JUNIPER POV
I wake up to shouting.
My eyes snap open. Someone's yelling downstairs—multiple voices, all angry. My wolf stirs nervously inside me. Something's wrong.
I check my phone. 4:23 AM. Who the hell is screaming at four in the morning?
I throw on a hoodie and creep into the hallway. Scarlett's bedroom door is open. Her bed is empty.
Ice floods my veins. Where is she?
More shouting from downstairs. I recognize Dad's voice—angry and protective. Then a woman I don't know: "You can't keep her hidden forever! Celestia already knows she's alive!"
Scarlett? They're talking about Scarlett?
I rush down the stairs and freeze at the bottom.
The foyer is full of wolves I've never seen before. Five of them, all wearing black with a silver wolf emblem on their jackets. Standing in the center is a beautiful Asian woman with silver-tipped black hair and eyes that glow Alpha-gold.
And beside her, looking terrified and confused, is Scarlett.
"What's going on?" I demand.
Everyone turns to look at me. Dad moves protectively in front of Scarlett—which is weird. Why is he protecting her from these strangers?
"Juniper." Dad's voice is careful. Too careful. "Go back to bed. This doesn't concern you."
"Doesn't concern me? There are strange wolves in our house at 4 AM and my best friend looks like she's about to pass out!" I look at Scarlett. "Are you okay? Who are these people?"
The Asian woman steps forward. "My name is Elara Chen. I'm the Beta of the Thorne pack."
Thorne pack. Why does that sound familiar?
"We're here for Scarlett," Elara continues. "She's the rightful heir to our territory and our Alpha."
I laugh. I actually laugh because this is insane. "Scarlett's not an Alpha. She just shifted for the first time two days ago. You've got the wrong person."
"I don't." Elara's eyes are kind but firm. "Scarlett is the daughter of Desmond and Vivienne Thorne. They were murdered twelve years ago, and she was hidden among humans to protect her. But she's eighteen now. Her bloodline has activated. And it's time for her to come home."
I look at Scarlett, expecting her to deny it. To say this woman is crazy.
But Scarlett just stares at the floor, her hands shaking.
"Scarlett?" My voice comes out smaller than I intended. "Tell them they're wrong. Tell them—"
"I don't know if they're wrong," Scarlett whispers. "Silas and Margot aren't my real parents. I found out the night I shifted. They were paid to hide me. I just... I didn't know from who or why."
The floor tilts under my feet. "What? That's... you would have told me something that huge!"
"I only found out THREE DAYS AGO!" Scarlett's eyes flash gold—her wolf rising with emotion. "I was going to tell you, but everything's been so insane and—"
"And you've been busy sneaking around with my father apparently!" The words burst out before I can stop them.
Dead silence.
Scarlett goes pale. Dad's jaw clenches.
"What are you talking about?" Dad asks carefully.
"Don't play dumb!" I'm shaking now with anger and hurt and confusion. "I heard you two last night. In the study. I was coming down for water and I heard voices. Laughing. You were LAUGHING with her, Dad. You never laugh anymore!"
"Juniper—" Dad starts.
"And this morning when I woke up, her bed was empty! Where was she? With you?" My voice cracks. "My best friend has been here ONE NIGHT and you're already—what? Bonding over your mutual misery?"
"It's not like that," Scarlett says quietly.
"Then what IS it like? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're replacing the daughter who supposedly hates you with the friend who worships you!"
Scarlett flinches like I slapped her.
Dad's eyes flash full Alpha amber. "That's enough, Juniper. You're upset and saying things you don't mean."
"I mean every word!" Tears burn my eyes. "You've ignored me for three YEARS. Three years of me trying to get your attention, trying to make you love me again, trying to fix our broken family. And nothing worked. But SHE shows up and suddenly you're smiling? Suddenly you care?"
"I've always cared about you," Dad says, his voice cracking. "You're my daughter. I love you more than—"
"You have a funny way of showing it!" I'm full-on crying now. "Mom says you're cold and heartless and incapable of love. Maybe she's right. Maybe you only care about Scarlett because she's not YOUR daughter. Because she can't disappoint you the way I have!"
