Chapter 1

Weston

Yesterday I heard a girl in my pack say, “Don’t you dare look Alpha Weston in the eyes. It’s like staring at the sun—you won’t be able to look away. Plus, he’s so incredibly hot that you’d want to take him home.”

Well, that will never happen because, as ridiculous as it may sound, I’m saving myself for my mate. Sorry, ladies...

Sighing, I stroll inside the university hall with my hands shoved deep inside my pockets. I’m here to listen to the seminar about to begin, my nostrils flaring the second I catch the whiff of an old enemy that used to be a member of my pack: Janice Prowlfeather. 

She is a short little thing with dark hair and, from what I can see, more meat on her bones now that we are older. She isn’t thin anymore, which awakens something dark and revenge-hungry inside me. 

When I was younger, before I became the Alpha of the Sumhair pack and started to play professional football, I was obese. My cheeks were round like those belonging to a squirrel, and Janice, the little witch, bullied me for it.

I remember how she used to call me names like “Lardass” and “Jelly-belly” in front of the entire pack. Not only that, but she often stole my books at school and held them high above my head while everyone laughed. I was shorter than her, and she called me a “fake man” for being a late bloomer. Janice made my life a living hell and became the sole reason I started working out religiously after graduating middle school.

Thanks to her, I have a freaking eight-pack now, while little Janice doesn’t look even half as fit as me. As I watch her from across the hall, I can see that she is not the same person she used to be. Janice’s once-pretty face is now covered in pimples that she has tried to hide with makeup, and her breasts are...pretty fucking perfect, but never mind that. My enemy, who called me fat, is no longer fit, and I can’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction as I watch her struggle to sit down in one of the chairs.

Who is the “Jelly-belly” now, huh?

Not that I give a shit. Normally, I would be all over a woman with soft curves…if their personality weren’t rotten. Janice, however, is a devil in disguise. But damn, she has the most beautiful dark hair falling down over her shoulder, and for a second, I entertain the idea of moving it away to kiss her skin—wait, what the hell is wrong with me? This is my enemy!

I take my seat and make sure it is right beside Janice. There is a tense silence between us, but after a few seconds, I can feel her shyly glance towards me. Blue eyes rake me up and down, pausing on my pectoral muscles to appreciate them. My black t-shirt sits like a second skin, and I arch my eyebrows at her in a bored fashion, and she immediately turns red before quickly looking away. 

Did she just stare at my muscles?

What the hell? Doesn’t she recognize me? Janice would never in a billion years check me out. Is this the right person? It looks and smells like her, but she is acting strange. I am beginning to feel a little weirded out.

I sit back in my chair and focus on the presentation that has started, but throughout the entire seminar, I am acutely aware of Janice staring at my biceps. My arms are folded behind my head, so I guess it’s making them pop? Fuck if I know why she is looking at me. I’m not dumb; I know I’m good-looking now, but I didn’t expect to win her attention this easily.

I fight off the urge to growl and instead glare at her. “What the fuck are you staring at?”

Her eyes widen. “I...I w-wasn’t s-staring. I-I was just w-wondering what—”

“You were staring at me,” I interrupt her, narrowing my eyes at the person I once was so scared of I hardly dared to walk to school. 

It takes every ounce of self-control not to cuss her out for all the shit she did to me in the past. A dark part of me wants to beat her into a bloody pulp, but I’m not a woman-beater. I would never do something like that.

It does, however, give me a sense of satisfaction to inhale the scent of Janice’s fear. How she looks at me with terror in her eyes makes me smirk. There has been a shift in power between us; we both realize that. I’m of higher ranking now, the Alpha of my pack, while she is just some random werewolf whose head only reaches up to my chest. I could easily overpower her if I wanted to, but I won’t. 

“M-maybe I was,” she admits and giggles awkwardly before placing a strand of dark hair behind her ear. If I thought she was red before, it’s nothing compared to her crimson face right now. “I...umm...my name is—”

“I know who you are,” I growl, disgusted that she doesn’t seem to realize who I am while I sure as hell remember her. How could I ever fucking forget? She bullied me for years! “And you admit it then? That you were staring at me?”

