Prologue
Connor tilted his head, crooking a knuckle under my chin to examine my face. “You're pretty, Gemma, I suppose. Just don't look at me while we do it. Blue eyes unnerve me."
I contemplated snapping at his fingers stroking my cheek. But no, I had to bide my time. I knew why Raisa had given me her knife and offered me up to Connor.
Be a wolf. Be an actor.
The last thing I saw as the double doors closed behind me was Raisa's terrified face and her lips mouthing the words, 'Do it.'
Do it. Kill him.
“Remember," Connor murmured, eyes raking me up and down as if I was already naked, “this is what you are here for. It's why you came. To protect your… cousin, was it?"
I swallowed hard. How did he know?
“Very selfless of you." Connor started to lower himself, his face coming closer until I went cross-eyed. “Close your eyes, she-wolf. Whatever I do to you, it will be a pleasant surprise."
Could I do it? Could I try to kill Connor Herrick, the Beast of the West, the war ruler who decimated most of the West? I was half-naked and crushed beneath the most dangerous shifter in the world. Little Opal Springs me had agreed to this like a stupid, reckless pup, thinking it would be an adventure. Visiting beautiful places, living luxuriously, all with a handsome, doting male.
Oh, how wrong I was to dream of that.
The knife slipped out from under me and onto the floor with a dissonant clatter.
Oh, no.
Connor locked his gaze on mine. A moment ago, his eyes had been hazy with lust. Now they were crystal-sharp with controlled fury.
Do it.
***
“Gemma!"
I hit the floor mat with a grunt and a flare of dull pain. One moment, I was facing Cari, the next I was staring up at the ceiling that I was sure wasn't supposed to be spinning. “Ouch."
A hand reached out for me to take. I took it, hauling myself up with Cari's help. After she steadied me and my vision wasn't doubled, my best friend laughed. “You're supposed to block a punch, remember?"
“I'm vaguely aware," I said, fighting a smile to match hers. “Usually opponents don't try to crack inappropriate jokes before they attack—at least, that's what I've heard."
Cari rolled her eyes and pulled me to the sidelines of the Epsilon training room where more two-on-two practice combats were going much more successfully. We sat on a bench so Cari could dab my raw cheek with a damp cloth. I hissed at the contact, but the sting came and went.
I went to thank her when she said, “You've been distracted lately, Gemma. Are you okay?"
I blinked, knitting my brows at her. “Of course, I'm okay. I haven't been distracted. What would I be distracted from anyway? I wake up, I go to school and train, go home, eat, sleep, and do it all over again."
She knitted her brows back, not surprised by my bitter tone. This wasn't the first time I'd complained about the monotony of my life. “I don't know. You just seem… off."
I contemplated telling her about the repeating dream I'd been having for the past week. Cari Maayan was my best friend, and though we shared the same blue eyes and long, sandy-blonde hair, we weren't sisters. But we were just as good as.
Meaning, that she knew me as well as myself and knew when something was bothering me.
I sighed in defeat. “I've been having this weird dream the past few nights. I can't really describe it—there's not too much to describe. All I remember is a moon over a desert and the sand is all bloody, in a thin line that kind of looks like a long ribbon. And there's...." No matter how many times I dreamt it, the details were still fuzzy, and nothing really happened. “There's a shadow walking toward me… but that's all."
“Hmm." Cari seemed to think hard. “That's very ominous. You know, it could be a sign."
“A sign?"
“Well, maybe you could find your m—"
“You two! Stop chatting!" We jumped when the Epsilon trainer shouted, stalking toward us, his voice sharp. “Brooks! What are you even doing here? Just because Alpha Barun is your uncle does not mean you can sneak into lessons—"
I jumped to my feet. “I know I didn't make the cut—"
“No," said the trainer barked, “you didn't, and your father reminds me of that every week."
My jaw clenched. “And do you remind him that I'm just not made to go charging into the war—"
The trainer stopped me with a hand. But his tone softened to exasperation. “The war in the West changed the entire world, Gemma. We all grew up with it—twelve years is half of your life. By now, it's clear that you aren't equipped for leaving the East. but that's alright. Most of your cousins didn't get accepted either—"
Ever since the rivalry between the two largest packs of the West, the continent across the wide ocean, flared into a full-out war, every young shifter in the East, even little old Opal Springs, was forced to learn the ways of a warrior—how to fight and protect their family and their pack—with the potential to join the Epsilons, the elite military force formed to defend pack borders. Each pack had one, and their members were fiercely trained and equally loyal to their Alpha leader.
And if you failed to complete more than three trials within three years, you could say goodbye to any of your hopes of becoming a defender.
My body and mind just weren't made to be a soldier. After failing all three trials, I was left with the only other choice for those who'd failed: settle down and do nothing.
That was overexaggerating, but that was how I had always viewed it.
“They're the Beta Haveleok's pups," I pointed out. “They're the royal family, in case you weren't born knowing that. They don't need to be a part of the army that defends them."
“Gemma," scowled Cari, elbowing me.
I shrugged and shook my head. “Sorry. I just… I'll take my leave."
I started to walk away when Cari caught my arm. I looked back at her with an immediate rush of gratitude. “I'm coming with you."
Together we washed up and changed into clean clothes before leaving the training hall connected to the school. The pack's training academy towered over the small forum that was the heart of Opal Springs, my loveable yet tiny and sequestered village. All ages and studies were housed inside; including everything from sewing lessons for pups to Epsilon training.
I credited the school with the best and worst years of my life, but my hard work was close to paying off: any day now, I would be offered a teaching position in Oceantide pack's capital city, Lyrehaven. It was huge, full of opportunities and hundreds of other shifters, and miles and miles away from here. And most temptingly: adventure. Life outside a sleepy little town? Obviously, I would accept without hesitation.
