Isabelle

The air in our small home was stifling, not with heat, but with grief.

Mama sat curled into herself by the window, her eyes unfocused, her trembling fingers tracing the shape of the cracked windowpane as though it could give her answers the Moon Goddess refused to. Her silver-streaked hair framed her pale face like a crown of ashes. Since the graveyard incident, since they desecrated my sister’s memory, she hadn’t been the same. Her wolf was withdrawn, hiding deep inside her, too broken to surface.

I knelt beside her and gently took her frail hand into mine.

“We’re leaving in two days,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Just two more nights, Mama. Then we’re gone. No more of Jason. No more of this cursed pack. I promise you.”

She blinked, slow and unsure, as if trying to recognize me. Then a tear slid down her cheek. She didn’t speak, she rarely did anymore, but her fingers tightened slightly around mine.

I already had our bags packed, hidden beneath the floorboards of my old bedroom. I didn’t dare tell anyone, not even old Midra, who sold us herbs and sometimes helped cover my tracks. The Monstera Pack wasn’t safe anymore. Not when Jason was about to rise to power, not since he took everything from me.

I rested my head against Mama’s leg and closed my eyes. For once, there was a fragile peace between us, like the eye of a hurricane.

Until the door exploded.

A loud bang rattled the hinges, followed by another, then another.

My wolf rose to attention, bristling. I stood up, positioning myself in front of my mother. “Who is it?” I barked, though I already knew.

The door was kicked open, and three of Jason’s wolves stormed in, dressed in matching black shirts with the Monstera Pack emblem over their hearts. Their eyes glowed faintly, indicating their wolves were near the surface. All three were tall, built like stone, and smelled of iron and blood.

One of them, a sneering brute named Calric, stepped forward. “Alpha Jason sends his regards.”

He tossed a sleek, blood-red envelope onto the table, the gold wax seal already cracked.

“You’re invited to Miss Samantha’s birthday banquet. Tonight.”

I didn’t move. “I’m not going.”

Calric smirked. “That’s unfortunate. Because if you don’t attend…” He turned, grabbed my mother by the arm, and yanked her to her feet.

“Let her go!” I screamed, shifting half into my wolf before I forced myself back. Mama whimpered, struggling in his grip.

“Stop! Please—” I swallowed bile. “I’ll go. I’ll go! Just let go of my mother!”

They released her like she was nothing more than garbage. She collapsed into the chair, wheezing softly.

I clenched my fists so hard my claws pierced my palms. My pride meant nothing. My dignity meant less. All that mattered now was keeping her safe.

---

The banquet hall was gilded in marble and glass, so opulent it made my stomach turn. Chandeliers sparkled above me, and perfume laced with dominance and power hung in the air. Samantha had transformed the venue into a stage for her glory. Laughter, clinking glasses, and the murmurs of Alphas and their Lunas filled the room.

I was the only one not dressed to impress.

While they sparkled, I stood in plain black. No makeup. No jewelry. Just defiance wrapped in shame.

Samantha stood at the center of the stage, dressed in midnight blue velvet. She looked like she’d stepped out of a magazine—curled hair, red lips, perfect posture. Jason stood beside her, arm lazily wrapped around her waist. His eyes scanned the crowd.

Then landed on me.

There was a flicker there, brief and sharp, like an old memory surfacing. That same look he used to give me when we were alone, before everything turned to ash.

Samantha spotted me and grinned like a wolf baring its teeth. “Attorney Isabelle,” she said sweetly into the mic. “You made it after all.”

I didn’t answer. I stood still, silent, like prey waiting for the arrow.

“I’ve prepared a little surprise just for you tonight.” She giggled, then leaned closer to me as I was ushered toward the stage. “I know how much you like… sentiment.”

I didn’t understand it at all. And my whole being got distracted when I felt something personal shifted in the air.

My breath hitched. A presence. A pull.

Warmth surged through my chest. My wolf stirred violently, snarling and howling at once, disoriented. My knees weakened. My breath shortened.

Mate. My mate is somewhere here…

I didn’t know where he was, who he was—but I felt him. Somewhere in this crowd. A magnetic pull, drawing my soul forward even as my body remained frozen.

The fated mate bond.

It was real. It was raw. It was… Until suddenly it was…

Gone.

