The clattering of a porcelain cup smashing against the marble floor was always my morning alarm. No alarm clock was needed. The vibration traveling through the ceiling of my servant's quarters—located directly beneath the main kitchen—followed by my stepmother’s shrill screech, was more than enough.

"Iris! Are you deaf?! Do you know what time it is?!"

I bolted awake. My eyes darted to the cheap wall clock ticking away in the corner of my cramped room.

It was 4:30 AM. My body felt utterly broken, a grueling souvenir from spending three hours scrubbing the backyard in the pouring rain last night.

As a hybrid—half-human, half-werewolf—I did not possess the instant healing abilities of a pureblood wolf. The bruise on my shoulder from Victoria’s kick yesterday was still a deep shade of purple, throbbing painfully with every breath I took.

I quickly grabbed a worn, loose-fitting hoodie, carefully adjusting it to hide my neck. In this house, displaying vulnerability was an open invitation for a whipping.

When I arrived in the kitchen, Victoria was already seated at the dining table, wearing her Silverwood Academy uniform with pride. The navy blue fabric, adorned with gold embroidery on the collar, proudly bore the crest of the Gamma caste. Meanwhile, lying on the counter was a drab, dull gray cotton dress—the uniform assigned to hybrids and academy staff.

"Slow," Victoria hissed without looking up from her small vanity mirror.

She was carefully applying a light touch of lipstick, matching her Douyin-style eye makeup which made her look like a fragile porcelain doll. Yet, beneath that exquisite face lay sharp werewolf claws ready to flay the skin off my back at any moment.

"I’m sorry," I whispered, keeping my head bowed. In this Gamma household, I was nothing but an illegitimate child—the daughter of a poor human woman who had died giving birth to me.

"Don't cause any trouble or embarrass me today. You are just my servant, remember that, Iris!" she commanded, emphasizing every word.

She reached for the steaming cup of tea on the table. I caught the sly smirk playing at the corner of her lips right before she intentionally pretended to bump her hand against a flower vase.

Shatter!

The hot Earl Grey tea spilled completely, soaking a stack of papers at the corner of the counter. My heart stopped. It was my assignment. A thick essay I had written by hand until my fingers went numb for three consecutive nights.

"Oh, goodness. My hand slipped," Victoria said, her voice devoid of any actual regret.

She stared at the drenched sheets of my assignment, where the ink was already bleeding into hideous black smudges. "Besides, a flawed hybrid like you doesn't need good grades anyway. This assignment would have only wasted the proctor's time."

With the tip of her pristine shoe, Victoria kicked the pile of wet papers into the trash can in the corner of the kitchen.

My hands clenched into tight fists inside my hoodie pockets. A boiling anger surged deep within my chest. For a split second, I desperately wanted to lung at her and claw her beautiful face.

But suddenly, the suffocating scent of a dominant Gamma's pheromones heavy-pressed the air in the room. Our father walked in.

"What is going on here?" he asked coldly.

"Nothing, Father. Iris was careless again and spilled the tea," Victoria lied, her face a mask of perfect innocence.

Father merely grunted, looking down at me with utter disdain. "Clean it up. Then leave through the back door immediately. Victoria's ride will be here soon, and I do don't want a servant's vehicle blocking the driveway."

Without saying a word, I gathered my ruined papers and walked away.

"Tch, what a disrespectful child." I could still hear Father's muttering behind my back.

Silverwood Academy stood majestically atop the hills, surrounded by a dense pine forest. The Gothic-style architecture gave it the appearance of a grand palace, but inside, it was a brutal battlefield of castes. And every single day, I had to endure the insults and degrading stares of the elite.

As I walked down the corridor, condescending glares pierced right through me. My human side left me without a distinct, powerful wolf scent, causing me to be branded as defective and weak.

Meanwhile, Victoria was instantly swarmed by blonde girls from other noble families. She was highly popular among the nobility, especially the girls.

I quickened my pace, pulling my worn hood lower to escape the whispers that began to hum along the marble hallway.

