I could barely breathe. I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes as I threw my arms around him, my heart bursting with joy. “Yes,” I whispered, over and over. “Yes, of course.”

I was on cloud nine. After a year of carefully hiding my true identity as the princess of the Wilderford werewolf clan, I finally felt ready to tell him everything. I was ready to share my world with Rowen, to bring him into the life I’d kept hidden for so long.

But everything fell apart the moment that woman appeared in our lives.

I sat curled up on Rowen’s couch, flipping through a magazine without really seeing the pages. The familiar scent of his apartment—leather, cedar, and the faintest hint of his cologne—usually brought me comfort, but today, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I couldn’t shake. Rowen had been distracted lately, his attention slipping away whenever I asked about his day or plans. But I told myself it was just a rough patch, nothing more.

Rowen was in the kitchen, fiddling with something on the stove when there was a sudden knock on the door. Rowen darted me a quick, unreadable look before he opened the door.

Standing in the doorway was a woman I’d never seen before. She was striking, with long, wavy auburn hair and eyes that glittered like green glass. Dressed in a fitted leather jacket and worn jeans, she exuded casual confidence, the kind that turned heads without trying. Her gaze swept the apartment before landing on Rowen, her lips curving into a smile that seemed both warm and familiar.

“Rowen,” she said, her voice smooth and laced with something unspoken. “It’s been a while.”

Rowen’s face shifted, his guarded expression melting into something I couldn’t quite place—relief, maybe, or a bittersweet kind of familiarity. “Alecia,” he said, his tone tinged with surprise. “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

Alecia. The name was new to me, a sharp intrusion into the quiet space Rowen and I had carved out for ourselves. She walked in without waiting for an invitation, her presence commanding the room as if she belonged there. Rowen stepped aside, letting the door close behind her, and I felt my stomach twist with an uncomfortable knot of uncertainty.

Alecia’s gaze flicked to me, lingering just long enough to make me feel exposed. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had company,” she said, her tone casual but with a hint of something sharper beneath it. “I’m Alecia, by the way. Rowen and I are childhood friends.”

I forced a smile, trying to ignore the way my wolf was prowling beneath my skin, uneasy and on edge.

“Eliana,” I replied, keeping my voice polite. “Nice to meet you.”

Alecia looked at Rowen again, and the familiarity between them was palpable, like a thread connecting their pasts that I couldn’t quite see. She turned her attention back to me, her smile never wavering, though there was something almost assessing in her eyes. “I just got back from abroad,” she explained, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve been gone a long time, and… well, things didn’t exactly go as planned. I don’t have a place to stay right now, and Rowen was kind enough to let me crash here until I sort things out.”

Darlene snarled inwardly, a low growl of warning that echoed in my chest. I didn’t like this—didn’t like her sudden appearance, her easy confidence. I could feel the tension thrumming between us, but Rowen was watching me, his expression expectant, as if waiting for my reaction.

“You’re welcome to stay,” I said, forcing the words past the lump in my throat. I hated how much it cost me to say them, to swallow my unease and play the accommodating girlfriend. But Rowen had already agreed, and I didn’t want to be the one to cause a scene. I wanted to trust him, to believe that this was just a harmless favor for an old friend.

Alecia’s smile widened, but there was something about it that set my teeth on the edge. “Thank you, Eliana. I promise I won’t be in the way. It’s just temporary, really.”

Rowen squeezed my hand briefly, a silent reassurance that only made the doubt gnaw at me harder. I nodded, trying to ignore the way my wolf paced in frustration.

“It’s no trouble,” I said, even though every instinct was screaming that it was.

Alecia moved past me, her presence filling the space in a way that made it feel smaller, more suffocating. Rowen followed her, offering to help with her bags, and I sat there, staring at the spot where she had stood. I could still feel the lingering chill of her gaze, and the uncomfortable weight of Rowen’s silence.

I knew Rowen had a past—I wasn’t naive enough to think I was the first person to capture his heart. But something about this felt different like Alecia wasn’t just any old friend. I wanted to ask him, to press him for the truth, but I held back. I didn’t want to seem paranoid, didn’t want to give voice to the unease clawing at me from the inside out.

As the evening wore on, Alecia made herself at home, chatting with Rowen in a way that spoke of years of familiarity. I watched them from the sidelines, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest. Rowen laughed at her stories, his eyes bright and relaxed in a way I hadn’t seen in weeks. They spoke in half-finished sentences, their inside jokes and shared history forming an invisible wall between them and me.

I forced myself to smile, to be the picture of calm even as doubt ate away at my resolve. But deep down, I knew this was only the beginning of something that would change everything. My wolf’s unease wasn’t going away—it was growing, its instincts screaming that Alecia was more than she appeared. And as much as I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the first crack in a foundation that I had believed was unbreakable. But for Rowen’s sake, I stayed quiet.

The morning sunlight filtered through the kitchen window, casting a warm glow across the room. I hadn’t expected Alecia to be up so early, let alone cooking. The smell of sizzling bacon and eggs filled the air, but it did nothing to ease the knot tightening in my chest. Now, as I walked into the kitchen, I found Alecia humming softly, wearing one of my dresses—the pale blue one with the delicate lace trim that Rowen always said he loved on me.

