Chapter 3

I stopped but didn't turn around. Of all the Maxwell brothers, Liam was the only one who'd never gone out of his way to make my life miserable. But that didn't mean he was on my side either.

"What do you want, Liam?" I asked, still facing away from him.

"To make sure you're not planning to do something incredibly stupid." He came around to face me, his expression serious. Unlike his brothers, Liam had inherited his mother's softer features, though he was just as tall and broad-shouldered as the rest of them.

"Since when do any of you care what I do?"

"Since you threatened to get yourself killed." His green eyes searched my face. "Look, I know my brothers can be... difficult."

I snorted. "That's one way to put it."

"But shifting alone? That's not just dangerous, it's a death sentence. The pain alone could kill you, never mind the risk of getting stuck between forms."

I knew he was right. Everyone knew the stories of wolves who'd attempted their first shift without pack support. Most didn't survive. Those who did were usually left permanently damaged.

"Maybe that would solve everyone's problems," I muttered.

Liam stepped closer, his voice dropping. "Is that really what you think? That we'd all be better off if you were gone?"

I met his gaze, surprised by the genuine concern I saw there. "Wouldn't you be?"

He was quiet for a long moment, studying me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. "No," he said finally. "I wouldn't."

“Sure, because I’m such a laugh a minute right the unwanted child to the thorn in all four of your Alpha sides, just fuck off, I came into this pack unwanted and alone, I might as well be a rogue, so what difference would it make? If I just left. My own adoptive family don’t even treat me like family, so forget it.” I spat and stormed off.

Liam looked as if I slapped him, “Please stop, wait.”

“NO, and do us both a favour and leave me alone, once this is all over and I’ve come of age at the party and I’ve had my wolf for a few days, I think I might just leave this shit whole of a pack,” I replied with a wave.

I heard him calling my name as I walked away, but I didn't turn back. My chest felt tight, like I couldn't get enough air. The weight of what I'd learned in Alpha Maxwell's office pressed down on me with each step I took away from the mansion.

Alpha blood. The daughter of a fallen pack.

The words echoed in my mind as I made my way through the pack territory toward the small cottage where I lived with the Delta family who'd taken me in. "Taken me in" was generous; they'd been assigned to care for me, and they'd done the bare minimum required.

I kicked at a loose stone on the path, watching it skitter into the underbrush. Everything made more sense now. Why I'd always felt different, why the other pack members seemed to sense something about me that made them uncomfortable. Why, even my adoptive family kept me at arm's length.

They'd probably known, or at least suspected. The signs must have been there all along: my quick temper, the way I sometimes felt this restless energy coursing through me, especially during full moons. The way I could sense things others couldn't.

I was so lost in thought that I almost walked straight into Mrs. Chen from the pack council. She was tending to her garden, but looked up as I approached.

"Oh, hello dear," she said, her voice carrying that particular tone adults used when they felt obligated to acknowledge me but didn't really want to engage. "How was your visit with the Alpha?"

"Fine," I replied automatically, not slowing my pace.

"That's nice. Your ceremony is next week, isn't it? How exciting."

I nodded and kept walking, not trusting myself to say anything else. If I opened my mouth, I might blurt out everything I'd just learned, and Alpha Maxwell had been clear, no one else could know.

The cottage came into view, and I felt my shoulders tense. I wasn't ready to face my adoptive family, not with this new knowledge burning in my chest. They'd raised me for seventeen years without ever telling me the truth about who I really was. Had they known? Had they been keeping this secret all along?

I slipped around to the back of the house and climbed the oak tree that grew beside my bedroom window. It was a skill I'd perfected over the years when I needed to avoid awkward family dinners or lectures about my attitude.

My room was small and sparse, furnished with hand-me-downs and castoffs. I collapsed onto my narrow bed and stared up at the water-stained ceiling. In one afternoon, everything I thought I knew about myself had been turned upside down.

I pulled out my phone and stared at the blank screen, wondering if I had anyone I could talk to about this. The answer was depressingly obvious—I didn't. I'd never been good at making friends, and the few acquaintances I had at school were more like study partners than confidants.

A soft knock at my bedroom door made me sit up quickly. I hadn't heard anyone come home.

"Who is it?" I called out, wiping my eyes though I hadn't realised I'd been crying.

"It's me," came a soft voice. My adoptive mother, Marla. "Can I come in?"

I hesitated. Marla had never been cruel to me, just... distant. Like she was afraid to get too close. Now I understood why.

"Sure," I said, quickly hiding the paper Alpha Maxwell had shown me under my pillow. I'd taken it when he wasn't looking. I needed proof of what I'd learned.

The door opened, and Marla stepped in. She was a petite woman with kind eyes that always seemed to be tinged with sadness when she looked at me. But I knew better than that.