Rhea’s POV

Mom: “Rhea, please don’t leave the house tonight. Let’s talk.”

I hissed softly. She knew I always slipped out when we fought.

Mom: “We haven’t finished discussing this.”

Another buzz. Then another.

Mom: “Rhea.”

I locked the screen without replying. My heart was still pounding from the news she’d dropped, and if I stayed, we’d just end up yelling again. That seemed to be all we did lately.

I tiptoed down the stairs and slipped out the back door, shutting it quietly behind me. The night air was cool, but I barely felt it against my heated skin.

Frustration and adrenaline burned through me. I needed to forget everything. Tonight wasn’t about fun, it was about escape. If Mom could tear me out of my life, then I’d tear myself out of the girl she thought I was.

The party was already in full swing when I arrived. Music thumped from the speakers, bodies swayed under fairy lights strung across Jay’s backyard.

The air was thick with beer, grilled meat, and the wild scent of werewolves. My people. Loud, untamed, familiar. I was already missing them.

“Look who showed up!” Jay’s voice boomed as he spotted me. He weaved through the crowd, red Solo cup in hand, and pulled me into a spin.

“You look like sin in heels,” he murmured, eyes dragging over me.

“Good.” My smile curved slow and sharp. “That’s exactly the point.”

He leaned in, lips brushing close, but I tilted my head just out of reach, letting my smirk linger. “Not yet, Jay. You want a taste, you’ll have to work for it.”

His groan was low, hungry, as he shoved a drink into my hand. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”

I winked, lips grazing the rim of my glass. “That’s the idea. Keep begging.”

We drifted deeper into the chaos. Music blasted, girls danced barefoot on the grass, guys shifted partially just to show off. A couple of pups glared with glowing eyes, desperate to look powerful.

Near the fire pit, I spotted Mel and Gracie. “You look hot as hell!” Mel shouted over the bass.

“Something happened?” Gracie asked, reading my face too easily.

I shrugged. “My mom’s making me move in with her new Alpha mate. New pack, new state, new life.”

Mel’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“Yup. Just like that. She’s making me pack up and leave. Keeps calling it a ‘better place,’ though I don’t even know what that really means.” The lie slipped out easily, though inside me I knew exactly why, we were going somewhere I didn’t want to be. I was fine here, with my life, with everything I already had.

“Holy crap.” Gracie blinked. “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” I admitted, draining half my cup. “But I’m here. So I’m gonna have fun before I’m shipped off to goddess-knows-where.”

I walked away before the pity could settle on their faces. The alcohol was buzzing in my veins, and I needed air. I slipped inside the house, telling myself I’d find a bathroom, maybe splash cold water on my face.

Halfway down the hall, I froze. Low, breathy moans leaked through a half-open door, tangled with the dull thud of bodies moving. My chest squeezed tight, but before I could stop myself, I pushed the door wider. Jay.

He was sprawled on top of Cassie, shirt hanging loose, jeans shoved down his hips. Her skirt was rucked up around her waist, her breasts spilling free as his hands kneaded them greedily. His cock moved between her thighs, sliding hard against her slick pussy while she arched up, crying his name like she’d practiced it a thousand times. Their mouths crashed together, messy and frantic, teeth and tongue devouring each other as if they didn’t care who heard.

They were so lost in the heat of it, his hips grinding, her nails clawing down his back, that they didn’t notice me at first. Not until Cassie threw her head back with a moan and Jay turned his face toward the door… and saw me standing there.

This wasn’t just flirting and it wasn’t just a mistake. It was betrayal in its rawest form.

Jay’s head jerked up, panic flashing across his face. “Rhea… wait, babe, it’s not…”

“Don’t.” My voice cracked. “Go ahead. Keep proving I mean nothing to you.”

Cassie smirked, smug and unbothered, like she’d won something that was never hers to begin with. My palm itched to slap her, but instead I tipped back my cup and drained it like water. The burn barely registered. My ears rang, my chest hollowed out but I refused to let either of them see me shatter.

It wasn’t just Jay. It was Dad, gone. My pack, ripped away. Now the only life I had left, gone too. Jay and Cassie weren’t just betrayal, they were the final nail.

I turned on my heel before the tears spilled, but they betrayed me anyway, sliding hot down my cheeks as I pushed through the crowd and out the door. My hands shook. My breath broke. Why did Jay even ask me to come here? Was this his plan, to humiliate me, to watch me crumble in front of everyone?

If the world wanted to break me, then fine. But I’d break on my own terms, not theirs.

So today I partied harder than ever. Shot after shot. Dance after dance. I drowned the betrayal, the anger, the heartbreak, until the music blurred and the night swallowed me whole.

My friends tried to check on me, but I waved them off. I didn’t want pity. I wanted numbness.

That’s when I saw him. Tall. Broad shoulders in a fitted black tee. Dark hair slicked back just enough to frame sharp eyes, dark, smoky, dangerous. He wasn’t from school. I’d have remembered him.

He looked older. Out of place. Yet when his gaze locked on me across the yard, it was like he already knew me.

Jay was nothing now. This stranger? He was something else.

He cut through the crowd without hesitation, a grin playing at his lips. “You look like you’re trying to forget something.”

“Maybe I am,” I said, lips curling. “Are you offering help?”

“Depends,” he said, voice low and smooth. “What kind of help are you looking for?”

“I’ll let you figure that out.”

We slipped into a quieter corner of the yard. The chaos dulled into a throb of bass.

His lips brushed mine first, tentative, then urgent. My instincts screamed to stop. Wrong. Dangerous. But then something inside me roared awake. My wolf. For the first time ever, she was alive, not warning me but urging me forward.

Heat flooded me, fierce and undeniable. My fingers curled into his shirt as he pulled me closer, the kiss deepening. His scent hit me, pine and danger, threaded with something feral. It stole my breath. I let him press me back against the fence. It was only kissing, wild and consuming but it felt like more. Like destiny crackling in the air.

Then something twisted inside me, sharp as a warning. My breath hitched. “I… I can’t.” I pressed gently against his chest, breaking the kiss. “I need a second.”