The general norm is that partners are discovered before the age of 22.

You get branded if you don't.

It's challenging to recover from being labelled as unfortunate, and it's irreversible.

Lyra Wilcott: an Alpha's daughter who was formerly an Alpha herself. She put herself into training after being branded at age 22. She's an embarrassment to the werewolf society and her partner, living at home with her parents and Alpha brother as a spinster and an unfortunate.