Chapter 3

Betty’s POV

"You are nothing but a broken genetic mistake, Betty, and you will not embarrass this family at the royal ball tonight."

My father slammed both of his heavy fists onto the wooden kitchen table. The wood groaned under the impact, rattling the ceramic coffee mugs and sending a splash of dark liquid over the white tablecloth. I did not flinch. I kept my eyes fixed on my plate, pushing a cold piece of sausage around with my fork.

"I am just stating the facts, Dad," I said, my voice flat and hollow. "My eighteen birthday means nothing if my wolf cannot even surface to breathe. I am defect material. The Alpha's daughter reminds me every single day at school."

"Do not speak the name of that spoiled brat in my house," my father growled, his jaw tightening until the bone clicked.

My mother let out a sharp gasp, her fingers clutching the fabric of her apron. "Please, both of you. It is her birthday. Can we not have one morning without the threat of exile hanging over the kitchen?"

Before I could answer, a violent spike of pressure hit the back of my skull. My eyes widened as the pack mindlink snapped open without my permission, flooding my brain with a familiar, heavy mental weight.

Betty? Are you awake yet? Happy birthday, little bird. Get your skin over to the border mansion right now. The guys are losing their minds with boredom without you.

I forced a tight smile, blocking my parents out as I focused on the link. Thanks, Ian. Give me an hour to scrub the smell of this kitchen off my skin. I need to change out of my pajamas. Do your royal Lycan friends want a tour of the pack territory today, or are they too good for our dirt roads?

The twins are already tracking the wind, Ian shot back, his mental voice laced with a dark, sharp edge. They are desperate to find their mates in this pathetic excuse for a pack. See you soon.

The link severed with a brutal snap that made my vision blur for a second. I stood up from the table so fast my chair scraped hard against the linoleum floor. "I have to go. Ian is waiting at the southern border."

My mother stepped forward, her eyes wide with a desperate, pathetic kind of worry. "Betty, wait. Your father needs you home two hours before the full moon rises. If you do not shift tonight before the high council arrives - "

"I won't shift, Mum," I interrupted, walking right past her without looking back. "We all know it. Let me enjoy my last few hours of freedom before the Alpha strips my title."

I ran up the stairs to my small bedroom, the air tasting like dust and old anxiety. I stripped out of my flannel pajamas and threw on a tight black tank top and denim shorts. My skin felt hot, a strange, prickling sensation buzzing just beneath the surface, but it was not a wolf. It was just the adrenaline of survival. I laced up my heavy combat boots, skipped the stairs entirely by sliding down the wooden banister, and burst through the front door into the cold morning air.

I had not even made it past the boundary line of the packhouse when a high-pitched, mocking screech tore through the quiet morning.

"Oh, look, it is the birthday girl walking the gravel like a common omega."

Madeline stepped out from behind a massive oak tree, her long blonde hair swinging over her shoulder like a golden whip. She was wearing a silk designer dress and five-inch heels that sank straight into the mud. Her pink lips twisted into a venomous sneer.

"What do you want, Madeline?" I asked, my fists curling at my sides. "I am on my way to the Lycan quarters. I do not have time for your games."

"My father ordered me to accompany you," Madeline said, her chest puffing out as she took a step closer, filling the air with the suffocating scent of cheap vanilla perfume. "The Lycans actually talk to a rat like you. You are going to introduce me to the prince right now."

I looked her up and down, letting my eyes linger on her ridiculous shoes. "I am walking there through the ravine. Can your ankles handle the rocks, or are you going to cry for your daddy?"

"Walk? You stupid, feral bitch." Madeline sneered, turning her back to point toward the driveway. "We are taking the silver sports car my father bought me last week. Get in the front seat and shut your mouth."

I followed her to the car, my instincts screaming at me to run the other way. The moment I yanked open the heavy passenger door and slid into the leather seat, the cold scent of malice hit my nose. I turned my head toward the back. Three identical pairs of cruel green eyes stared back at me.

The triplets. Kinsley, Autumn, and Natalie. They were Madeline’s personal attack dogs, all sporting matching curly blonde hair and identical wicked grins.

"Madeline, does the Alpha know you brought these three parasites along?" I asked, my hand hovering over the seatbelt buckle.

Madeline didn't answer. She just slammed her foot onto the gas pedal, the tires screeching against the asphalt as the car rocketed down the winding mountain road. The speed sent my back pinning against the seat.

"You know, Betty," Madeline said, her voice dropping to a low, venomous purr as she negotiated a sharp turn. "My dad told me something very interesting at breakfast. He said if your pathetic body does not split open and reveal a wolf under the full moon tonight, he is kicking you out of the pack territory at midnight. You will be a rogue by tomorrow morning."

