Chapter 1: Heat

Chapter ONE

Isabella’s POV

Full lips brushed mine, slow at first, then deeper, hotter. His hands slid down my arms, steady with possessiveness.

My whole body trembled with something sharp and new. Heat pooled low in my belly until I thought I’d burn alive.

Moans flew out of my lips as I tugged his hair, gasping his name. “Aleric…”

SPLASH.

Ice water crashed over me, shooting me upright with a strangled cry. Nothing says

Good morning, sunshine, quite like a bucket of liquid frost and a case of mild hypothermia.

My thin nightdress clung to every inch of my malnourished frame as my breath came in ragged bursts, my pulse thundering in my ears.

It wasn’t just the cold. Every nerve in my body was aching.

Aleric.

Oh, Goddess.

I pressed a shaking hand to my lips. I’d dreamed about him. Aleric Blackthorne. The Alpha’s son.

My ex–best friend. My first crush. The boy who hadn’t looked at me in years, except with pity. Or worse… hatred.

We used to sneak out into the woods together, pretending the pack rules didn’t exist.

Fuck me. Of all the people my subconscious could have picked for a starring role, it chose the one guy who treats me like a particularly offensive smudge on his shoe.

My brain really is out to get me. “You slut.”

Mother’s voice cut sharper than the water. She stood with the bucket dripping in her hand, eyes sweeping over me like I was filth.

Her nostrils flared slightly, but if she smelled something… she didn’t name it. Instead, her lip curled as she spat again. “You disgusting slut!”

Ah, the morning pep talk. Truly, the breakfast of champions. Despite my unbothered mind, I still moved my eyes everywhere but hers.

Did she hear me moaning his name? No, no. My body felt wrong, tingling everywhere the dream had touched me.

“I…I wasn’t….” I yanked my thin blanket around me, shielding myself from her accusing eyes.

“I have no time for this. Just get up, it’s four o’clock. Breakfast won’t cook itself. And your father expects the our wing spotless before he returns from patrol.”

She cut me off before I could defend myself. She always did.

But today I was relieved because god forbid the Alpha’s Beta has to endure a single speck of dust.

“Yes, Mother.” My teeth chattered from the cold, though heat still burned under my skin. What would I say if she asked why I was moaning the Alpha heir’s name in my sleep.

Her gaze lingered on me—the same expression she’d worn for years—disappointment, now laced with disgust. Like I was a bad purchase she couldn’t return.

Without another word, she turned and left. Her footsteps echoed down the narrow hall of the Beta quarters.

A moment later, I heard another voice—low, steady, clipped with command. My father’s.

“Leave her be, Mira.” A pause. Then his tone hardened. “We have duties before sunrise. Selena’s waiting.”

Of course, Selena was waiting. The Golden Child doesn’t like to be kept standing, and Heaven forbid the universe stops revolving around her for five minutes.

I sat there dripping and shaking for reasons I didn’t understand, curling a fist over my chest, trying to steady my racing heart.

But this wasn’t new. Hate had been stitched into my life since the night my brother died. Every look, every slap, Selena’s perfect little smirk.

We were twins, but she got the wolf, the strength, and the fan club. I got a heartbeat that survived when Ethan’s didn’t.

Seventeen years, and I’d learned one thing: I was never going to be loved. But hey, at least I’m consistent.

Sighing, I looked up at the cracked ceiling. What the hell was happening to me?

—

By the time I finished chores and bolted through the pack gates and into the city streets, I was already late.

The morning sun glared off high-rise windows. A food cart guy stared when I nearly tripped over his wheels.

The subway rumbled beneath the cracked sidewalk, shaking the ground as I sprinted past.

Rich kids drove their cars while I barely reached the gates before the first school bell rang.

My legs felt like jelly. My body wasn’t mine anymore. It was burning, tingling, aching in all the wrong places.

Great.

First, I dream about Aleric like some desperate creep. Now I feel like I’ve got the flu in the weirdest places.

I didn’t understand it. Was it some new sickness? Another curse the Moon Goddess thought I deserved? If this is was one idea of a joke, her sense of humor really sucks.

I shoved my books to my peanut chest, bracing for the whispers. Freak. Charity case. Cursed. The usual hits. They really need some new material.

Some still whispered about last year, when I fainted during training after a fight with that bitch Selena—my twin, the golden one. No one helped. Some even laughed.

But today… something felt different. When I slid into my seat, the human boy in front of me turned and gave a slow smile.

“Hey,” he said, like I’d just grown a second set of boobs overnight.

I blinked. “Um. Hi?”

His smile widened. I haven’t seen a look that hungry since the last time a stray dog found a discarded steak bone

And it didn’t stop there.

Everywhere I walked, human boys glanced twice. A couple of girls too, surprisingly. Their gazes clung to me, heated and hungry.

What the hell? Did I spill perfume? Did I grow horns? I reached up to my messy white hair. Nope, still a disaster.

By second period, I was sweating, shifting in my chair every few seconds because dammit, that dream’s heat hadn’t faded.

My thighs pressed together. My body burned in ways I couldn’t ignore. Please, Moon Goddess, I know you don’t like me, but please don’t let me stand up. I’d die if I leaked through my clothes.

I tried to distract myself with math. Spoiler: it didn’t help.

As soon as class ended, I bolted, desperate for the nearest restroom.

That’s when I passed one of the senior alphas in the hall. Big guy. Broad shoulders. Cocky smirk. Normally, he wouldn’t even glance at me.

But when I ran by, his head snapped around. His nostrils flared. His eyes glowed faintly.

And then he lunged.

Not in a casual oops-I-tripped way. In a full-on, let-me-rip-your-clothes-off way.

I froze mid-step, heart in my throat, before instinct screamed: Move!

Panic shaking my limbs, I yelled as I shoved him back hard, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

But it wasn’t just him. Two more wolves down the hall caught my scent—whatever this scent was—and their wolves surged, eyes glowing, low growls rolling from their throats.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

The humans nearby blinked, confused. I was too. But it seemed every wolf knew exactly what was happening.

Hands clawed at my shirt. I fought back, gripping the fabric like my life depended on it, which it did.

Because if this blouse ripped, I was screwed. Literally.

Gasping, I fought hard to keep my dignity. “Enough!”

I barely heard Mr. Gray, our history teacher—and a wolf—storming down the hall. Fury burned in his eyes.

He shoved the alphas back with terrifying strength, nostrils flaring as he turned toward me.

His expression froze.

“You,” he whispered, eyes wide in disbelief.

The hallway thickened with bodies. Wolves, humans, teachers. Too many eyes. Too many scents. The air shifted.

That’s when I realized.

Every dominant alpha wolf in that hallway had their gaze locked on me.

The humans looked confused, whispering. But the wolves… their eyes glowed brighter—gold, silver, green, black—sparks burning like wildfire.

Oh. Shit.

They weren’t looking at me like a freak anymore. They were looking at me like I was a five-course meal and they’d been fasting for a month.

My knees buckled. Oh, fantastic. I’m about to be the center of a supernatural riot. Just another tuesday in my miserable life.

Mr. Gray’s voice cut through.

“Everyone, back….”

Too late.

The first wolf lunged. Then another. And another. Growls rolled down the corridor until it was nothing but teeth and hunger.

Mr. Gray roared, his wolf rising, shoving bodies back with brutal strength. His gaze cut to me once, fire in his eyes.

“Run!” He roared.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. Heart in my throat, heat raging through my veins, legs barely keeping me upright.

I ran as every wolf in that hall howled for me.

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