We stepped out onto the sandstone street that was already baking in the summer heat. It was a beautiful morning; the sky was pale blue and cloudless, gulls cawing overhead, sailing on their white wings toward the Blue Sea. That was the one perk of being in such a small town; it was secluded away from the West and away from invaders.
I closed my eyes and breathed in the salty air. It took away my negative emotions just as the wind carried the gulls. When I opened them, Cari's hand was outstretched for me to take.
I matched her smile and took her hand as we headed to grab a snack of bacon strips and sit on the edge of the massive circular fountain with a howling wolf in the center spouting water, not minding the heat of the stone, and eavesdropped on the group of young females on the other side chattering.
“Did you hear the Whitetooth Beta's daughter was sent to be a breeder for Rosewren's Alpha?" one said in a hushed voice.
“Really?" another gasped.
“Lucky," a third sighed dreamily. “Risay is so handsome."
“And she's so pretty. Imagine how beautiful their babies will be."
Whitetooth to Rosewren—that I admired. That was a four-day trip by train from another small town to the grand City of Roses. I'd never been there, but the talk of their rose wine was enough for me to want to pack up and head out the first chance I got.
I munched on my bacon strip and glanced at Cari doing the same, her face tipped up toward the sun. “Being a breeder for a handsome faraway Alpha would be a great excuse to see… well, anything," I said.
Cari choked on her bacon and stared at me with wide eyes. “You? A breeder?"
“Say it with more judgment, why don't you?"
“You're the last wolf I'd imagine settling down to have pups for some haughty pack leader."
I shrugged, unoffended by the callous remark. “If I please him enough I can get him to take me anywhere. Think of all the places we've heard of and never get to visit! I wouldn't have to be judged for not making the Epsilon cut. I could still be a teacher, couldn't I?"
My thoughts ran wild with possibility. I wouldn't be a Luna alongside whichever Alpha it was, which was perfectly fine, but I'd be pampered in luxury, able to roam villages or cities, and all I'd have to do was produce an heir or two. I never imagined having pups unless I'd found my fated mate, but it was a small price to pay for an entirely new life of freedom.
“Besides," I continued, “maybe he could end up being my mate."
Cari hummed. “Maybe. It's happened before, I think."
My excitement fizzled when I registered her serious tone. My best friend's head was suddenly hung, shoulders slouched. It sent a shock of dread down to my soul's core—because this was not my best friend. Cari was not born to hang her head in any negative emotion or let her shoulders be anything but confident.
Unlike me, Cari was built to be—and was—a warrior through and through. She passed Epsilon training with flying colors and was chosen to join the force by the Beta without hesitation. In fact, she was the top student. I never envied her; I only supported her strength and determination.
So it rattled me to see her suddenly sad and meek.
“Who are you and what happened to my best friend?" I demanded, taking her hand.
Cari skewed her mouth; she was holding back tears.
My heart lurched. “What's wrong?"
“My parents died in the war."
I knitted my brows. Her parents had both been high-ranked Epsilon warriors ten years ago but had died aiding Oceantide's ally, the Sun Mountain pack, against the Hazel Coast pack. “Yes…?"
“And you know it's been a year since I was chosen. They still hadn't given me an assignment." Cari looked up at me and swallowed hard. “Well, they gave me one yesterday."
I squeezed her hand. “Well, you hid these tears pretty good. Where are they sending you?"
I dreaded asking the question and dreaded the answer even more.
Cari opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a wail of despair echoed through the courtyard. Someone came flying out from between two buildings, fleeing across the entire square toward Beachside. I almost ignored her had I not registered it was Lynn.
I jolted to my feet to run after her without thinking.
Cari snatched my wrist to stop me and protested, “Hey, this is important, Gemma. It can't wait."
“I know, I know," I said hastily, watching Lynn disappear around the corner, “but that's not good."
“Your cousin's as impulsive as you are, Gem," Cari said, voice now edged. “She's sixteen. Whatever it is, it's probably something she'll get over by the end of the day."
My gut told me it wasn't 'nothing.' It was true; Lynn was rebellious and overdramatic most of the time, so fleeing from somewhere in tears wasn't too out of character, but something felt very wrong.
I tugged free of Cari's grip, making her gasp at the audacity. “Sorry, Cari. I have to check on her. I'll be right back, I promise."
“Gemma—"
But I was already sprinting down the street after Lynn. At the last second, I caught sight of her swerving off the street onto a sand path toward the beach. I followed—and nearly blew right past her.
She hid behind a tree trunk. I skidded to a stop. “Lynn?"
My cousin yelped and then clamped a hand over her mouth. “Gemma?"
“Yeah, it's me." I hid with her and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “What happened?"
She sniffed and didn't hold back in saying, “I've been sold."
“What?"
“Sold," she repeated furiously. “As a breeder!"
“To who?" I was too speechless to say much else; my thoughts were warped with disgust and shock. “You're only sixteen!"
“I don't know. I ran away before the Alpha could tell me. Gemma, I don't want to go! I can't! I won't." Lynn was sobbing now.
And I didn't blame her. Our own uncle, Barun, had sold his niece—his youngest one, no less—for what? Money and protection, likely. I had no problem calling our Alpha the same as most of the others: power-hungry and desperate, and it was only heightened by the war. Selling Lynn—“offering" her, he'd probably phrased it—must have some beneficial gain.
My family sickened me.
It was a lightning-quick realization.
But not as fast as the words from my mouth. “I'll go. I'll take your place."
I had no way of knowing if I would regret those words more than anything—or if they would lead me right to my destiny.
