Four boys stand at the edge of the courtyard, framed by sunlight. Students back away
instantaneously, scattering at the sides.
These are the Alpha sons.
Heidi recognizes them immediately. Of course she does. Anyone who’s spent even a day researching Duskwind Pack Academy, as she desperately has, knows their names, faces, and power.
They are legends. Sons born of the Alpha’s three wives.
First is Amias Bellamy; the eldest. silvery blond-haired and silver-eyed, every inch of him oozes confidence and cruelty in equal measure.
Beside him stands Darien, the son of the Alpha’s second wife. He’s tall, dark-haired, and has eyes that share the same color as storm clouds before a downpour. He doesn’t smile because he doesn’t need to. His presence speaks enough.
And then the twins; Grayson and Morgan, born of the third wife. Heidi read about how their mother used to be a notorious rogue who turned into the Alpha’s mate. Grayson’s demeanor and appearance shout ’elegance’. Morgan is broader, rougher, and with the look of a mischievous personality who could even laugh in the middle of a bloody fight.
Heidi knows their names. But no amount of reading prepares her for what it feels like to see them.
Somehow, locking eyes with them jolts something inside of her—something deep. Her skin prickles. Her heart betrays her by slamming with a thud that echoes in her ears. There’s a burn in her chest, a heat she doesn’t understand, one that curls through her veins like smoke.
What the hell?
The bond—though she doesn’t know it yet, is there. It’s raw, thrumming, and growing from the second she lays eyes on them. She doesn’t know she’s theirs. But they do. All four of them turn to her at once. And their world... falls apart.
Darien’s eyes narrow just a little. Morgan stiffens. Grayson’s hand twitches at his side. And Amias... Amias actually stops chewing his gum.
Heidi’s breath rises.
She doesn’t understand what she’s feeling, only that it’s wrong. Too strong and too sudden. Her instincts scream at her to run, to kneel, or crawl into the earth... but her body won’t move.
Darien takes a step forward, only for Amias to subtly extend his arm and stop him. The silent conversation between them is quick.
They exchange a look, as though he’s saying: No, not here.
Heidi doesn’t know what passes between them, but the unease is clear. The boys exchange glances, and then, like flipping a switch, Amias turns back to the crowd.
"Party’s over," he reprimands. "Touch another omega and I’ll start cracking teeth like walnuts."
There’s a moment of shocked silence. No one expects the unbothered Alpha sons to get in the way of bullying... not to mention a mere omega at that. The Alpha sons never really cared. But right now, there is a hungry fire in their eyes which makes the seniors back away, muttering apologies with their eyes down.
Amias grins. "That’s better."
Darien’s glare sweeps the courtyard like a laser. "If you’re bored, go chase your tails somewhere else."
Morgan cracks his knuckles, adding casually, "Try that crap again, and we’ll find out how fast your regeneration really is."
The students scatter. Even Gold Eyes vanishes, dragging his pride like a leash behind him. Heidi is still on the ground, dazed, with her cheek throbbing and her palms scraped.
The Alpha sons have helped her... why? She is even dazier than anyone else. Her whole body feels naked and vulnerable just lying there on the floor.
"Thank you." She mutters, lowers her gaze, and expects them to leave.
But Grayson steps forward. His shoes click softly against the stone, and he crouches beside her, graceful and silent as dusk.
Up close, his eyes are startling. They’re a dark forest kind of green, and they are entirely on her.
W-why?
Heidi’s heart thumps painfully. He extends a hand. The burn in her intensifies. She is, at first, hesitant to take it. However, knowing who they are, she knows not complying will get her in more trouble than the latter. Hence, she reaches out.
Her fingertips barely brush his. And then... he drops his hand. Heidi loses balance and falls, catching herself with her elbows, scraping both on the rough pavement. Gasps echo around them.
Amias chuckles from behind Grayson. "Oops."
Morgan laughs. Darien rolls his eyes and turns away, already done with the scene. Grayson stands slowly, brushing absent dust from his pants. And just like that, they begin to walk away without a backward glance or a word or an apology.
They just laugh. As though humiliating her further was the highlight of their day. She hasn’t even done anything to them. They don’t even know her!
She is wrong to think they were trying to help her. They were only rubbing it in!
Heidi clenches her lips, still on the damn ground. The pain isn’t the worst part—it’s the humiliation. Her fingers clench into fists on the concrete. Her face burns with something that isn’t the slap anymore.
