Venus Lin Yue stood in her family's courtyard in Kunming, chest rising and falling with anger. Bloodroot flowers were crushed under her boots, and red-stained cotton pads hung from the tree branches like mocking lanterns. The prank wasn't just rude—it was an insult to her position in the pack.
Julian Zhao Xin, stepson of Bai Lan and son of the pack leader of shadow peak clan, Zhao Diwen, watched her. He admired pranks. He respected a good plan. But this one in front of him crossed a line. Venus's face on the poster was smeared with fake blood, her hands were shaking with fury where she stood. He grabbed a woven basket and started pulling down the red pads tied to the trees.
"What are you doing?" Venus asked sharply, voice rough like a growl.
"Helping," Julian said, keeping his tone casual.
She glared at him. "I don't need your help."
"You do if you want to finish before the sun sets," Julian replied, pulling another pad down and flicking it into the basket. "Come on, Lin Yue. Put your pride aside for once."
She yanked the pad out of his hand and tossed it in the bucket bin herself. "You wouldn't be laughing if this was done to you. Why don't you go charm my sister or play nice with my nephew? You seem good at that. You're not earning points with me."
Julian lifted his hands. "Fine. Deal with it yourself. Some wolves take life too seriously." He turned, adding under his breath, "You're one bitter girl, Moon cake."
Just then, Zhao Wei, the elder in charge of teachings in Kunming village , stepped into the yard. "What's going on here?" he barked. He turned his sharp gaze on Julian. "Did you do this?"
"No, Elder," Julian replied firmly.
He hadn't met the leader in village before, seeing how Venus was bowing to him in respect, made him understand how respected the man was.
Venus continued ripping down pads after greeting the elder man, not saying a word during the entire process.
Zhao Wei growled low in his throat. "I'll report this to your father, Bai Luo if you don't clean it up with her. We do not allow dishonor in this yard, much less in this village."
"Please don't," Venus said quickly, standing tall. "If you report this to my father, he will think I'm weak. That I can't lead the pack. He will say a female beta doesn't belong in the ranks."
"You are a girl," Zhao Wei said without hesitation. "You should be focused on learning healing and tending to the nursery, not running drills or leading hunts."
Venus flinched. "I'm a healer-in-training, yes. But I'm also strong. Come watch me during one of our forest runs or pack duels."
The elder shook his head and walked off. "Make sure this is gone by moonrise. Or I will report it."
Once he was gone, Venus let out a long breath and went back to cleaning. Julian joined her, silently pulling down the highest pads. He tossed them into the basket bin.
"You know," he said softly, "just because you can fight alone doesn't mean you always should."
Venus Lin Yue heard the familiar thud of Chen Zixin's boots even before he shouted, "Anyone here?"
Chen Zixin never knocked. If the door was locked, he'd probably break it down. She rushed downstairs, hair still damp from scrubbing off the red dye. Cleaning the prank had taken over an hour with Julian's help. By the end, they looked like two blood-splattered rogues fresh from a border fight.
In the living room, Chen Zixin lounged in Bai Luo's chair like he owned the place. Liang Zhihao,and Sun Lei stood nearby, while Lin Yue leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest.
"We know your yard got padded and tampered with," Chen Zixin said, grinning.
Venus winced. "How?"
"Someone sent every warrior in our training circle photos," Sun Lei said, showing her his screen. The images were sharp and humiliating.
"They're also on the community board," Chen Zixin added, still chewing on dried wolf jerky. "It's time to strike back."
"Wait—how did they even get our messages?" Venus asked.
"Sounds like an inside job," said Sun Lei.
"You've watched too many hunter dramas," Lin Yue replied coolly.
"It's not hard to find our roster, the spy must be around us," Zixin said. "Some wolves from the southern cliffs attend classes with the Fairfield rogue pack."
Zixin then walked into the kitchen, found pickled eggs, and started eating. The rest followed. Julian Zhao Xin sat at the table, focused on his laptop.
"Hey," Julian said without looking up.
Lin Yue eyes narrowed at him.
"That's Julian," Venus explained. "Bai Lan's stepson."
Zixin chuckled. "So that makes him…your step-nephew? That's messed up."
"Tell me about it," Julian muttered.
Zixin popped more food into his mouth. "We need a plan, Yue. The Fairfield rogue pack just declared a war on us."
Bai Lan entered the room, her hair tied in a towering knot. She looked at Julian and raised an eyebrow. "Don't get involved. You remember what happened the last time?"
"What happened?" Sun Lei asked.
Bai Lan answered, "He released wild boars during a moonlight ceremony. Got exiled from his old pack."
Zixin laughed and fist-bumped Julian. "That's wild, bro."
"It's not funny," Bai Lan scolded. "Don't drag my sister's friends into anything dumb."
Julian gave her a lazy salute.
"I bet it was Gao Tianyu behind this," Lin Yue muttered, still eyeing Julian suspiciously.
"No fights," Monika—Sun Lei's mate—said gently. "I want my wolf whole."
They started cuddling. Lin Yue urned away.
Zixin gagged. "Get a den, you two."
Venus nudged him. "One day you'll fall for someone."
"Not a chance. If I do, shoot me with silver."
Liang Zhihao's phone buzzed. He cursed and left.
Zixin turned back to Venus. "Am I the only one ready to plan revenge?"
"Maybe we shouldn't," Venus said. "Maybe we should show grace."
"Grace? In a pack?" Zixin laughed. "Venus, no one voted you beta to be graceful. Let's be honest, if it was a looks contest, I'd win."
"I disagree," Monika said sweetly. "My mate's the best."
Zixin rolled his eyes. "Venus, you want to know the real reason you're our beta?"
"Not really," she muttered.
"I do," Julian said with interest.
Zixin threw his arm around Venus. "She's got guts. She doesn't run when things get messy. She trains harder than most males. She earned our respect." He glanced down. "Also, best armor chest in the pack."
Venus groaned. While Julian smirked looking at her Bossom.