I tried to stand, but my body felt alien and broken.

Two wolves stepped forward, their strength unyielding as they forced me to my knees.

“Who are you?” Orion demanded, his tone icy.

“I’m… Evelise,” I croaked, barely able to hold my head up.

He crouched, his gaze sharp and unforgiving. “You shouldn’t be here. Whatever you are, you’re not welcome.”

Before I could respond, he gave a calm yet final order. “Take her. If she’s a threat, we’ll handle it.”

“No!” I screamed, struggling against their iron grip. “You don’t understand—”

But they dragged me away. Orion’s unreadable gaze lingered for a moment before he turned his back.

I was shoved into a damp cell, the scent of rust and decay thick in the air. My knees hit the cold stone, and I curled into myself, trembling. My body felt wrong—too strong, too foreign.

The hunger started as a gnawing ache, deep and primal. It wasn’t normal. It wasn’t human.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Torchlight flickered against the walls, revealing Orion’s imposing figure.

“Comfortable?” he asked, his voice edged with steel.

“Five-star accommodations,” I muttered, my humor flat and bitter.

“The pack doesn’t trust you,” he said. “Your scent is wrong.”

“I don’t even know what I am,” I admitted, my voice shaking. “One minute I was dying, and the next… this.”

Orion’s gaze softened briefly, but his expression quickly hardened. “There’s something in you—something that doesn’t belong anywhere.”

Suddenly, pain surged through me, ripping a scream from my throat. My skin stretched and tore, my bones cracked, and my body contorted as dark scales erupted along my arms. Sharp claws replaced my nails, and my jaw ached as fangs pushed through my gums.

When the pain subsided, I crouched on all fours, panting. My reflection in the damp stone was barely recognizable—a hybrid of wolf and serpent!

Oh god.

“You shifted,” Orion said, his tone grim.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “This can’t be real.”

When the hunger roared again, I lunged. Orion moved faster than I could track, slamming me into the wall with one hand around my throat.

“Control yourself,” he commanded.

I froze, my claws inches from his face. The realization that he could kill me with ease doused the rage clawing at my insides. Slowly, my claws retracted, and my breathing steadied.

Orion released me and stepped back. “Hybrids like you rarely survive their first transformation. If they do, they’re dangerous—to everyone.”

I sank to the floor, trembling. “What happens now?”

“If you lose control again,” he said, his tone final, “I’ll end you.”

He left, slamming the iron door behind him.

I stayed on the cold stone floor, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. Time blurred until the sound of footsteps shattered the silence. Three wolves stood outside the bars, their gazes hostile.

“She’s a curse,” one sneered. “Doesn’t belong anywhere.”

“Alpha should’ve killed her,” another muttered.

Their words stung, but I stayed silent, curling my claws into my palms.

Suddenly, a shout echoed from above. “Help! It’s the crimson rogues!”

The scent of blood and fear hit me like a punch. Before I could react, the iron door burst open, and a bleeding wolf stumbled inside.

Something massive slammed into him, snarling.

The hunger I’d been suppressing erupted. My chains snapped as I lunged, slamming into the rogue and tearing into its throat with claws and fangs. Blood sprayed as it crumpled beneath me, lifeless.

More rogues flooded in, their red fur a blur. My bones cracked, and my vision sharpened as my body shifted further. Scales and fur melded together, and my claws grew razor-sharp.

I didn’t think—I attacked.

The next rogue lunged, and I ripped through its chest. Another fell as my fangs closed around its neck. Blood coated the floor as I tore through them with savage precision.

When the chaos settled, four rogues lay dead at my feet. My chest heaved, and the hunger still clawed at me, insatiable.

A sharp growl snapped my focus. Orion stood at the entrance, his golden eyes blazing.

“Evelise, Enough!”

The rogues finally retreated, leaving the forest silent once more. I stood there, panting, my body trembling. My hands were slick with blood—not theirs, not mine—just... blood. Crimson streaks stained my clothes, my skin, my very existence. My stomach churned, the hunger that had gnawed at me moments ago now gone. But it wasn’t relief I felt. It was dread.

I caught a glimpse of myself in a broken shard of glass stuck in the ground. My reflection stared back, wild and unrecognizable. My eyes glowed faintly, the color unnatural. My lips were smeared with blood. Is that really me?

My chest heaved as the realization sank in. This is why they called me a monster. This is why they were chasing me. Because... they were right. I was a monster.

I stumbled back, tears spilling down my cheeks. "No," I whispered, my voice trembling. "No, no, no..." I dropped to my knees, clutching my head, the memories of what I’d just done flashing like a horror film. What’s the point of being reborn if I’ve come back as this?

Before I could spiral further, a strong hand gripped mine. Startled, I looked up to see Orion, his piercing gaze steady but... not angry. Not disgusted.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he said firmly, as though reading my thoughts. “You’re coming with me.”

“What?” My voice cracked.

“You’re joining my pack,” he said, pulling me to my feet. “You’re dangerous, yes. But with training, with control, you could be more powerful than anyone. You could use it for good. But you need help.”

I swallowed hard, still shaking. “Why would you help someone like me?”

He met my gaze, his expression softening just slightly. “Because I’ve seen what happens to hybrids who don’t learn control. You don’t want that. Trust me.”

He told me about a rare herb, one that grew high in the mountains, said to suppress the overwhelming urges and powers of hybrids. If I wanted a chance to live without being consumed by this... thing I’d become, I needed that herb. And I needed to learn.

