The Queen They Never Saw – 1
Sebastian’s POV
“What?” Aurora whispered beside me, her voice laced with shock.
The entire ballroom fell completely silent. Everyone was utterly stunned. No one had seen this coming. No one had imagined that Thea would be the founder of the Dawnhaven Foundation.
Fuck, I’d been married to this woman for seven years and had no idea about any of this. How blind had I been as an Alpha?
“You’re just now realizing how blind you’ve been?” my wolf rolled his eyes. “You’ve been ignoring her for years, not caring about even her basic happiness, so how would you know about her accomplishments?”
“Did you know about this?” Damien asked, his eyes as wide as the full moon.
“No,” I suppressed a growl, annoyed at myself for missing something so significant.
I watched as Thea gracefully stood up, Kane immediately rising to offer his hand. She placed her hand in his as he escorted her toward the stage. When he placed his hand on her bare back, a strong sense of possessiveness surged through me, and my wolf bared his teeth.
Once on stage, Kane stepped back. Thea embraced Fiona before approaching the podium. She smiled and cleared her throat. “Hello,” she laughed nervously. “Strangely enough, facing a room full of energetic students is easier for me than facing a room full of Pack members.”
This drew good-natured laughter from the crowd.
“I’m guessing there’s no one here who doesn’t know who I am, but if there is, I’m Thea Sterling. As Fiona mentioned, we’re here today to celebrate everyone’s continued help with the Dawnhaven Foundation. As a teacher, you see many things at school—children bullied by their peers for being born Omega; pups with bruises and worn-out clothes, abandoned by their parents with nowhere to go; and young wolves who look forward to shift day only to discover they can’t shift…” Her voice seemed to catch for a moment, but she quickly composed herself, captivating everyone’s attention.
I’d never seen Pack leaders listen so intently to a speech.
“Seeing these children suffer broke my heart, so I started helping however I could. I started with one boy from my class, then another, and another. Soon, I was helping dozens of children. That’s where the inspiration for the foundation came from—I wanted to give them a safe haven, a place where even Omegas and those without wolves wouldn’t face discrimination. I started with establishing ‘Dawnhaven Home,’ and the Goddess blessed my efforts, bringing more help.”
“Since we began four years ago, we’ve expanded Dawnhaven Homes, and we’re proud to say we have a branch in every major city across North America. We’ve helped a lot of young wolves rebuild their lives and get an education. We care for those children, ranging from a few months to eighteen years old. We make sure they want for nothing, and even those considered ‘defective’ receive equal love.” She gestured toward the central tables filled with children of various ages.
“This foundation exists to help them. To give them hope outside of Pack influence. To make them believe they can succeed regardless of which Pack they come from, what bloodline they have, or whether or not they have a wolf. To support them in their journey through life. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your continued support and every donation. May the Goddess bless you all.” She finished and left the podium.
Applause erupted from every corner of the room as people stood to honor her. My wolf whimpered with satisfaction inside me, proud of her. Look at what our Luna has accomplished.
Shortly after, Fiona returned to the podium. “That concludes today’s event. Have a wonderful evening and enjoy yourselves.”
I was completely captivated by Thea, unable to take my eyes off her. Who would’ve thought there was so much hidden beneath her surface? The wolfless woman I’d always considered weak and useless had been quietly changing countless lives.
“She never needed a wolf to prove her worth,” my wolf said softly.
“Goddess, I never dreamed she’d be the founder of this organization,” Roman murmured, his gaze shifting between Thea and Iris.
Iris was still seated at their table, but Thea was talking with several children who had been waiting for her. Among them was a young man whose scent seemed familiar, though I couldn’t place where I’d encountered it before.
“Yeah,” Damien agreed, his face still showing shock, “never imagined we knew so little about her.”
It was incomprehensible. It was as if she had a secret world I’d never glimpsed. As an Alpha with typically sharp intuition, I’d completely missed this entire aspect of Thea’s life.
