Three

Snow

Two days had passed since the Alphas last laid eyes on me — two days of silence, bruises fading, but the ache still alive beneath my skin.

Life was slipping through my fingers, becoming more hopeless with every passing second. I didn't even know if I could ever give Rosie the justice she deserved.

Tears stung my eyes as I filled the buckets with ice-cold water.

My twenty-first birthday was an hour away.

I wanted to delay my shift—just one more year.

One more year to uncover the truth without breaking completely.

But as the minutes crept toward midnight, I realized this year felt different. The pull of the shift was stronger—merciless. It felt like molten metal coursed through my veins. My bones groaned, stretching against nature itself. Every scream I bit back came out as blood.  My heart hammered against my ribs like it was trying to escape.

Panicking, I reached for the bucket, ready to pour the freezing water over myself—but my claws were already extending.

No. No. I couldn't shift.

No man in this pack would ever accept me.

I tried to fight it, to force my claws back, but the more I resisted, the more blood they drew. My gums ached as my canines began to push through, sharp and unstoppable.

"You can't come out!" I screamed, voice breaking as I fought against the inevitable. "No one will ever accept you as their mate!"

And then—I saw it.

Fur.

Panic clawed up my throat. It had never gone this far before. I'd always stopped the shift long before this point.

No. No. No. This can't be happening.

I can't let this happen.

I tried again. And again.

But then my spine cracked.

Fuck. It was happening.

My eyes darted to the open window. I couldn't shift here—not inside the house. I had to move.

I ran. Leapt through the window.

The night air hit me like a slap—biting, cold, the edge of winter in every breath. My bare feet pounded the frozen ground as I sprinted into the forest. The pain followed, unrelenting, tearing through me from the inside out.

It hit me then—there was no stopping it this time.

Deeper in the woods, my body gave out. I crashed to the earth as my spine cracked again, my bones twisting, breaking, reforming. My screams turned into guttural growls as my canines lengthened, my skin split open, and fur broke through. My body convulsed, reshaping itself into something not entirely human.

No...

Did I really—

A howl tore from my throat, wild and broken.

When I stumbled to the lake, my reflection didn't show me.

It showed a wolf.

A white wolf.

I had shifted.

And instead of joy, the moment crushed me—heavy and hollow. All I felt was sorrow. Deep, suffocating sorrow.

"You don't look happy to see me..." a voice spoke inside my head. I looked around, heart hammering, until I realized—it was my wolf.

Fuck.

She knew already.

"You won't get it," I sighed. "You're going to go through so much pain—you can't even imagine it."

"I can," she replied. Her expression was impossible to read, but from her voice, I could hear the hurt. "I've gone through your memories."

"Then you know why I'm not happy."

"I do—but why do you think those douchebags are going to be your mates?"

Sassy. If I weren't so distraught, maybe I would have laughed.

"Because I feel it," I admitted, voice barely a whisper. "I feel different around them. Especially after my eighteenth birthday."

She fell silent. "Then I guess... we'll have to get through the pain," she whispered, and slowly faded from my mind.

It was too much for her to take on the first day. But it was better that she was prepared.

She was beautiful. Not just white fur—the same color as my hair, glistening under the moonlight. Pristine. Pure. And her eyes... black. Pitch black.

She was... Lucas's white. Michael's black. Alex's majestic aura.

"You're thinking of them again," she muttered, rolling her eyes. A small chuckle escaped me.

"I'm cursed with it," I whispered, running back toward the pack house.

I didn't intend to do anything today. I just wanted to hide in my room for the next few days before I could face the world again. The shift had left me drained, weak, trembling.

I slowly shifted back into my human form and slipped through the open window. Even though the shift was over, the burning ache lingered. I soothed it with icy water, letting it run over me until the pain dulled.

Dressed lightly, I glanced around. The triplets hated me—yet they had given me a room, a warm bed, a place close to sunlight, a room that stayed warmer at night. I didn't know why. Maybe... they wanted to keep me alive.

Just as I was about to collapse onto the bed, a knock came at my door.

Who could it be at this hour?

I opened it. Danica. Her grin was sharp, cruel.

"Well, look who's alive. The white-haired tragedy herself," she sneered. "Mrs. Franklin was hiding the fact that you weren't helping with the party prep, but I figured it out. Didn't see a single white-haired bitch in the kitchen... but guess what you are the only one in the pack." She laughed at her own joke before her expression hardened. "Now get ready and come downstairs. Some important guests are arriving today."

"Danica, I'm tired. Can I—"

"A break?" She snapped, eyes blazing. "You're not getting any breaks in this life, you stupid bitch." Her hand grabbed my jaw, shaking my face, nails digging into my cheeks—god, it hurt. "Stop getting funny ideas in your head and get fucking ready! I'm not coming back here again—and if I have to, I'll bring the Alphas with me."

The word 'Alphas' was enough to freeze my lungs. My body remembered their hands before my mind could.

No. I couldn't risk meeting them tonight. I'd rather work myself to death.

"Sure. I'll come."

A smirk spread across her face. "Good. Don't forget... I'm watching you." She gestured to her eyes before leaving.

I closed the door, tears threatening to fall. I missed Rose. She would have helped me stand tall, protected me from bullies. She had saved me from Danica countless times as a child.

She was my armor. My happiness. My team.

"Get your shit together, Snowflake. Bring that monster out of his cage."

The voice was inside my head—Rosie's. Or maybe just my mind playing tricks—but it felt real. Too real.

She was right.

I had to bring Robert Sterling out of his cage... and give him a gruesome death. I could not afford to falter.

As I got ready, my wolf whispered softly, "You know... I heard that voice too."

Maybe. Just maybe... Rosie was always watching me.

But if she was, she wasn't the only one.