Avery POV: My blood boiled like liquid fire under my skin as I stumbled down the dim corridor of the Pack castle, biting my lower lip hard enough to draw blood just to keep from screaming. As the outcast eldest daughter of the Holder family, my inner wolf had been dormant for years, leaving my body bloated and clumsy from the mutated Wolfsbane spiking my system, which had now triggered a brutal onset of The Heat. Heavy combat boots echoed around the corner from patrolling Warriors, and in my panic to find a hiding spot, my thick hip scraped against a wrought-iron sconce on the wall with a sharp screech. "Where did that fat pig run off to? Catch her and drag her back to that blind old man from the black market!" My stepsister Dolly's shrill voice sliced through the hallway, making me clamp a trembling hand over my mouth as hot tears stung my eyes. Refusing to be sold off like cattle, I dragged my heavy legs deeper into the forbidden wing of the castle. Another wave of The Heat crashed into my stomach, turning my vision black, and my icy fingers instinctivelylatched onto the brass handle of a heavy carved oak door. I shoved the cracked door open, and a thick, suffocating scent of cedarwood and winter snow washed over me, carrying a pure Alpha pressure so intense it made my weak knees buckle. Every werewolf possessed a unique scent and genetic rank, and this private suite clearly belonged to an apex Alpha. I tried to back out immediately, but a sudden draft slammed the oak door shut behind me, clicking the heavy lock into place. Before I could find the latch, a massive, calloused hand shot out from the pitch-black shadows, clamping around my wrist and yanking me backward until my spine slammed against the wooden door with a dull thud. "Who sent you?" His voice was a low, gravelly growl right against my ear, vibrating with an undeniable Alpha command that crushed the air out of my lungs. I twisted my wrist to break free, but inhaling his exclusive cedar scent sent a violent shudder straight through my soul, instantly filling an empty ache I hadn't known existed. Where his hot palm pressed against my bare skin, a jolt of raw electricity shot up my arm, and deep inside my chest, my long-dormant wolf let out a desperate, possessive whimper: Mine! In werewolf law, the Moon Goddess bound Fated Mates through five undeniable reactions—scent, physical surge, soul peace, the inner wolf's roar, and electric touch. The towering man froze against me, his chest heaving as his breathing turned as ragged and feral as a cornered beast's. His scorching lips brushed the side of my neck, his teeth grazing my pulse point as if searching for the spot to sink his fangs and leave a permanent Marking, forcing me to bite my lip to trap a shameful moan. With the last shred of my sanity, I shoved my palms against his rock-hard chest, yet the fever of The Heat shattered my defenses, making my arms give out until I was clinging to his broad shoulders instead. A low rumble tore from his throat before he scooped me up by the waist and carried me straight to the massive velvet bed in the center of the dark room. The pitch darkness mercifully hid my bloated, ugly figure, leaving only our tangled, ragged breaths and the blistering sparks shooting across our skin in the quiet suite. Hours later, a thin sliver of moonlight cut through the heavy curtains, jolting me awake from a Bone-deep exhaustion and a sharp, tearing ache between my thighs. Turning my head, I looked at the sleeping man beside me, my pulse skipping at the sight of his sculpted chest rising and falling, radiating terrifying Alpha power. My fingers crept down to touch the thick rolls of fat around my waist caused by years of medication, and a suffocating wave of shame washed over me like ice water. If this supreme Alpha woke up and saw that a despised, seemingly wolfless fat freak had taken his first night, he would tear me limb from limb without hesitation. Swallowing a whimper against the soreness in my lower body, I slid off the mattress inch by inch, my knees nearly giving out as my bare feet hit the freezing floor. My shredded dress was ruined in the dark, so I frantically grabbed a crisp, oversized white dress shirt draped over a chair and pulled it over my head. The fabric was saturated with his rich cedar scent, making my blood heat up all over again until I slapped my own cheeks to force my head clear. Fumbling for the doorknob, my fingertips brushed the inside pocket of my torn skirt, hitting the ancient year-2000 silver oath coin engraved with the Moon Goddess totem that my late mother had left me. Gritting my teeth, I set the warm silver coin gently onto the walnut side table by the foyer, leaving my most precious possession as the only compensation for this reckless mistake. I twisted the inner lock with shaking hands, letting out a silent breath when it clicked open to reveal an empty corridor. Slipping out like a desperate thief, I shivered violently as the cold draft hit my feverish skin. Too terrified to use the main stairs, I limped down the winding servants' fire escape, every step pulling at my bruised muscles. I shoved open the rusted iron door at the bottom and stumbled into the overgrown weeds behind the castle, sharp thorns slicing into my bare calves. Ignoring the stinging blood, I sprinted barefoot through the freezing mud, hot tears finally spilling down my cheeks to mix with my sweat. I didn't stop until I reached my drafty, rotting attic room at the back of the Holder estate, slamming the shaky wooden door and throwing the deadbolt. Sliding down the wood to the floor, I wrapped my arms around my knees and buried my face in his collar, inhaling his cedar scent as my heart felt like an invisible fist was crushing it. I had no idea who that Alpha was, but I knew I had to take this secret to my grave. Reaching back, my fingertips traced the faint, crescent-moon birthmark on the right side of my tailbone—a mark that only burned when my blood was aroused—and my panic slowly hardened into cold resolve. Just as I reached for the buttons of the oversized shirt to clean myself up, heavy footsteps and chilling whispers echoed right outside my attic door.