Because then, the screen lowered, and with it, my world collapsed.

Moans echoed through the hall. Familiar, horrifying, recorded sounds. I recognized them before the image even appeared.

My sister. My twin.

The same footage they’d used to torment her in private. But now, it was playing for the entire pack to see.

“No…” I gasped, stepping forward.

The guards blocked me.

“Turn it off!” I shouted. “TURN IT OFF!”

Laughter. Whispers.

“Wasn’t she the one who was assaulted?”

“Look at her face. She was enjoying it.”

“Maybe it wasn’t assault after all.”

I couldn’t breathe. My wolf was screeching, clawing inside me.

Samantha sauntered up to me, all smiles. “Aren’t you touched, Isabelle?”

“How fucking dare you!” Rage exploded in my veins. I slapped her, hard.

The sound cracked through the room. Samantha stumbled backward, caught by Jason, who cradled her like she was the one who’d been wronged.

“Are you insane?!” Jason bellowed. “What did you just do?!”

I faced him, shaking with fury. “Are you really this cruel? Do you really have to torment my sister until this very moment? How dare you do this to someone you once loved?! Or did you ever love me… huh?”

“You only see Samantha,” I hissed. “You never even saw me as a person now.”

He stiffened. “You know the agreement, Isabelle.”

That stopped me cold. The agreement.

“If you speak out again…” he continued, loud enough for only me to hear, “the next video will be your mother’s.”

My soul shattered. He’d gone from blackmail to psychological warfare.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry.

I simply said, “I’ll remember tonight for the rest of my life.”

And I walked out.

---

I never made it far.

Hands grabbed me in the alley behind the venue. A hood was yanked over my head. I screamed, kicked, but they were wolves. Bigger. Trained.

“I’m a lawyer!” I shouted. “You’re violating every code—”

Slap.

The first hit spun my head sideways.

Slap.

Slap.

Over and over. A hundred times.

I lost count.

Blood mixed with spit in my mouth. My face swelled. My vision blurred. I heard one of them speak.

“Sir Jason, 100 slaps. All done.”

A pause.

“Good,” came the voice from the phone. “I already sent the money.”

Then silence. And darkness.

I lay there on the damp ground, hooded, humiliated, and hollow. My wolf whimpered inside me.

But I couldn’t even find the strength to cry.

Isabelle

The day of my departure with my mother, I didn’t expect a visitor at all.

I froze the moment I smelled her. She didn’t belong here.

The heavy scent of gardenias and something acidic, a perfume designed to mask her true scent but not enough for a werewolf nose, lingered in the living room of our small den. I stepped inside slowly, barefoot against the cool wooden floor, my claws itching beneath my skin.

And there she was.

zA woman I had never seen before sat with perfect posture on our couch, legs crossed, her heels digging into the rug like she owned the place. Her dark hair was pulled into a sleek bun, and her lips curled into a fake smile the second our eyes met.

“Who the hell are you?” I growled, stepping closer. My wolf bristled beneath the surface, pacing with unease. “You don’t belong here. Get out of my home.”

Her gaze swept over me like I was a stain. “Tsk. That face…” She clicked her tongue, not even acknowledging my demand. “I see the Monstera Pack was generous in the looks department, but a little too generous with the mouth, perhaps.”

The insult stung sharper than it should have. But I didn’t flinch. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

“What do you want?” I snarled, lowering my stance. I didn’t care if she was human, witch, or wolf, I’d rip her throat out if she didn’t leave.

She finally turned to face me fully, crossing her arms like she was about to deliver a verdict. “I’m here on behalf of Alpha Nuel. You’ve been purchased.”

I blinked, heart halting mid-beat. “Purchased?”

Her smile widened. “Sold, darling. By your own pack. Your Alpha. Even your lovely friend ex-husband, Jason. All of them signed the deal.” Her words twisted like barbed wire around my ribs. “You’re to become Alpha Nuel’s companion. His other woman. Consider it… a trade alliance of sorts.”

I staggered back as if struck. My ears rang. “That can’t be legal. That’s not—”

“Oh, but it is.” She produced a scroll, ancient and marked with multiple seals, Monstera Pack, Alpha Council, even the old bastard Nuel’s. “All in accordance with werewolf trade laws. Especially for… tainted bloodlines.”

