Chapter 1 The New Girl At Crescent High

• If there’s one thing worse than being the new girl, it’s being the new girl everyone already decided to hate.
• Crescent High looked like something out of a glossy movie—tall iron gates, redbrick walls, banners fluttering with the school crest: a silver wolf beneath a full moon. Fitting, since most of the students here weren’t exactly human.
• My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I stepped through the gates. Every nerve in my body buzzed. The scent of rain and pine filled the air, mixed with something... sharper. I could sense them watching—wolves hiding in plain sight.
• “Nice backpack,” a voice sneered behind me.
• I turned just in time to see her: Vanessa Lockwood. Blonde, flawless, and cruel in that effortless way only girls with too much power could manage. Two other girls flanked her like loyal shadows.
• “Thanks,” I muttered, keeping my eyes down.
• She smirked. “You’re Scarlet, right? The transfer from Ridge Valley?”
• I nodded.
• “Cute. Let me give you some advice, Ridge Girl—stay away from the Stone brothers.”
• Her tone dropped like a warning. The name hit me harder than it should have. The Stones. Everyone at Crescent talked about them—Liam and Lucien Stone. The twin alphas-in-training. Handsome, untouchable, and dangerously charming.
• I forced a laugh I didn’t feel. “Why would I—?”
• Vanessa leaned closer, perfume heavy in the air. “Because Liam’s mine.”
• And with that, she brushed past me, her shoulder knocking into mine. I stumbled, catching the faint scent of lavender and venom.
• By third period, I’d already learned three things:
• Everyone here was obsessed with pack hierarchy.
• My seat was apparently “Vanessa’s spot last semester.”
• And Liam Stone looked nothing like I expected.
• He walked in like he owned the air—tall, dark hair, the kind of eyes that caught the light like smoke over amber. Every girl’s gaze followed him. When he passed my desk, something inside me shifted. A pulse under my skin, deep and unexplainable. My breath caught.
• Mate.
• The word flashed in my mind before I could stop it. My wolf stirred, whispering, It’s him.
• But just as fast, he walked past me without a glance, sitting beside Vanessa. She gave me a triumphant smile, her hand resting on his arm.
• The sting in my chest was immediate, confusing. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe my wolf was wrong.
• Lunch was worse.
• I sat alone under the oak near the back of the courtyard, picking at my sandwich while laughter floated from the crowded tables.
• “You look lost,” a low voice said.
• I looked up. For a moment, I thought it was Liam again—but this one’s presence was different. Colder. More intense. His eyes weren’t amber—they were steel grey, like a storm about to break.
• Lucien Stone.
• He studied me, silent for too long, before saying quietly, “You shouldn’t walk around here unguarded.”
• I frowned. “Is that a threat?”
• He tilted his head, unreadable. “A warning.” Then he walked off before I could ask what he meant.
• A shiver ran down my spine.
• By the end of the day, Vanessa’s group had “accidentally” spilled juice on my notes, and Liam still hadn’t looked at me twice. I told myself it didn’t matter. I was here to keep my head down, survive senior year, and get out.
• But the universe—or the Moon—had other plans.
• When the final bell rang, the sky cracked open with thunder. I hurried out, clutching my bag, and that’s when I felt it—pain. Sharp, piercing pain that wasn’t mine. My wolf whimpered inside me.
• Someone was hurt.
• I ran toward the woods behind the field, my shoes sinking into wet earth. Lightning flashed—and that’s when I saw him. A shadow between the trees, his shirt torn, blood running down his arm.
• “Liam?” I gasped.
• He wasn’t looking at me. His eyes glowed gold, fangs bared, growl low. “Stay back, Scarlet!”
• Before I could move, another figure blurred through the rain and slammed into him. Lucien.
• “Get her out of here!” Lucien roared. His voice shook the air, Alpha-deep, commanding. For a second, his gaze met mine—and everything froze. The forest, the storm, my breath.
• Because in his eyes, I saw it. That same pull, that same spark that burned through my chest the first time the Moon chose me.
• Not Liam.
• Lucien.