Bastards! she curses inwardly. Whilst fuming, Heidi sees the most beautiful girl she has ever set her eyes upon striding across the courtyard like a runway has been laid out just for her.
She is Lira Auden. Valedictorian. Class president. Daughter of the richest Beta family in Duskwind. Rumored future Luna. And, according to every desperate forum comment Heidi has read, Amias’s girl.
She wears the uniform like it’s been tailored for her bones. Black stilettos. Diamond studs. And that unmistakable aura of superiority.
Lira shot Heidi a long-lasting blank stare that gave nothing away about her internal thoughts before walking right past her crumpled body on the floor and straight into Amias’s space.
He doesn’t resist as she leans in, whispers something in his ear, and then presses a kiss to his smirking mouth. Heidi’s stomach twists. It pains her to see that subtle kiss. Why does she care? She doesn’t know him. She doesn’t own him. And yet... There it is. That ugly thing. That jealousy. That hot and mean stinging feeling. She hates herself for feeling it. Hates them for making her feel it.
As if they could read her thoughts, the four Alphas turn to her suddenly.
"Know your place, Omega," spits Morgan.
"We don’t ever want to cross our paths with you, or you’ll hate what we do to you." Amias added, exchanging a dirty look with the rest of his brothers.
Heidi nearly chokes on her own spit. These assholes are so unbelievable! They bully and now what? Insinuating they could do something more... to her?
Ugh! It irks her to even think of it. Her forehead creased into angry lines. She just can’t believe her ears!
Lira is now at Amias’s side like a crown jewel, and together they disappear into the main building; laughing, beaming, satisfied with their first display of the rejection of the unbelievable attraction they feel toward the disgusting human-turned-werewolf.
Heidi just lies there, dumbfounded. Wondering why her heart knots more from watching them walk away with another girl than from their cruelty toward her. How can they even do that after saving her from the other seniors? It’s as though they’re making a statement: She is ours alone to bully and trash. No one else’s.
Suddenly, the ambiance in the courtyard changes again, and Heidi realizes something else. The attention she’s gotten from the Alpha sons? That isn’t going to fade. It’s made her a target.
The whispers start before she can even pull herself up.
"Who the hell is she?"
"Why did the Alphas stop for her?"
"Was that Grayson Bellamy who helped her up? Why her?"
"She’s not even pretty."
"She’s a nobody omega."
And then come the vultures. A circle of girls who are sharp, shiny, and dangerous closes in. Heidi recognizes them as Sierra’s glittering clique, plus a few more who smell like floral perfume and trouble.
One girl wears a gold pin shaped like a crescent moon. Another has her nails painted red like blood.
"Well, well," says one. "Little Miss Nobody got the Alphas to notice her."
Heidi stays silent. Her body aches, and her dignity is somewhere in the gravel.
"What’s your trick? You got a love potion in that hoodie or just really low standards?" another asks.
Heidi tries to stand, but a foot presses down on her backpack. She looks up to see Sierra. Of course.
"Oh no, sweetheart. You don’t get to walk away after that show," Sierra purrs.
Heidi’s voice is dry as she groans amidst the pain. "What show?"
Sierra’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes. "You think I didn’t see it? Them looking at you like you mattered? That was supposed to be my moment."
Heidi blinks. "I didn’t ask for it."
"But you got it," Sierra snaps.
The girl with the crescent pin adds, "We’ve been busting our asses for years, and you trip into their path like a clumsy stray and they notice you? No. Uh-uh. That’s not how this works."
They shove her hard enough to draw blood from her nose, kicking and tugging at her hair like they might rip it right off her scalp.
Heidi screams in pain, thrashing her arms here and there to free herself from their feet, but they were too many and too strong for her.
The kicks just keep on coming, landing on her stomach, nose, face... everywhere.
"Arghhhhh!" Heidi groans in pain as she coughs out blood. "Please."
After five more minutes of severe beating, Sierra and her friends walk away, leaving her on the spot.
Heidi stares at them as rage burns like lava in her. She licks the blood dripping from her mouth, wishing she could shift like the rest of them, come at them with her bare teeth, and snap back.
But she isn’t strong enough yet. According to what she’s read, their wolves are still in formation. She still possesses the healing ability as her wounds start to close up.
So she swallows the rage, presses it deep, and says nothing. This isn’t because she’s weak—but because she’s waiting. Because something inside her whispers: Soon.
It’ll be a Herculean climb, but she’ll do it. She’ll rise, rip that top student title right out of Lira’s hands, and make every single person who ever looked down on her regret underestimating her. Starting from Sierra...