Isla's POV
The Old Library stood at the edge of campus like a rotting tooth—abandoned for twenty years after a fire killed three students. Most people said it was haunted. I'd always thought that was stupid.
Now, standing in front of its burned doors at five minutes to midnight, I wasn't so sure.
Turn around, my wolf warned. This is a trap.
Probably. But whoever sent those texts knew my biggest secret. Knew I was Isla Silvermoon, not Isla Monroe. Knew my entire family had been slaughtered when I was twelve. If they wanted me dead, they could have just told everyone the truth and let the rogues who'd killed my pack finish the job.
So what did they want?
I pulled open the creaking door and stepped inside. Moonlight filtered through holes in the roof, illuminating dust and debris. The smell of old smoke still lingered after two decades. My footsteps echoed on the cracked floor.
"Hello?" My voice sounded small in the empty space.
"You came alone. Good."
The voice came from the shadows near the back. A figure stepped into the moonlight, and my breath caught.
Professor Nightshade.
"You?" I stared at my mentor, the woman who'd saved my life, who'd protected me for eight years. "You sent those texts?"
"I had to get your attention without anyone tracking the message back to me." She moved closer, and for the first time, I noticed she looked scared. Professor Nightshade never looked scared. "We don't have much time. They know, Isla. The secret's out."
My stomach dropped. "What do you mean?"
"Someone sent proof of your identity to every major pack leader tonight. DNA records. Photographs of you as a child with your parents. Everything." She grabbed my shoulders. "By tomorrow morning, every Alpha in five territories will know you're the Silvermoon heir."
The world tilted. "How? Who would—"
"I don't know yet. But whoever it is, they're working fast." She pulled out her phone, showing me dozens of emails and messages. All containing files about me. About my real family. About the night they died. "Look at the timestamps. These were sent exactly thirty minutes after Daemon's rejection. Someone was waiting for that moment."
My mind raced. "Why would they wait for the rejection?"
"Think about it. If they'd revealed your identity before the Ball, you would have been the most desirable mate in the territory. Daemon might have accepted the bond—or at least hesitated. But now?" Professor Nightshade's expression was grim. "Now you're a powerful Alpha heir who was publicly humiliated by the Blackthorn prince. Every other Alpha can swoop in playing hero, offering you the respect Daemon denied."
"Someone's trying to start a war over me," I whispered.
"Not just a war. A complete power shift. The Silvermoon pack was the strongest bloodline in history. Your father led the Council of Alphas. Your mother could command any wolf below her rank with just her voice. Your territory is still unclaimed—thousands of acres of land and resources just sitting there, waiting for an heir to take control."
I backed away, shaking my head. "I don't want it. Any of it. I just want to survive college and—"
"You don't have a choice anymore!" Professor Nightshade's voice cracked. "The rogues who killed your family? They're still hunting. They wanted to eliminate the Silvermoon bloodline completely so they could claim your territory. I've spent eight years hiding you, suppressing your Alpha nature with herbs and magic, keeping you invisible. But now everyone knows. Those rogues will come for you. And so will every Alpha who wants either to mate you or kill you for your land."
The burned library suddenly felt too small. Too exposed. I ran to the broken window, gasping for air.
This couldn't be happening. Yesterday I was invisible. Nobody. The Omega girl everyone ignored. Now I was apparently the most wanted wolf in five territories, with a target on my back and no way to hide.
"What do I do?" I asked.
"You accept your birthright. You stop pretending to be weak." Professor Nightshade joined me at the window. "Your Alpha nature has been suppressed for so long, you've forgotten what you really are. But I saw your eyes flash gold tonight during the rejection. The herbs are wearing off. Your true power is breaking through."
I looked down at my hands. They weren't shaking anymore. Hadn't shaken since I'd decided to stop being afraid and start being angry. "How powerful am I really?"
"Your father could command entire packs with his Alpha voice. Your mother survived a silver bullet to the heart because her healing ability was that strong. You're their daughter, Isla. Their only child. You inherited everything." She gripped my hand. "And right now, you need to learn to use it. Fast."
A howl split the night—close, too close.
Then another. And another.
Professor Nightshade's face went white. "No. Not yet. They shouldn't have found us this fast."
"Who?" But I already knew. Could smell them on the wind. Rogue wolves. At least a dozen, surrounding the Old Library.
"They tracked your phone." Professor Nightshade shoved me toward the back door. "Run. Get to my car—keys are in the ignition. Drive to the address I'm texting you. There are others like us there. People who can teach you to fight."
"What about you?"
"I'll hold them off. Buy you time." She pulled out a silver knife that gleamed in the moonlight. "Go. Now!"
Glass shattered. Rogues poured through the windows—huge, scarred, feral. Their eyes glowed red in the darkness. One of them smiled, showing fangs.
"The Silvermoon pup," he growled. "We've been looking for you for a very long time."
Professor Nightshade stepped between us. "You want her? You go through me first."
The rogue laughed. "With pleasure."
They attacked.
Professor Nightshade moved like liquid death, her blade flashing. But there were too many. Way too many. One rogue broke through her defense, charging straight at me.
My wolf surged forward, stronger than she'd ever been. Without thinking, I shifted—but not into my usual small, weak Omega form.
I shifted into something else entirely.
Silver fur. Massive size. Power that made the air crackle. My Alpha form—the one I'd never been able to access before.
The rogue skidded to a stop, eyes wide with shock. "Impossible. You're suppressed. You shouldn't be able to—"
I didn't let him finish. I lunged, fangs finding his throat, and he went down hard. The other rogues froze, staring at me like they'd seen a ghost.
"She's fully awakened," one whispered. "The Silvermoon Alpha lives."
More howls answered from the woods. Not rogues this time. Campus security. They must have heard the fight.
"Fall back!" the lead rogue snarled. "We're not equipped for a full Alpha. But we'll be back, princess. And next time, we'll bring silver chains."
They vanished into the darkness as fast as they'd appeared. Professor Nightshade collapsed against the wall, bleeding from a dozen wounds. I shifted back, suddenly human and naked and terrified.
"You did it," she gasped. "You accessed your true form. Isla, do you understand what this means?"
I was shaking again, but not from fear. From power. From the energy still crackling through my veins. "What?"
"You're not just Silvermoon. You're the strongest Alpha heir in three generations." She coughed blood. "And everyone—rogues, pack leaders, rivals—they all just saw what you can do."
Campus security burst through the door, flashlights sweeping. They saw the destruction. The blood. Professor Nightshade's wounds. Me standing there covered in blood that wasn't mine.
The head security guard's eyes widened. "What happened here?"
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed. Multiple notifications. Text messages. Emails. Social media alerts.
Someone had recorded the fight. Posted it online. The video was already going viral.
And in it, you could clearly see my massive silver wolf form—the distinctive Silvermoon Alpha shape that everyone thought was extinct.
My secret wasn't just out. It was broadcast to the entire supernatural world.
The head security guard's radio crackled: "All units, priority alert. Campus on lockdown. Multiple Alpha heirs arriving via helicopter. They're demanding to see Isla Silvermoon. Immediately."
I looked at Professor Nightshade. "What do I do?"
She smiled despite the blood. "You stop running. Stop hiding. You're not invisible anymore, Isla."
"Then what am I?"
"The most powerful piece on the board. And everyone wants to claim you."
Outside, I heard helicopters approaching. Multiple ones. Powerful Alphas coming to stake their claim on the newly discovered Silvermoon heir.
And somewhere in that crowd would be Daemon Blackthorn—the mate who'd rejected me just hours ago.
Now he'd see exactly what he'd thrown away.