Chapter 1
The first thing Elena Vale learned about being unwanted was that people did not always have to say it.
Sometimes, they showed you.
They showed you by giving your sister the biggest bedroom while sending you to the smallest room in the house.
They showed you by putting a warm plate of food in front of everyone else while telling you that the leftovers were enough for you.
And sometimes, they showed you by looking straight through you as though you were nothing.
Elena stood silently in the kitchen, her fingers wrapped around the edge of the wooden table.
“Is that all you’re going to do?”
Her stepmother’s sharp voice made her flinch.
Marissa Vale stood near the doorway, dressed in an expensive cream gown, her arms folded.
“The guests will arrive in less than an hour,” she continued. “The house isn’t going to clean itself.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Elena immediately picked up the tray of glasses.
Across the room, her stepsister, Clarissa, sat comfortably on the sofa while scrolling through her phone.
She didn’t even look up.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t break anything.”
Clarissa finally glanced at her.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
“She probably will.”
The others laughed.
Elena lowered her eyes.
She had learned not to answer.
Answering only made things worse.
She carried the tray toward the dining room, carefully placing each glass on the table.
Tonight was supposed to be important.
The Alpha of the Mooncrest Pack was visiting.
Everyone had been talking about him for weeks.
Alpha Damien Blackwood.
Powerful.
Wealthy.
Terrifying.
And, according to every rumor Elena had heard, horribly scarred.
Some people even called him the Beast Alpha.
Nobody knew what he looked like beneath the black mask he supposedly wore in public.
Nobody knew why he rarely attended pack gatherings.
Nobody knew why other Alphas treated him with caution.
But Elena didn’t care.
She had bigger problems.
Her eighteenth birthday had been three days ago.
And that meant one thing.
Her wolf had awakened.
Which also meant her mate could appear at any moment.
For most girls in the pack, finding their mate was something beautiful.
For Elena, it was something she feared.
Because if her mate turned out to be powerful, her family might finally have a reason to keep her alive.
And if he rejected her…
She didn’t know what would happen.
“Elena!”
She nearly dropped a glass.
Marissa stormed into the dining room.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ve finished setting the table.”
“You call this finished?”
Marissa pointed toward the floor.
A tiny speck of dust sat beneath one of the chairs.
Elena stared at it.
Then at her stepmother.
“I’m sorry.”
“Clean it.”
Elena swallowed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She crouched down.
Behind her, Clarissa laughed.
“Imagine being eighteen and still treated like a servant.”
Elena’s hands tightened.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to ask why.
Why was she treated differently?
Why had her father stopped defending her after her mother died?
Why did everyone in the house act as though her existence was an inconvenience?
But she said nothing.
Because she knew the answer.
Her mother had been the Luna of the pack.
Beautiful.
Kind.
Loved.
And after she died, Elena became a reminder of the woman Marissa could never replace.
So Marissa hated her.
And Elena’s father had chosen silence.
Suddenly—
A howl echoed through the distance.
Everyone froze.
Elena slowly stood.
Another howl followed.
The entire house seemed to hold its breath.
Someone whispered from the hallway.
“The Alpha is here.”
Elena’s heart began pounding.
Footsteps approached the front entrance.
Dozens of pack members had gathered outside.
Elena remained in the dining room, hidden behind the doorway.
Then she felt it.
A strange pull inside her chest.
Warm.
Powerful.
Familiar.
Her wolf stirred for the first time since awakening.
Mate.
Elena’s breath caught.
No.
It couldn’t be.
The front doors opened.
Everyone bowed their heads.
A tall man stepped inside.
He wore a black suit.
His face was partially covered by a dark mask.
Two guards followed behind him.
The room became unnaturally quiet.
Then the man lifted his head.
His eyes found Elena.
The world stopped.
Her wolf whispered one word.
Mate.
Elena stared at him.
The mysterious Alpha stared back.
And for the first time in her life, Elena wondered if her miserable existence was about to change.
She just didn’t know yet that the man everyone called a monster was about to become the most important person in her life.
I lovee