01
River's POV
"CRASH!"
I sat perfectly still as a glass flew three inches from my head, shattering against the wall.
"You incompetent little waste," my father snarled from across the table. Gregor Ashford, Alpha of the Bluecrest pack, looked at me the way most people looked at rotting meat. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
I kept my eyes on the floor. "I apologize, Father. It won't happen again."
"It won't happen again," he mocked, his voice dripping with contempt. "You said this exact same words the last time. And the time before that. Yet here we are, with another complaint from the pack elders about your foolishness."
The dining hall was silent except for the steady ticking of the grandfather clock behind him. Sunlight filtered in through the wide glass windows, catching on the silverware.
My jaw tightened but I kept my expression blank. The complaint was ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous even.
Marcus, Elder Valkin's precious son and my half–brother's best friend, had tried to shove me during the pack gathering yesterday evening. All I did was return the favor. I hadn't realized it was a bait until the idiot hit the ground and started screaming, pulling every eye in the place toward us.
I was only defending myself. But saying that out loud would mean admitting I'd fought back, at the same time, guaranteeing that I didn't sleep well tonight.
And I very much planned on sleeping well.
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you."
I raised my eyes slowly to meet his. His hands were braced on the surface of the massive oak table, his knuckles white. He looked like he was restraining himself from coming around it to hit me.
His face was red, veins visible at his temples. The anger was obvious but so was something else, something I knew as well as the back of my own hand.
Fear.
He was always afraid when it came to me.
"You need to learn your place," he growled. "You are nothing. Less than nothing. The servants in this house have more value than you do because at least they know how to follow orders without drawing attention."
God, not this again.
My stomach churned at his stale comparison, the familiar sense of shame washing over me. Even though he made it often enough that the words had lost their sting, some part of me had started to believe him.
A soft snicker broke the tension.
Albert.
My half-brother lounged in his seat, slouched and smiling, a fork dangling between his fingers. "He's right, you know," he said lightly. "Even the servants have more use than you."
"Enough, Albert," Gregor snapped, but his tone lacked conviction. The same way it always did when it came to his golden boy.
My father's Luna, Vivienne, let out a light, melodic laugh. "Oh, Gregor, don't be so harsh. It's too early in the day for all this shouting." She lifted her wine glass, red nails gleaming as the light caught the liquid. "He's only trying to be... useful."
Her gaze slid to me, honeyed and hateful all at once. Her smile never reached her eyes. "Aren't you, River?"
I didn't answer. I knew better. The wrong word could start a whole new storm.
Soon, a maid appeared to replace the shattered glass. She bent down to clean the shards of glass on the floor but Vivienne's voice stopped her.
"No need," she said smoothly from her place beside my father. Her smile was small and sharp. "Elena can handle it. That's what she's here for after all."
My stomach twisted at the sound of my mother's name spoken like it belonged to furniture instead of a person. As if on cue, my mother entered through the kitchen door, her head bowed, a cloth clutched in her hands. She moved silently toward the broken glass, her thin shoulders hunched beneath her plain dress.
Vivienne watched her like one might watch a stray dog. "Still causing problems, I see," she said lightly, cutting into her breakfast again. "Gregor, darling, must you waste your time on this? We have real pack business to attend to."
"This is pack business," my father snapped, pounding the table once. "If anyone discovers what he is, everything we've built will collapse."
Vivienne's eyes flickered to me with barely concealed hatred. She knew exactly what I was. They all did. It was the family's darkest secret—one that could destroy Gregor's reputation, his leadership, his entire empire.
I was an Omega.
Male Omegas were rare, almost unheard of in Alpha bloodlines. When I was born and the midwife identified my designation, my father had three choices.
–Acknowledge me and lose his position as Regional Alpha.
–Kill me and cover it up.
–Or hide the truth and hope no one ever found out.
The coward chose option three, and I'd been paying for that choice every day of my nineteen years.
