Emmy POVFifteen years ago (Seven years old) It’s the day after Mama’s funeral. She got sick from the plague that kills werewolves who have a fated mate. She and Father said this day would come. There have been so many funerals in our pack over the last couple of years, but Mama’s was the saddest. Our house has had so many people from our pack coming in and out. I’m tired of talking to people. I decided to stay in my room and practice on my chess board. Father says I show a knack for the game. A soft knock on my bedroom door takes my focus off the pieces. “Come in!” I call to the other side of the door. “Sweetheart,” my father’s gentle voice says from my doorway. I can see the sadness in his eyes. “What are you doing alone in your room, Emerald? The rest of your sisters are downstairs,” he asks me, but he isn’t angry. He sits down in the seat across from me and waits for me to answer. “I don’t feel like being around people right now,

Vincenzo POVEight Years Ago What a rush! This is the good news Alpha Matteo has been hoping for. I can’t wait to get back to the pack and fill him in on how the meeting went. Since we made the decision to move to the United States four years ago, we have struggled to get our design and architecture company up and running. In Italy, we were well known, and sought after for our modern and sleek design aesthetics. Our pack relocated here to escape the plague and get a fresh start for our pack members. Many were skeptical about leaving Italy, but when Alpha Matteo promised that we would have a good-sized territory, gifted to us by a strong Alpha, who was friends with his father, more of our members were excited for the opportunity. As a young Beta, I am eager to prove myself to Matteo. Sure, he’s my best friend, but I want him to see that I take this role seriously and that our pack has strong leadership. I volunteered to take this business trip and make a pitch to a company in

Vincenzo POV I’m pacing at the entrance to our territory, waiting for the twenty warriors I sent to Running River Pack to return. It’s been over two weeks since they left to do a simple recon mission. I quickly found out that their mission turned into a small attack when they were spotted and had to defend themselves. An attack was never in the plans. I spoke with Alpha Darius, and it seems my Beta, Renz, got carried away in the heat of battle and killed one of their warriors. This is a mess. I explained to Alpha Darius that we received threats from his pack that they would attack us. We both realized that this was all coordinated by The Underground. Alpha Darius explained that they're a rebellious group of wolves in the territory. This is not what I need right now. My pack has been doing really well the last couple of years. Our numbers have grown. The design and architecture business has been taking off and creating lots of jobs for our pack members. I need to tal

Emmy POV I make my way over to Darius’ office at the packhouse the next morning. I am still feeling apprehensive about what he wants to discuss. He mentioned something about travel. Did he find out that I am making plans to leave the pack and move to New York City? No. There’s no way he could possibly know. I clear my head and make sure my heartbeat is normal before I knock on his office door. “Come on in, Emmy!” he calls out before I even get a chance to knock. My hand is still raised up inches from the door. His hearing is so good. I turn the knob and find that Daya, Tobias, and Lucas are already waiting inside as well. I swallow down a lump in my throat. It’s going to be fine. Nobody knows. I take my usual seat next to Lucas, but I can feel the awkward tension between us. I have been doing my best to avoid him. I can’t deny how much it still hurts to feel unwanted, but nobody needs to know about that either. I look up at Darius, waiting for

Emmy POV Chapter 9 Emmy POV And just like that, I’m alone again. Separated from my sisters- not that any of them want to be around me right now. I make a mental note to reach out to Pearl to apologize to her. That is, if I ever get a second alone. Viviana has just brought me up to my room. This girl is…perky. She is extremely loud, talks fast, and has a permanent smile on her face. “So, this is your room, Emerald. It has great light in the mornings. Are you a morning person? If not, this remote will completely black out the windows. Personally, I like to sleep in a little. But now that it’s getting warmer out, it’s nice to wake up with the sun and go for a run in the mornings. You know?” Am I supposed to answer? She seems pretty content talking to herself. She holds her gaze on me for a few more seconds and when I don’t answer, she just shrugs and continues to busy herself around the space. “And you have a good-size closet. It doesn’t look like you packed to