Chapter 1

Joanne’s POV

I was hiding under the table, trying to steal a piece of bread before hunger knocked me out. Even the lowest-ranking omegas were drinking and celebrating.

Because I’m a werewolf without a wolf, I am not welcome to celebrate with the others.

A bane is what my Alpha calls me.

Alpha Anthony has been beating me for nothing ever since I can remember. And I don’t have parents to protect me from him since I’m an orphan.

For whatever reason, he will not allow me to leave this pack. He will chase me down every single time I dared to escape.

So I grew up avoiding him, living in an abandoned cabin at the edge of Long Lake pack. My life was simple – keep breathing, and hope there’s food left in the kitchen when the sun goes down.

Today, there is a celebration, which meant that there was more food than usual. Roasted meats, sweet bread, and cheese thick enough to make my mouth water.

I couldn’t be greedy, though, because that’s how I would get caught. I needed to stick to the basics… bread.

It was enough to fill my belly, and guests wouldn’t notice that type of food missing right away.

I stay still under the tablecloth, listening to boots scrape across the wooden floor. Voices drift down – Alpha Anthony and Beta Ben.

“You did well,” Anthony said, his voice slurred. I can already smell the alcohol in his breath. “Five of them this time. Easy money.”

“They didn’t even fight back,” Ben chuckled.

“They are nothing but bloodsucking roaches. We did the world a favor by getting rid of a few of them.”

They both laughed at that.

My stomach growled, but I froze. They were talking about vampires.

The border between our werewolf kingdom, Howlspire, and the vampire kingdom, Eboncrest, is dangerous ground.

Though the Vampire King and our Alpha King have an agreement to cease war, anyone who crosses the border can be killed.

But it wasn’t border-crossers they were talking about.

It was vampire civilians.

Anthony just needed a quick coin, and killing vampires gets him a fat reward if the King thinks he’s defending the border.

What he is doing is illegal and cruel, not that Anthony cares.

For as long as I knew Alpha Anthony, he had always been a gambler and a drunk. It wouldn’t surprise me if he were using this reward money to pay off his debt.

I knew he would end up gambling this money away as well, soon enough; it was the same old pattern.

Their voices moved away from where I crouched. My heart thudded rapidly against my chest so loudly I feared they might hear it.

This was my one and only chance, and I couldn’t mess it up.

Taking a deep breath, I reached for the loaf on the edge of the table, my hand closing around the crust. The feel of the bread was enough to make my mouth water.

The scent was nearly driving me crazy with ravenous need.

At that moment, a shadow fell over me, and my heart stopped.

A hand like iron clamped around my wrist and yanked me out from under the table.

“You!” Anthony snarled. His breath reeked of ale. “The wolfless rat thinks she can sneak into my celebration?”

His grip around my wrist tightened; though everyone in this pack knew of the abuse I faced, Anthony was always careful not to hurt me too badly in front of others. He didn’t want word to travel around to the other packs, and he certainly didn’t want the Alpha King to hear of his treatment of me.

Others took notice of me as Anthony dragged me through the crowd; their eyes judging and their lips tipping up into smirks.

I was used to this, and I wasn’t surprised when their whispers made it to my ears.

“Is that the wild child?”

“Don’t get too close; she probably hasn’t showered in weeks.”

“What is someone like her doing at a celebration like this?”

Ignoring the cruel words, my eyes flashed to the food as I grew further away, a hungry longing in my gaze. My stomach growled loudly… the small window of opportunity, my one chance, had slipped through my fingers.

The moment Alpha Anthony and I were alone, he turned to me, his nostrils flaring.

“How dare you try to steal from me?” Anthony growled, saliva from his lips hitting my face. “How many times do I need to teach you this lesson, you brat!”

I knew what was about to come, and I knew better than to fight back.

The first blow knocked me to the ground. That was when he started to kick me.

I curled up, letting his kicks land where they’d least hurt.

I have been beaten daily as a child and at least a few times a week now. I knew his moves better than anyone, and I learned how to avoid getting hurt too badly. If he thought I was incapable of movement, he would stop.

I allowed my body to go limp as he continued to kick me and shout degrading words at me. I slowed down my breathing and made it look like I lost consciousness.

That was when he stepped back, his breathing heavy, raging rolling off him in waves.

He spat on the floor beside me, the thick glob landing beside my cheek.

“Next time, I’ll finish the job,” he drunkenly slurred at my “unconscious” body.

I remained still until I heard his footsteps retreating. Only then did I open my eyes and look around the narrow hallway I was in. I pulled myself to my feet, wincing at the slight ache in my side from where his boot made contact.

It was dangerous to stay here any longer; if Anthony knew I was awake, he’d finish the job for sure. So, without a backward glance, I ran.

The night air bit my skin as I sprinted towards my cabin. My chest burned, but the thought of getting to safety was enough to push me faster. My cabin, though run-down and abandoned, was my only sanctuary; the only place I considered my safe haven.

When I reached the edge of the pack, I stopped dead in my tracks.

The door to my cabin hung crooked, splintered from the hinges.

My entire body felt paralyzed from the sight, my heart thudding rapidly against my chest.

I had lived in this cabin for most of my life, and not once had it been broken into. The thought of someone invading my space made me feel sick to my stomach.

I finally willed my feet to move forward; I was on autopilot, barely registering my surroundings. I knew I should have scoped out the entire area to make sure it was safe, but I was being careless.

I couldn’t think straight.

Someone was inside… or had been inside… my sanctuary.

I stepped around the broken door and into the cabin, pausing when I smelled a strange scent lingering in the air.

I took in a deep breath… not a wolf. It was sweet, cold, and…. dangerous.

Yet, it pulled me in.

A feeling I had never felt before, and I didn’t entirely hate.

Suddenly, the fear of having my cabin broken into began to subside, and all that was left was earnest curiosity and a hunger for something other than food.

The moonlight spilled across the floorboards, revealing a figure sprawled on the ground.

My brows knitted together.

There was a man lying in the middle of my living room.

He was young, maybe a little older than me. His clothes were soaked in blood, as was his pale skin.

It was clear he wasn’t awake, and for a moment, I worried he might even be dead.

I stepped closer, noticing the faint movement of his chest, indicating that there was still life inside of him. I let out a breath of relief at the sight.

Not dead.

His dark hair covered his face, and I had to fight the urge to brush it away with my fingers so I could get a better look at him.

I should have been terrified.

I should have run away screaming to Alpha Anthony before anyone noticed because every fiber of my being was screaming “vampire!”

But something about him – something in the sharp lines of his face and strange, intoxicating scent that clung to his skin–stilled me.

How could something so beautiful be classified as something so dangerous?