Chapter 1

"A wolf-less RUNT has no place in the Alpha bloodline."

I was my elite family’s greatest shame. A weak, forgotten reject, tossed into the freezing border woods and left to be torn apart by Rogues.

But when their claws pierced my flesh, the pain didn't kill me.

BLINDING LIGHTNING erupted from my veins, and the terrifying monster that had been sleeping inside my blood finally awake.

"They have no idea. They just awakened the last pureblood STORM QUEEN..."

......

"Evelyn Drake. Your time is up."

The High Priest’s voice was as cold as the black stones surrounding the altar.

Tonight was my 18th birthday — my Awakening.

For an Alpha’s daughter, this was a coronation. For me, it was a trial.

I took a breath, my bare feet stinging against the jagged rock.

Below me, my parents—the Alphas of the Storm Pack—watched with predatory greed.

For eighteen years, they’d pushed me harder than any warrior, molding me into a weapon for this exact moment.

One minute passed. Two.

My bones didn’t snap; no fur sprouted from my skin.

"Evelyn Drake," the Priest announced, his voice echoing in the dead silence.

"Failed. No wolf found."

The crowd erupted into a chorus of disgusted sneers.

"So much for the 'Chosen Genius' prophecy."

"What a waste of resources."

"A literal parasite."

Then, my cousin Acacia stepped up.

She had shifted earlier that evening into a rare, ethereal White Wolf. She slithered toward my fiancé, Blake, leaning into his chest.

"Poor Evelyn," she purred loud enough for everyone to hear.

"A woman without a wolf doesn't even have the right to mate. You’re just... human trash now."

I looked at Blake. He was the Storm Pack’s strongest warrior. My childhood protector. My supposed mate.

He didn't say a word. He simply shifted his gaze away, as if looking at me was an insult to his status.

As I walked away, head high while my world crumbled, the Priest’s eyes burned into my back.

"Strange," he whispered.

"Unless... something far more terrifying is suppressing her."