LOGINRAPHA OKOYE POV"Change of plans, Hailee—tell the driver to pull into the Valoria Pack Lodge right here," I say, my hand grabbing his wrist to point toward the large stone gate."Wait—why are our boots stopping at a high hotel?" Hailee asks, squinting his brown eyes in total confusion through the cab glass.I shove my fingers through the tangled mess of my rough rogue wig and let out a heavy sigh from my chest. "My wolf needs to pull himself together before we hit the kitchen. If your dad catches my frame looking like a wild swamp rogue, his brain is bound to think you are running around the territory lines with the wrong pack crowd."A bright grin tugs at Hailee’s lips. "Sure, my dad’s got some old-school ideas about the mafia world, but come on, Rapha—your beast has that cool but dangerous alpha vibe going for it anyway. His wolf will totally love you once his eyes see past the messy ink and dark mascara."Despite Hailee’s sweet words, my mind isn't taking any loose chances tonight—
RAPHA OKOYE POV"Is this billion-coin bid a joke, Elder Morgan?" I whisper, my eyes locking onto the skinny messenger wolf who just crushed the entire room's bank accounts.He does not look like a high mafia boss at all. He wears thick glasses, looking more like an old scholar from the pack library than a powerful alpha warrior from a top dominion. There is no heavy beast energy coming off his skin. My nose only catches the scent of cheap forest leaves on his simple wool jacket. He does not fit the picture of a titan who can throw a billion pack resources around like dirty water."The bid stands legal, Alpha Rosa," Clement Morgan says, his fingers trembling as he holds the microphone tight against his chest.The entire hall is buzzing like a nest of angry hornets. Every capo and fighter is dying to know whose shadow is behind those glasses. The skinny messenger stays completely cool like winter ice, a tiny smirk sitting on his lips. His boots do not walk with the heavy stomp of a pack
RAPHA OKOYE POV"Look at them go!" Clement shouts from the main stage.My eyes wide, I watch the two low-ranking wolves tumble across the floor of the Alpha Hall. They do not have their clothes on. They are just in their underwear. One guy grabs the other guy and screams like a mad wolf. He scratches his claws right across the other guy's chest. It leaves big red marks."They look like they are in love or something crazy!" a young wolf in the back row yells.Everyone in the crowd gasps. People pull their chairs back because they are shocked."Get off me!" the first shirtless wolf screams."I will kill you!" the second wolf howls back.They push each other away fast. Then they run out of the big doors. They howl the whole way down the road. The whole room bursts out laughing. My heart beats fast from all the entertainment. Amara Mensah is already gone, so everyone looks at the stage now."I am so sorry you had to see that, Rosa," Clement says to me. He wipes sweat off his head. He look
"Amara, get your dirty paws off that sacred stage right now!" someone shouts fiercely from the center row.The loud shout pierces straight through the air, and in less than three seconds, the whole crowd of warriors takes up the chant. Their voices rise together in a giant, unified alpha roar, demanding that Amara leave the building.If Luciano’s huge disgrace hadn't erupted first, Amara’s bad forgery might have drawn nothing more than a few mean smirks and side-eyes from the elders. But with everyone's tempers already flaring hot, the alliance audience turns completely vicious.Amara’s close connection to Alpha Merritt—the notorious underworld mafia leader of the city packs—usually keeps regular wolves completely quiet. No low-ranking wolf ever dares to stir up trouble with a pup who lives under Merritt's heavy protection. But Luciano’s total disaster stirred the crowd into such a crazy frenzy that their wolves do not care about Merritt's name anymore. They just want Amara out of the
RAPHA OKOYE POV"Pack Enforcers, drag this lying fraud out of our territory lines right now!" Elder Clement Morgan roars into the microphone, his chest heaving with true pack anger as Luciano is pulled away in heavy silver chains.Ethan Brooks walks right behind them, his boots thumping hard against the stone floor as he goes to tell the grand alpha council every single dark secret about the mafia map industry.The entire Alpha Hall looks like a brutal battlefield now. Just a few minutes ago, the crazy crowd of guards and fighters completely lost their minds. They started throwing anything their claws could grab—sticky juice bottles, half-eaten wild apples, and even a heavy leather combat boot. It was open hunting season on Luciano's face.But the most wild part of the whole storm? Some powerful alpha from a rich clan actually threw a shining diamond ring right onto the stage! I stare at the glittering stone where it sits on the wood, sparkling like a funny sign of too many pack resou
As soon as Ethan lifts the metal mic, a freezing silence sweeps through the Alpha Hall. Every single face turns toward his frame, waiting for the strike.Ethan draws in a slow, deep breath into his lungs before letting the words pour out of his teeth. "A decade ago, my boots walked out of the Valoria Ridge Art Academy as the top graduate of the bloodline. Alpha Rosa was my supreme hero. My wolf had big dreams, ready to change the battle maps of the world—until that dirty scumbag Luciano blindsided my life. Luciano was absolutely nothing back then. He was just a low-ranking, broke security guard watching the academy gates, barely able to read the pack laws! But he conned his way into my house, got close to my little sister, then kidnapped her and took disgusting, blackmail photos of her naked body!"Ethan’s voice falters, his jaw locking tight as his chest shakes to keep his wolf from shifting.Loud gasps ripple through the guards like a wave of pure disbelief."Wait—the president was
RAPHA OKOYE"Rapha, close the heavy oak door and take a seat on the wolf skin chair right now," Elder Jabari says, waving his old wrinkled hand with a very strange look on his face.My boots hesitate for a quick second by the wall, but then my fingers pull the door shut until it clicks. I walk acro
RAPHA OKOYE"Rapha, do not think your weak body is untouchable across this territory just because Elder Jabari has got your back in the Alpha Hall," Tade barks loudly across the breakfast table, his fingers gripping his knife like a mad beast. "You are nothing but a lowlife rogue from the trash bor
Elder Jabari Adebayo and Nia Bello’s father, who were seated nearby discussing territory trade lines, paused their heavy conversation to look over at us, their old faces clearly filled with deep concern for the family bloodline.Seth presses his lips together into a hard, straight line, his golden
“Rapha, remember what I told you before my spirit joined the ancestors. Until your twentieth winter, never reveal your true form, your power, or your scent.”Rapha Okoye repeated his mother’s final words in his head as he stared at the cheap, mud-covered rags clinging to his body. For fifteen years







