Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY.

ZIMA’S POV

Today is my eighteenth birthday, but it is also the day my parents died. Call me mad, but I am the werewolf version of bad luck. I set aside the red dress I had pulled from my closet, hoping to wear it.

“Zima, your dress is ready.” My elder sister, Aria, pushed the door open and tossed a black gown onto my bed.

“Aria, I really wish I could celebrate my eighteenth birthday without having to wear black.”

Her gaze softened for a moment, but grief clouded her eyes like a storm barely held back. “We are honouring Mom, Dad, and Sera.” She stepped closer, her finger jabbing toward my face.

“Sera. Your twin, and yet you want to wear a fancy red?”

She let out a sharp scoff, the sound heavy with bitterness.

“Sera isn’t dead. Sera is missing. Aria, please…” My voice trembled with desperation.

Her expression hardened, the warmth vanishing as quickly as it came.

“And how do you know that? How?” Her voice carried no sympathy, only exhaustion.

“We will find her, I know we will. Somewhere in my heart, I believe we will find her and our parents’ killer. But Aria, just a moment…”

She turned away, her shoulders stiff, and walked out without a glance back.

I lifted the black dress and held it against my body in front of the mirror.

For the past eight years, every birthday has felt like a funeral. I envy anyone who gets to celebrate a golden birthday because I know I may never have one. My pack was attacked, my parents were killed, and my twin sister, Sera, was taken. Those memories have lived with me every single day, and Aria never lets me forget them.

“Zima!”

Aria stormed back in, her eyes sweeping over the room.

“Stop moving like a snail and put the dress on already. It’s not your wedding. Everyone is here for the ceremony, and you can’t keep the Alphas waiting.”

I rolled my eyes, biting my lip to stop myself from snapping, then slipped into the dress.

“My breasts probably got bigger,” I muttered, glancing down at the cleavage now too obvious for my liking.

“Yes, you are eighteen, so…” Aria’s voice trailed with a shrug.

“Pfft. I feel uncomfortable, but whatever,” I said, sitting still as Aria brushed my black hair smooth.

***

We entered the big hall where Alphas from different packs had gathered to honour my parents, Alpha and Luna Ravenhall of the Blackwood Pack. Their portraits hung on the wall.

“Stay calm, Zima. We are here to honour our parents. Your birthday is about them, never forget that,” Aria said before going to stand beside her husband, Alpha Kael.

Everyone’s eyes turned to me. I tried fixing my dress as I walked to my seat, but their stares followed me. The hall was wide, filled with flowers, but the black clothes around me made it feel like a funeral.

“The cleavage or the way I walk got these people staring? I don't even know…”

I whispered the words under my breath and went to sit. Just then, Alpha Kael...my sister’s mate and husband...walked to the podium to give a speech.

“Today we honour the death of icons, the ones who ruled Blackwood with greatness…”

I shifted in my seat, tugging at my tight dress, and felt the weight of every glare, including Alpha Kael’s. His eyes lingered on me, on my chest. Heat rushed to my face as I glanced at Aria, who was watching me with suspicion. I quickly slipped away, heading for the bathroom to catch my breath.

I unzipped the dress halfway, desperate for air, when the door creaked open.

“Aria, this dress is too tight. I feel like my breasts will burst out,” I muttered without turning.

“No. The dress looks perfect.”

That wasn’t Aria’s voice. My head snapped back, and there he stood....tall, broad, blond hair gleaming under the light.

Alpha Kael.

“Alpha…” I stammered, clutching the half-zipped dress to my chest.

“Zima, the way that dress hugs you… your chest shining like the sky. Exactly what anyone sane would want to look at. The dress is perfect,” he said with a scoff, his eyes roaming all over me.

“I need to go back to the party,” I muttered, trying to walk past him. But he shoved me against the wall.

“What are you doing? Let me go,” I struggled, holding the fabric tight so it wouldn’t slip down.

“You don’t want to walk out there half unzipped. Let me fix it.”

“I don’t need you to. Just take your hands off me. This is a total disrespect to Aria.”

He smirked, his face lowering close to my neck. “You know I’ve always wanted you. I just needed you to be legal. Happy eighteenth, Zima. Now I can have you.”

I shook my body, trying to slip free, but his grip tightened, pinning me harder to the wall.

“If you scream, everyone will come. But I am Alpha Kael. You know no one will believe a word you say. So stay still.”

“What do you even want from me? Get off!” I cried, shoving his face away as his lips brushed my skin.

“You smell like heaven,” he breathed, wiping his mouth.

“Let me have you, and I’ll send my soldiers to find your twin sister. What do you say?”

“You are pathetic.”

I snapped my knee into his leg, pushing him off balance.

“Tch.” I hissed hard, shoving past him and hurrying out, yanking my dress up with trembling hands.

I hurried down the hallway, my breathing heavy. Kael had always looked at me in strange ways, but never like this. I never told Aria....she would only say I was trying to ruin her home. After all, she had always blamed our family’s tragedy on me.

I rushed back into the hall, but the room fell silent. All eyes turned to me. Phones were raised. And there was Aria, standing with hers in hand, tears streaming down her face. She looked at me the same way she had eight years ago when we lost everything.

I moved closer, desperate, but she stepped back.

“I took you in, gave you shelter, tried to be both sister and mother to you, and this is how you repay me?”

“Aria, what are you talking about?”

“Zima, you are the reason Kael doesn’t look at me the same.”

“What? No! You’re scaring me.” My throat tightened, tears burning at the edge of my eyes. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. The crowd whispered louder, their stares cutting into me.

“The day you were born, pain walked into my life and never left.”

She said, shoving her phone into my hands before walking away.

I looked down at the screen. My stomach dropped. In the video, Kael’s face was pressed against my neck while I held my dress up. To everyone, it looked like he was kissing me. There was no sound, no proof of me shoving him away. Only the part where he bent close, captured forever.

“Aria, this isn’t true!” I cried.

Someone sneered from the crowd. “How can you even do that to your own sister? Girl, you are evil.”