"Maybe we should just be done with it," Vivienne suggested casually, tracing her expertly manicured fingers around the rim of her glass. "One accident, a tragic loss, and the problem disappears."
My heart kicked hard against my ribs but I kept my face empty. She'd made this suggestion before. So far, Father had never agreed, but I could see him considering it every time. Weighing the risk of keeping me alive against the risk of my existence.
"We've discussed this," my father said tightly. "It's too late for that. Too many people know he exists. His death would raise questions."
"Then send him away. There are places that take unwanted Omegas. Facilities where they're kept out of sight."
"And if he talks? If he tells anyone whose son he is?"
That shut her up. For a moment, the only sound was Albert's fork clinking against his plate as he reached for another bite.
"Father," Albert said through a mouthful of food, "can I take the Porsche into town today? Marcus invited me to the pack fights this afternoon."
"Fine." Father flipped to another page of whatever he was reading. "Stay out of trouble."
Of course. Albert could ask for the moon and get it.
The door opened, breaking the brittle tension. Beta Kane, Father's advisor and the one man in the pack besides my family who knew the truth about me, entered without knocking. As the head of pack security, he had privileges that extended to interrupting family meals.
The solidly built man in his forties had a face that revealed nothing. I had never been able to read him. Never been able to tell if Kane looked at me with pity or contempt or simple indifference.
"Alpha Ashford," Kane said, his tone professionally neutral. "The post courier just delivered this. It requires your immediate attention."
He held out a cream envelope sealed with red wax. At the sight of that wax, the room went very quiet. The seal was unmistakable—the Supreme Alpha's crest, two wolves circling a crown.
Father set down his coffee cup with deliberate care, took the envelope and broke the seal with his thumb. Paper rustled as he unfolded the letter inside. I watched his father's face shift through several expressions in rapid succession. Irritation. Shock. Then something colder—fear again.
Vivienne leaned forward slightly. "What is it?"
"It's from the Supreme Alpha's office," Gregor said slowly. "A formal summons." He paused. "River has been selected for admission to Stormridge Academy. He's to report in three days."
For a heartbeat, I couldn't breathe.
Stormridge Academy. The training ground for future Alpha leaders. Where bloodlines, strength, and dominance decided your worth. Where I wouldn't last three days without someone noticing I wasn't what I seemed.
"That's wonderful news," Vivienne said, her sly smile appearing on her face. "Isn't it, darling?"
Father didn't answer her. He kept his eye on me with an expression that promised nothing good. "Kane. Clear the room. Family only."
The servants and my mother left quickly. I heard the soft click of the door closing.
"You could send Albert," Vivienne suggested lightly. "Say that River is needed here, for pack business."
My father's face brightened immediately, blood returning to his face. "How did I not think of that before? That's quite–"
"It is fortunate you did not. That would be a very dangerous idea." Beta Kane interrupted my father before he could finish, "Every other Alpha would question why you're breaking tradition and they'd investigate. I would advise against that course of action, Alpha. It would raise too many questions," he said calmly.
"How silly of me," Vivienne murmured, smiling tightly. The bitterness in her voice was not lost on me. "I should not have made that type of suggestion. Forget I said anything."
Gregor turned back to me, his eyes cold as ice. "You're going. And you will be the top student in that Academy. Not second, not third. First. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Because if you fail, if you embarrass this pack, if you expose yourself—" He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl. I braced myself for the threat against my life.
"I will kill your mother. Not you. Her. And I'll make sure you watch before I deal with you. Do you understand?"
The world tilted sideways. My throat felt tight, my pulse hammering hard enough to hurt. I met my father's eyes and saw the absolute truth there. Knowing the type of person he was, I knew he would do it. Without hesitation.
"I understand," I said finally, my voice steady even though everything inside me trembled.
He leaned back, satisfied. "Good. You leave in three days. Pack light. And River — don't make me regret keeping you alive this long."