Chapter 1

Alpha Joe stood before me, his towering presence as commanding as ever. his jaw clenched in barely suppressed anger.

“Slave?” he barked, his voice echoing through the dilapidated walls of the rogue den.

I flinched, but only a little. “Yes, that’s what I am now. A rogue slave. Isn’t that what everyone’s been calling me?”

His amber eyes flared, his wolf not far from the surface. “Julia, you’re our sister! Who told you to call yourself a slave?”

“You sent me to the Rogue Den to atone for Penny’s sins, didn’t you? Did you really think a sinner would be treated well?”

Joe’s fists curled at his sides, and for a moment, I thought he might punch me.

“You were just about to agree to come home with us—you even got into the car!” he snapped, his frustration finally breaking through. “Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

My lips curved into a bitter smile. “ Perhaps this is where I truly belong.You were the ones who sent me here, remember?"”

Beta Steve, my former fiancé, stepped forward. “Julia, don’t say such things in anger. We’ve investigated what happened five years ago. You didn’t harm Penny on purpose that day.”

I scoffed. “Wow, five years to figure that out? Must’ve been a really tough case for you.”

Steve winced but pressed on. “We wronged you, Julia. And we regret it deeply. That’s why we came all the way from the Midnight Ridge Pack to take you home from this... this rogue den.”

“This place is too desolate,” Alpha Joe cut in, his tone softer now, almost pleading. “Too broken. It’s no place for someone like you—a young lady who was raised in comfort and love for over a decade.”

Comfort and love? I nearly laughed out loud. The only love I’d felt in that house was from my wolf, and even she had grown quiet after years of being suppressed by silver chains and wolfsbane.

Steve’s gaze flicked to my hands, and I caught the flash of pity in his eyes as he saw the rough, misshapen fingers I’d earned from years of hard labor. He spoke gently, as if trying to soothe a pup. “Julia, you don’t belong here. Come back with us, and we’ll make things right.”

My vision blurred for a moment, but I forced the tears back.

Five years. Five years of endless torment, of dreaming about the day my family would come for me. And when they finally did, when I climbed into that car with my heart pounding in hope...

I heard the whispers.

“She’s just a backup for Penny. Don’t know why Alpha Joe is wasting time on her.”

“She should be grateful we’re even bringing her back. After all, rogues don’t get second chances.”

The joy that had bloomed in my chest froze into something cold and brittle. Shock gave way to disappointment, and disappointment twisted into something darker.

My heart ached, but not from longing. No, this was the sting of betrayal.

The family I had waited so long to see again wasn’t truly remorseful. They didn’t want me back because they loved me or missed me. They wanted me because Penny had screwed up—again.