In this cruel world, my status as a management student in the hybrid class carried a permanent label of servitude. Across the hallway, Victoria laughed gracefully, surrounded by high-born students who doted on her like a princess.

As I stepped into the management classroom, the chatter abruptly died down before giggles erupted from the back rows.

"Look at that. The defective hybrid doesn't even have a spare uniform," sneered a cat-eyed girl, nudging her friend as I walked past their desks.

I chose to ignore them. My main focus was Professor Ibrahim, a notoriously strict instructor who tolerated absolutely zero negligence.

When my name was called, my heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst from my chest. I walked up to the front with heavy steps, presenting the torn, soggy remnants of my assignment, its ink smeared into dark, illegible stains.

"This is my assignment, Professor. I apologize, but my papers—"

"What is the meaning of this, Iris!" Professor Ibrahim cut me off, swatting the wet papers so hard they tore further and scattered across the floor. "This assignment accounts for half of your semester grade. Due to your negligence, you are barred from attending my class today. As punishment, you will clean the entire gymnasium!"

Triumphant snickers echoed from the back benches, and I caught sight of one of Victoria’s cronies smiling smugly from behind the classroom door. They had orchestrated this.

"Sir, I can rewrite it. Just please give me a little more time," I pleaded. This grade was critical for my final semester marks.

"There is no extra time for lack of discipline, Iris!" Professor Ibrahim replied coldly, his voice crushing my last shred of hope.

He turned his back, stepping on the ruined sheets of paper on the floor as he walked away. "Get out of my classroom now, or I will record a failing grade for the rest of this semester."

Muffled laughter erupted again. I could feel the victorious gaze of Victoria's accomplice standing near the exit.

My chest burned with suppressed rage, but I knew that arguing with a dominant pureblood wolf like Professor Ibrahim would only result in a harsher physical punishment for my hybrid body.

Kneeling down, I gathered the shredded remains of my hard work, then walked out of the classroom amidst the sheer satisfaction of those who despised me.

I had to endure this. At least until I finished my studies.

The Silverwood Academy gymnasium was situated in a somewhat isolated area, sheltered by a row of ancient pine trees. The building was vast and chilly, serving as the absolute territory of the academy's ice hockey team—a place dominated by pureblood Alpha wolves and high nobility possessing the highest physical prowess.

An unwritten rule governed the students: never set foot in the hockey team’s lounge unless you wanted to face their wrath.

I exhaled a long sigh, pushing the cleaning cart with weary steps. The work was grueling, especially since the bruise on my shoulder from Victoria's kick had yet to heal.

I needed to finish this quickly so I could get some lunch. I began sweeping the outer corridors, dusting the lockers, until my steps eventually led me to a heavy oak door marked: Team Only.

The door was not fully latched. Thinking the room would be empty since the morning practice had concluded, I pushed it open gently to clean the interior.

A rich, masculine scent instantly assaulted my senses—a potent blend of cedarwood, the crisp cold of ice, and dominant pheromones so powerful they made the hairs on my arms stand up.

The air inside was warm and misty. I walked toward the counter area, intending to wipe down the puddles of water on the floor.

Ssshhhh...

The sound of the shower behind the glass stall suddenly died. White steam billowed into the air, and a second later, a broad-shouldered, muscular man walked out without a single thread of clothing covering his body.

He held only a small towel, using it to dry his wet, pitch-black hair.

My heart stopped dead in my chest.

It was Kael. The crown prince of the Alpha lineage and the most feared captain of the hockey team.

Droplets of water glistened against the broad planes of his chest and his sculpted, rock-hard abs. His jawline looked incredibly sharp through the lingering mist. He moved with an effortless, predatory grace before his striking golden eyes swept over and locked directly onto mine.

For several agonizing seconds, time seemed to stand completely still. I froze, my eyes wide with shock, staring at the naked, raw form of the most powerful figure in the academy—utterly unable to blink.

