Chapter 2

Roisin 

I woke up shackled to a cold, damp wall in what could only be the Pack’s dungeon. The place reeked of rot, blood, and piss—like despair had taken root in the stone itself. The walls were made of crumbling brick and mortar, rough enough to cut skin with a simple brush. Dim torchlight flickered overhead, casting shadows that danced like ghosts on the walls.

My wrists ached from the metal cuffs digging into my skin. I tugged against them, panic kicking in as the events leading up to my imprisonment clawed their way back into my memory. My throat burned as I screamed, again and again, for help. The only answer was silence—until it wasn’t.

Footsteps.

Three sets. Heavy. Purposeful.

I strained my ears, hyper-aware. My senses had always been unusually sharp, so I didn’t need to see them to know who was coming. Still, dread coiled tighter around my heart as three figures emerged from the dark corridor: the Alpha, my uncle Mason—the Pack’s Beta—and the Gamma.

“Where’s Aspen? Is she alright? Please tell me they were able to save her!” I cried, voice raw with desperation.

The Alpha and Gamma glared at me with venom in their eyes. Uncle Mason… he wouldn’t even look at me. His face was shadowed with grief so deep it made my stomach turn. My heart plummeted before I even heard the words.

“What are you talking about, you evil spawn? Aspen is dead because you murdered her! Kai witnessed everything.” The Alpha’s words struck like a whip, his tone seething with disgust.

My heart shattered. The room spun.

Dead?

No. No, no, no.

That morning she had danced around the kitchen in her pajamas, singing off-key while we made breakfast together. She’d curled my hair, helped me pick a dress for the Mating Ball. She’d hugged me and told me she loved me.

Now… she was gone?

Tears blurred my vision as my chest caved in on itself.

Kai. He killed her. He killed her and now he was pinning it on me.

I wouldn’t let him get away with it. I couldn’t.

“I didn’t do it! I swear on everything—I didn’t kill Aspen!” I screamed, the words tearing from my throat like shrapnel. “She was like a sister to me. I loved her. Kai’s the one who murdered her. I saw it happen. He knocked me out before I could tell anyone.”

Uncle Mason flinched.

The Alpha’s gaze narrowed into slits of scorn. “Kai said you’d say something like this. And as vile as your actions are, I give everyone a fair chance… even murderers.”

His voice dripped with contempt.

“Let’s pretend for a second that we do believe you,” he said coldly. “What reason would Kai have to murder Aspen? What would he gain?”

“I—I don’t know,” I stammered, trembling. “He only said she found out something she wasn’t supposed to. He… he killed her to silence her.”

The Gamma let out a harsh snort, shaking his head with a cruel smirk.

“Really? That’s your brilliant defense? That he killed the girl he loved because of some mystery secret?” He sneered. “If you’re going to lie, at least put some effort into it. Jealousy, spite, rage—those are believable. You were rejected in favor of Aspen, so you snapped and stabbed her. Kai saw it all. He said you attacked him next, and he had no choice but to knock you out.”

The hatred in their eyes was so thick it could be touched. If looks could kill, I’d have died in that cell.

“How can you just believe him over me?” I choked out. “What proof do you even have?”

The Alpha stepped forward, his expression like stone. “Proof?” He echoed. “The necklace you wore was found in Aspen’s cold, dead hand. Your fingerprints were on her skin, the knife, everything. You even left claw marks on Kai’s neck when he tried to disarm you.”

He leaned in, his voice razor-sharp.

“All the evidence points to you. You have no case. So quit the act and accept your fate with whatever scrap of dignity you have left.”

I froze. The words wouldn’t come. My mind reeled.

No… no, this can’t be happening.

“Kai—” I started.

But the Alpha cut me off, face contorted with fury.

“Kai is broken. I've never seen him in such agony. He begged for one thing: to see the girl who slaughtered the love of his life executed. So prepare yourself, Roisin Sinclair. At sunrise tomorrow, you’ll hang for your crimes before the entire Pack.”

A whimper escaped my lips as fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.

Why?

Why am I the one in chains, condemned for a murder I didn’t commit, while the true killer walks free?

If Kai could take a life so easily… if he could frame me this coldly… what’s stopping him from doing it again?

And what was this secret he was so desperate to bury?

I pressed my forehead to the cold wall and whispered, “Moon Goddess… please. Just this once. Help me.”

The three of them turned to leave, the torchlight stretching their shadows long against the stone.

“Uncle, please…” I sobbed, voice cracked and trembling. “You know me. You raised me. I’d never hurt Aspen. I’d never betray you like this.”

He paused.

But he didn’t turn around.

“I thought I knew you,” he returned quietly. “I took you in because you were the daughter of my best friend. I gave you everything—love, shelter, trust. And you repaid me with this.”

His voice shook with grief. “Was I that terrible to you, Roisin? Did I sin so greatly against you that you had to kill my only child?”

“I didn’t—”

“I’ll never forgive you,” he said, final and cruel. “I hope you burn in hell for eternity.”

And then he was gone.

I collapsed to my knees, sobs wracking my entire body. The torchlight dimmed. Silence reclaimed the dungeon.

I was alone. Abandoned. Branded a murderer.

Maybe my only real sin was being born different.

The Pack had always seen me as the freak. My hair was rich brown, but one streak blazed crimson like fire. My eyes didn’t match—one blue, the other brown. I shifted at twelve instead of fourteen. People said I talked strange. I never meant to stand out, but I did anyway. They all hated me for it.

All except Aspen. She loved me for who I was.

And now I’d been framed for her murder.

It was tragic.

Just like the rest of my cursed life.

***

I must have fallen asleep at some point. When I stirred again, a voice—urgent and familiar—called within.

“Roisin! Wake up! We have to run! Now!”

My eyes flew open. Jaeni.

“Run?” I croaked. “We’re chained to a wall, Jaeni. And there’s a guard outside. There’s no way out.”

She whined in distaste. “It’s not like you to give up. There is a way. I can’t say much because I'm under a binding vow but you’re a latent shapeshifter.”

Binding vow? Latent shape shifter?

I blinked. “What?”

“No time to explain,” she said urgently. “They’ll come soon to take us to the gallows. Just do as I say. Close your eyes. Picture your ten-year-old self. Wish yourself into that form. Hard.”

Despite the confusion swirling in my head, I did as she said. Because I trusted her. Because what else did I have left to lose?

I shut my eyes and focused. My childhood self. Smaller, lighter, back when things weren’t so dark. Back when Aspen still smiled at me every morning.

And then… I felt it.

My bones shrank. My limbs curled in. My skin tightened. The chains slipped free as my body crumpled to the ground. I caught myself just in time.

Panting, I looked down—smaller hands, smaller feet. I was ten again. Somehow, impossibly… it had worked.

I didn’t have time to question it.

The dungeon door creaked as I opened it carefully. Just outside, the guard sat slumped—fast asleep. Silently, I slipped past him and crept down the hallway. My heart thundered in my chest. At least three times, I almost got caught, but I managed to stay hidden, ducking between shadows.

And then, finally—freedom. I emerged from the Pack Prison and bolted into the trees, running faster than I ever had.

I didn’t look where I was going. I was too focused on what was behind me.

And that’s when I crashed—hard—into someone.

I stumbled back, hit the ground, and clutched my throbbing head.

Then I looked up—and my breath caught.

Kai.