1

Ashen’s POV

The door burst open, and two annoying men, both Betas of this pack, stormed into my room, glaring at me sharply.

“Stupid Ashen! Do you know what time it is?! Why the hell are you still in your room? You think you’re something just because Alpha Lior brought you to school with him?!”

I could only stand there with my head bowed. I didn’t have the right to speak. I was just a weak omega, insignificant in this pack.

“Hurry up!” Beta Daryl snapped.

I quickly grabbed the books on my desk and stuffed them into my bag. Then I followed them as they marched out ahead of me.

This was my life, an omega with no ability to shift. I had never even seen my wolf. It’s too painful to describe how messed up everything has been since my parents abandoned me and dumped me into Alpha Lior’s pack.

The only thing that kept me going… was my brain. Yeah, I guess I was lucky to be born smart. It was the one thing that allowed me to taste what it was like to study at GMA University, a place built for the elite Alphas.

Even then, I had to be careful. Lior had taken me with him ever since we were in elementary school—so I could help him ace every test. He passed me off as his pack’s Beta, because only Alphas and Betas were allowed to enter GMA.

“Hurry up!”

Beta Daryl shoved me into the car, and the door slammed shut before the driver took off at breakneck speed.

I could hear them laughing, clearly amused by how I stumbled into the car.

Yeah, there was no happiness for me in the Grimrest Pack, or anywhere else, really. Even the other omegas treated me like trash.

Even the driver now looked at me with contempt. Most people hated me for being weak. But they were also jealous. I got to study at the most prestigious university.

But there had always been an agreement. I had to stay beneath Alpha Lior, never above.

Lior’s parents were legendary businesspeople who’d dominated the werewolf and human worlds for decades.

He wasn’t the strongest Alpha, but his family’s empire was powerful enough to swallow entire packs, both weak and strong alike.

“Get out, or are you waiting for me to open the door for you?!”

The driver’s angry bark snapped me out of my thoughts.

We’d arrived at GMA University.

I sighed deeply and stepped out. Students were gathering around a bulletin board. I approached to see what was posted, and as I walked by, I could hear people whispering about me.

It wasn’t new. Everyone here was a pure Alpha or Beta. Lior had introduced me as a Beta who’d lost his wolf, a weakling. So their opinions hadn’t changed. I was still scorned and ridiculed.

But here, I was seen as a Beta. If they ever found out I was actually an omega… I’d be done for. Professors might even beat me themselves. At GMA, weak omegas were seen as disgusting, unworthy of even existing alongside the elite.

“Did you cheat?”

I stopped walking. An Alpha stood in front of me, smirking.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Don’t play dumb. How the hell did you get the highest score on this exam?! You’re always second to last. Come on, you’re making a mockery of GMA’s code of honesty!”

My heart began to race.

He was right. My name was at the very top of the list.

Alpha Lior was second from the bottom.

“What the hell happened?!”

Someone grabbed my shoulder and yanked me away. Of course, it was Alpha Lior.

He shoved me into his car harder than the Betas did this morning.

“How dare you, Ashen?! You’re going to die for this!”

Lior spat in my face and stepped on the gas.

I saw him signal to a group of men outside the window—his pack members in disguise.

They were stationed around campus for his protection.

One of our pack’s strengths was the ability to cloak themselves, remain unseen.

I fell to the floor of the car as it sped violently down the road.

“I’m sorry, Alpha Lior, I didn’t mean to—”

“Shut up! No one asked you to speak!” he roared.

I said nothing.

If I had to die today… maybe it was better.

Maybe this would be the end to all the pain and humiliation I had to live with.

After about fifteen minutes, the car came to a screeching halt. The door opened, and Beta Daryl yanked me out.

They dragged me across the sand. We were at the beach.

Daryl lifted me and threw me straight into the crashing waves.

“Die, you little freak!”

Lior’s voice tore through the sound of my pain as he began beating me again.

“What the hell did you do?! You did this on purpose, didn’t you?! You ungrateful worm!”

Lior stepped on my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.

He glared down at me with pure hatred.

“You know what happens when I lose first place?! My father cuts off my funding. My inheritance. Our pack’s magic weakens, you idiot! Have you forgotten that my family’s power fuels our entire pack?!”

“I… I didn’t—”

He pressed harder, cutting off my words. Then he sneered, showing his fangs.

“This is your second mistake. I won’t forgive you again. This exam was everything. And you ruined it!”

He raised his hand.

I knew what was coming.

He was going to shift. He’d tear me apart right here. The edge of the ocean would be the last thing I saw before I died.

“Back off! Step away from Ashen.”

A voice—deep, commanding, thunderous—cut through the air. Alpha Lior’s foot flew off my chest.

I opened my eyes. Alpha Lior and the others had stepped back, their heads bowed in terror.

What was going on?

Footsteps echoed behind me. Then a cold hand slid gently beneath my head and lifted me.

My gaze met a handsome face, stoic and cold.

His eyes were sharp, unflinching.

“You’re safe now. Don’t be afraid,” he said, his voice low and powerful.

Who… is he?