The moment reality crashed back into my mind, every drop of blood in my body rushed straight to my face.

My cheeks burned with intense heat, flushing a deep crimson from sheer shock and embarrassment. Without a second thought, I dropped the cleaning rag in my hand, spun on my heel, and bolted out of the hockey locker room as fast as my legs could carry me, leaving the heavy oak doors to slam shut with a loud bang behind me.

***

My mind was still utterly consumed by the vivid memory of Kael’s sculpted, naked body in the hockey locker room.

Damn it. Just recalling the way his striking golden eyes had locked onto mine made my cheeks burn all over again. I shook my head violently, forcing myself to focus on the pop quiz in my financial management class this morning.

I needed a perfect score on this quiz to salvage my grades, which had plummeted solely because of Victoria's antics yesterday.

The classroom was deathly quiet, filled only with the soft scratching of pens against paper. Seated in the middle row, I drowned myself in rows of accounting formulas. However, my focus was suddenly shattered when I sensed a shadow shifting to my right.

A Beta student from a minority pack leaned blatantly toward my desk, his eyes darting wildly as he tried to copy my answers right under my nose.

I let out an irritated sigh, sliding my exam sheet away and shielding it with my palm.

Turning my head slightly, I warned him in a sharp whisper, "Don't look at things you aren't supposed to see."

"Don't look at things you aren't supposed to see, huh?"

A deep, commanding voice laced with thick sarcasm suddenly echoed from the row directly behind me. The voice was so incredibly close that his warm breath brushed against the nape of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

My heart dropped. Freezing in place, I slowly turned my head.

There, leaning back casually in his chair, was Kael. He was lazily spinning an expensive pen between his long fingers, wearing an oversized team hockey jacket.

His golden eyes stared directly into mine, burning with an intense mix of amusement and heavy intimidation.

How on earth was the crown prince of Alphas in this classroom? Wasn't he an upperclassman?

Kael leaned forward slightly, holding my gaze with a mocking smirk. "The same rule applies to you, sweetheart. You shouldn't have looked at something you weren't supposed to see, either."

My face instantly caught fire, flushing a deep crimson all the way to the tips of my ears. His words were a blatant reference to my mortifying intrusion into the locker room yesterday afternoon.

"You?" I gasped under my breath, quickly snapping my gaze back to the front as my heart hammered violently against my ribs.

At that exact moment, the rest of the class finally noticed Kael’s presence. The quiet room erupted into chaos as students began whispering his name, staring at him with eyes full of absolute adoration.

Kael slid out of his seat and strolled toward the exit. Just as he reached the threshold, he paused, casting a mocking glance back at me. Slowly, he raised his hand to show me what he was holding.

"Is that—?"

My breath caught. How did he get his hands on my mother’s heirloom pendant? Had I dropped it yesterday?

That afternoon, the moment my management classes ended, I was forced to make my way toward the academy's ice hockey arena.

As soon as I stepped through the grand entrance of the rink, a deafening roar of voices slammed into my senses.

The rink was encircled by massive, towering tiers of bleachers, and right now, the venue was packed to the brim with hundreds of spectators. Most of them were noble female students from high-ranking packs.

"Kael! Kael! Kael!"

The chants shook the very rafters of the arena, echoing louder each time the figure wearing jersey number 01 glided across the ice with terrifying speed.

Kael was a magnificent sight in the center of the rink. Clad in his full hockey gear, the protective shoulder pads making his frame look even broader and more dominant, he maneuvered the puck with lethal agility.

I stood near the barrier of the lower stands, wrapping my worn hoodie tightly around myself to ward off the freezing chill rising from the ice. Just as I adjusted my hood, Kael executed a powerful slap shot, sending the puck rocketing into the top corner of the opponent’s net.

The stands instantly exploded into hysterical shrieks. Among the chaotic crowd, I spotted Victoria standing at the very front of the VIP section, cheering loudest of all with eyes full of absolute worship.

