Chapter 1

~EMILIA MONROE~

I gasped for air, my chest tightening as though I were drowning. The feel of cold water against every part of my skin jolted me awake, and as my eyes flew open, I realized I was in no river and neither was I drowning. I was in my bed. The sheets clung to me, completely soaked, and standing at the foot of my bed with a bucket in her hand, was my step sister.

"Adrielle!" I yelled as I sat upright, still shivering from the cold water. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I questioned, hoping there was a reasonable explanation as to why she poured me a bucket of cold water in my sleep, but I knew there was none. With Adrielle, there never was.

"I gave you what you deserved. You ruined my life, Emilia." I blinked, both confused and angry. Adrielle had always been a thorn in my flesh ever since we were young.

"My boyfriend dumped me!" She spat distastefully. “Jackson says he doesn’t want anything to do with me. And it’s all because of you.”

My stomach sank when I finally understood what she was on about. I remembered clearly what had happened the day before. I’d caught Jackson with another girl near the training grounds, his hands all over her, lips pressed against her neck as if Adrielle didn’t exist. Rage had burned in me. Not because I cared for him, but because I knew how much Adrielle claimed she loved him. She was distateful and wicked to me but for some reason, I knew she cared about Jackson genuinely. So, I confronted him on the spot and told him he was a cheating bastard. I had planned on telling Adrielle about it, but like always, she behaved wickedly to me again. So, I let it go.

I hadn’t thought much about it again, and neither did I think Jackson would report what I'd done and break up with her. But cearly, I’d been wrong.

“Adrielle, listen to me.” I started, forcing my voice calm and getting up to where she was. “Jackson was cheating on you. I saw him with my own eyes—”

“Shut up!” She snapped, eyes blazing. “You think anyone believes you? You can’t even shift into a wolf like a normal member of the pack, yet you had the audacity to stick your nose into my relationship!”

Her words hit like a whip. It was the same taunt I’d lived with for years, the shame of being the daughter of a powerful beta and never activating my wolf form like others did since I turned eighteen.

"Admit it! You're jealous of my happiness. You've always been. You saw an opportunity to ruin it and you took it!”

"No, I—" Before I could finish my statement, she slapped me across the face. My cheeks stung immediately.

I froze. My body trembled, not from fear, but from something else. Anger. She made my life feel like hell time and time again. Maybe I was jealous afterall. Jealous of the audacity she had all those years to bully me.

Before I could stop myself, my hand swung back, striking her cheek with the same amount of power she used on me.

Adrielle staggered back, eyes wide with shock. The bucket fell to the ground, echoing in the small room. For a split second, I felt a rush of power. I had stood up for myself.

But the moment quickly soured.

I’d made a mistake too.

The look on Adrielle’s face told me exactly what she planned to do. Adrielle was never my problem. I didn't fear her. She was easy to put in place. But my father... not so much. I feared him a lot because unfortunately, he despised me with everything in him and loved Adrielle very much. She was his precious daughter and he made me conform to all it was that she wanted.

Like I expected, when my father came home, Adrielle wasted no time in running to him and her mother, Serena. I watched from the dinning room as she put on a whole show. Tears streaming down her face, her voice trembling as she told her tale of how I slapped her and also about the issue with Jackson.

My father’s face hardened the moment his gaze fell on me. Few steps was all it took for him to get to where I was. His towering figure was suffocating and his eyes burned with nothing but hate.

“You dare raise your hand against your sister?” He barked, his voice thundering through the house.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but his hand struck my face before I could form a word. Pain spread instantly across my jaw.

“You’re nothing but shame to this family!” He roared. “You can’t shift, you humiliate me in front of the pack, and now you lay your filthy hands on Adrielle?”

“She.... she hit me first.” I whispered, tears burning the corners of my eyes.

“Liar!” Adrielle’s mother snapped from the corner, her arms folded as she glared at me like I was the dirt beneath her shoes.

My father’s eyes were filled with venom. “From now on, you’ll obey Adrielle. Whatever she asks, you do it without question. And you will go to Jackson tonight and apologize. You will beg him to take Adrielle back. Do you understand me?”

My heart sank. Humiliation boiled in my chest, but I knew better than to argue or disobey. My father’s punishments only grew worse when I resisted.

“Yes, Father.” I murmured, my voice barely audible.

His hand cracked across my face once more. “Speak louder!”

“Yes, Father!”

Satisfied, he turned away, muttering about how I should have never been born.

Adrielle and Serena followed behind him and all I could do was fall to the ground and cry. Crying had become a part of my daily routine. Something I couldn’t escape because my pain seemed unending.

Later that night, with my cheek still throbbing and my pride shattered, I walked alone through the dark deserted path that led to the outskirts of town, where Jackson's house was located. It was unsafe for a girl to wander at night, especially one like me with no wolf form to protect herself. But I had no choice. My father’s orders were absolute unless I wanted to become homeless, or die even.

The bonfire’s glow flickered ahead and in front of Jackson's house, casting long shadows of men laughing and drinking. Jackson and his friends sat around the flames, bottles in hand, their voices loud with arrogance. They were notorious in the pack and reckless troublemakers who thrived on making others miserable.

Swallowing my pride, I stepped forward.

“Jackson.” I said softly, my voice trembling.

The laughter died down and a dozen eyes turned toward me. Jackson rose slowly, a smirk curling across his face.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Beta’s useless daughter.” His friends chuckled, the sound cruel and mocking.

I forced the words out of me. “I… I came to apologize. For what I said yesterday. I was wrong. Please… call Adrielle back.”

The men erupted in laughter.

“Did you hear that?” one of them jeered. “Seems like someone got into trouble.”

Another stood, circling me like a predator. “What’s a little weakling like you doing out here all alone? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?” His hand slid against my arm, fingers lingering in a way that made me very uncomfortable.

“Don’t touch me.” I snapped, trying to pull away.

“Oh, feisty." He laughed. “I like that.”

Suddenly, two others grabbed my arms, holding me in place as the man pressed closer. My heart pounded, fear clawing at my chest. I tried to break free, but their grip was iron.

“No!” I cried, panic rising in my throat. “Let me go!”

The man’s breath was hot against my face as he leaned closer. “Relax. We’ll show you what it means to be wanted. I know you haven't before.”

Tears blurred my vision. My body trembled as I realized what they intended. They were going to rape me. I cried out at once but my cries only seemed to amuse them more.

And then a growl silenced all our voices.

It was low, guttural, and all our heads snapped toward the trees.

From the shadows, a massive black wolf emerged. It's fur was as night itself and it's eyes burned with fury. The air grew heavy and thick with danger, and for a moment, my entire world seemed to stop.

The wolf snarled, and then, with terrifying speed, it lunged at us.

One of the men screamed as the beast tackled him to the ground. The sound of tearing flesh and crunching bone echoed through the air as blood sprayed across the dirt.

Panic erupted. The men who held me down immediately scattered, shouting in terror as they fled into the darkness.

I was frozen in place, my heart hammering in my chest as the wolf tore into its prey. My body screamed at me to run, but my legs refused to move.

The wolf’s head lifted suddenly, blood dripping from its jaws. It's burning red eyes locked onto mine.

And then, step by step, it began to approach me.