Jade Carter stood outside the stone walls of Stonehaven Academy, the moonlight cold against her skin. Tonight should have been her moment—the night she finally shifted into her wolf. At eighteen, she was expected to be a fully realized she-wolf, like her peers, but her wolf had never come. Born into the weakest pack, the Shadow Creek Pack, she was used to being overlooked. But the humiliation of still being fully human was unbearable.
“Jade, you're late again.” Harper, her best friend, appeared at her side, silver hair glowing under the moonlight. She had shifted last week into a sleek, powerful wolf, marking her as a rising warrior. Jade forced a weak smile, trying to keep the growing sense of dread from showing.
Inside the grand hall, the air buzzed with anticipation. Everyone knew what tonight meant. And worse—everyone knew that Jade still hadn’t shifted. As they entered, Jade felt the oppressive weight of the crowd’s whispers, their judgment hanging in the air. But it was the gazes of the Darkwood Pack’s infamous triplets that froze her blood.
Eric, Liam, and Cole were the Alphas of the strongest pack in the region. Their presence commanded the entire academy. Eric, the eldest, had sharp blue eyes that pierced through her. Liam stood beside him, his calculating stare assessing her as if she were a puzzle. Cole, wild and untamed, smirked with open disdain.
Jade’s throat went dry when they stepped forward, their attention focused entirely on her.
“Jade Carter,” Eric’s voice boomed, silencing the crowd. “Step forward.”
Her feet moved before her mind could register what was happening. She felt Harper give her a quick, supportive squeeze, but it did little to ease the growing knot in her stomach. Standing before the triplets, she felt every flaw laid bare.
“You’re eighteen, aren’t you?” Eric asked coldly.
Jade nodded, barely able to speak.
“And yet,” Liam interjected, his voice sharp, “you haven’t shifted.”
Cole’s laugh cut through the silence, cruel and mocking. “Pathetic,” he muttered.
Jade flinched but kept her gaze steady, refusing to let them see her crumble. She had faced cruelty before—being born into the weakest pack meant she was no stranger to insults—but this was different. This was public humiliation, and in front of the entire academy, no less.
Eric stepped closer, towering over her. “You’re a liability,” he said bluntly. “Without your wolf, you’re nothing. You have one week to prove otherwise.”
Jade’s breath caught in her throat. “One week?”
Liam nodded, his eyes cold and unrelenting. “By our birthday—one week from today—you’ll shift, or you’ll leave Stonehaven.”