Chapter One

Mona's POV

The copper taste of blood filled my mouth as Father's fist connected with my jaw. Again.

"Worthless," he spat, towering over me as I crumpled against the kitchen wall. "Can't even set the table properly for your sister's engagement celebration."

I wiped the blood from my split lip, keeping my eyes down. Speaking would only make it worse. It always did.

"Marcus, leave the creature alone," Mother called from the dining room, her voice dripping with disgust. "Selena's guests are arriving. We can't have them hearing... that."

That. Not her. Not their daughter. Just that.

Father's boot caught me in the ribs one last time before he straightened his jacket. "Clean yourself up and stay in the kitchen. If I see you near the celebration, you'll sleep in the forest again."

The forest. Where they'd left me three nights ago during a thunderstorm because I'd accidentally bumped into Selena's suitor at the market.

I waited until his footsteps faded before pulling myself up, ribs screaming in protest. Through the kitchen window, I watched pack members arrive in their finest clothes, gifts in hand for my perfect sister. The future Luna of the Silvermoon Pack.

"Mona?" 

I turned to find Sophie slipping through the back door, her red curls wild from running. My only friend in this hellhole of a pack.

"Oh goddess, what did they do now?" She rushed over, gently touching my swollen jaw.

"Selena's engagement party," I said simply. That explained everything.

Sophie's green eyes flashed with anger. "One day, they'll pay for this. All of them."

"Sure they will." I couldn't hide the bitterness in my voice. "The Alpha's family, untouchable and perfect, will definitely face justice for beating their invisible middle child."

"You're not invisible to me." Sophie pulled herbs from her pocket - she always carried healing supplies now. "Or to your grandmother."

Grandmother. The only family member who still looked at me like I was a person. But she was too old, too weak to stand against Father anymore.

"Derek Winters is here," Sophie whispered as she applied salve to my lip. "The new combat instructor from the Ashen Academy."

I stiffened. "Why would someone from the Academy come to Selena's engagement?"

"Politics. The Academy sends representatives to all major pack events now." Sophie's hands stilled. "Mona... I heard rumors. About what happens when you turn eighteen next month."

My stomach dropped. "What rumors?"

"That your father plans to—"

"MONA!" Selena's shrill voice cut through the air. "Where's my wine? My guests are waiting!"

I pulled away from Sophie. "I have to go."

"Mona, wait—"

But I was already moving, grabbing the crystal decanter from the counter. My ribs protested with each step as I entered the dining room, keeping my head down, trying to be invisible.

The room gleamed with wealth and power. Pack members in silk and jewels, laughing and celebrating my sister's triumph. Selena stood at the center in a dress that cost more than most pack members made in a year, her blonde hair perfect, her smile practiced.

I moved along the wall, filling glasses, unnoticed until—

"Is that the disappointment?" A woman's loud whisper carried across the room. "The one who still hasn't shifted?"

My hands trembled. Seventeen and no wolf. Another failure to add to Father's list.

"I heard she's cursed," someone else added. "That's why Marcus keeps her hidden."

"Pour properly, you useless thing!" Selena hissed as I reached her. But as I tilted the decanter, she deliberately jerked her glass, sending red wine cascading down her white dress.

The room went silent.

"You stupid, clumsy bitch!" Selena shrieked. "You did this on purpose! You're jealous because I'm everything you'll never be!"

"I didn't—"

Her hand cracked across my face, reopening the split lip Father had given me. Blood dripped onto the pristine white tablecloth.

"Enough." 

The deep voice cut through the chaos like a blade. Everyone turned to the man standing in the doorway - tall, dark-haired, with storm-gray eyes that seemed to see everything.

Derek Winters.

"I believe that was an accident," he said calmly, but there was steel in his tone. His eyes locked on mine, and something electric passed between us. "One that doesn't warrant violence."

"Who are you to interfere in pack family matters?" Father snarled, stepping forward.

"Someone who recognizes abuse when he sees it." Derek's gaze shifted to my father, cold and challenging. "The Academy has strict policies about the treatment of pack members. All pack members."

The threat hung in the air. The Academy's power exceeded any single pack's. They could destroy us with a word.

"It's fine," I whispered, backing away. "My fault. I'll... I'll clean up."

But Derek's eyes followed me as I fled, and I felt their weight like a physical touch.

In the kitchen, I collapsed against the sink, shaking. Sophie appeared moments later.

"That was Derek Winters," she breathed. "He stood up to your father. To the Alpha!"

"It doesn't matter." I pressed a cloth to my bleeding lip. "Nothing changes. I'm still the cursed daughter who can't shift. Still the family shame."

"What if you're not cursed?" Sophie grabbed my shoulders. "What if there's another reason you can't shift?"

"Like what?"

She bit her lip, then pulled me to the window. Outside, the full moon hung heavy and red in the sky. "My grandmother told me stories. About wolves so powerful, their first shift could kill them if it happened too early. Wolves whose power had to be... contained."

"That's ridiculous. I'm nobody special."

"Your hair, Mona." Sophie touched a strand of my deep red hair - not auburn like other wolves, but true crimson in the moonlight. "When was the last time you saw another wolf with hair like yours?"

Never. The answer was never.

"Tomorrow night," Sophie said urgently. "Meet me at the old oak tree after midnight. My grandmother wants to see you. She says it's time you learned the truth."

"What truth?"

But before Sophie could answer, the kitchen door slammed open. Derek Winters stood there, his presence filling the small space.

"You're hurt," he said simply, moving toward me with predatory grace.

"I'm fine." I stepped back, but hit the counter.

"No, you're not." His fingers gently tilted my chin up, examining my injuries. His touch sent lightning through my veins. "How long has this been happening?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me." His thumb brushed over my split lip, and I gasped at the sensation. "I can smell the old injuries under the new ones. Years of them."

"Why do you care?" The question escaped before I could stop it.

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "Because I recognize a caged phoenix when I see one."

Phoenix. The word sent ice through my blood.

"I don't understand—"

"You will." He stepped back, pulling a card from his pocket. "The Academy accepts students year-round. When you're ready to stop letting them break you, find me."

He was gone before I could respond, leaving only his scent - pine and storms and something wild.

Sophie stared at me with wide eyes. "Mona... what if the stories are true? What if you're—"

A scream shattered the night.

We rushed to the window to see Selena in the garden, pointing at something in horror. There, carved into the ancient pack stone, glowing with an otherworldly light, was a symbol I'd only seen in my nightmares.

A phoenix rising from flames.

And beneath it, written in what looked like blood: "The true heir awakens."

Father's roar of rage shook the entire house, but all I could think about was Derek's words.

A caged phoenix.

As I stared at the symbol, my skin began to burn like fire was trying to claw its way out from inside me.