Chapter 1

The courtyard of St. Aether Academy.

Evre was forced back into a corner of the academic building, her spine pressed flat against the cold stone wall with nowhere left to go.

Standing in front of her were three Beta girls. Veronica, the leader, was playing with a crumpled envelope in her fingers, her eyes full of contempt and disgust.

It was the love letter Evre had written to Sebastian—the one she'd planned to slip into his locker during this afternoon's training break.

She had no idea how it ended up in Veronica's hands.

"Evre." Veronica's voice was dripping with mockery, her lips twisted in a sneer. "A useless piece of trash who can't even shift into a wolf, and you actually had the guts to write a love letter to the young heir of the Winters family?"

The two girls behind her burst into shrill laughter. They were Veronica's loyal followers, the kind of mean girls who lived to bully others.

"Give it back." Evre reached out her hand toward Veronica.

Veronica ignored her, looking down at the letter and starting to read it out loud in an exaggerated, mocking voice: "Sebastian, ever since the first day I saw you in the library, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you..."

She slapped a hand over her mouth, making an exaggerated gagging sound. "Oh my God, Evre. How can you write such disgusting, cheesy stuff?"

The three of them burst into laughter again.

Evre's face burned with shame and anger. She lunged forward to grab the letter back, but Veronica shoved her hard. She crashed to the ground, and Veronica's heel kicked viciously into her stomach. A sharp, burning pain shot through her belly.

Veronica ripped the letter in half, letting the pieces fall to the ground.

Evre reached out desperately to pick up the torn pieces, but Veronica stomped her high heel down on the back of Evre's hand.

Blood came out right away. Evre bit down hard on her lip, her nails digging into her palm, barely holding back the urge to shift and rip out Veronica's throat.

But she couldn't. If she shifted here, her real identity would be exposed, and her controlling mother would drag her back home to be married off to some tribal Alpha from the north. She wouldn't let these three bitches ruin her future happiness.

A first-year student walked by, and Evre called out for help, but one glare from Veronica sent the girl hurrying away with her head down. No one would help her.

St. Aether Academy was the most prestigious werewolf academy on the Northern Continent. Everyone who studied here was either from a noble family or had exceptional talent.

And in their eyes, Evre came from a run-down minor family, had never shown any ability to shift, and had only barely gotten into this elite academy thanks to a weak talent for spatial magic.

That was exactly the fake identity she had created—the carefully built cover story designed to get her closer to Sebastian. Because Evre had seen it herself: Sebastian often helped common students. He must hate privilege and power as much as she did.

"Listen up, you piece of trash." Veronica stepped forward, looking down at her with pure hatred. "From today on, stay away from Sebastian. If I ever catch you writing this kind of garbage again—"

"Why should I?"

Before Evre could finish arguing, Veronica grabbed her collar and yanked her up. "You actually have the nerve to ask why? A pathetic thing like you doesn't deserve him, understand? You're not even good enough to clean our shoes!"

Veronica slammed her back against the wall. The back of Evre's head smacked against the stone, and her vision went black. She bit her lip, refusing to make a sound.

"Do you know what Sebastian would think if he saw this?" Veronica licked her lips, a sly, cruel smile spreading across her face. "Being chased after by a little freak who can't even turn into a wolf? He'd be totally grossed out!"

"No, that's not true! Sebastian isn't like that!" Evre shook her head hard. In her heart, Sebastian was kind and perfect—he could never be the same kind of person as Veronica.

"Shut up!" Veronica cut her off harshly, cracking her knuckles, a mean look flashing in her eyes. "Looks like you won't learn unless I teach you a real lesson!"

As she spoke, her body started to change. Bones cracked and popped. Her skin rippled and grew thick silver-gray fur.

In less than three seconds, Veronica had gone from a hot, glamorous girl to a huge silver-gray she-wolf.

The massive creature towered over Evre, fangs showing between her jaws, predatory eyes locked on her with deadly focus. Veronica's claws scraped across the stone floor, making a horrible screeching sound.

"See this? This is the difference between you and me!" Veronica raised a huge paw, pressing sharp claws against Evre's throat, ready to pierce through at any second.

The two girls behind her cheered and whistled, their faces lit up with excitement.

The she-wolf's hot, bloody breath hit Evre's face, thick with overwhelming dominance.

The tips of Evre's fingers started to burn.

She knew that if this kept going, she'd either die or get seriously hurt by Veronica.

She was the daughter of Luna.

Her mother was the heir to the spatial powers among the three great northern tribes—the Hales Tribe. Evre pretended she couldn't shift so she could stay at this academy. For Sebastian.

So she had come here, hidden who she really was, acted weak, put up with every insult and put-down—all just to walk the same halls Sebastian walked, to sit in the same library corner where he sat.

But now, Veronica's claws were at her throat, the crushing pressure about to blow her cover completely.

The distortion at her fingertips got stronger. The air started to make a faint humming sound.

A flicker of confusion passed through Veronica's wolf eyes. She sensed something was off.

But she brushed it off right away. What threat could a pathetic loser like Evre—who couldn't even shift into a wolf—possibly be?

The next second, Veronica's claws slashed down.

Evre squeezed her eyes shut, planning to use one spatial strike to knock Veronica out, then mess with the girl's memory before anyone noticed.

But the hit never came.

She heard a dull thud. She heard Veronica's surprised yelp. Then she opened her eyes.

A figure stood in front of her, one hand gripping Veronica's massive wolf paw.

That hand was long and strong, the knuckles well-defined, easily holding the huge claw frozen in midair.

The guy was tall—a full head taller than Evre—with broad shoulders. He wore a black leather jacket, the collar casually open, showing a hint of collarbone. His hair was deep black, slightly wavy, falling in messy strands across his forehead, making his already good-looking face seem even more wild.

His features were the kind of handsome that made it hard to look away—a high, sharp nose, thin lips, the corner of his mouth always curved in a half-smile that made it seem like he found everything funny.

He tilted his head, looking at the massive she-wolf in front of him, that smirk getting deeper, every bit of him radiating rebellious attitude. "Wow. Three against one wasn't enough? You had to shift to beat up on a girl? Veronica, you've really hit a new low."

Veronica's expression changed the second she saw him. She immediately shifted back to human form, forcing an awkward smile. "What are you doing here?"