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, but I kept my face like stone. "He wouldn't do that to my parents."

"He is doing it because you are a waste of resources," Madeline laughed, the sound sharp and grating. "My mum had to beg him not to execute you on your actual birthday. You should get on your knees and kiss my feet for giving you one more day of life."

The triplets cackled in the back seat, the sound echoing in the tight cabin.

I turned my head toward the side window, trying to ignore the toxic heat rising in my throat. That was my first mistake. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Natalie lean forward between the seats. Before I could process the movement, Autumn’s hand flew across my chest, her sharp fingernails digging into my skin as she unclipped my seatbelt with a loud metallic click.

"Time to jump, rogue," Kinsley whispered.

Kinsley threw her weight against my passenger door, shoving it wide open. The wind roared into the car like a wild animal. Madeline violently jerked the steering wheel to the right and slammed the brakes at the exact same time.

The momentum threw me sideways. I didn't even have time to scream before my body flew out of the open door, plunging straight into the gray gravel of the mountain road.

My flesh hit the ground hard. I tumbled over and over, the sharp rocks tearing through my tank top and ripping the skin off my forearms and thighs. My head bounced against the hard earth, a white-hot flash of pain exploding behind my eyes. I skidded to a halt in the dirt, coughing up dust as the silver car sped away, leaving a cloud of burning rubber in my face.

"Have fun living in the woods with the monsters!" Madeline screamed out the window, her laughter trailing off into the distance.

I lay in the dirt, my breath coming in ragged, painful gasps. Blood oozed from the deep scratches on my arms, mixing with the dark gravel. I groaned, rolling onto my back to look up at the gray sky.

A massive, towering shadow blocked out the light.

I scrambled backward on my elbows, my heart stopping entirely. Standing over me was a fully shifted Lycan. The beast was monstrous, easily eight feet of thick, slate-gray fur and bunched muscle. Its eyes were solid pools of midnight black, staring down at me with a terrifying intensity.

"Ian?" I whispered, my voice cracking.

The gray Lycan let out a low, vibrating huff that rattled the pebbles on the ground. My inner wolf, which usually remained dormant and dead, gave a tiny, bored yawn in the back of my mind before going back to sleep. She wasn't even afraid.

The beast stepped forward, the ground shaking under its massive paws. In a single, fluid motion, the Lycan bent down and scooped my broken body up into its front legs. I yelped as the sudden movement pulled at my torn flesh, my instincts forcing me to wrap my bleeding arms around the thick fur of his neck.

He didn't say a word. He just turned toward the southern border and sprinted. The trees became a green blur as the Lycan moved with impossible, terrifying speed, covering miles in mere seconds.

Within moments, we burst into the manicured backyard of the stone border mansion. Micah was standing near the back porch, wearing nothing but a pair of loose gray shorts. His jaw dropped when he saw my bloody state, his dark eyes instantly flashing with a dangerous, golden light.

"Betty, what happened to your skin?" Micah demanded, stepping off the porch, his voice thick with a low, dangerous rumble. "Who touched you?"

Before I could explain, Ian dropped me into Micah's arms. Micah caught me effortlessly, his skin burning hot against my cold, injured legs. Ian stepped behind a large bush, and within three seconds, the sound of snapping bones filled the air as he shifted back into his human form. He walked out shaking his dark hair, pulling a pair of shorts over his thick thighs.

I watched him with wide eyes, a familiar knot of bitter jealousy tightening in my stomach. "Must be nice to shift without your body breaking in half."

"Don't do that, Betty," Micah muttered, his arms tightening around me as he carried me toward the back door. "Stop looking at Ian like that. If Luka sees you gawking at another male, he will tear this entire forest down. He wants you as his chosen mate."

I froze, my fingers digging into Micah's bare shoulder. "Are you insane? He is a Lycan prince. If a human or a shiftless wolf takes a royal mark, the raw power will burn my veins from the inside out. I will die on the altar."

"We know the risks," Ian said, walking alongside us as we entered the massive, stainless-steel kitchen. "But we found a loophole in the ancient law. We are taking you back to the Lycan Kingdom tomorrow night after the moon sets. You will never have to live like a rogue."

Micah set me down gently on the edge of the long marble island. The warmth of the room made the cuts on my legs sting like fire. Happiness, thick and overwhelming, bubbled up in my chest, and a single tear cut through the dirt on my cheek. I wasn't going to be exiled.

