Chapter 1

• Riley's POV
• "You gave Blackmaw Pack's Alpha daughter Tessa false information. You lured her into the Black Forest, and now she lies in a coma after being mauled by Rogues. You deserve to die."
• I froze.
• Maddox-my mate-stood in front of me, his voice like ice, his eyes filled with contempt. Behind him, peeking from the safety of his shoulder, my adoptive sister Scarlett watched me with a victorious smile.
• She did it. She set me up.
• But no one cared.
• Tessa was found on the brink of death, her body bloodied, surrounded by signs of a violent Rogue ambush. The scent markers left behind pointed to one culprit-one of Alpha Alaric's daughters from the Ebonclaw Pack.
• Everyone knew there were two.
• One was Scarlett, the sweet, perfect daughter raised under Luna Zara's gentle care, groomed for Pack leadership, adored by all.
• The other was me.
• I'm Riley.
• The daughter who disappeared fifteen years ago. The one raised by Rogues.
• Three years ago.
• The Ebonclaw Pack raided our Rogue settlement. Their Alpha stepped into the clearing, caught my scent, and froze. He said I smelled like his "little pup."
• He took me back.
• And then it came true.
• I had a father. A mother. A tall, handsome Alpha brother-Kael Vale. A real family.
• But the little princess wasn't me.
• It was Scarlett.
• The girl they adopted when I vanished. The Beta-born child a seer had claimed could "heal" my mother's grief. She was accepted as their own, cherished without question.
• And when I returned, they didn't want to choose.
• So they simply didn't.
• I was tolerated. A ghost in the family mansion. A name without a place.
• And worse, I was incomplete.
• My wolf-my birthright-barely stirred inside me. Sometimes, I could feel her pulse in my blood, like a whisper. But mostly, she slept. And that made me weak in their eyes. Unworthy.
• So when someone had to be blamed for Tessa's suffering, they all looked at me.
• Because Scarlett? She would never.
• But me? A rogue-born, half-wolf disgrace? Of course I would.
• I turned to Kael-my brother.
• He had been the first to arrive at the scene of the attack. I had followed right behind him, just in time to see him stoop, pick something up, and quietly slip it into his pocket.
• I saw what it was.
• Scarlett's earring.
• The same global limited edition he gave her when she shifted for the first time.
• He knew.
• He knew the truth.
• So I looked at him now, heart pounding, throat dry, begging for just one word. One truth. One shred of loyalty.
• "Kael..." My voice cracked. "You too?"
• He stared at me, and for a moment, I saw the conflict in his eyes.
• Then he exhaled, looked me dead in the face, and said, "Even now? Still lying when you're already as good as dead?"
• My heart shattered.
• I didn't even have time to react before Alpha Ronan charged forward.
• His boot connected with my stomach, and I flew across the floor like a rag doll. Pain exploded in my ribs, sharp and burning, like every bone inside me had been cracked in half by his Alpha strength.
• I gasped for air and looked up-at my father, Alpha Alaric.
• He stood still, expression unreadable, eyes locked on me like I was nothing.
• Beside him stood Luna Zara. My mother.
• I pleaded with my eyes, silently begging her to step forward. To say something.
• She hesitated.
• And then looked away.
• Another kick came. Then another. I curled into myself, not from fear, but from despair.
• "Send her to the Werewolf Prison, waiting for the verdict of the Werewolf Court." Ronan snarled, his voice layered with Alpha authority that burned against my skin like acid.
• My breath caught in my throat.
• No.
• Anything but that.
• I had never been to the Werewolf Prison, but I'd heard the stories. Torture. Chains. Madness. No sunlight. No mercy.
• Death would be kinder.
• Two warriors grabbed me by the arms and began dragging me across the ground. My knees scraped against the dirt, and tears welled in my eyes-not from pain, but from betrayal.
• From Maddox.
• From Kael.
• From them all.
• Then Ronan crouched beside me and leaned in close, his breath brushing my cheek like frostbite.
• "I'll make sure someone takes good care of you in there," he whispered. "For what you did to my sister."
• And just like that, my last hope died.