The next day, we set off—Orion, two of his warriors, and me. I stuck close to him, too afraid to stray, too afraid of myself. The journey was long and grueling, the mountain terrain unforgiving. But the physical toll was nothing compared to the memories that haunted me.

As we began our journey, I couldn’t help but think back to my life before everything changed. Working three part-time jobs just to save up for college, the dreams of a better future... and then being betrayed by the one person I thought I could trust. My ex-boyfriend. I shuddered at the thought of him, the way he’d used me, spent my savings, and then killed me in cold blood.

The image of the truck’s blinding headlights seared through my mind. The impact. The pain.

I stumbled on the trail, and Orion caught my arm, steadying me. "You okay?" he asked, his tone softer now.

I nodded quickly, brushing away a tear.

But fate wasn’t done playing games with me yet.

When we reached a clearing near the mountain base, another pack was waiting. Their Alpha stepped forward to greet Orion, but my heart stopped.

It was him.

No, not him, I realized. But he looked exactly like my ex-boyfriend. The same smirk, the same sharp jawline.

"Damian," Orion said, addressing the man. "Alpha of the Ashfang Pack."

I couldn’t breathe. My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms. Could this be another cruel twist of fate?

Damian’s piercing eyes landed on me, and his smirk deepened. "Who’s this?" he asked, his voice eerily familiar.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Because all I could see was the face of the man who had betrayed me, pushed me, and left me to die.

I stood frozen, my heart pounding in my chest as I stared at Damian. He was like a ghost, or maybe a nightmare. His presence made my skin crawl, and yet... I couldn’t tear my eyes away. His face, his voice, it was like looking at my past, the one that I had left behind when I was... well, when I was me. The person I used to be, before everything went to hell.

Orion stepped in front of me, blocking my view, his body tense. “He’s ruthless,” Orion muttered under his breath, his voice low but carrying. “Ambitious, and his pack is known for their cruelty.”

I wanted to ask what the hell he meant, but all I could do was glare at the man who looked so much like my ex. Damian, the man who had used me, who had drained me dry, and left me for dead. The man who had stolen everything from me, including my future.

Damian’s eyes flicked over to me, and for a second, I could’ve sworn he knew exactly who I was. There was something in his gaze—cold, calculating—and it made my stomach twist. “Well, well,” he said, his voice smooth like velvet, “looks like fate’s got a funny way of putting people in the same place.”

Orion tensed, and I could feel his eyes flicking between Damian and me, as if he were waiting for something to snap. The air felt thick, charged with something dangerous. I tried to ignore the way my body seemed to react to Damian’s presence—how my pulse quickened, how my breath caught in my throat, like there was some twisted pull between us.

But I hated that feeling. I hated it with every ounce of my being.

“You know her?” Orion asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

Damian’s smirk deepened, and the eerie calmness in his voice made my blood run cold. “Oh, I know her,” he said, voice too smooth. “A little too well, actually.”

I stiffened. How did he know me? What the hell was going on? He wasn’t supposed to know me. He couldn’t.

“Listen,” Orion said, his tone turning sharper, “keep your distance. I don’t care what your business is, but she’s under my protection now. So don’t think you can—”

I didn’t catch the rest of Orion’s words.

Damian leaned back, eyeing Orion like they were sizing each other up, trying to figure out which one of them would make the first move.

Then, it happened.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and suddenly, a hybrid—a creature that wasn’t fully wolf, but wasn’t fully human either—lunged into the clearing.

Before I could even process what was happening, Damian’s pack circled around, their eyes glowing with an eerie hunger. Damian didn’t flinch.

In one swift motion, he reached for the hybrid, his hand gripping its throat, squeezing the life out of it like it was nothing more than a pest. He didn’t hesitate. Didn’t blink. Just... killed it while looking at me.

I felt my stomach churn, but it wasn’t just the violence that hit me hard. It was the way Damian enjoyed it—the way his grin widened as the hybrid’s life drained away. It was the same way I remembered him, cold and merciless.

And then I remembered my death—of that damn bridge, the truck, the coldness of him—rushed back like a tidal wave.

Without thinking, I slapped him. Hard. His face snapped to the side with a sickening crack, almost like it was going to pull off. The sound echoed through the clearing.

Damian’s smirk never faltered. His cheek was reddening where I’d slapped him, but he didn’t even blink. Instead, he laughed—a low, dangerous sound that made my skin crawl. “Not bad,” he chuckled.

His wolves growled, their eyes flashing with violence, but Damian waved them off casually. He didn’t seem worried. “You’re way too strong for a hybrid,” he said, looking directly at me. His gaze was cold, calculating. “I’ll make sure to kill you soon enough.”

I flinched at the coldness in his words, remembering what he had done to me, the way he had pushed me to my death. But before I could react, Damian turned to leave, his wolves following behind him with that same eerie silence.

As they disappeared into the shadows, Damian’s laugh echoed in my ears, the sound so haunting I felt it in my bones.

“See you soon,” he called out, his voice full of dark amusement. “And don’t think you’re getting away that easily… Evelise.”

The blood drained from my face.

How does he know my name?

Before I could react, he vanished into the darkness, leaving nothing but the chill of his words hanging in the air. My legs buckled, but Orion caught me, his grip firm.

“What the hell just happened?” he demanded, his voice cutting through the suffocating silence.

I couldn’t answer. My mind was a whirlpool of fear and questions, each one dragging me deeper.

He knows who I am.

But how?