Chapter 1

Ollie’s POV

“How dare you steal our birthday present for Sylvia!” The quadruplet Alphas glared at me as if I were something filthy. “Give it back to her! Now!"

Three years ago, they found Sylvia, their "real sister". While I, their once-spoilt sister, quickly became nothing more than a servant to their family.

"I swear I didn’t steal it! I have no reason to—"

"Strip now and prove it, " the quadruplets said. "Or we can't trust you."

Their ruthless gazes pierced through me, shattering my heart. They were no longer my dear brothers, but my enemies—the ones I most wanted to escape from...

***

Conrad, Declan, Hugh, and Wes.

The quadruplets are the Alpha heirs of the pack.

They once treated me like their darling princess sister. They had all once been as precious to me as I had been to them.

Sylvia, their true sister, is the one who changed everything.

Now, I am less than dirt to them, worthy of such cruel words and the looks of disgust that match them.

Three years ago, the brothers rescued Sylvia as she ran crying from an orphanage. I wasn’t there, but from what I was told, they knew right away that she was familiar in a strange way. They immediately brought the injured Sylvia to the hospital and ran through some blood tests.

Then overnight, the family I believed to be mine became hers.

Clearly, Sylvia was abused at the orphanage, so the quadruplets immediately took her in, and their parents were pleased at the discovery.

After this, I was adopted back into the Duskmoon family as a nice gesture. As I had been raised as a dear family member until the age of 16, it seemed natural for me to stay at the pack house. I wasn’t their relation anymore, but the family still treated me kindly.

For a while.

Sylvia gradually took everything from me, turning the whole family against me.

She consistently played the victim, with me as the aggressor. It had all been for show, though I was never believed. They couldn’t understand why their precious returned family member would lie.

Slowly, I was pushed from the family’s good graces.

Conrad, the oldest of the brothers, is the strong, well-muscled captain of the hockey team. Capable and a good leader, he’s always been forthright with his decisions, never truly doubting himself. Now I lost his trust and his protection.

Declan, the next oldest, never spoke much, not even to me, but his steady presence had ever been a comfort. However, now, the glare he previously used on others seems almost exclusively reserved for me. He now turned icy towards me and never has thawed again.

Hugh has always been easy-going with a smile and a laugh. His devil-may-care attitude adds a sense of adventure to every occasion. In the past, he was eager to deal me in on some of his whirlwind adventures. Now, I’m more like a nail in the tire of his sports car.

Wesley, or Wes for short, is the youngest and is the most kind and gentle. He, I thought, would have been the most likely to take my side when Sylvia came, to understand that I had nothing to do with the misunderstanding and that I never meant to deceive them in anyway. Instead, Sylvia batted her eyelashes and I was forgotten.

Now Syliva was given my room, my clothes, my entire life, while I was moved to a new smaller room in the basement of the estate, far out of the way of the rest of the family.

I’ve lost everything, but clearly it wasn’t good enough for Sylvia yet. She still play the victim just to get me tortured by the quadruplets from time to time.

Like today, she accused me of stealing her birthday present.

“It’s alright,” Sylvia says, her voice soft and delicate. It trembles as do the hands she clasps together in front of her. Though her tears have stopped falling, they still cling to her eyelashes. “I’m sure Ollie didn’t mean to take my present.”

“It is Sylvia’s birthday,” Wes says, giving me his most disappointed frown.

“We should have known better than to allow our dear ex-sister to come to the party,” Hugh says with a huffy, impatient breath. “She will always find a way to take advantage of things.”

“But I didn’t –” I try to say. They do not let me get a word in edgewise.

“Don’t,” Declan snaps, cutting me off.

Conrad shakes his head. “We will not allow you to ruin Sylvia’s day. Give her back her present. Now.”

“She probably already hid it,” one of the other girls in the room says. The brothers have brought their girlfriends of the moment to this birthday party with them.

I haven’t bothered learning their names, as I know they won’t be around long. Hugh, especially, is a known playboy, but none of the brothers have ever maintained consistent romantic relationships.

“You should check her room,” says one of the other girls.

At once, the four brothers start to move. Declan grabs me by the arm and drags me along with them. Sylvia hurries to follow, as the girlfriends stay behind, giggling.

“Ollie, just tell them where it is,” she says, her voice wavering. “I don’t want anyone to go to any trouble, but I can’t bear to lose a gift from my brothers.”

“I don’t have –” I try to say.

“You should stay here, Sylvia,” Wes says, intercepting their sister. “Stay at your party. We’ll take care of this unpleasantness.”

In my small basement bedroom, the brothers tear my room apart, pulling open and dumping the drawers from my dresser. They even flip the bed. They rip my closet door off its hinges, throwing whatever they find on the floor.

In the end, my room is trashed, but they are no closer to finding the birthday gift I’ve been falsely accused of stealing.

Standing amidst the chaos, Declan glances at me. “She must have it on her.”

All the brothers look now, their eyes trailing down the length of my body. Even though I’m still wearing my dress, I feel exposed in ways I’ve never been before and shiver.

In our youth, these quadruplets were simply family, but as my first shift day neared, things gradually changed.

I’ve even had dreams where…

“Ollie,” Conrad says sharply, frowning.

Immediately I snap back into the present.

“Strip,” Conrad demands.