The sight of her in my clothes made something snap inside me.

“That’s my dress,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm even though Darlene was already growling low in my mind. The wolf was furious, her claws raking against my control, demanding to be let loose.

Alecia turned to me with an innocent smile, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind,” she said, her tone light and airy, but her eyes glinted with something far more sinister. “I didn’t bring many clothes, and Rowen said it was fine.”

Of course, Rowen had said it was fine. Why wouldn’t he? After all, Alecia could do no wrong in his eyes. But the sight of her wearing my dress and moving around my kitchen was like watching a stranger lay claim to my life. I crossed my arms, my heart thudding painfully in my chest.

“You should have asked,” I said, my voice was sharper than I intended. “It’s one thing to borrow clothes, but that dress… it’s personal.”

Alecia shrugged, turning back to the cutting board where she was slicing tomatoes. “Relax, Eliana. It’s just a dress. It’s not like I’m stealing your whole closet.”

But it wasn’t just the dress. It was everything. The way she had wormed her way into Rowen’s life, into our life, and made herself at home. The way Rowen looked at her and talked to her like she was the only person in the room, was getting on my nerves.

I stepped closer, the tension between us crackling like static. “You’ve been overstepping since you got here, Alecia. First, it’s my clothes, then my space. What’s next?”

Alecia’s smile faltered, and she turned to face me fully, her expression shifting from playful to something far darker. “Maybe Rowen’s next. Isn’t that what you’re really afraid of?”

I stiffened, my breath catching in my throat. Darlene snarled, and I felt her anger surge, hot and wild. Alecia’s words hit their mark, cutting deep. She was right—no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I was terrified of losing Rowen. Terrified that everything we’d built was slipping through my fingers, and Alecia was just waiting to take my place.

Before I could respond, Alecia flinched, dropping the knife she’d been holding. It clattered to the floor, and she yelped, clutching her hand. Blood welled up, bright red against her pale skin, and she glanced up at me, eyes wide with a mix of pain and malicious glint.

“Eliana!” she cried, stumbling back as if I had lunged at her. “I—I didn’t mean to—”

I stepped forward, more out of instinct than concern. “Alecia, I didn’t—”

But before I could finish, Rowen burst into the kitchen, his eyes darting between us. His expression darkened when he saw Alecia’s bleeding hand. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, his voice sharp and angry.

Alecia, ever the actress, turned to him with tears brimming in her eyes. “It's my fault... Eliana was angry because of the dress and accidentally pushed me. I—If I knew she would be this mad, I wouldn't have borrowed it.”

My mouth fell open in shock. “What? That’s not true! I never touched you!”

But Alecia’s tears had already done their work. Rowen’s face twisted with fury, his gaze flicking to me like I was the enemy. “What the hell is wrong with you, Eliana? I've never thought that you're so vain you can’t even let someone borrow a stupid dress!”

Darlene roared in my head, and I felt the sting of his words like a slap across the face. “Rowen, you don’t understand—”

“No, I think I understand perfectly,” he snapped, stepping between Alecia and me like he was protecting her. “You’re jealous. You’ve been jealous from the start, and now you’re taking it out on her. Well, I’m done with it.”

Before I could defend myself, Rowen’s hands shot out, shoving me back with a force that caught me off guard. I stumbled, my feet tangling beneath me as I tried to regain my balance, but it was too late. The corner of the table loomed up, and I felt a sharp pain as my head collided with the edge.

Everything went white for a second—a blinding, searing pain that shot through my skull and sent me sprawling onto the cold, hard floor. I lay there, dazed, my vision blurring as the room spun around me. I could hear Rowen’s frantic voice and could see the outline of Alecia leaning into him, her head buried in his chest like she was the one who had been hurt.

My heart twisted, and in a moment of desperate defiance, I let myself go limp, feigning unconsciousness. I thought maybe, just maybe, it would make Rowen realize what he’d done, that he’d crossed a line. I thought he’d rush to my side, that he’d see how wrong he was to believe Alecia’s lies.

But instead, all I heard was his panicked voice, his hands fumbling to steady Alecia. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry—I should’ve never let it get this far.”

I lay there, my head pounding, my heart aching even more. Rowen’s attention was all on her, his voice filled with concern that I had once believed was only reserved for me. He didn’t even look at me, didn’t check if I was hurt. I was nothing more than a background noise in Alecia’s carefully orchestrated drama.

Darlene’s fury simmered inside me, her presence coiling tighter and tighter. I wanted to scream, to lash out, to tear down the fragile façade that Alecia had built with her lies. But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything but lie there, feeling the cold tile against my back, the bitter sting of betrayal cutting deeper than any wound.

Rowen’s voice faded, his words a dull hum as he guided Alecia away, fussing over her like she was the one who had been wronged. Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them back, refusing to let them fall.

I had never felt so alone.

Slowly, I sat up, wincing at the sharp pain in my head. I pressed a hand to the back of my head, feeling the wet warmth of blood against my fingers. It hurt, but not as much as the sight of Rowen’s retreating figure, his arm wrapped protectively around the woman who had taken everything from me.