THE ALPHA KING'S FORGOTTEN MATE

The first thing Lena saw when she entered the dining room was the empty place at the table. The second was her father smiling at Elara. Lena stopped in the doorway, the serving bowl heavy in both hands, her own plate still sitting on the kitchen counter behind her.

"Lena," her mother said sharply. "Don't just stand there." Lena blinked and walked forward. "Sorry, Mother."

Miriam had a way of making even a quiet sentence sound like a correction. Her sharp eyes moved over Lena before settling on the bowl. "Put that down." Lena placed the stew in the middle of the table. "Is the rice ready?"

"Yes."

"Then bring it. And the water." Lena had already turned when Miriam added, "The bread too."

"I'll bring them." She went back into the kitchen. Behind her, Adrian's low voice carried across the room. "Elara, you handled yourself well today."

Lena's steps slowed. "Thank you, Father," Elara replied.

"You're growing into the woman this family expected you to become."

Miriam smiled. "I told you she would."

Lena picked up the rice, then returned with the bowl and placed it on the table. Elara was already sitting comfortably, her long hair falling neatly over one shoulder. She had a graceful way of carrying herself that made her seem perfectly at ease wherever she went.

Lena filled the glasses and brought the bread. When she returned, Elara looked at her. "You've been in the kitchen all afternoon, you should sit down."

Lena glanced at the empty place. "I will."

"After everything is served," Miriam said.

"Yes, Mother." Adrian continued speaking to Elara. "You should remember what I told you. You can't afford to be careless."

"I won't be, you have nothing to worry about father."Elara smiled.

"That's why we can trust her," Miriam said. Lena looked at Elara. Her sister met her eyes for a moment and smiled politely.

Lena remained standing. She collected the empty serving dishes and returned them to the kitchen before coming back to the dining room. Nobody stopped their conversation. She listened while Adrian asked Elara questions and Miriam praised her answers, keeping her hands together and waiting. She had spent the afternoon preparing their meal, her back still ached from standing, and the smell of onions and spices clung to her hands.

"Father?" Adrian looked up. "What is it?"

"Did you like the stew?" Miriam glanced at her. Elara stopped eating. Adrian looked toward the bowl. "You made it?"

"Yes." He took another spoonful. "It's fine." Lena waited a moment. "Just fine?"

Adrian frowned. "What did you expect?" Lena lowered her eyes for a second. "I just wanted to know if I did well."

Miriam sighed. "Lena, you cooked dinner. Like you were supposed to, why are you looking for praise?"

"I wasn't."

Adrian set down his spoon. "You were." Lena went quiet. "You're twenty-two," he said. "You should know better than to wait for approval because you completed a task."

"I just asked if you liked it." Lena lowered her head wishing she never said anything. "And I told you it's fine. What else do you want?"

Lena reached for the plates. Adrian stopped her. "Lena." She looked up. "Do you want me to praise you?"

The question made her uncomfortable. "No, Father."

"Then stop behaving as if you do." Lena's fingers tightened around the edge of the table. "I understand."

"Do you?" Adrian leaned back. "You have no rank, Lena." The words were familiar, she had known for years that she was unranked, had known what that meant every time someone else was given a place and she was given a task. "No wolf," he added, and Lena looked down.

She had waited for her wolf when she was a child. At eight, she had listened to other children talk about the strange presence they felt inside themselves. At ten, she had asked questions about their first shifts. At twelve, she had watched Elara shift for the first time, and everyone had celebrated. Lena had gone to bed that night believing her own wolf would come soon. It never did. There had been no voice beneath her thoughts, no instinct answering her, no shift waiting to happen. Years passed. Nothing changed. By twenty-two, Lena had stopped expecting a wolf to appear, but she had never forgotten what its absence had cost her.

Adrian's voice brought her attention back to him. "And nothing that makes this family exceptional." Lena lifted her eyes. "Know your place."

She stood still for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, Father."

Elara shifted in her seat. "Father.."

Adrian looked at her. "What?" Elara glanced at Lena. "Nothing."

Lena reached for the plates. This time, she did not wait for anyone to tell her what to do. She collected them and carried them into the kitchen. Her own plate was still on the counter. Lena looked at it, then picked it up. She almost carried it back to the table. Instead, she took it upstairs. She would eat alone.

Lena pushed open her bedroom door with her shoulder and placed her plate on the small table beside her bed. Her room was quiet. She sat down and looked at the food. It was cold.

"Of course." She took a bite anyway.

Downstairs, she could hear the faint sounds of her family moving around, a chair scraping against the floor, someone laughing, a door opening and closing. Lena continued eating. When she finished, she carried the plate downstairs, washed it, and returned to her room. She closed the door and sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her hands for a moment before reaching beneath her pillow.

Her fingers found the faded blue ribbon. Lena pulled it out and held it between both hands. The ribbon was old and worn, but she had kept it carefully for years. She began to hum, softly ,the same little tune she used whenever she wanted the house to disappear for a while. After a few moments, her shoulders relaxed. She stopped humming, and the room became quiet again.

Lena looked at the ribbon. She had wanted one kind word from her father. Instead, she had asked for it and learned that even asking had become something he could use against her.

She folded the ribbon and stood, crossing to the small wooden chest near the wall. Inside were the few things she kept for herself. She took out a small box and placed the ribbon inside, then closed the lid and locked it. The key rested in her palm. Lena looked at it before slipping it into her pocket and sitting back down.

There were things she could not change. She could not give herself a wolf. She could not give herself rank. She could not make her father proud or make her mother treat her like Elara. But she could decide what she gave them. Tomorrow, she would still wake early. She would still do the work expected of her. She would still keep the peace. But she would no longer stand around waiting for someone to notice. She would no longer ask for words she already knew they would not give her.

Lena pulled the key from her pocket and placed it beneath her pillow. Then she lay down, pulled the blanket to her chin, and turned toward the wall.

For years, she had tried to earn a place at her family's table. Tonight, she stopped trying. She would survive quietly.