Chapter 1

BRIELLA.

The world had a way of reminding me I was nothing. That I didn’t exist. That was what the world had beaten into me over the years.

My family.

My pack.

They whispered and mocked me, always finding different ways to tear me down. They were creative. I had to give them that. But I survived because it was easier that way. Easier to go unnoticed than to be hurt. At least that was what I forced myself to believe.

“Briella,” Mom slurred quietly.

My eyes squeezed shut as I attempted to, for just one moment, be anywhere else. When I finally looked, there she was—slumped in her favorite chair, a worn blanket draped around her shoulders like she'd forgotten it was there. The bottle of vodka sat on the side table, half-empty, catching the dim light. It took a lot to get werewolves drunk, which was telling. However, some people added wolfsbane to it for it to act quicker.

If it wasn’t drinking, it was taking pills. She claimed it was the only way she could cope with her screwed-up life.

“You’re late again.”

Same shit. Different day.

I didn't look up. There was no point. She noticed the dishes weren't done, noticed when I tracked mud on the kitchen floor, noticed every time I came home past sunset. But she didn't notice the bruises on my ribs from the she-wolves who cornered me in the hallway. Didn't notice I'd stopped eating lunch at school. Didn't notice the scholarship letters hidden under my mattress or the way I flinched when she raised her voice. I had learned that she wasn't someone who could protect me, so I learned how to protect myself. The moment I heard her soft snoring, I slid out the back, trying not to make a sound.

It was peaceful outside, which I took a moment to enjoy.

The hierarchy was simple: if you weren't born into power or warrior bloodlines, you stayed invisible. And invisibility? That was survival.

Let me introduce myself.

Briella Hart — almost eighteen, senior year, and the girl everyone overlooked unless they needed homework help. I was a bookworm, and I owned it. I loved getting lost in other universes, other lives. But more than that, I loved having control. Knowing exactly where I was headed.

Kensington University was my escape route. I'd worked my ass off for a full-ride scholarship, and I wasn't stopping until I had it. This wasn't just about education. It was about building a life on my own terms. One where I didn't have to hide or hear about what a disappointment I was.

I wasn't one of those girls chasing power or rank or mates. I wanted autonomy first. Everything else could wait.

So for now, I kept my head down and prepared for the future. One that'd be as far away from this place as possible.

Fate, like Karma, was a mighty fine wench. But we’d get to that later on.

'How about we go for a run,' Tala suggested hopefully.

She gave me a wolfish grin, dancing from paw to paw in my mind. I felt her presence bloom inside me. The familiar warmth was the closest thing I had to unconditional love. She was the one constant in my life that never failed, and I absolutely adored her. Loyal. Fierce. Ever the optimist with that glass-half-full kind of personality. And beautiful too! Sleek gray fur and cobalt-blue eyes that carried themselves like royalty. Proud. Unshaken. Wild.

A run sounded perfect. She wanted the exercise, and I needed the escape.

I made my way to the covered overhang behind the house, where I could undress in private. Clothes were casualties of shifting. That was one of the downsides of being a werewolf compared to some other shifters whose clothes reappeared on their bodies when they shifted back. If only we'd be that lucky.

I shed my clothes and let the change take over.

Tala emerged with a deep arch to her back, her claws digging into the ground as the shift completed. The cool breeze whipped past her as she took off running, that familiar freedom flooding through her body. Wolves loved the speed, the power, the wildness of it all.

After running hard for a while, she detoured and headed over to Moorehead Lake. It was a bit off the trail and not the most popular place in our territory. However, it was the most beautiful one. The bright moon reflected off its smooth surface, and the refreshing water soothed her parched throat.

Goddess, it was incredibly peaceful out here, which was why we always came to this spot.

The sound of something moving inside the treeline made her ears twitch. It was soft but undeniable. Her body remained still as she pretended to be none the wiser, wanting to know who the culprit was. Her peripheral vision caught the movement. At first, it took a moment to zone in on him because of how perfectly his black fur blended into the shadows. Well, how almost perfectly. Rich black fur covered a body that was ripped with pure muscle. His presence radiated authority and power, which was common for Alpha-blooded individuals. It demanded attention and accepted nothing less.

Neither of them moved at first. A new tension thrummed in the air, and not one that we were used to. He’d never paid mind to Tala before, but the way his copper eyes looked over her, as if drinking in her presence, filled her with butterflies.

Ryder Landon, his human, always caused me the same butterflies even though I’d never admit it out loud. I had carried around a secret for years about Ryder. One that I’d sworn to carry to the grave. I had a crush on him. A hopeless, ridiculous one.

It was stupid, really. I knew it. I’d attempted to dismiss repeatedly but had no such luck.

Ryder was the Alpha heir of this pack. Untouchable. Commanding. He was the guy whom people noticed the moment he entered the room. Almost everyone either wanted to be him or be with him.

And me? I was the exact opposite.

He could have first pick of the hordes of she-wolves who flocked around him. They were the ones who’d do anything for even an ounce of his attention. Who used their beauty as a weapon and went after what they wanted without pause. The kind who belonged in his world.

It always played out the same way, leaving me to pretend that my heart didn’t speed up each time he looked at me. Or how I secretly wished it’d linger.

The sound of him moving towards us brought our attention back to the present. His eyes remained fixed on Tala as if she were the only thing he cared to look at. Her entire body stiffened and looked at him for another moment, feeling some unease mixed with curiosity.

Then she turned around and dashed off, leaving him behind.

Long gone was the calm serenity that we’d been feeling. The weight of his stare remained even after he was no longer present. There was no telling what he wanted, or if he wanted anything at all. Axel had never approached us before, just as his human hadn’t. Ryder Landon had never looked at me. Not once in all the years that I'd harbored this stupid, hopeless crush. I was invisible to him, just as I was invisible to everyone else.

But Axel had looked at Tala. Really looked. And that changed everything.

Neither of us could shake the feeling that something had shifted tonight as she ran away…