cruel smile spread across her face.
"Look at me," she said mockingly. "I got a strong alpha. What did you get, autism brat?"
The room went silent.
Every eye turned toward me.
And before I could shrink away—
It started.
Pain ripped through my body as my own shift began.
I collapsed to my knees, gasping as something powerful surged within me—stronger than anything I had ever felt before.
And then—
Silence.
I stood there, no longer human.
My wolf had emerged.
A deep, rich purple.
Unnatural. Rare. Breathtaking.
A stunned hush fell over the room.
"No way…" someone whispered.
"What is that?"
I looked around, my heart pounding, confusion and fear mixing inside me—
And then I felt it.
A pull.
Strong. Unavoidable.
My mate.
My eyes locked onto him.
Kaeris.
I looked at him like he was my only hope, like everything I ever wanted was standing right in front of me, and when our eyes met, I felt it—the bond, warm and pulling, something I couldn't ignore no matter how much I tried. A small, trembling smile formed on my lips as I whispered, "Kaeris… we are—" but before I could finish, his cold voice cut through me, "I don't want you." Everything inside me stopped, my heart, my breath, my thoughts, and for a second I thought I heard him wrong. "W-What?" I stuttered, but the way he looked at me—no, not at me, through me—made my chest tighten painfully. Disgust spread across his face as his eyes scanned me like I was nothing. "Did you really think I would accept you?" he said, his voice sharp and cruel. "Look at you—an omega, weak, pathetic, and on top of that… broken." The word hit me the hardest, echoing in my mind as I tried to speak, my voice shaking, "I'm not… I'm not broken… we are mates…" but he just laughed, a cold, mocking sound that made the people around us join in. "Mates?" he repeated, like it was some kind of joke. "That's the biggest joke I've heard tonight." Laughter surrounded me, suffocating me, but I still didn't look away, tears filling my eyes as I took a small step toward him. "Please… don't do this… I didn't choose this… I didn't choose to be like this…" For a moment, just a moment, I thought I saw hesitation in his eyes, and hope sparked inside me, but it was crushed instantly when he spoke again, colder than before. "I wish you were never my mate." My world shattered, and before I could beg again, before I could even breathe properly, he said it loud enough for everyone to hear, "I, Kaeris, reject Ren Gambino as my mate." Pain exploded in my chest, unbearable and suffocating, like something inside me was being torn apart as I dropped to my knees, gasping for air, clutching my chest while the bond snapped, leaving nothing but emptiness behind. Through blurred vision and tears streaming down my face, I looked up at him and whispered, "Why… why are you doing this to me…?" but he didn't even hesitate. "Because I don't want a mate like you," he said emotionlessly. "Someone unwanted by his own family, someone even his own father ignores… why would I accept trash like that?" The word echoed in my mind—trash—and something inside me broke completely, while everyone around me just stood there, watching, laughing, as if my pain was nothing more than entertainment.
"MARCO."
My father's voice cut through everything.
"Lock him in his room."
I looked at him, my vision blurred with tears.
For a second… just a second… I hoped he would say something else.
Anything.
But all I saw was cold calculation in his eyes.
"What a waste of time," he muttered.
That was it.
That was all I was worth.
I looked at Marco, silently pleading for him to let me go, but his grip only tightened, like I didn't even have the right to escape. Elena's laughter echoed through the hall as she mocked me in front of everyone, each word cutting deeper than the last. My hands clenched, and with burning eyes, I turned to glare at my father.
Not with love. Not anymore.
But with hate.Cold. Burning. Unforgiving.
And for the first time in my life…I hated my own father.