Chapter 1

Leah hid behind the curtain, eyes locked on the podium. Her fingers dug into her skirt so hard her knuckles went white.

Up on stage, Blake gave his speech without rushing, completely at ease.

As the only Omega in the whole department, Leah's seat should have been in the back corner. But she couldn't help it. She had snuck away to hide in the spot closest to him, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst out of her chest.

The crowd broke into thunderous applause. Leah clapped along, her vision going blurry as tears rolled down her face.

Only she knew how much it had cost her to get this close to him. To earn her place at this school.

Blake was the youngest Valedictorian in St. Helena Academy's history, heir to a high-ranking Alpha bloodline.

Leah looked up at him and felt smaller than dust.

When the speech ended, Leah scrambled out from behind the curtain. She grabbed a random seat and sat down in a panic, terrified someone might notice her.

All around her, Beta and Alpha freshmen chattered excitedly about the welcome dance that evening. About whether Blake would show up. Whether he might ask someone to dance.

"I heard he doesn't have a bonded mate yet," a Beta girl in the front row whispered, her voice bright with hope. "Apparently he's waiting for his fated mate to show up."

"Please. An Alpha like him can have anyone he wants."

Anyone he wants.

Those words drove into Leah's chest like a blade.

She lowered her head, her fingers brushing the folded letter through her skirt pocket. Pale blue paper. She had spent several sleepless nights writing it, and tucked inside was a single moonlight petal.

He's not shallow, Leah told herself. He's not the kind of person who judges someone by their rank or status.

He's different.

The memory came rushing back. She had been sixteen, newly brought home from the orphanage by the Winter family.

The Winters had three daughters, all Betas. They looked down on Leah for being an Omega and bullied her whenever their parents weren't around.

When they found out Leah would be attending the same school as them, the eldest sister stomped on the back of her hand in a rage. Leah sucked in a sharp breath but didn't dare make a sound.

"Omegas are trash!" The eldest loomed over her. "You can't even manage a basic shift, and you think you belong at our school? You're only good for a brothel, learning how to serve Alphas!"

They laughed.

Leah bit her lip and fought to hold back her tears. She couldn't cry in front of them. It would only make things worse.

"Stop!"

A deep, magnetic voice came from nearby.

The three sisters spun around and froze.

Leah looked up to see a tall figure walking toward them. His eyes were dark and intense, his features sharp and striking. His Alpha presence pressed down so heavily she could barely breathe.

The eldest sister immediately pulled her foot back, her face going pale. "Blake, what are you doing here?"

Hearing that name, something stirred in Leah's memory.

Blake was the future heir to the Cole Pack, and the ideal mate the three sisters often whispered about behind closed doors.

"I didn't realize the eldest daughter of the Winter family could be so cruel in private." Blake's face was unreadable.

"It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding…" Seeing things going south, the eldest sister grabbed her two younger sisters and fled.

Blake walked over to Leah and crouched down, his movements surprisingly gentle.

"Are you alright?" His eyes moved over her swollen hand and dirty skirt, his brows pulling together slightly. "Do you need a doctor?"

Leah shook her head, barely able to believe what was happening.

An Alpha was actually helping her?

Blake took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

"An Omega shouldn't be here alone."

He didn't know Leah was the Winter family's youngest daughter. He must have thought she was a classmate of the three sisters. His voice was gentle, almost advisory. "Bring a friend next time."

"I don't have any friends." Leah looked down, her cheeks burning.

Blake was quiet for a moment. Then he reached out and helped her pick up the books scattered on the floor.

"Then make one." He handed them back to her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "I'm Blake Cole. If you ever need anything, we're friends now."

He turned and walked away, his figure disappearing down the hallway.

Leah hugged his jacket to her chest and breathed in the faint scent of cedar. Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

That night, she folded the jacket and set it beside her pillow. For a long time, she couldn't bring herself to give it back.

Later, she learned that Blake was something of a legend at St. Helena. Top three in Alpha bloodline ranking, top grades, a future with no ceiling.

And she was just an Omega everyone looked down on — one who couldn't even shift, who had barely scraped her way into St. Helena on written exam scores alone.

Everyone had told her to give up.

"An Omega at St. Helena? Have you lost your mind?" Her mother hadn't even looked up when she said it. "You'll only embarrass this family."

But Leah didn't give up. Because St. Helena had him.

When the new semester started, she enrolled with standout scores in emotional perception. She was the only Omega in the entire department. Everyone else was a Beta or an Alpha.

The professors looked at her like she was some kind of mistake. Her classmates kept their distance, as if getting too close might rub off on them somehow.

She didn't care.

As long as she could see Blake on campus, it was all worth it.

The welcome ceremony ended and the crowd started to thin.

Leah took a slow breath and slipped her hand into her pocket, fingers touching the folded letter.

On it, she had written with every bit of courage she had:

Dear Blake, thank you for what you did for me three years ago. You changed my life. If you're open to it, I'd love to thank you in person.

— Leah Winter.

Leah got up and followed the crowd out of the auditorium, scanning the sea of faces for Blake.

She spotted him near the side entrance, surrounded by a group of upperclassmen. Every move he made had this effortless, natural polish to it.

Leah tightened her grip on the letter and walked toward him. She was only a few steps away when a voice cut through the noise.

"Blake! There you are!"

A tall girl came striding over, dark brown curls framing a strikingly beautiful face.

Leah recognized her. Cecily — noble Alpha bloodline, reportedly a longtime family friend of the Cole Pack.

Cecily's eyes landed on Leah and moved over her slowly, her expression shifting to something like mild surprise. "Aren't you that… the only Omega in the department? What was your name again?"

"Leah." She kept her voice steady, stealing a glance at Blake. "I was looking for Blake…"

"Oh?" Cecily tilted her head, a smile on her face that had a sharp edge to it. "And what do you want with him?"

A few of the upperclassmen nearby started snickering.

Leah's face went hot. Her fingers were crushing the letter now, and she wasn't sure anymore whether she should keep going.

Then Blake turned around. His eyes landed on her, calm and unreadable. And when he spoke, her heart dropped.

"Who are you?"