And just like that, the name sent bile to my throat.

“Alpha Nuel,” I whispered. “The same monster Samantha tried to defend in court? He assaulted a rogue girl, and she was a child!”

“Yes, yes,” she said with a casual wave of her hand. “But you know how these things go. The rogue was unclaimed. You, however… you’re a Monstera-born. Useful. Fertile. Attractive. And most importantly… available.”

Rage burst in my chest. I lunged. But she didn’t even blink. I was inches from her throat when I hit an invisible wall, no, not magic. Wolves.

Two guards, both huge and reeking of Alpha Nuel’s pack, had stepped between us. I snarled, fangs bared, but they didn’t move.

And then the front door opened again.

I whipped around. My heart dropped into my stomach.

Jason. And beside him, Samantha. And behind them, looming like the nightmare he was, Alpha Nuel himself.

My wolf growled so loudly in my head it made me dizzy.

“Ah,” Samantha said sweetly, stepping forward. Her tone was syrupy and cruel. “There she is. Our little trade token.” She turned to Jason. “Did you explain to her that her sister was the original bargain?”

My blood ran cold.

“What?”

“Your sister,” she repeated. “She was supposed to be the one sold. But she’s missing. Ran off with some rogue male, didn’t she?” She looked at me, eyes glinting with sadistic pleasure. “So now, it falls on you. Her taint makes her worthless. So congratulations, Isabelle. You’re the new sacrificial lamb.”

My throat went dry.

“I told you, she’s dead,” I whispered.

Jason flinched. Samantha didn’t even blink.

“You keep saying that,” she drawled. “But no body, no proof. For all we know, she’s warming another man’s bed, hiding in some forest with a baby on the way.”

That did it. I screamed and lunged again, but this time, Jason caught me.

He gripped my wrists tight, digging his fingers into my flesh. I searched his eyes for mercy, for the Jason I once loved.

All I saw was cowardice. “This is for the best,” he said flatly.

“You’re pushing me into this,” I hissed. “Don’t regret it.”

He shoved me into Alpha Nuel’s waiting arms. I nearly vomited from the scent, old blood, rot, and too many lives ruined.

“NO!” My mother’s voice ripped through the air, wild and full of pain. She darted forward, but the guards caught her.

I looked at her. Really looked. And I gave her a silent signal.

Trust me. Let me go.

Her lips quivered, but she nodded through her tears.

I dropped my resistance and went limp in Nuel’s grip. My wolf whimpered in protest, but I whispered to her, Not now. Soon.

They dragged me out to the armored car waiting outside. I took in every detail, the two guards in front, one behind. The child lock clicked the moment I was thrown inside. No windows that could open. No scent of wolfsbane. Good.

I sat quietly, head down, but my heart was counting.

One. Two. Three.

The trees blurred past. We were on the southern road, the one leading to Nuel’s estate. I knew these woods. I grew up with them. And I also knew where the turns became sharp.

Five. Six. Seven.

The moon peeked out through the clouds. I let my wolf rise slowly, inch by inch. Just enough to change my eyes, feel my claws beneath my skin.

Eight. Nine. Ten.

The guards were relaxed. Stupid.

Eleven.

We hit the bend.

Twelve.

I shifted mid-air.

My body exploded into fur and muscle, and with a snarl, I shattered the car door. The impact threw me into the trees like a ragdoll. Pain tore through my shoulder, ribs cracked, but I didn’t stop.

I ran.

The world was a blur of green and blood and wind. My paws hit dirt and stone, thorns slicing my legs, but I didn’t dare look back. Howls erupted behind me, the guards had shifted, too.

Let them come. These woods were mine.

They were just visitors.

I zigzagged through the narrow trails, dove under the thorned hedges only I could fit through, and leapt over the fallen log where I once carved my sister’s name. My chest burned, but adrenaline numbed the pain.

Faster.

I made it to the hollow tree, the old one with the den Dad used to use when we played hide and seek. I shifted back, blood oozing down my arm, and reached behind the roots.

My bag. Exactly where I left it three nights ago, when I first suspected betrayal.

Inside: a burner phone. Battery low but working.

A message was sent.

Meet me. Airport. Terminal 2. We leave tonight.