Avery POV: Holding my breath, I clamped both hands over my mouth and pressed my back against the attic door as those chilling whispers crept closer down the narrow landing. The brass doorknob rattled violently twice with a sharp clicking sound, but the heavy deadbolt I had thrown held the rotting wood in place. "Strange, isn't that fat pig inside?" My stepsister Dolly's shrill, nasty voice filtered clearly through the thin wooden planks, making my stomach twist. Right behind her came the signature, sickeningly drawn-out sigh of my stepmother, Demetra Gross, the woman who had taken over the Holder house after my mother died. "Oh, my dear Dolly, take your time, that useless freak can't run far." I pressed my ear tight against the crack of the doorframe, my heart hammering against my ribs as my fingers twisted the hem of the Alpha's oversized white shirt. "As long as she keeps drinking the mutated Wolfsbane soup I brew for her every day, her precious White Wolf bloodline will remain asleep forever." Demetra's low, vicious chuckle seeped through the wood, followed immediately by Dolly's smug giggle. "Who would have thought the noble eldest daughter of the Holder family could be turned into a spotty, bloated monster who can barely walk just from a few herbs?" Those words hit me like a bolt of lightning, my knees buckling so hard I nearly bit through my tongue to stop a gasp. For years, everyone in the Pack had mocked me as a genetic failure, yet my dormant wolf and deformed body weren't natural defects at all—they were the result of daily poison fed to me by this wicked mother-and-daughter pair. I sank my teeth into the back of my own hand until I tasted copper, forcing the choking rage down my throat as a cold fire ignited behind my eyes. Only when their footsteps faded down the stairs toward the other hallways did my legs give out completamente, sending me sprawling onto the icy floorboards. Scrambling on hands and knees to the chipped cabinet in the corner, I yanked out the clay jar of herbal tonic Demetra forced me to drink every evening. Without a second of hesitation, I threw open the small casement window and poured the thick black sludge straight into the gutter outside, striking the rim of the jar against the stone sill until it cracked. Catching sight of my swollen, blotchy face in the cracked mirror, I breathed in the lingering cedar scent on my shirt, a ruthless plan taking shape in my chest. I pried up a loose floorboard beneath my bed and pulled out my late mother's tattered herbal journal, flipping through the yellowed pages until I found the counter-agents for mutated Wolfsbane. For the next several months, I played the part of the slow, gluttonous fool during the day, secretly dumping every bowl of Demetra's poisoned soup into the drains. Wait until past midnight, I risked being torn apart by patrolling Warriors to slip across the Pack border, crawling through the damp undergrowth of Black Pine Forest to harvest blood-purging spirit herbs. On the first full moon after I stopped taking the poison, the moon's peak power triggered a violent backlash from my suppressed wolf spirit, initiating my first Shift. In our world, werewolves usually underwent their first Shift between sixteen and eighteen, enduring the agony of every bone snapping and reshaping to gain their giant Dire Wolf form. Curled up on my narrow cot, I dug my nails into the thin mattress as my spineand ribs popped with sickening cracks, the pain ten times worse without a Fated Mate nearby to soothe the bond. I rolled off the cot onto the floor, biting a rag to muffle my screams as foul, black, poisoned blood oozed from my pores, carrying away years of Wolfsbane toxins. Just when my vision blurred and my heart threatened to stop in that forgotten attic, the memory of that dark suite and the Alpha's overwhelming cedar scent flashed through my mind. Clinging to that phantom warmth, I locked my jaws and forced my shattering bones to fuse back together until the brutal reshaping finally passed. As gray dawn broke through the window, the agony receded like a tide, leaving me drenched in sweat and gasping for fresh air on the stained floorboards. Pushing myself up on trembling arms, I realized the oversized clothes that used to strain against my flesh now hung loosely off my shoulders. Day after day, full moon after full moon, I endured a full year of hellish detoxification that carved away every ounce of bloated poison from my frame. On the morning the last trace of toxin left my blood, I stood in front of the dusty full-length mirror and wiped the condensation from the glass with a steady hand. The bloated monster was gone, replaced by a slender young woman with snow-white skin, a waist I could span with two hands, and frost-white hair cascading down my back. Turning slightly, I looked over my shoulder at the right side of my tailbone, where the crescent-moon birthmark—the royal symbol of a purebred White Wolf—glowed with a faint silver sheen. I had reclaimed my bloodline, my strength, and the rightful pride of the Holder family's true heir. Suddenly, a sharp spike of pain lanced through my temples as someone forcefully projected a Mind-Link into my head-a telepathic Pack channel I could finally access now that my wolf was awake. "Avery, get down to the front hall right now." Demetra's cold, bossy mental voice echoed inside my skull, and I curled my lip, severing our mental alignment to slam the link shut like an iron door. Grabbing a faded, oversized hooded cloak from the hook, I threw it over my frame and pulled the hood low to hide my frost-white hair and transformed figure. Pulling open the wooden door that had caged me for over a decade, I walked out of the attic and headed down the stairs toward the lavish front hall.