Ian walked into the adjacent bathroom and returned with a dark green towel and a small stone jar. Micah didn't waste time. He used a damp cloth to aggressively wipe the gravel out of the open wounds on my forearms. I bit my lip until it bled to keep from screaming.

"The house is dead silent," I noted, looking toward the empty hallway. "Where are the others?"

"They are out front," Ian said, unscrewing the stone jar and scooping out a thick, pungent green balm. "We need to clean you up fast. Luka smelled your blood on the wind five minutes ago. He is beyond pissed off."

Ian smeared the cold balm over my ripped skin. The moment the ointment touched my blood, a violent, hot tingling sensation spread through my limbs. I gasped, watching in utter disbelief as the deep lacerations began to knit back together right before my eyes. The skin closed, leaving nothing but smooth, pale flesh.

"What is this stuff?" I breathed, gaping at my arms.

"A royal blend," Micah chuckled, though his eyes remained dark. "It speeds up human cellular recovery. You might feel a little dizzy in a minute."

I opened my mouth to reply, but a sharp, blood-curdling scream pierced through the heavy walls of the mansion. The sound was high-pitched, filled with absolute, primal terror.

I jumped off the marble table, my new skin tingling as I almost crashed into Ian's chest. "What was that? Who is screaming like that?"

"Come with me," Micah said, his face hardening into an expression of pure, cold royalty. He held out his thick forearm.

I grabbed his arm, drawing comfort from the solid weight of someone who didn't view me as pack vermin. We hurried down the long, carpeted hallway and flung the heavy oak front door wide open.

The sight on the front lawn made my breath catch in my throat.

Three massive, midnight-black Lycans were circling a small patch of grass. It was Luka, Jeremiah, and Jonathan in their beast forms, their huge jaws dripping with thick saliva. The rest of the Lycan guard stood in a tight perimeter, their arms crossed, faces carved from stone.

In the center of the grass, kneeling in the dirt, were Madeline and the triplets. Their expensive clothes were covered in mud, their bodies shaking so violently their teeth clicked together. Madeline was hyperventilating, her face pale as ghost white.

I let go of Micah and walked down the stone steps. The grass felt cold beneath my boots. I walked straight up to the largest black Lycan - Luka. My dormant wolf gave a strange, warm flutter in my chest the moment I neared him. I reached out and pressed my small palm against his thick, furred shoulder.

"Luka, stop," I said quietly. "What are you doing? I thought we were doing a tour."

Luka turned his massive head away from Madeline, his pitch-black eyes locking onto mine. For a second, the screaming and the wind disappeared. It was just the heavy, magnetic pull between his beast and my empty soul.

Before he could huff a response, Madeline’s shaky, pathetic voice broke the silence.

"Betty... please," she stuttered, her knees digging into the dirt as she looked at me with pure terror. "Help us... tell them to stop. If you don't... I will tell my father you set us up."

Leonardo stepped forward from the perimeter, his voice sounding incredibly bored despite the danger in his eyes. "Ian linked us the second he found you bleeding on the gravel. Luka lost control of his beast when he smelled your skin tearing. When these little bitches drove onto the property to find you, he forced them into total submission with his aura."

I glared over my shoulder at Ian, who was standing by the porch. "I told you I could handle my own problems."

Ian didn't look at me. His entire body had gone completely rigid, his blue eyes locked onto Madeline’s shaking form on the ground. A strange, suffocating silence fell over the entire yard.

Madeline slowly raised her head, her eyes tracking the movement until she was staring directly back at Ian. Her lips parted, her chest heaving as a heavy, golden spark passed between them.

My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit of ice. No. Not them.

Luka let out a warning growl, blocking my view as he suddenly shifted down into his human form, his naked, muscled chest rising and falling heavily. He reached down and scooped me into his arms, pulling me tight against his warm chest to shield me from the pack girls.

Madeline spat a mouthful of bloody dirt onto the grass, her eyes twisting with a sudden, psychotic rage as she realized what was happening. "You... you whore. Is this why you won't help us? Have you slept with every single one of these monsters? You absolute slut."

A chorus of deafening, monstrous growls erupted from every single Lycan on the lawn, the sound vibrating through the soles of my shoes. Luka’s grip on me tightened until my ribs growled. The sheer, crushing weight of their combined royal alpha auras slammed into the grass like a physical hammer.

Madeline let out a sharp shriek, her hands flying to her ears as she was pressed flat into the mud by the invisible pressure. The triplets were weeping openly beside her, their faces buried in the dirt.

Through the dirt and the tears, Madeline forced her head up one last time, her eyes locking onto Ian with a desperate, horrifying realization.

"Mate!" she screamed.