31

ALINA

Lisa was in my room when I opened my eyes.

I hadn’t heard her come in. Strange. I always woke when Lucien did. He had a way of filling a room just by existing.

“Hi,” she greeted casually. “Good timing.”

She was already moving around, tugging open drawers, adjusting hangers, sorting through what looked like chaos to me. Dresses were spread across the bed like they’d exploded out of a fairytale trunk, and the vanity looked like it had been attacked by a storm of makeup and curling irons.

I sat up, the comforter slipping down to my lap as I blinked at the mess. “What’s going on?”

Nothing in my memory hinted at an event. Rhys hadn’t said a word about anything last night.

“You’re having breakfast with the Alpha,” she replied, eyes still scanning the gowns.

I stared harder, hoping context would just slap me in the face. “Okay?”

Dinner with him had never come with this kind of fanfare. Why now?

“Is he hosting something?” I tried again.

She shook her head. “No. Just you and him.”

Something about the way she said it made me pause. “Claude is not joining?”

Her hands stilled on a silver belt. She blinked at me like I’d said something absurd. “What?”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, touching my face. “Do I have something on me?”

She just kept staring. Her expression was hard to read. part confusion, part disbelief. This was the first time she was properly looking at me all morning.

“No,” she finally said, brushing a curl behind her ear. “I just didn’t expect you to call him that.”

I blinked. “Claude?”

She nodded, eyes dipping again to the belt in her hand.

I thought back to Rhys’s reaction when I used the name. He hadn’t corrected me. Just looked… off. I’d brushed it off as jealousy, if I was being honest with myself. A silly delusion, maybe. But that was the only way his silence made sense.

“Is that a problem?” I asked carefully.

Lisa hesitated. “He doesn’t like people calling him that. Not unless you’re the Alpha.”

My brows lifted. “So what do you all call him then?”

“Beta Claude. Or just Beta. Most people stick with Beta, especially if they want to stay breathing.”

A lump formed in my throat. I nodded slowly. “Right. Beta it is.”

I didn’t want to be different. Standing out never meant anything good.

Lisa suddenly gasped. “Oh no. I’m dead. You’re dead. We’re all dead.”

She rushed toward the bed, grabbed my wrist, and tugged me to my feet. “We only have an hour! You haven’t even showered, and your hair is, goddess have mercy, it needs a miracle.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?” I frowned, free hand flying to the thick curls.

It wasn’t perfect, sure. But it was healthy. I’d never had the heart to cut it. My one vanity.

“It’s… a situation,” she sighed, already dragging me toward the bathroom. “But don’t worry. I’ve got this. Quick shower though. A bath was ideal, but we’ve lost that luxury.”

She shoved the door shut behind me before I could argue. “Be fast!” she called from the other side.

I stripped out of my clothes quickly. Shorts and a loose pajama top, with a sports bra underneath, just in case Alexander decided to barge in like he did a few nights ago. I wasn’t trying to relive that.

Relief hit when I unclasped the bra. My breasts bounced free and. Gods, they were so tender I nearly cupped them just to soothe the ache.

The door creaked open.

“Oh! Your hair—” Lisa’s voice trailed off. “Oops. Sorry, sorry!”

She ducked back out immediately, laughing. “Great tits, by the way!”

She peeked back in just long enough to flash a grin and repeat it before slamming the door again.

I stared after her, lips twitching despite myself. Honestly, what was funny about all this?

Maybe everything.

It was ridiculous. A werewolf being shy about nudity. Most of my kind strutted around like the moon had made them gods. I just never adapted.

I slipped into the shower, warm water loosening the tension from my shoulders. I scrubbed my hair the way Lisa had instructed, massaging my scalp with the citrus-scented shampoo she’d left on the edge of the tub.

Afterward, I wrapped a towel around my hair, pausing when my gaze landed on the mirror.

I’d walked past it for weeks without a second glance. But now, with steam clinging to the edges and my body flushed from the heat, I caught sight of the girl staring back.

She didn’t look like me.

My cheeks weren’t sunken anymore. My bones didn’t jut out like knives. My waist still tapered in, but my hips were fuller. My breasts had grown rounder, heavier. Even my skin looked different. Like light lived just beneath it.

I stepped closer, fingertips reaching toward the glass.

Maybe if I touched her, I’d feel real too.

The door slammed open.

I yelped, spinning and grabbing for the towel. I barely managed to clutch it over my chest when the voice stopped me cold.

“Take it off.”

Alexander.

His voice was low, feral, and it scraped down my spine like a claw.

Not Lisa.

Oh no.