Elowen's POV
I woke up to Sable jumping on my bed like a five-year-old.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up! Shopping day!"
I groaned, pulling the pillow over my face. "It's seven in the morning."
"Exactly! The stores open at eight and we have SO much to do!" She yanked the pillow away, her gray eyes sparkling with excitement. "The Full Moon Revel is tomorrow night and you need a dress!"
"What's a Full Moon Revel?" I asked, sitting up slowly. My head felt fuzzy, like I hadn't slept well. I'd dreamed about golden eyes and wolves and Cassian's hands on my wrists, burning like brands.
"It's a family tradition. A huge party under the full moon. Everyone comes—family, friends, business associates. It's amazing!" Sable bounced on her heels. "And you're coming as my guest, which means you need to look stunning."
"I don't know, Sable. Maybe I should just stay here—"
"Absolutely not. I didn't bring you all the way here to hide in your room." She grabbed my hands. "Please, Ellie? It'll be fun. I promise."
I couldn't say no to her hopeful face. "Fine. But nothing too fancy."
"Yes!" She squealed and dragged me toward the closet.
Two hours later, we were in town, and I immediately knew something was very wrong.
The town looked normal enough—cute shops, a coffee place, people walking around. But everyone who saw Sable stopped and stared. Some bowed their heads slightly. Others whispered behind their hands.
"Miss Vane," the dress shop owner said, practically bowing. "What an honor. Please, come in."
"Thanks, Mrs. Chen," Sable said casually, like this was normal.
But it wasn't normal. People didn't treat college students like royalty.
"Sable," I whispered as we browsed through dresses. "Why is everyone acting so weird?"
"Weird? They're just being polite."
"That woman literally bowed to you."
Sable laughed nervously. "My family is well-known here. People respect my dad. It's not a big deal."
But her eyes said it was a very big deal.
After the dress shop (where Sable bought me a dark green dress I'd never afford on my own), we stopped at a café. I ordered coffee while Sable went to the bathroom.
That's when I heard them.
Two men sat at the table behind me, talking in low voices. They didn't know I could hear them—and honestly, I shouldn't have been able to. But my hearing had been weird lately. Too sharp. Too clear.
"The Alpha's son will have to choose soon," one man said. "The Crowe girl arrives next month."
"Poor bastard. Forced into a political marriage when his true mate is—"
"Shhh! You want to get exiled? Don't speak of such things."
True mate? Exiled? What kind of weird cult was this town?
"But the girl staying at the estate," the first man continued. "I heard she's human. What if—"
"Impossible. Alpha Thaddeus would never allow it."
My hands shook as I gripped my coffee cup. They were talking about me. They had to be.
"What if she's not human?" the second man whispered. "What if she's dormant? Tomorrow's full moon will reveal—"
"Ellie!" Sable appeared, making me jump. "Ready to go?"
I turned to look at the men, but they were gone. Vanished like ghosts.
"Yeah," I said shakily. "Ready."
On the drive home, I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd heard. Alpha. True mate. Dormant. The words circled in my head like vultures.
"Sable," I said carefully. "What does 'Alpha' mean?"
She nearly drove off the road. "What?"
"I heard some men talking. They called your dad 'Alpha.' And something about your brother having to choose?"
Sable's knuckles went white on the steering wheel. "It's just... a business title. My dad runs a company. They call him Alpha like a boss."
She was lying. I could see it in the way she wouldn't meet my eyes.
"And what about the full moon tomorrow? Is there something special about—"
"Ellie, please." Sable pulled into the estate driveway. "Just... trust me, okay? Come to the party tomorrow. Have fun. Don't overthink things."
But how could I not overthink when everything about this place felt wrong?
That night, I couldn't sleep. Again.
I stood by my window, staring out at the garden. The full moon would rise tomorrow night, and something told me everything would change.
Movement caught my eye.
A massive black wolf stood in the garden, exactly where I'd seen one before. Bigger than any normal wolf. Its fur gleamed like oil in the moonlight.
It turned its head and looked directly at me.
Golden eyes. The same gold as Cassian's.
My heart stopped.
The wolf's mouth opened, and I swear it smiled. Then it threw its head back and howled—a sound so lonely and beautiful it made my chest ache.
I blinked.
The wolf was gone.
"I'm going crazy," I whispered.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Another unknown message.
Tomorrow night, under the full moon, you'll transform. Your wolf will wake. And when it does, run. Because they're hunting you.
The phone slipped from my shaking hands.
Transform? Wolf? This was insane. Wolves didn't turn into people. People didn't turn into wolves. That was fairy tale stuff. Impossible.
But golden eyes didn't glow either. And yet Cassian's did.
A howl echoed through the night—closer this time. Right outside my window.
I rushed to look.
Three wolves stood in the garden now. The black one in the center, two gray ones flanking it. All three stared up at my window with glowing eyes.
The black wolf's mouth moved, and I heard a voice in my head—deep, rough, unmistakably Cassian's.
Tomorrow night, little human. Ready or not.
I screamed and stumbled backward, hitting my dresser.
When I looked again, the wolves were gone.
But on my windowsill, scratched deep into the wood, were three claw marks that definitely hadn't been there before.
My door burst open. Cassian stood there, shirtless and breathing hard like he'd run a marathon.
"Did you see them?" he demanded.
"See what?" I pressed myself against the wall.
He crossed the room in three strides and gripped my shoulders. "The wolves. Did you see the wolves?"
"I—yes—but they're gone—how did you know—"
His eyes flashed gold. Actually, literally flashed with light.
"Because," he said, his voice rough and desperate, "tomorrow night, you're going to become one of us. And I don't know if I can protect you."
The world tilted.
"One of you?" I whispered. "What are you?"
He opened his mouth to answer.
Then the window exploded inward in a shower of glass.
A gray wolf landed in my room, snarling, its teeth bared.
Cassian shoved me behind him and shifted—bones cracking, skin rippling, until a massive black wolf stood where he'd been.
The same wolf from the garden.
The same wolf I'd seen three times.
Cassian was the wolf.
The wolves were people.
And I was about to become one of them.