Chapter 1

I stood in the rotting shack. Freezing wind howled through the window cracks.

My wolf let out a weak whimper.

I trained like a maniac for a whole year to get that Royal Elite Academy offer.

But I couldn't even afford a fresh piece of meat.

I scrubbed tables at the filthiest bar in town between training sessions. Just to afford some cheap scraps to survive.

Nobody would ever guess I was the Alpha and Luna's daughter.

My parents, Rowan, and my twin sister Willow lived in the main Pack House.

They had a private heated spring just to soak in the moonlight and strengthen their wolves. Even Willow's walk-in closet was five times bigger than my entire shack.

Growing up, they always blamed me. They said I siphoned Willow's strength in the womb.

So she deserved everything. And I was just a monster who needed to repent.

The trials ended a week ago. I'd shattered the all-time record.

But my phone stayed dead quiet. No one in the Pack chat cared.

Until today.

My screen lit up. My mother, Sylvia, finally texted.

"Come to the Pack House. We need to discuss your academy contract."

Staring at those words, my foolish heart still skipped a beat.

They finally saw my hard work. They finally cared about me, right?

I grabbed my jacket, shifted, and sprinted home through the woods.

I pushed the Pack House doors open. The heat from the fireplace washed over me.

I froze in the hallway.

My parents, Rowan, and my fated Mate—Julian.

They were all crowding around Willow on the couch. The one with the "weak inner wolf" who couldn't even hold her shift in the basic trials and barely passed.

Four fancy coming-of-age gifts sat on the coffee table.

"Willow, I got you a custom combat training plan. You have to join me at the Alliance Military Academy!" Rowan looked at her with pure adoration. Bossy, but leaving no room for argument.

"Don't listen to him," Julian chimed in. He gently unwrapped a piece of candy for her. "The best Healer Academy in the Capital is perfect for you. That way, I can watch over you every day."

I stood in the dark corner. Like a thief trespassing on someone else's turf.

Willow saw me first.

"Harper..." She flinched violently. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. Like I was a wild beast about to tear her apart.

She bit her lip and looked at them pitifully. "I should go back to my room. I don't want my scent to upset Harper."

But the second she turned around, I caught it. A sharp, sour spike of smugness in her scent.

She shot me a secret, mocking smirk. Pure evil.

The temperature in the room plummeted.

"What's with that look? Who are you trying to intimidate?!" Sylvia shot up and stormed over to me.

There was no pride in her eyes for her genius daughter. Only guilt and rage.

She glared at me and gave an absolute command. "I called you back to inform you. You are not going to any academy in the Capital."

My ears rang. My heart almost stopped.

"What did you say?" I thought I heard wrong.

"You are not going to the Capital!" Sylvia shrieked. "Your power is too volatile. Your aura is bloodthirsty! The proctors might think you're a weapon, but to me, you're just a wild monster you can't control! If Willow smells you in the Capital, your dominant aura will crush her wolf! Are you trying to kill your own sister?"

My father, Marcus, sat on the couch and scoffed impatiently. "We finally had a peaceful year. Don't start trouble again. You're the older sister. Just let her have this."

"What about me?" I stared at them, digging my nails into my palms. "I broke the record to get that early admission. Where am I supposed to go?"

Rowan sneered, looking down on me. "Just go to the Patrol Academy on the border. What's the big deal?" He planned out my life like it was nothing.

The Patrol Academy?!

Everyone knew what that meant. You get sent there, you're permanently shut out of the Pack Council. You spend the rest of your life patrolling the forest borders.

A dull ache spread from my bleeding palms to my very soul.

I refused to shed a single tear. Instead, I turned to the man who had been dead silent.

"Julian." My voice shook as I called his name.

That was my Mate. The one supposed to share my soul, life, and death.

But right now, he was forcefully suppressing our bond. The mate bond was supposed to burn bright and pull us together.

Instead, he was rejecting me.

He kept his head down. He never once met my eyes.

"Harper, be a good girl." Julian's voice was low, but he spoke the most hypocritical words in the world. "You're naturally strong. A fighting genius. Even at the Patrol Academy, you can fight your way to the top. Staying in the Pack as a high-ranked warrior... isn't that great too?"

He paused.

His eyes drifted to Willow's closed door. I saw a protective urge in his gaze that I had never, ever received.

"But Willow is different. She needs someone to take care of her."