Chapter 1.

"Not that shitty dream again!" I mumbled under my breath as I struggled to sit up in bed. My eyes were still half closed, begging to get more hours of rest but that dream had disorientated me so much, I was scared that if I went back to sleep, I would see more of those faces. 

With a disgruntled glimmer on my face, I reached out blindly in front of me, hoping to grab the edge of the table. 

"Shit!" I cursed as my fingers hit the sharp edges of the table. I had been doing this for as long as I could remember, yet, I still couldn't tell exactly where I had positioned the table. 

I ignored the gnawing pain and swept my fingers across the table—searching desperately. 

"There you are!" I intoned internally when I finally felt my Glasses. Letting out a wide yawn, I wasted no time in putting my glasses back on. 

Ah, the world was much more brighter with my glasses on—

It was barely past twelve midnight, yet It felt as though I had slept for a full day. I didn't need to check my calendar to know it was the night of the blood moon, and the same night I always got haunted with that same dream, but this time, I had escaped getting killed. 

It was eerie as well as fascinating that each time I got those kinds of dreams, it always seemed to happen in real life, it's like I always got only a day in a month's subscription to see into the future. 

But this particular dream I had woken up from had my whole body drenched in sweat but I tried to shrug off the feeling of dread. I was starting to get used to the feeling that this was a part of me now, my unwanted monthly companion that had paid a visit on the night of my eighteenth birthday and had been visiting ever since. 

I wiped the sweat away from my face and got to work immediately. Since It would be pretty hard to go back to sleep now, I might as well utilize the rest of the day and see if I could find something relevant from the investigation I had been conducting. 

I turned on my computer and got to work immediately. Opening the previous files from last night. Coleman had sent something for me to read. 

"Those damn aliens think I don't know what goes on underneath, wait till I expose them to the whole world and make some cool cash off of it. " I said as I rubbed my hands together excitedly. 

I looked up at the wall clock ticking away—it was already a few minutes past twelve. It was time to head out. 

***********

The night air was cold against my skin as I crouched behind the stone wall, gripping my camera like a lifeline. I could see the Blackwell Manor as it stood ahead, towering and ominous, its gothic spires stabbing at the dark sky.

This was it—the moment I had been waiting for.

For months, I had been chasing a story no one else believed. A secret hidden within the world’s wealthiest families that was being whispered about in dark corners. 

Werewolves.

Not the kind from movies—these weren’t wild beasts running through the woods. They were powerful and untouchable. They were embedded deep within high society.

 If I could get proof, I could expose them, and imagine how much money I could make off of them. 

I adjusted the zoom on my camera, my breath fogging in the cold air.

I moved closer toward the mansion and through the grand ballroom windows, I saw them—men in sleek suits, women in flowing gowns, laughing out loudly into the night. They looked like any other elite gathering—but no normal human being would gather by this time of the night. 

I could sense almost everything was wrong and I had no doubts about who they truly were. Their movements were too controlled and their sharp eyes were like hunters waiting for the right moment to strike. 

My pulse quickened as I focused on the man standing near the balcony.

Kieran Wolfe.

The Alpha. The one everyone feared.

Even from a distance, his presence was overwhelming. He was tall and commanding, watching the room like a king surveying his kingdom.

I swallowed hard and pressed the shutter button. "Just...stay right where I can see you..." I said out slowly as I took more pictures of him. 

Then, a sound behind me.

A twig snapping.

I barely had time to react before a strong hand clamped over my mouth, yanking me backward. My camera slipped from my grip, crashing into the dirt.

Panic shot through me as I kicked and thrashed, but my attacker was impossibly strong.

A voice murmured in my ear. His voice was low and almost amused. You know you shouldn’t have come here, Selene.”

A cold wave of fear ran through me. How the hell did he know my name?!

I tried to scream, but the grip on me tightened. Another figure stepped into view—his golden eyes were practically glowing in the darkness.

Lucian sighed, shaking his head. “We warned you earlier about this, didn’t we?”

I felt movement around me. Shadows shifted. And then—

The sound of bones cracking.

It was sickening. Like something breaking apart and putting itself back together at the same time.

The men I had seen in suits weren’t men anymore. Their bodies began to twist, and stretch, their foreskin tearing away as their human forms melted away.

Werewolves—Real and Right in front of me. I had been right. But it didn’t matter now. My jaw hung down loosely as I struggled to take in the sight in front of me. 

Lucian crouched down as his sharp gaze met flickering eyes. “We can’t let you leave, you know.”

He nodded his head and then they let me go. 

For a second, I was too shocked to move, too shocked to do anything. Then my body took over.

With my heart pounding hard against my chest, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. 

Branches tore at my clothes as I sprinted through the trees, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. I didn’t know where I was going—I just knew I had to get away.

Behind me, the sound of paws hitting the ground. Fast. Too fast.

I didn't need to turn back around to know that I wasn’t going to make it out of here alive. All of a sudden, I found myself on the floor. A twig in front of me had caused me to trip and I fell face flat onto the floor. 

I struggled to get back to my feet but the werewolves had closed in and surrounded me. I felt a sharp pain at the corner of my neck. I raised my gaze to the sky to behold the faces of my murderers even though they were distorted but the last thing I saw was the full moon shining down on me before everywhere went blank.