Chapter 1 Chapter 1
MADDIE POV
Ugh, again?
I rolled my eyes as my phone went dead right before my eyes.
Lila smiled at me. "You must have a thing against phone chargers, Maddie. What the heck?"
"Come on," I replied calmly. "It's just a dead battery. It's not the end of the world. Besides, I can always get it charged. There is always a power supply here, remember?"
She shrugged. "It's not safe for your battery, but you never listen. So do what makes you happy, Maddie."
The way she spelled my name out, it sounded exactly like my father would whenever he wanted to scold me. I turned to Theo for backup, but he simply raised his hands up.
"Unusual, but I'm with Lila here. You know she's right, you don't ever plug in your phone on time." He added. "By the way, it's Thursday night, aren't you going to the castle to see your parents, Princess Maddie?"
Being the Alpha's daughter was nice and all, but it had its own perks. The kind that meant my friends would tease me all the time just because I was a princess. I shook my head calmly.
"You're not going?" He gasped, holding his chest dramatically.
"Oh my G!"
"Stop," I drawled calmly. "It's not that serious. Mom actually said she would want me over tomorrow instead, so I have to cancel our plans to hang out tomorrow."
"We can just go today," Theo suggested.
Lila immediately turned pale and clutched her tummy. "I... I don't feel good, I should head home."
I was a bit worried. "Are you alright? We can postpone it until you're fine. Do you need something?"
"No, no," she shook her head. "Don't postpone it. You guys are free to hang out without me, duh," she smiled sweetly. "I wouldn't forgive myself if I deprived you two of your time together."
I shrugged. "Should we walk you to your dorm? You don't seem fine. Theo?"
Theo sprang up immediately but she held her palm out to stop him. "No, nobody's coming with me. I'm fine! Well, I will be fine. Just go ahead and do what you have to do."
"O-kay," I nodded and Theo slowly sat back down. "Weird," I mumbled to myself. "Be safe, okay? Take care and don't eat too much sweets."
Lila rolled her eyes. "Yes mom," she teased and left. Theo shook his head and shrugged.
"I don't think Lila would forgive us if we went out without her anyway. Besides, my girlfriend has been acting so weird lately, I need to check up on her."
I scowled slightly. "Acting weird? Like she's cheating on you kind of weird?"
He nodded.
I breathed out. "Finally, it took you so long to figure it out. Boy, I hated having to keep my mouth shut and stop being the one to always ruin my friends' relationships."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, she's been cheating for over a year, duh. She sleeps with almost every guy on campus. Even the new transfer student has had his share," I added. "I have always wanted to tell you, but Lila accused me of being the one to always ruin your past relationships since highschool. I decided to keep my mouth shut. Although I don't know what friends are for if you can't tell when their partner is cheating on them."
He looked down. "So Aubrey has been cheating on me for the entire duration of our relationship?"
I nodded.
"Well, it's good that you didn't tell me then. I wouldn't have believed it anyway. Now that I already have my suspicions, it's easier to believe." He mumbled.
I shrugged. "If Jace was cheating on me, and you knew, I would want you to tell me. So I thought that I would do the same for you guys, but you obviously think differently so it's alright. Nevertheless, I think you should go and check on her. Who knows, you might find something to solidify your suspicion. My words mean nothing."
He stood up with a sober expression on his face, said his goodbyes and left. Sitting alone in my room, I decided to still visit my parents anyway. Even though they had told me to stay back, I would still go.
So I got ready and left the dorm. Something inside of me began to pull me back. I sighed and stopped parked the car by the corner for a while. Shutting my eyes, I started to communicate with my wolf, Gory.
"What's the matter? Why don't you want us to visit the castle? Aren't you always so eager to go?"
"Well, you should know that if I'm not eager, then something is wrong," she replied. "It's not safe for us to go."
"Gory, since when are we afraid?" I asked. "I mean, you are a white fur wolf, the strongest breed of wolf to ever exist. We cannot be afraid of anything."
"Maddie, you can't even begin to fathom how powerful we are
"And that's a good thing."
"No, it's not. You can't fathom it because you can't control it. You can't even shift properly, what makes you think that you can fight?"
I sighed and pressed my forehead against the steering wheel.
Gory is right, even as the Alpha's daughter, and the one who inherited the white fur from my lineage, I couldn't access any of my abilities. I was pretty much just human. The only time I had ever shifted was the first time I did, and that was on my first date with Jace.
He fell in love with me right away, and we have been together since then. Even though my wolf always went silent when he was around, it didn't bother me much because I was madly in love with him.
"Gory, we have to go," I deadpanned. "If something is going wrong at home, I have to know. Otherwise I wouldn't forgive myself."
"Whatever," Gory purred back. She was definitely upset, but hey, I was the one behind the wheels anyway. So I restarted the car and continued driving. Approximately twenty minutes later, I parked just outside the castle gates, frowning as I noticed they were wide open. No guards. No lights. No noise.
Nothing.
"What the hell?" I muttered, gripping the steering wheel tighter. The castle never slept. This silence... it wasn't right.
I got out, slamming the door harder than I intended. Gravel crunched beneath my boots as I marched up the stone steps, my pulse pounding louder with each step.
"Hello?" I called out. My voice echoed through the vast, empty halls. No answer. Just more silence.
Then I heard it. Low murmurs— like whispers. They were coming from the inner court chamber.
"Dad?" I called again, slower now. My voice faltered
"Mom?"
No reply.
My fingers trembled as I reached for the curtain. It felt heavier than usual. Almost like it was warning me not to open it. But I did.
And that's when my world shattered.
My parents...
My father lay slumped over his chair, a deep gash tearing through his chest, blood staining the floor beneath him. My mother was sprawled across the ground, her eyes wide open in frozen terror-like she saw death coming and still couldn't believe it.
"No..." My voice cracked as I dropped to my knees. "No, no, no-please!" I reached for them, but they were already cold Gone.
A scream ripped from my throat, raw and sharp. Gory whimpered inside my head, shaking.
"We have to leave, now!"
"I can't—" I choked. "I can't leave them—"
"MADDIE!" Gory roared in my mind. "SOMETHING IS STILL HERE!"
I froze. That's when I heard it. The sound of a footstep-just one— echoing softly behind me.
Someone else was in the castle.
Breath caught in my lungs, I bolted. Down the halls. Past the open doors. I didn't even stop for the car. I ran until the castle was a blur behind me until my legs screamed and my heart felt like it might explode.
I didn't know where I was going. I only knew one thing.
I had to get back to school.
Fast.
Because someone had just murdered the Alpha King and Queen.
And I might be next.