Chapter 1

A knock on the Beta’s office door made him look up. “Enter.” Beta Theodore Gilmore called.

“You wanted to see me step-father?” His stepson, Peter Sherwood, stated rather than asked.

“Ah, yes, sit, we have much to discuss.”

“About sir?” Peter asked.

“My daughter,” Theodore stated flatly.

“What about my step-sister Clover?” Peter asked again, shock written all over his face. It was well known to members of the pack that he had been nothing but an asshole to his step-sister, and now he knew something was going on.

“Step-sister? From tonight, I want you to take her as your mate. At her coming of age.”

Peter froze at his stepfather’s words, “What stepfather? Sorry, I think I misunderstood.” He thought to himself, ‘This has to be some kind of trap. Did his stepfather know about his hidden feelings for his step-sister Clover?’

“No, you didn’t mishear me at all. My daughter is the only one of my bloodline that can take the Beta position, and as my step-son, that place would be yours if you take her as your mate.”

“Ah, sir, one problem with that is she can’t even be in the same room as me. I don’t know if you got the memo, but I haven’t been the nicest to her, and besides, the pack is unlikely to allow such a match. The Alpha wouldn’t allow it, I’m sure of it. However, what if her fated mate is here? I can’t compete with a fated bond.” Peter’s heart raced at the idea. He had been in love with her in secret, but thinking that she was off limits, he had pushed her away through cruelty, but the idea of being mated to her both thrilled and terrified him.

“You know as well as I do that it is unlikely fated mates are rare, besides no one has ever taken any interest in my daughter, and she has no interest in any male, for that matter. I’m starting to think she doesn’t even want a mate.” Beta Theodore stated matter-of-factly.

“We don’t know that we should at least see what happens tonight before we try this. I’m not liking this. Besides, no one is going to believe I’ve changed my mind and my heart all of a sudden. Besides, I can’t even magically claim it’s a mate bond thing as she hasn’t shifted yet.”

"My daughter will have a coming-of-age ceremony tonight, and as per tradition, she will shift for the first time," Theodore said, leaning back in his chair. His eyes narrowed as he studied Peter's expressions. He could see the conflict in his stepson's eyes, the way his hands gripped the armrests a little too tightly. "After that, I expect you to make your move."

Peter felt his throat tighten. He had spent years pushing Clover away since he was 16 and she was 13, tormenting her, all to hide the feelings that threatened to consume him. How could he suddenly approach her as a potential mate? She would laugh in his face, or worse, fear him.

"Sir, with all due respect, Clover hates me," Peter said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Theodore smiled, a cold, calculating expression that didn't reach his eyes. "Hate is a strong emotion, boy. Strong emotions can be redirected."

Meanwhile, in the Alpha Heir Milton Kirkwood’s office, his wolf was pacing restlessly in his mind as if something was off.

“For the love of the Goddess, will you stop pacing in my mind? I have to finish these reports before I have to fulfil my duty as Alpha Heir.”

-Can’t you feel that something is about to change?-

“Nothing is going to change except I’ll have a proper Beta, not a female one. Peter, her stepbrother and our friend, would be a better option.”

-Suit yourself. But don’t get all weird, and do anything stupid if you get a surprise.-

“Like anything could get any weirder than that, I got condemned with a female Beta. The Goddess must have been taking the piss out of our pack.”

-Why did I get condemned with an asshole for a human? Who can’t see someone’s true worth due to being such an ass?-

Milton rakes his hands through his hair, frustration etching lines across his forehead. His wolf's persistence grates on his already frayed nerves, especially with the Beta Heir's coming-of-age ceremony looming tonight. The thought of Clover Gilmore standing before the pack, being acknowledged as the future Beta, makes his teeth clench involuntarily.

"I don't need this today," he mutters, shuffling the papers on his desk with unnecessary force.

Across the pack house, Clover stands in her bedroom, staring at the ceremonial dress laid out on her bed. The silver-threaded fabric catches the afternoon light, making the traditional Beta symbols shimmer along the hem. Her fingers trace the intricate patterns, a weight settling in her chest that has nothing to do with the impending shift.

"Just breathe," she whispers to herself. "Tonight changes nothing. You've been preparing for this your entire life."

But even as she says the words, she doesn't believe them. Something in the air feels different today, charged with potential and danger in equal measure. Her wolf, dormant until now, stirs faintly at the edges of her consciousness, not quite awake, but no longer fully asleep either.

In his office, Theodore smiles to himself as Peter leaves, the door clicking shut behind him. The plan is set in motion. His daughter will take her rightful place, with Peter by her side to satisfy the more traditional elements of the pack. The fact that they despise each other is merely an inconvenient detail, easily overcome with time and proper incentives.

"Sir?" Reginald, his advisor, steps into the room without knocking. "The Alpha requests your presence."

Theodore's smile falters. "What does he want now?"

"He didn't say, sir. But he mentioned it concerns tonight's ceremony."

A flicker of unease passes through Theodore. Alpha Kirkwood rarely involves himself directly in pack matters these days, preferring to delegate to his son. For him to request a meeting about Clover's ceremony suggests complications.