Chapter Two
Ergimi still remembered the night she was cast out.
Fifteen years ago, the tribe had gathered under the full moon, their howls rising like thunder across the valley. She stood in the center, trembling, as the Alphas circled her in their wolf form. The silver light painted their faces into something fierce and merciless. She was only fourteen, her body thin and shaking, but the signs of what she carried burned bright in her blood.
"Her power is too dangerous," one of the elders spat, his eyes sharp with fear. "The girl can't stay. She will bring ruin before her time." he said
Ergimi's knees buckled, but she forced herself to look at them—her people, her family. "Please," she whispered. "I can control it. Just give me time."
But her pleas echoed in vain. She turned to her mother, whose eyes glistened with tears but remained downcast. She reached for her father, hoping for a hand, a word, anything—but he stood still, rigid, bound by fear, by law, by the will of the tribe.
At dawn, they led her beyond the border. The gates shut behind her with a final, echoing clang that haunted her dreams for years. She was banished. Alone.
Since then, Ergimi had lived among humans, her past buried under false smiles and borrowed normalcy. She told no one who she was. She tried to believe she was ordinary. But at night, when the moon was high, she sometimes woke up with her body aching, her blood humming with a song she could not silence.
---
Three years later.
California sunlight spilled over Ridgewood High, drenching the hallways in gold. The building buzzed with life—sneakers squeaked on linoleum floors, lockers slammed shut, laughter bounced off walls. The air smelled faintly of citrus from the open courtyard where orange trees grew, a reminder she wasn't in her homeland anymore.
Ergimi slipped among the crowd like a shadow, books clutched tight, her long hair falling forward to cover her face. She had perfected the art of being invisible, a ghost among humans.
Sliding into her seat, she exhaled in relief. But her best friend, Kate leaned over with a mischievous grin, eyes sparkling with excitement. She really couldn't understand why Kate was friends with her.
"There's a party tonight. At the lake cabin. Midnight. You have to come." Kate said.
Ergimi shook her head instantly. "You know I don't really do parties."
Her friend pouted dramatically. "Come on. You've skipped every one since freshman year. You're not even curious what it's like? Music, dancing, a little freedom?"
Before Ergimi could answer, a sharp, mocking laugh sliced across the room. Emily—Ridgewood's queen bee, radiant and ruthless—smirked from her throne-like perch on a desk. Her clique leaned in, waiting for the sting. She had always looked for ways to annoy Ergimi in the past.
"Of course she won't go," Emily said, her voice honeyed with venom. "She's a total dork. Imagine her at a party—she'd probably faint after ten minutes. Or worse, hide in a corner with her nose in a book."
Laughter rippled around the room like a wave, each giggling and snorting another needle under Ergimi's skin. Heat crawled up her neck, flooding her cheeks. For years, she had trained herself to let words slide off her, to stay quiet, unnoticed. But something inside her shifted, restless and raw, the same something that had gotten her banished.
Her chin lifted, her voice steadier than she felt.
"Fine," she said, louder than she meant to. "I'll go."
A hush fell for a split second. Then Emily's smirk sharpened like a blade.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
---
The cabin by the lake glowed against the darkness, strings of fairy lights reflecting on the still water. Music thumped through the walls, voices echoed in drunken laughter, smoke curled from the porch where couples whispered in shadows.
But when Ergimi pushed through the front door, silence swallowed her whole.
The main room was empty.
Except for one figure.
John.
He sat at a table near the window, tall and broad, shadows cutting across his face. His smile was easy, but something about it prickled her skin.
"Where is everyone?"Ergimi asked
"Everyone's at the backyard," he said smoothly, gesturing to the seat across from him. "you have a minute ."
Uneasy, Ergimi hesitated before lowering herself onto the bench. She clasped her hands in her lap, trying to still their tremble.
His hand reached across the table, brushing hers. His touch was firm, deliberate, too familiar.
"Don't," she whispered, jerking back.
His chuckle was low, mocking. "Relax. No one's watching."
He leaned closer, breath hot against her cheek, his grip tightening on her wrist. The air around them felt heavier, charged, like before a storm.
"Stop!" Her voice cracked, but he didn't move. His other hand slid toward her shoulder.
Something inside her snapped.
Panic erupted. She shoved him—harder than she thought possible.
John flew backward, smashing into the table with a sickening crack. Splinters rained down, glass shattered, a lamp flickered. For a heartbeat, he lay still. Too still.
"Oh God…" Ergimi staggered back, her breath coming in sharp bursts. "What did I—"
She bolted.
Her shoes slapped against the asphalt as she ran, the California night stretching endless around her. The air was cool, but her body burned as if fire lived in her veins. Her chest tightened, her vision blurred, her pulse roared like thunder in her ears.
She burst through her front door, slammed it shut, and flicked on the light.
Her world shattered.
Her hands weren't hers anymore. Claws gleamed under the lamp, wicked and sharp. Her ears elongated to points, twitching with sounds she shouldn't have heard—the drip of water in the kitchen sink, the flutter of wings outside.
The mirror across the hall reflected a creature she didn't recognize.
Pain ripped through her body, her bones breaking, reshaping, her scream clawing at the walls. Her skin rippled as if something inside fought to tear free. Her veins glowed like molten fire, burning from the inside out. She crumpled, convulsing, half-girl, half-beast, trapped in a body that wasn't her own.
Then—
The window exploded inward.
A blur of black crashed into the room, moving faster than human eyes could follow. Shards of glass scattered across the floor like ice. Strong hands seized her shoulders, pinning her against the wall with unyielding force.
"Not yet," the shadow rasped. The voice was low, commanding, almost mournful.
Her claws shrank. The pain ebbed. Her body stilled, as though his very presence forced the beast back into its cage.
With trembling eyes, Ergimi looked up as the figure reached for his cap. Slowly, deliberately, he pulled it free.
Shadows peeled away. His face emerged.
Her breath hitched. Her voice cracked into a whisper.
"Scott…" before finally going unconscious.