Chapter 1
Her phone buzzed with messages.
Bluebell wiped her hands on a kitchen towel before checking the screen. Her friends from university planned a night out. Again.
Her gaze flickered toward her backpack. With a sigh, she declined their invitation and set the phone aside. Flashes of drunk, sweaty people popped into her mind.
Yeah, I don’t need to be in an overcrowded club tonight.
The onion sizzled in her pan, filling her small apartment with its warm, familiar scent. She stirred the sauce in, enjoying the quiet — the calm rhythm of ordinary life. Her mind wandered to different times, to people she’d left behind. Her chest tightened. After all, she still longed to fit in somewhere. But without a wolf and no destined mate, she was basically human. Maybe this world should have felt more like home.
The doorbell rang, sharp and sudden, making her jump. She buzzed open the door, suspecting a delivery driver trying to get in, then poured off the pasta water and plated her dinner. Just as she sat down, a familiar step pattern reached her ears. Bluebell sighed as she trudged to the door right before someone knocked at her door.
“Hi! You have to come clubbing with us tonight. Oh nice — you cooked something! I’m starving.“
The blond squeezed past her into her apartment with a grin.
Sighing again, Bluebell closed the door and grabbed another plate.
“I don’t want to go clubbing. I’m behind on studying.“
Serena had already made herself comfortable, flipping through Bluebell’s notes on the coffee table.
“Well I knew you’d said that,“ she said between bites. “So I brought my notes too. We’ll study first, then get ready — you know hair, make up, outfits. It’ll be fun.“
Bluebell smiled faintly. “You really don’t take no for an answer.“
Serena smirked. “No valid reason not to go. When was the last time you were around people, huh? We were starting to think you hated us.“
“I took the bus. Plenty of people there,“ Bluebell replied dryly. “And no, I don’t hate you guys. I’m just busy.“
Her pasta was fine — maybe a little under-seasoned.
Serena stood to put her empty plate in the sink, then leaned against it, watching her with sharp blue eyes.
“You know the bus doesn’t count,“ she said. “You have to live a little, girl. One night won’t kill your grades. Now hurry up and eat so we have time to get ready. And just so you know, jeans and a T-shirt are a big no.“
Serena went straight to her closet, sifting through every piece of clothing.
Bluebell chewed faster, resigned.
“I thought we’re going to study together first?“
Serena ignored her, still rummaging. Bluebell washed the dishes, letting the warm water soothe her nerves.
“You really don’t have nice clothes,“ Serena said over her shoulder. “Good thing I came prepared.“ She pulled out soft top from her bag “This’ll be perfect. Not too far out of your comfort zone.“
Bluebell leaned against the counter, watching her friend arrange the clothes on the couch. Serena’s energy was unstoppable.
“Well, thanks,“ Bluebell said. “But I’d rather study. You can get ready here, though.“
Serena turned, crossing her arms. She was smaller, but somehow still intimidating when she looked up at Bluebell.
“I didn’t want to play this card,“ Serena said, “but you leave me no choice. Your birthday was on Tuesday. There’s no way we’re letting you study away your twenty-first birthday. We’ll study tomorrow, I promise. But tonight, you’re coming with us.“
Bluebell hesitated, but Serena’s grin was already triumphant.
“So, light make up or full glam?“ Serena asked, clapping her hands. “You only turn twenty-on once!“
It was past midnight and Bluebell was already exhausted. The club’s bass pulsed through her bones, shaking the floor. People pressed shoulder to shoulder, shouting over the music.
Then — the vibration changed. A tingling sensation spread from her neck down her spine. Panic bloomed.
What is going on?
She looked around, scanning the crowd. Too many people. Her heart hammered. Her skin was slick with sweat.
Why are there werewolves here?
She froze, forcing slow breaths. Serena appeared in front of her, laughing her hair wild, shouting over the noise. “Toilet!“
Her eyes darted around the club. The dance floor was packed with barely moving bodies, the air thick with perfume and alcohol. Nothing stood out — yet something watched her.
Someone.
Grey eyes tracked her from across the room, unblinking. Watching every move she made.
Her stomach twisted.
The man straightened and began moving toward her, effortlessly cutting through the crowd. His height and build was impossible to ignore.
Serena pulled her inside the women’s bathroom. Inside, her ears deafened and even her nose was numb to the nasty scents of the bathroom. The neon lights above her buzzed and her vision blurred slightly.
Taking a few deep breath, she let Serena pull her toward a stall. Sitting on the toilet and letting out a relieved groan, Serena looked up to her. Every time Serena and her went to to the same toilet, Bluebell just accepted it as something that made Serena feel safer.
“What’s up with you?“ she asked mid-stream, unbothered.
“I’m just tired. There are too many people“
“Bullshit.“ Serena zipped up. “You totally froze over twice. Did you see someone? Do you have a problematic ex we don’t know about yet? You never tell the juicy stuff!“
“No. No Exes. Ever. I don’t have any juicy secrets“—she had—“and it’s not my fault you overshare.“
They washed their hands.The cool water helped slightly calm her nerves.
“I still can’t believe you never had a boyfriend,“Serenas said, laughing. “That’s insane — you’re gorgeous and nobody made a move? How is your life so boring?“
Bluebell forced a smile. “I like boring.“
They stepped back into the club. The moment the heavy doors closed behind them, she felt it again — the tingling, that pull. The air thickened.
Her eyes found his immediately.
He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching her with calm, assessing eyes the color of storm clouds.
His gaze moved slowly over her — not leering, just knowing.
Her pulse spiked.
He pushed off the wall and walked towards her, his presence cutting through the crowd like a blade. Serena grabbed her hand again, stepped closer too.
“Let’s find the others,“ she said quickly, steering her away. Bluebell wondered if Serena somehow knew something was different about this man.
The tingling faded as they reached their group, swallowed again by the crowd and the noise.
The nasty smell of drunkness and sweat was tickling her nose. Everywhere, something touched her — a sticky hand palming her butt, a pointy shoulder bumping against her own, fine hair brushing her arm, the bass shaking her bones. Serena’s warm hand squeezed hers reassuringly before letting go.
She tried to dance, to smile, to ignore the weight of those storm-gray eyes.
Josh moved next to her, smiling. He grabbed her hands twirled her around. Once. Twice. She stumbled into his arms. His laugh rang in her ears — rough and drunk. His hands moved to her hips. She stepped away from him, his hands slipped away from her. She hadn’t meant to bump into him. His smile widened, though his eyes didn’t match it. Shrugging, he kept dancing.
She moved her body to the beat, trying to sense them. Everything around her was too much. The tingling was gone.
But she knew.
This was far from over.