“I-I just wanted to s-say hi,” she responds, as timid as ever. Her behavior baffles me. I don’t remember her being this shy. Is it because I’m suddenly hot now?

“Well, I’m not interested,” I respond with a shrug as I turn away. “I don’t have time for pathetic little girls who don’t know their place.”

It’s been three years since I last saw her. I’m eighteen now, and Janice should be seventeen. Either way, we will never make friends. Why she wants to make amends is beyond me. As far as I’m concerned, she can just fuck off.

“Wow...” She whispers, and when I look at her, she stares down at her thighs. “Hot guys are seriously such assholes... But since you sat down beside me, I just thought that maybe...maybe you wanted to...”

She doesn’t finish her sentence but doesn’t have to; I’m not an idiot. I know what she was going to say, and I breathe a laugh at the thought of her for one second thinking I was interested in her. 

“No offense, but I don’t date ‘Jelly-bellies’ or girls that aren’t fit...” 

I feel bad for talking shit about her appearance. I’m not actually shallow, and I don’t give a crap about what the women I date look like, but Janice deserves to hear her own words used against her. She is…sort of pretty, but I want to cause her pain.

I want her to cry.

I want her to suffer.

Though, to my utter astonishment, Janice only seems confused by my words. It still doesn’t seem like she realizes who I am. If anything, she looks hurt and...really fucking afraid of me. She is pressed to the other side of her seat, her throat bobbing as she looks at me. 

Am I really that intimidating?

Probably.

I’m acting like a dick...

This is the truth, and guilt pierces through my chest when I see Janice shaking, but I remind myself that this person tormented me for years. She deserves this sort of treatment...right?

Janice breathes a laugh. “I-I see...”

Since I still don’t feel like I’ve gotten the most out of my revenge, I decide to be even meaner.

“You must be a virgin,” those words feel like venom on my tongue. I’ve never been this mean to anyone in my entire life, and I pretend to laugh in a cringe fashion that I’ve seen guy actors do in TV series to appear even more asshole-like. “Who would want to stick their dick inside you?”

I can’t believe I just said that. Janice’s eyes widen into the size of saucers. I expect her to bawl her eyes out within seconds, but instead, she inhales deeply. 

“You’re right. I am a virgin, and I’ve been trying to lose weight for the past year, but it’s rather hard when you have thyroid problems,” she shoots me a wavering smile. “I’ve been having problems with it for years now, and I mean, yeah, you’re totally out of my league, but I still...” She bites her lower lip, looking like she might cry after all. “But I still thought I had a shot. Maybe you didn’t care since you sat down beside me. I’m... I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have stared at you.”

“You’re apologizing to me?” I ask, almost speechless.

“I-I am,” she says, still smiling even though it’s pretty fucking clear I’m scaring the shit out of her. “My name is Meryn, by the way. Who are you?”

I almost choke. Is this a sick joke? Her name is Meryn? Is she lying to me right now?! She can’t be anyone else other than Janice! This doesn’t make any sense!

“The line to the toilet was so long,” a familiar voice brings me out of my thoughts, and I do a double-take when a thinner version of Meryn sits down beside her. Her lips form a smirk when she looks at me. “Oh my god, it’s you, isn’t it? Weston Avery? My oh my, puberty sure was kind to you.”

Meryn glances at the other thinner and more beautiful version of herself, and I think I will be sick. It doesn’t take a genius to realize what is happening: they are twins, and I’ve been bullying the wrong flipping twin!

“Can we move places?” Meryn says, and something inside me aches when I see tears running down her cheek. “I...I don’t want to sit with Weston.”

The person, who I am convinced is the real Janice, turns her attention to her sister. “What did he do to you?” she looks her sister over and then glares back at me...or tries to. Her eyes land on my abs, which are visible through my T-shirt, and I growl. 

“You got to be fucking kidding me...” I sigh and get up from my seat. Meryn is trying hard not to sob. It makes me feel terrible, and as I walk away, I pray I won’t have to face the twins again. Fuck, I can’t believe I was mean to the wrong sister...