Suddenly, amidst the deafening cheers chanting his name, Kael dug his skates hard into the ice. His blades scraped the surface, sending a spray of white crystal frost flying into the air.

He spun around, unbuckling and pulling off his helmet. His damp, sweat-glistened black hair fell messily across his forehead. Ignoring the crowd's mounting hysteria at the sight of his face, Kael's sharp golden eyes scanned the arena entrance until his gaze locked onto mine the exact second I stepped foot inside.

Kael stared at me from across the ice. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of adoring spectators, he raised a single gloved hand and casually tapped his chest—right over the spot where my mother's pendant lay hidden beneath his jersey.

An arrogant, victorious smirk played on his handsome lips. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that as long as my most precious possession was in his hands, I couldn't run away.

Damn him. He is absolutely ruthless.

Suddenly, I felt a wave of hostile, piercing glares directed at me. Driven by a sense of impending dread, I glanced up at the stands. Sure enough, Victoria and her inner circle of sycophants were glaring down at me with pure venom.

I immediately spun on my heel, intending to leave the arena as fast as my legs could carry me. The warning bells in my head screamed at me to flee from the wrath of Kael's fan club. The last thing I wanted was to deal with girls who would inevitably blame me for his attention.

I had only managed to walk a few yards away from the arena gates when three of Victoria's lackeys blocked my path, cutting off my escape and dragging me by force into a deserted girls' restroom at the corner of the sports complex.

Thud!

They threw me violently onto the cold tile floor. A second later, Victoria sauntered in, shutting the heavy oak door and locking it from the inside. Her beautiful face, usually adorned with flawless Douyin makeup, was twisted into a terrifying mask of rage.

"You really don't know your place, do you, Iris!" Victoria hissed, stepping closer while her cronies pinned my arms behind my back. "How dare you even breathe near Kael? Do you honestly think your pathetic, disgusting silhouette belongs in his line of sight?!"

Before I could utter a word, one of her friends grabbed a bucket of freezing tap water and dumped it directly over my head.

Splash!

The ice-cold water drenched me completely, making my worn hoodie cling heavily to my skin.

The biting chill instantly pierced through my hybrid body, which lacked the extreme temperature resistance of a pureblood wolf.

Before I could even gasp for air, a brutal kick landed squarely in my stomach, followed by a violent blow to my right shoulder—right over the dark purple bruise Victoria had given me at home. An agonizing pain throbbed through my body, making my vision temporarily blur.

Yet, I didn’t make a single sound. I simply let myself fall onto the wet restroom floor.

Slowly, I lifted my head, brushing my wet black hair away from my face. I stared straight into Victoria's eyes.

There were no tears. There was no fear. My expression remained ice-cold, flat, and entirely hollow—as if their physical blows were nothing more than mere mosquito bites.

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" Victoria shrieked, her voice cracking with pure frustration. Her inner wolf felt deeply insulted because her dominant aura failed to make me tremble. "Cry, you idiot! Beg for my mercy! Admit that you're just a defective hybrid who doesn't deserve to live!"

"Beg me for your life," Victoria sneered, prompting her friends to break into cruel laughter.

But I remained silent. There was nothing funny about this. Why should I beg them for my life when I survived solely on my own strength?

Seeing me remain completely unfazed and silent only seemed to provoke Victoria's rage further.

Losing all control over her temper, she raised her right hand high, channeling the full strength of her wolf as she swung a violent slap aimed directly at my face.

Whoosh!

Victoria’s eyes widened in sheer shock as a hand suddenly clamped down around her wrist, halting her mid-swing.

***

"Damn it, let me go, you filthy mutt!" Victoria spat, pulling violently at the arm I held in my grip.

I didn't just let her go. Instead, my grip on Victoria’s wrist tightened, pressing down on her pressure points until her fingernails turned stark white.

"Let me go, damn it!" Victoria shrieked once more, her eyes flashing a dangerous crimson from a volatile mix of fury and pain.

She attempted to swing her left hand to claw my face, but before her sharp talons could even extend, the restroom door behind us suddenly shattered into splinters.

