Chapter 3

Cold water shocked me awake. I gasped, choking on the musty air of wherever I was. My wedding dress—or what was left of it—clung to me like a frozen second skin.

"Finally awake, princess?"

I blinked, trying to focus. Three rogues stood around me in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Moonlight leaked through broken windows, casting everything in silver and shadow.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The largest rogue, scarred and grizzled, crouched in front of me. "The question isn't what we want. It's what he wants."

"Who's 'he'?"

"Your real father."

My blood turned to ice. "My father is dead. He died in prison five years ago."

"That pathetic traitor?" The rogue laughed. "Nathan wasn't your father, girl. He was just the fool who raised you."

"You're lying."

"Your mother never told you? How she came to Nathan already pregnant? How she begged him to claim you as his own?" The rogue's breath was hot on my face. "Your real father is very much alive. And he's been watching you."

"Why should I believe anything you say?"

"Because." A new voice came from the shadows. Deep. Familiar in a way that made my skin crawl. "I'm here to tell you myself."

A man stepped into the moonlight. Tall, powerful, with eyes exactly like mine. Black hair streaked with silver, sharp features that looked like an older, masculine version of my own face.

"Hello, Ava."

I couldn't breathe. "Who are you?"

"Marcus Blackstone." He smiled, and it was like looking in a dark mirror. "Former Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. Your biological father."

"The Blood Moon Pack was destroyed twenty years ago. They were extremists, murderers—"

"We were revolutionaries." His voice hardened. "We believed wolves shouldn't hide in the shadows, pretending to be weak. Your mother disagreed. She ran from me, pregnant with my heir."

"No." I shook my head. "My mother loved my father—loved Nathan."

"She used Nathan. Needed a cover story, a safe place to hide you from me." Marcus stepped closer. "But blood calls to blood, daughter. I've been waiting for the right moment to bring you home."

"This isn't home! Let me go!"

"Let you go? Back to what? An Alpha who threw you away the moment his ex-lover cried wolf?" Marcus laughed. "How quickly Michael turned on you. Just like this pack turned on Nathan when I framed him."

The world tilted. "You... you framed my father?"

"Nathan was investigating your mother's death. Getting too close to the truth. So I planted evidence, made him look like a traitor. The pack's hatred for him transferred beautifully to you. Isolated you. Made you desperate for any scrap of kindness."

"You ruined my life!"

"I shaped you." His eyes gleamed. "Every cruel word, every moment of loneliness, every betrayal—it all made you stronger. Made you ready."

"Ready for what?"

"To take your rightful place. As my heir. As the weapon that will destroy the Silver Moon Pack."

"I'll never help you destroy anything!"

Marcus smiled. "You already have. Who do you think gave Madison those forged documents? Who do you think whispered in her ear about coming back? Who made sure she'd burst into your wedding at just the right moment?"

My stomach dropped. "You set me up."

"I set the stage. Madison played her part perfectly. Desperate to get Michael back, willing to believe anything." He pulled out his phone, showing me a video. "Even willing to lie."

The video showed Madison in a luxury hotel room, not a basement. She was applying fake bruises with makeup, practicing her sob story in the mirror.

"This was taken yesterday," Marcus said. "She was never kidnapped. Never tortured. I simply offered her a deal—ruin your wedding, get Michael back."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because I want you to understand. The pack you've spent your life trying to belong to will never accept you. Michael will never truly trust you, even when he learns the truth. You're my blood, Ava. They'll always see you as a threat."

"You're wrong. When Michael sees this video—"

"He'll what? Apologize? Take you back? Marry you?" Marcus laughed. "He chose Madison over you without hesitation. His trust in you shattered at the first test."

Tears burned my eyes because he was right. Michael hadn't even asked for my side. Hadn't given me a chance to defend myself.

"I can offer you something better," Marcus continued. "Power. Respect. A pack that will follow you without question."

"Following you means becoming a murderer."

"Following me means becoming what you were born to be." He knelt in front of me. "You have Alpha blood, Ava. Pure, powerful Alpha blood. Why do you think you survived all those years of torment without breaking? Why do you think Michael was drawn to you even when he was with Madison?"

"He loved me—"

"He sensed your power. Alphas are attracted to strength, even when they don't understand it." Marcus stood. "I'll give you three days to decide. Join me willingly, or watch everyone you care about suffer for rejecting you."

"That's not a choice!"

"It's more than they gave you." He turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and that friend of yours—Sarah? She's been trying to find you. Loyal little wolf. Shame if something happened to her."

"Don't you dare touch her!"

"Three days, Ava." He disappeared into the shadows. "Choose wisely."

The rogues unlocked my chains and vanished after him, leaving me alone in the warehouse. I stumbled to my feet, my mind reeling. Marcus Blackstone. The most feared Alpha in recent history. My father.

I had to get back. Had to warn everyone. Had to show Michael that video.

But when I finally made it to the pack borders, two guards stopped me.

"Ava? You're under arrest by order of Alpha Michael."

"Arrest? For what?"

"Conspiracy. Kidnapping. Attempted murder." One guard looked sympathetic. "Madison showed more evidence. Financial records. Witness testimonies. I'm sorry."

They put me in silver cuffs. The metal burned against my skin—something that shouldn't happen to a normal wolf. Only to Alphas.

As they led me to the pack prison, I saw Michael through a window. He was holding Madison, stroking her hair while she cried prettily against his chest.

He looked up and our eyes met.

For a moment, I thought I saw regret.

Then Madison whispered something in his ear, and he looked away.

Three days. Marcus had given me three days.

But sitting in this cell, watching the man I loved comfort the woman who'd destroyed me, I wondered if Marcus was right.

Maybe I didn't belong here.

Maybe I never had.

The silver cuffs burned hotter, and for the first time, I didn't fight the pain.

I embraced it.

Something was changing inside me. Something that had been dormant my whole life.

And it was angry.