CHAPTER 001: HIDING IN THE SHADOWS

ASHLEY;

I shoved open the front door, my shoulders heavy from another long day at Stoneridge Academy. The weight of my backpack dug into my skin as I kicked off my sneakers.

School had been its usual nightmare. Ryder had been there, of course… tall, broad, and radiating that annoying arrogance. His cold stares following me through the halls again, those dark eyes lingering on my body just long enough to make my skin flush with unwanted heat.

One muttered comment in the hallway… “Still hiding in the shadows, Carter!?”… had cut deeper than usual.

He was the hockey captain, the future Alpha everyone whispered about, built like a god and twice as cruel.

I just wanted a quiet evening, a shower and maybe some food if my mom had bothered to cook, but the house wasn’t quiet…

From upstairs, the sounds hit me like a wave. The steady creak of the bed frame, my mother’s breathy, broken moans floating down the hallway and deep, masculine groans that vibrated with raw pleasure… the unmistakable wet slap of skin meeting skin, hard and rhythmic.

My face burned as I realised what sound that was, heart pounding. The moans grew louder, more desperate. My mother cried out sharply, “Oh god… yes, harder…”

Disgust twisted in my gut, but beneath it, a traitorous warmth spread low in my belly, maybe because I already knew who the man was. I tried to block the images, but they came anyway… same man from the previous weeks, pounding into my mother with force.

“Mom?” I called out loudly, my voice cracking through the house. “I’m home!” Just maybe she would hear me and tone down her loud voice.

It worked! The sounds stopped abruptly. The creaking halted. Silence swallowed everything. I rolled my eyes at the ceiling, finally the torture was over…. For a few seconds, at least.

I waited, my breath caught in my throat, as footsteps and rustling came from upstairs. Then they appeared.

My mother descended the stairs first, looking freshly fucked… cheeks glowing, lips swollen, hair wild, her silk robe pulled hastily around her flushed body.

But it was Ryder who stole every ounce of my breath.

He followed her down, shirtless and towering, his powerful torso gleaming with sweat under the hallway lights. Every hard muscle was on display, the deep cuts of his abs, the broad chest dusted with dark hair, the tattoos that seemed to shift with his breathing.

His low-slung sweatpants hung dangerously low on his hips, the thick ridge of his still-hard cock clearly visible, pressing insistently against the fabric.

His dark eyes locked onto mine, his gaze dragging down my body like a physical touch, over the swell of my breasts in my modest blouse, down my waist, lingering on the curve of my hips.

“Ashley, sweetheart!” Mom beamed, reaching the bottom with a satisfied sway. “I have the most amazing news. Ryder and I got married this afternoon!”

The words hit me like ice water. Married. Ryder… my tormentor, the arrogant hockey god—was now my stepfather. I mean, I knew she mentioned it, but this quick?I had expected she would give me the time to adjust

He stopped right in front of me, towering over my five-foot-five frame. Up close, the scent of sex clung to him, musky, masculine, mixed with my mother’s perfume.

His chest rose and fell, still slick with sweat, a bead of it trailing down between his pecs. My wolf stirred violently inside me, drawn to the raw Alpha power rolling off him in waves. Heat flooded between my thighs, my nipples tightening painfully against my bra. I hated it. Hated how my body reacted to the man who had made my life hell.

“Surprised, princess?” he said, voice low and husky, still rough from fucking. “Things are about to change around here.”

Mom kept talking as she moved things around the house, oblivious to the tension crackling like lightning.

“We’re moving into Ryder’s mansion tomorrow. No more scraping by, honey. This is our new life!”

Ryder’s lips curved into a slow, dangerous smirk. “I’ll take good care of you both,” he murmured, the words dripping with double meaning.

I pushed past them, mumbling an excuse about homework, and fled to my room. I slammed the door and leaned against it, breathing hard.

I slid a hand down my stomach, pressing against the ache between my legs, then yanked it away in shame.

Down the hall, the bedroom door clicked shut again. Soft laughter turned into fresh moans within minutes… He was clearly finishing what he’d started.

I buried my face in my pillow, the boy who tormented me in two different ways, was now my stepfather.