Chapter 1

Katherine

You know how some people have no idea what they want to do with their lives? Well, this is not my case. I know exactly what I want to do, how I want to do it, and where I want to be.

The problem is that this has a price. Although I enjoy being with my family and the safety of my pack, after a week at home, I need to get back to training at the hospital.

I’m proud to be part of the Three Trees Pack. It’s a small pack and a little challenging to access, but it’s where my family is, so saying goodbye to my parents has always been difficult.

I’ve been training at the Diamond Claw Pack Hospital for two years now because we don’t have a hospital that big in the Three Trees territory.

Every farewell always comes with many tears for my mother, but not for my older brother Dustin and my father. Still, I can see in my father’s eyes how much he holds back the tears so he can look strong. I miss all of them.

But I’m not going to lie; part of me also counted down the days to return to the Diamond Claw Pack. My training at the hospital there fills my days. They are tiring days with a lot to be done and learned. It is also full of achievements because for me, helping all those people makes me very happy. So, what do I want to do with my life? It is precisely that — finish my training at the hospital and, go back to my pack and be able to make a difference there.

A nagging sense of unease washed over me as we entered Diamond Claw, feeling a strange heaviness in the air. There was something off, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but I dismissed it as a preoccupation.

We’re almost near our building, the dimly lit street seemed unusually quiet and deserted, sending a chill down my spine. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that we were being watched, but I brushed it off as mere paranoia.

“Katie, wake up. We’re almost there,” I was awake, but Jake’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts. His usually cheerful tone held a hint of tension.

Jake is like a brother to me, we’re the same age, and he’s my father’s Beta son. Since we were kids, we have done everything together. It was super normal for us to move in together when we were 18, and we decided to leave our pack to come to the Diamond Claw Pack.

We don’t have the same training. While I work at the Hospital, Jake works at Elite Training Center. His training regimen is not just a mere display of brute force. It’s specific training in infiltration, territory reconnaissance, and other things he can’t reveal. Jake knows me better than anyone; we’ve always been very close. His parents thought I would be his fated mate, and it turned out that when we were 15, the age at which you meet your wolf, we had two surprises.

The first surprise was that we weren’t mates — which made our parents very sad.

And the second surprise was that while Jake received Zyon as his wolf, I didn’t gain anything. Nothing!

No! Wait, I did… I gained months of sadness and a deep feeling that something was missing in me. Maybe it’s because I want so much to have a wolf to call my own that I never expected I couldn’t have one. So, as you can already guess, I’m just a human.

At the time, I was very frustrated and cried for months, but in the following months, I accepted my situation. My mother thought it was because my grandmother was human. I never met her, she died before I was born.

Being human and living among wolves is the biggest challenge of all. No one appreciates you, and you must work twice as hard to prove your worth. That’s why, even though everyone at Three Trees treated me with great affection, I always pushed myself to be the best version of myself. I always tried as hard as I could, with excellent grades and excellent performance in everything I did. After all, the last thing I want is for everyone to look at me with pity because the Alpha’s daughter is not only wolfless, she also doesn’t know how to do anything.

Humans are considered weak, and because of that, I had to beg my parents from the age of 17 to 18 to let me come to Diamond Claw, and they only accepted it because Jake was coming along and living with me.

I glanced out the window, my heart racing as I tried to spot any figures hidden in the shadows that might be some sign of danger, that could be some explanation for this strange feeling I had… But I can’t see anything wrong.

Well, even if there were some hidden figure lurking in the shadows, my human eyes would not be able to see it.

“I’m awake, but let me stay like this a little longer,” I said with my head on his shoulder, trying to hide my growing unease, but deep down, I knew something was off.

“I know you like my strong shoulder,” he emphasized the ‘strong’, and I smiled, “But we have to leave. Open the door, and I’ll get the bags,” Jake said as he stopped in front of our building.

Is he feeling what I’m feeling?

Despite his lack of words or visible reactions, I have a strong conviction that he reciprocates my feelings. I can sense that he is acutely aware of his surroundings, and his behavior is carefully crafted to mask his true emotions.