"Juniper, stop!" Scarlett reaches for me. "You haven't disappointed anyone! Your dad loves you so much. He talks about you all the time. He—"
"When?" I knock her hand away. "When does he talk about me? During your secret midnight meetings in his study?"
Scarlett's face crumbles with guilt.
Oh my god. I was right. They HAVE been meeting in secret.
"What else have you been doing behind my back?" My wolf is snarling now, furious and territorial. "What else are you hiding from me?"
Dad and Scarlett exchange a look—quick and panicked and full of secrets.
Something clicks in my brain. The restless energy I felt last night. The way they both smell different this morning—like each other's scents are mingling. The way Dad has been watching her since she arrived.
"No," I whisper. "No, that's impossible."
"Juniper—" Dad starts.
"You're MATES." The words taste like poison. "My father and my best friend are MATES."
The silence confirms it.
I shift without meaning to—my white wolf exploding out in a fury of pain and betrayal. I lunge at Scarlett, not to hurt her, just to MAKE HER EXPLAIN, but Dad's massive gray wolf intercepts me.
He pins me gently but firmly, his Alpha aura forcing me to submit.
Please, his wolf Storm speaks directly to mine. Let me explain. This isn't what you think.
You chose HER over ME, my wolf howls back. Your own daughter!
I didn't choose anyone. The Moon Goddess chose us as mates. I can't change fate.
I shift back to human, sobbing on the floor. "How long?"
"Since she arrived," Dad admits, shifting back too. "The mate bond snapped into place the moment she walked through the door."
"And you didn't tell me? You let me think everything was FINE while you were secretly claiming my best friend as your mate?"
"We haven't claimed each other," Scarlett says. She's crying too. "We were trying to figure out how to tell you. We didn't want to hurt you."
"Well, CONGRATULATIONS. I'm destroyed." I stand up on shaky legs. "My best friend and my father. That's... that's sick."
"The mate bond isn't a choice," Elara says gently. "It's destiny. You can't blame them for—"
"I can blame them for LYING!" I scream. "I can blame them for sneaking around! I can blame them for making me feel like I'm crazy when I KNEW something was wrong!"
I grab my phone from my hoodie pocket and pull up Mom's number.
"Juniper, don't." Dad's voice is a command now. Full Alpha. "Please. Let's talk about this."
"Talk? You want to TALK?" I hit dial. "You should have talked YESTERDAY. Before you decided to mate bond with my teenage best friend!"
Mom answers on the first ring. "Juniper? It's 4:30 in the morning. What's wrong?"
"Everything," I sob. "Mom, you were right about Dad. He's... he's completely lost it. You need to win that Council hearing. You need to take this territory before he destroys everything."
"What happened?" Mom's voice sharpens with interest.
I look at Dad and Scarlett standing together—him protective, her terrified, both of them bonded in a way that excludes me completely.
"Dad has a new mate," I say clearly. "Scarlett Thorne. She's eighteen. She's been here one night, and he's already claimed her."
Mom's gasp is theatrical. Delighted. "He WHAT?"
"She's also apparently some secret Alpha heir that people have been hiding for twelve years. And there are strange wolves here demanding to take her away." I'm giving Mom ammunition and I don't even care. Let her use it. Let her destroy him. He deserves it.
"Send me photos," Mom orders. "Video if you can. This is exactly what I needed, baby girl. Your father just handed me the perfect evidence to prove he's unfit to lead."
I hang up and start recording on my phone.
Dad sees what I'm doing and his face goes deathly pale. "Juniper, please. Don't do this."
"You did this," I say coldly. "You chose her over your own daughter. Now deal with the consequences."
I send the video to Mom: Dad and Scarlett standing close, the mate bond visible as a golden shimmer between them, Elara and her Thorne pack wolves surrounding them.
Perfect evidence that Alpha Maverick Nightshade has mated with a teenager and is harboring a secret Alpha heir.
Mom will destroy him with this.
And I'm going to let her.