Avery POV: Pulling the frayed edge of my hood lower to keep my frost-white hair and clear skin buried in shadow, I walked down the terakhir flight of stairs and stepped into the Holder mansion's bright front hall. Demetra sat perched on a velvet sofa cradling a porcelain teacup, not even bothering to lift her eyelids as my boots touched the marble floor. "Moving like a snail, as usual. What kind of garbage were you stuffing your face with up there?" Ducking my chin against my chest, I Deliberately thickened my voice into a dull, timid mumble. "Madam, you called for me?" Demetra wrinkled her nose in disgust and flicked her wrist, tossing a gold-edged invitation card onto the carpet at my feet. "Eight o'clock tonight at Night Frost Cafe on the Pack border. Table nine." Dropping to one knee, I picked up the stiff card and read the name printed across the front: Bernard Sullivan. "He's an old Beta in his fifties who runs a black-market trading post. He has some rough tastes in bed, but he's paying a high price to buy you as a breeder." Demetra spoke as if she were auctioning off a piece of rotting meat, and my fingers tightened around the card until my knuckles turned white. Deep in my chest, my awakened White Wolf let out a ferocious snarl, though I forced my shoulders to stay slumped. Before I could answer, the rapid click of stiletto heels echoed from the spiral staircase as Dolly pranced down, holding up a gown covered in crushed diamonds. "Mom, look at this dress! Is it stunning enough? At my blind date tonight, I'm going to make Alpha Jaxson of the Twilight Pack fall head over heels for me at first sight!" Jaxson Meadows? Hearing that legendary name made my heart skip a hard beat against my ribs. As the purebred Alpha King ruling the Twilight Pack's cross-border corporate empire, he possessed the most lethal genetics in the region and was the Fated Mate every female wolf dreamed of claiming. "Of course, my darling. I pulled every string I had with Elder Faustina on the council just to secure you this one exclusive meeting with him." Demetra beamed at her daughter with warm affection before Dolly spun around to glare down her nose at me, letting out a loud, mocking laugh. "Well, well, the ugly duckling is going out to meet an old toad tonight? Try not to scare him to death at the table, you wolfless freak." Lowering my lashes to hide the icy glint in my eyes, I kept my tone flat and submissive. "I understand. I'll be there on time." Clutching the gold-edged card, I turned and walked out of the front hall, letting a razor-sharp smirk curve my lips the second the heavy carved doors clicked shut behind me. They wanted to sell me to a perverse old Beta so Dolly could climb onto the Twilight Pack's throne on my bones? In their dreams. Walking back up the narrow stairs to my room, I ripped off the dusty hooded cloak and shoved it straight into the trash can. I dragged my mother's battered leather trunk out from under the cot, unlatching the bottom compartment to pull out a simple, figure-hugging black slip dress. The silk had no flashy jewels, but as I zipped it up, it molded like a second skin to my tiny waist and long, toned legs. Sitting at the cracked vanity, I used a curling iron to put loose waves into my rare frost-white hair, letting it tumble freely over my bare, snow-white shoulders. I skipped heavy makeup, swiping on only a sheer layer of berry lip gloss, and stared back at the cold, striking woman in the mirror whose high-ranking aura couldn't be hidden anymore. Glancing at the wall clock and seeing it was already seven, I snatched my keys, walked out the back door, and straddled my battered secondhand patrol motorbike, kicking the engine to life as I sped out of the Holder estate into the night wind. Jaxson POV: Across the territory, on the top floor of the Twilight Pack's corporate headquarters, I stood before the floor-to-ceiling glass window, rubbing my thumb over an ancient silver oath coin. Silver was the only fatal weakness to a werewolf, and the metal's faint, constant burn stung the pad of my thumb, yet I didn't let go as I stared down at the city lights. For an entire year, I had used every resource of my empire and torn through every security feed from that castle banquet, yet that woman had vanished into thin air. All she had left behind was this year-2000 Moon Goddess silver coin and the memory of a faint crescent-moon birthmark on the right side of her tailbone, along with a trace of sweet cedar that still haunted my sheets. A timid knock sounded at the double doors before my Beta assistant stepped inside, keeping his head bowed low against the suffocating Alpha pressure filling my office. "Boss, Elder Faustina just called again. She insists you cannot postpone tonight's eight o'clock blind date at Night Frost Cafe." Spinning around, I let a fraction of my aura slam into the room, watching the Beta's face drain of blood as his knees trembled. "Tell her this is the last time." Opening the heavy leather cover of the Frost Wolf Code on my desk, I tucked the silver coin carefully between the pages as a bookmark, grabbed my tailored black suit jacket, and strode out toward the elevator to take my armored SUV to Night Frost Cafe.