THE PARTY

Prologue – The Balance Broken

Long ago, the world was divided. Humans ruled the daylight, while werewolves and Lycans owned the night. For centuries, the fragile balance was kept—fragile, but intact. Until greed shattered it.

Wars were fought in blood and shadow. Cities fell to claw and fang. Human armies, proud and mighty, were torn apart as the moon rose higher each night. In the end, survival was the only choice. Humans bent the knee. Wolves claimed dominion.

Now, every pack has authority over the humans within its borders. And every Alpha has one duty: to claim his fated mate.

But when the Alpha King himself—the ruthless Brock of the Blood Crescent Pack—fails to find her among wolves, the council makes a decree that terrifies every human girl of age. He will come to the human towns. He will choose. And once chosen, a girl never returns.

Mothers whisper warnings. Fathers sharpen knives they’ll never dare use. Daughters pray to gods that no longer answer.

And far from the throne, in one small human town, an eighteen-year-old girl named Jenna doesn’t know her name is already etched into fate.

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Chapter 1 – The Party

Jenna’s POV

The music was too loud, the lights too bright, and the laughter too fake. I never wanted to come to this stupid party, but Blossom—my best friend since childhood—had begged until I gave in.

Now I stood against the kitchen counter with a warm soda in my hand, wishing I were anywhere else.

“Stop glaring holes into the wall,” Blossom teased, nudging me with her shoulder. She looked gorgeous, her curly hair bouncing as she danced a little in place. “It’s a party, Jenna. Try to smile.”

“I am smiling,” I muttered, forcing my lips to twitch upward. It felt wrong.

“Liar. You look like you’re about to bite someone’s head off.”

I sighed, my eyes scanning the room. Couples pressed against each other in corners. Music thumped through the speakers. James—my not-so-secret crush—was standing with Merrisa. They were laughing. Too close. Too happy.

My chest tightened.

Blossom followed my gaze, then groaned. “Oh no. Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on him.”

I shrugged, sipping the soda. “I’m not. Not really.”

“You so are.” She tugged on my arm. “Forget James. He’s not worth it. Dance with me.”

Before I could protest, she pulled me toward the living room where bodies moved to the beat. I let her drag me, but my heart wasn’t in it.

“Loosen up,” she yelled over the music.

I tried. Really, I did. For a few moments, I even forgot about James. Until I saw him slip an arm around Merrisa’s waist and whisper something in her ear. She laughed, eyes shining, and leaned against him.

The sting was immediate. Sharp.

I stopped dancing, my chest heavy. Blossom followed my gaze again, her expression softening. “Jen…”

“I need air.” My voice cracked.

Before she could stop me, I pushed through the crowd and stepped outside into the cool night. The silence hit like a blessing.

The moon hung high above, a silver coin in the dark sky. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering—not from the cold, but from the weight pressing on me.

It wasn’t just James. It was everything.

The mate selection was coming. Every girl eighteen and older was required to attend, lined up like livestock for the wolves to sniff through. I had nightmares about it. Wolves with glowing eyes, claws digging into flesh, dragging screaming girls away.

And yet my mother always said the same thing: It’s fate. You can’t fight fate.

I hated that word. Fate.

The door creaked behind me. Blossom stepped out, her expression worried. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied.

“You’re not. But that’s fine. You don’t have to be.” She wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. “No matter what happens with the wolves, with James, with all of it—you’ve got me. Always.”

Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them back. Blossom was right. For now, I had her.

But deep down, I knew something was coming. The air itself seemed heavier tonight, charged, like the calm before a storm.

And in the distance, though I couldn’t hear it yet, a wolf howled.

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