Crash!

The heavy oak door buckled completely, ripping off its hinges and slamming onto the floor with a deafening roar. A dense, freezing gust from the outside immediately rushed in, violently dispelling the damp warmth of the restroom.

Along with the cold, a sharp, suffocating aura of a high-tier Alpha’s pheromones flooded the entire space, instantly seizing the lungs of everyone inside.

Victoria’s friends, who had been pinning my arms just seconds ago, instantly released their grip and dropped straight to their knees. Their bodies trembled violently, utterly unable to withstand the crushing pressure of such a massive Alpha aura.

I let go of Victoria’s wrist, letting her stumble backward as she gasped for air.

Standing in the ruined doorway was Kael.

He was still wearing his hockey jersey, but this time, the mocking smirk was entirely gone from his face. His golden eyes swept over the room with lethal intensity.

His gaze slowly lowered, taking in the overturned bucket, the puddles of water on the floor, and finally landing on my drenched form and the dark purple bruise on my shoulder, which lay exposed through my torn hoodie.

"K-Kael?" Victoria whimpered, her voice instantly softening into a meek whine. "Help me, Kael. She... that mutt is bullying me," she sobbed, taking a step toward Kael, who stood completely still.

"Don't touch me," Kael barked coldly as Victoria reached out to grab his arm.

I knew exactly what Victoria was doing. She was trying to win Kael’s sympathy by twisting the facts and painting me as the abuser. How utterly pathetic these pureblood wolves could be.

Kael walked right past Victoria, leaving her frozen by the blunt rejection. His Alpha pheromones continued to roll off him in heavy waves, sending Victoria’s friends scrambling backward in sheer terror until their backs hit the wall.

The prince stopped right in front of me. Looking down, he took in my disheveled, soaking-wet appearance from head to toe, his jaw clenching tightly.

"You really are a handful, sweetheart," Kael muttered under his breath. His voice sounded as sarcastic as always, but he immediately stripped off the thick hockey jacket draped over his shoulders and tossed it over my head.

"Kael! Why are you helping her?!" Victoria shrieked from behind, her voice cracking with pure frustration. She couldn't accept that the man she worshipped was giving his attention to the illegitimate sister she hated most. "She attacked me first! She intentionally trapped me in here!"

Kael turned around slowly. His golden eyes locked onto Victoria with a gaze so chilling it practically froze the air in the room.

A cruel, mocking smirk carved its way onto his handsome lips. "Attacked you?" Kael chuckled darkly, a sound that sent a shiver of pure intimidation through the air. "She’s completely alone, she's the one who looks like a total mess, and you girls have her outnumbered. How on earth could she attack you and trap you in here? Don't make an absolute fool of yourself," he said, emphasizing every single word.

Victoria was silenced instantly, her face turning pale.

Without giving them another glance, Kael turned back to face me. His grip felt incredibly solid and warm as he grabbed my arm to pull me out of there.

"Come with me," Kael commanded, leaving no room for argument as he led me right past the shattered restroom door.

I had no choice but to resign myself to his strength and follow him, entirely ignoring the venomous, vengeful glares Victoria shot at my back.

"Enough!" my voice flared, successfully halting Kael's steps in front of me.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at me. "What?"

"This is far enough," I said, pulling his jacket off my shoulders and thrusting it back to him. "Now, give me back my pendant."

"No," Kael replied casually.

I stared at him in utter disbelief. "What do you mean, no? It’s mine. Give it back!"

Instead of complying, Kael crossed his arms over his chest, letting the hockey jacket hang loosely from one of his forearms. His golden eyes stared straight at me, scanning my dripping wet body from head to toe before locking back onto my gaze.

"Do you honestly think I walked into a ladies' room, destroyed a door, and rescued you from those annoying wolves for free?" Kael took a deliberate step forward, closing the distance.

"I never asked for your help. I could have handled it myself."

"Oh, really? And yet, you managed to walk out of that place because of me, didn't you?" he countered. I couldn't deny it; he was right.

