I thought getting into Apex Vanguard Academy was my ticket out. A chance to finally prove my family wrong, to escape the brothers who despised me. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so worthless anymore. No one believed I’d make it—especially not my fated mate, Alpha Weston Blake. The night I planned to celebrate… I found him tangled in the sheets with my best friend. Rejected and humiliated, I ran, leaving my old life in ashes to start over at Apex alone.
But this academy isn’t the sanctuary I imagined. Beneath its pristine halls, a twisted game is played for points, where status is everything and sexual conquests are currency. When my deepest secret is exposed—that I’m a virgin—I’m no longer a student. I’m the ultimate prize, and the school’s four ruling Alphas are ready to play.
There’s the mate who shattered my world, now vowing he’ll have me back. The calculating strategist who sees me as his perfect queen. The hedonistic playboy who promises to teach me everything I’ve never known. And then there’s him—Zion Hansen. The Alpha of the North. Aloof, powerful, a man who seems to hate the very system he commands, yet he’s the one who keeps pulling me from the fire.
But a dark rot festers at the heart of this academy, one that goes far beyond schoolyard games. In a place where secrets are weapons and trust is a liability, falling for the one man offering protection might be the deadliest move of all. Welcome to Apex Vanguard Academy—where innocence is a commodity, and mine is worth the most.

The classroom felt like a trap waiting to spring shut.


I slipped through the door of "Advanced Alpha Theory and Practice" with Pauline close behind, my heart hammering against my ribs. The conversations I'd overheard on the bus still echoed in my head. *Did you hear about the virgin in our year?* The words had followed me across campus like a shadow I couldn't shake.


"Just breathe," Pauline whispered, guiding me toward two empty seats in the middle of the room. "We'll sit here and blend in."


I nodded, grateful for her steady presence. The classroom was filling up quickly, students chattering about weekend plans and upcoming assignments. Normal conversations. Safe conversations. Nothing about virginity or purity marks or the hunt that had apparently begun.


I pulled out my notebook and focused on the syllabus taped to my desk. Pack dynamics. Alpha behavioral patterns. Mating rituals and bonding ceremonies. My stomach twisted at that last one.


Chapter 9 - Chapter 9 An Unlikely Quartet