The Queen They Never Saw – 2
Someone sat down in Callista’s vacant seat. I turned, ready to growl, only to see it was Fiona.
“Don’t mind me, I’m just tired. You’re Thea’s family, right?” she asked, and Roman nodded numbly.
“Great.” She didn’t say anything else, just pulled out a tablet and started typing.
“Hey,” Aurora spoke up, “isn’t that Fenris from Wildthorn? What’s he doing with Thea? Does he know her?”
I followed her gaze. It was indeed the young man with Thea. No wonder his scent was familiar–Fenris Wildthorn, the young Alpha we called the “Tech Wolf King.”
Wildthorn was a neutral organization established two years ago, similar to our police department, not belonging to any particular pack. Fenris led the organization and was also a tech genius who, at just twenty years old, had built his own business empire. He’d developed a weapons system adaptable to wolf form and had secured his place among the major Packs.
If I were vain, I’d worry he might challenge my dominance. This young Alpha was putting pressure on many older Pack leaders.
“Oh, yes… he’s a beneficiary of the Dawnhaven Foundation. He was the illegitimate son of his old Pack’s Alpha, who abandoned him as an orphan, and Thea discovered and took him in. She encouraged his talents. When he wanted to start his own company, Thea supported him against everyone else’s objections and gave him the startup funds he needed. No Pack would accept a freak orphan back then, let alone believe in him, except for Thea. Now with his rapid success, as thanks to Thea, he’s given her shares. Thea is the second-largest shareholder after himself.”
Another shocking revelation. We stared at her, each trying to digest what she’d just told us.
Aurora broke the moment with a cold snort. “In other words, you’re saying she’s using those weak pups to make money for herself?”
This time I couldn’t tolerate it.
“Shut the fuck up!” I snarled, my Alpha presence releasing unconsciously as I slammed my fist on the table.
The surrounding wolves immediately lowered their heads, showing submission. Aurora looked at me as if she’d never seen this side of me before, but I was simply tired of her snake-like mouth and baseless accusations against Thea. My wolf nodded approvingly, Finally doing something right.
“What cave have you been living in?” Fiona asked Aurora with contempt. “Thea doesn’t need anyone to make her wealthy, she just doesn’t parade around like some self-important people do.”
“What are you talking about?” Roman asked, his wolf clearly confused.
Fiona shrugged. “She was already wealthy before starting this foundation. She just likes to keep a low profile. But from what I know, her assets make her one of the wealthiest she-wolves in North America.”
While I was still processing this shock, Fiona continued.
“What I love about Thea is how humble she is. So wealthy, yet never flaunting it. She doesn’t wear expensive furs, drive the latest luxury cars, or live in massive houses. Seeing her, many Alphas and Lunas mock her simplicity, looking down on her for being wolfless, considering her worthless.”
Damn, isn’t that exactly what we did countless times? Isn’t that exactly what I, as her Alpha, had always done?
Even when I bought that Range Rover for her, how arrogantly I assumed she couldn’t afford a better car. No wonder she refused it. I’d made a fool of myself that day.
“What you’re saying is impossible,” Aurora muttered.
Among all of us, she looked down on Thea the most. I could smell the jealousy and unease she was emitting. Now that the truth was revealed, she couldn’t accept that her wolfless sister, whom she’d always disparaged, was more successful than her.
“I’m stating facts… honestly, since you’re her family members, shouldn’t you be aware of these achievements?” Fiona asked with a frown.
We all lowered our heads in shame. She was right. Thea was a member of the Sterling family, my former Luna, yet we’d always dismissed her. No wonder she never told us anything about her accomplishments.
She knew you wouldn’t truly be proud of her, my wolf said sadly.
As I was wallowing in shame, an unfriendly scent caught my attention.
Thea was standing face-to-face with Lyra. Lyra was the Luna of the Ravenoak Pack Alpha, but before that, I knew she had been one of Thea’s bullies when they were in school.