"Regardless, I thank you. But please, just give me the pendant," I pleaded, holding out my hand.

"I can't do that," he said, a thoroughly infuriating expression crossing his face. If he weren't the future Alpha, I would have punched him right in his handsome, smug face. "Consider this pendant collateral."

"Collateral for what?!" I snapped, fighting to keep my voice from rising.

"Collateral for laying your eyes on my priceless body. You do know, don't you, that an Alpha's body isn't meant to be seen by just anyone? Especially someone who isn't his fated mate," Kael replied, a sly, predatory glint in his eyes.

My eyes widened as a surge of disbelief washed over me. What kind of ridiculous excuse was that?

"Are you insane?!" I hissed, completely unable to contain my annoyance this time. "It was an accident! The instructor punished me by making me clean that room, and I had absolutely no idea you were in the showers!"

Instead of backing off, Kael merely arched an eyebrow, thoroughly enjoying every spark of fury radiating from my face. He took another step forward, closing the gap between us until I could smell the rich, masculine scent of his skin.

"Accident or not, your eyes saw everything, sweetheart," Kael whispered deeply, his playful smirk shifting into an intense gaze that entirely pinned me in place. "And in my world, everything requires accountability."

"I refuse to take accountability for something so indecent! Give me back my pendant!" I thrust my palm right in front of his chest, demanding the precious heirloom that belonged to my mother.

Rather than answering, his gaze drifted down to my drab, soaking hoodie, which clung tightly to my skin and revealed the deep purple bruises beneath the torn fabric. Ignoring my protests entirely, his large, powerful hands moved swiftly to take the heavy hockey jacket and forcefully drape it back over my shoulders.

This time, he pulled both sides of the collar forward, gripping them tightly to ensure I couldn't rip it off again.

"Wear it and stop being so stubborn. Your hybrid body will freeze to death before you ever manage to take this thing back from me," Kael commanded, his voice sharp and laced with the absolute authority of an Alpha.

He released his grip on the collar and turned on his heel to lead the way. "Come to my lounge. Clean yourself up and tend to those bruises. Once you look more like a human and less like a drowned rat, then we'll talk about this pendant."

I clenched my fists inside the oversized sleeves of his hockey jacket. This man was incredibly sarcastic, stubborn, and always did exactly as he pleased. However, watching his broad back as he walked away, I knew it was pointless to argue with a dominant wolf in my current, weakened state.

With extreme reluctance, I took a breath and followed him.

Kael stopped in front of a heavy teak door carved with the emblem of a golden wolf. He swiped his keycard, causing the electronic lock to emit a soft click, and pushed the door open.

"Get in," he ordered without looking back, walking straight toward a mini-counter inside the room.

I stepped inside hesitantly, my eyes scanning the vast, luxurious space. It was the epitome of a crown prince Alpha's quarters. However, my attention was quickly brought back as Kael turned around and tossed a small first-aid kit and a clean towel onto the couch in the center of the room.

"The bathroom is on the left. Change your clothes into one of the shirts in that closet, then treat your bruises," he said in a curt, utterly unwelcoming tone. "Oh, and get out of here the moment you're done. I have to leave. We'll talk about the pendant another time."

"Hey—" Before I could even voice my protest, he had already sauntered out. What an incredibly infuriating, self-centered man.

I let out a long sigh, my gaze falling back onto the clean towel resting on the sofa.

I had just arrived back at the estate of Gamma Julius, my father. I had intentionally left Kael’s jacket back at the lounge and hadn't changed into his clothes. It would have been far too dangerous to return home wearing his things.

Besides, I knew trouble was already brewing, considering the chaos that had unfolded at the academy.

Slap!

A brutal, heavy backhand struck my left cheek with full force.

The impact was so powerful it sent my body reeling, crashing hard onto the cold marble floor. A searing heat burned across the skin of my cheek, followed immediately by the metallic taste of blood welling up at the corner of my lips.

***