“Okay, boss,” I said as I took the keys from his hand.

As we stepped out of the car and made our way toward the entrance, an icy breeze swept through, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. I cast a wary glance over my shoulder, feeling a sense of impending danger that I couldn’t shake off.

Inside the apartment, an unsettling silence hung in the air. The atmosphere felt charged with an unspoken threat, and every creak of the floorboards made my nerves jangle with apprehension. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I whispered to Jake, my voice trembling slightly, barely audible above the palpable tension.

He nodded, his usually carefree expression etched with concern. “Stay close to me, Katie. Something doesn’t feel right.” His gaze fixed on something outside the door, and I followed his line of sight.

And then it happened.

Suddenly, the tranquility was shattered by the sound of the door being broken into. The door swung wide open, and two wolves stormed into our apartment, their evil intent evident in their eyes.

The peaceful night I had expected turned into a restless one. Time seemed to slow down as chaos erupted around me. Fear clenched at my chest, and instinct screamed at me to run, to hide, but there was nowhere to escape. One of the intruders lunged at me, his forceful push sending me crashing to the floor. The impact took my breath away, and pain shot through my body.

Why are they attacking us? I thought as I lay on the floor.

From the ground, I watched in a haze of confusion as the attackers closed in, their menacing grins filled with sadistic pleasure. Panic surged through me as I realized the gravity of the situation.

But then, like a beacon of hope, Jake sprang into action. He shifted, and with lightning speed and fierce determination, he fought off the intruders, his strength and skill on full display. The room became a chaotic battleground, with growls, crashes, and the unmistakable sound of violence.

Time seemed to blur as I lay there, my heart pounding in my ears, unable to do anything but watch as Jake fought for our lives. The violence and danger in the room were overpowering, fueled by a mixture of fear and adrenaline. Even with all the training in the world, I am unable to immobilize a wolf.

And just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Jake’s unwavering defense turned the tide. He fought with ferocity and precision, which left the attackers stunned and defeated.

As the chaos subsided, Jake shifted to his human form, one of the rogues was already dead, and the other was so injured that he also had to shift to human form. Jake’s gaze hardened as he turned his attention to the incapacitated rogue. He approached him, his voice low and filled with simmering anger.

“Why did you attack us?” Jake demanded. That was exactly what I wondered a minute ago, his tone cutting through the tense atmosphere.

The rogue’s eyes darted nervously between Jake and me, fear mingling with defiance. “You were an easy target. The girl,” he sneered, gesturing towards me, “with her being human and all, we thought it would be a walk in the park.”

My blood ran cold as his words sank in. They had targeted us because of my human presence, using me as a vulnerability to exploit us. Anger surged within me, but I held it in check, my focus fixed on the unfolding interrogation. There’s not much I can do, but I felt terrible knowing that Jake was attacked because of me.

Jake’s jaw clenched, his grip tightening around the rogue’s neck. “You think you can just attack because I have a human companion? You chose the wrong target.”

Jake’s expression darkened, his eyes blazing with fury. At that moment, I saw a side of him I had never witnessed before — the ferocity of a protector pushed to his limit.

Without another word, Jake swiftly delivered a lethal blow, silencing the rogue forever. The room seemed to hold its breath as the reality of what had just transpired settled upon us.

Finally, as the last intruder crumpled to the ground, the room fell silent, except for the sound of our ragged breaths. Jake kneeled before me as he took a blanket from the sofa to cover his body. His chest was heaving, a mix of relief and concern etched on his face.

“Are you okay, Katie?” he asked as he saw blood from the wound on my arm, his voice laced with genuine worry. I must have cut myself on something when I fell, but to be honest, my spine is hurting a lot more.

I nodded, my body trembling as I tried to process the harrowing ordeal we had just endured. But I mustered a faint smile, “I’ll be fine, Jake.” I reassured him, my voice betraying the anxiety that swirled within me, but I had to remain composed, for Jake’s sake.