The black SUVs tore through the perimeter roads, their headlights cutting through the thick fog rolling off the forest border.
Raquelle sat in the front seat, her arms crossed calmly as Gamma Jake drove.
In the back seat, Beta Dominic Blue was already adjusting his tactical gear, his face deadly serious.
A small squad of armed pack warriors followed in the cars behind them.
“They’re getting bolder,” Jake muttered, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Spotted right outside the boundary line.
Usually, our perimeter patrols keep them away.” “They’re testing us,” Dominic said from the back, his voice deep.
“They want to see if the new, younger Alpha has teeth to guard the borders, or if she handles everything through paperwork.” Raquelle let out a cold laugh, her gaze fixed on the trees passing by.
“Let them test.
They’ll find out exactly what kind of teeth I have.” The cars pulled to a halt at the edge of the border.
Raquelle stepped out into the crisp night air, her jacket unbuttoned as her inner wolf, Roxy, paced inside her mind.
Dominic, Jake, and the warriors flanked her instantly as they stepped onto the damp forest dirt, inspecting the area.
“Scent is fresh,” Jake remarked, kneeling down to touch the mud.
“Three…
maybe four rogues.
They were hanging around here for a while before our sensors picked them up.” “They ran the moment we approached,” Dominic reported, checking his tracker.
“They’re moving back toward the city outskirts.
Should we chase them, Alpha?” Raquelle scanned the dark woods, tracking the foul smell of the rogues.
“No.
Don’t waste the time.
They wanted a reaction, and I’m not giving them the satisfaction of a wild chase.
Put more automated patrols on this sector and keep the guards on high alert.” Right as she turned back toward the car, her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She pulled it out, her bro furrowing as she looked at the screen.
*Mom.* Raquelle sighed, answering it.
“Yes, Mom.” “Raquelle, darling,” her mother’s voice came through, tight and sharp.
“Your father and I are hosting a family dinner tonight at the house.
It has been weeks since we’ve seen you.
I expect you to come home for it.” Raquelle closed her eyes.
She loved her family—she had even forgiven her father, Alpha Roland Blackwood, for the brutal silver beatings he had ordered all those years ago to force her shift.
But loving them didn’t mean she was close to them.
The trauma of being nineteen still felt heavy whenever she entered their space.
“I’m currently handling a border issue, Mom,” Raquelle replied.
“The warriors can handle the borders, Raquelle.
You are the Alpha, not a guard dog,” her mother countered sharply.
“Dinner is at eight.
Do not be late.” The line went dead.
Raquelle lowered the phone, taking a deep breath.
She turned to Dominic and Jake, who were both watching her with knowing looks.
Where her parents stayed was a massive private estate hidden away from the main pack house and the sleek downtown penthouse where Raquelle lived her life.
Going there always felt like stepping into a trap.
“Duty calls, Alpha?” Jake teased, a cheeky smirk on his lips.
“Shut up, Jake,” Raquelle muttered, swinging open the car door.
“Dominic, you’re in charge of monitoring the sector tonight.
I have a family dinner to survive.” *** Few hours later, after contemplating going or not.
Raquelle’s sports car finally pulled up the long driveway of the Roland Blackwood estate.
She smoothed down her suit, took a deep breath, and walked through the front doors.
The moment she stepped into the hallway, a loud gasp echoed from the stairs.
“Oh my god!
Look everyone, our evil sister has actually decided to show up!” eighteen-year-old Stacy announced loudly, a massive grin on her face as she practically flew down the stairs.
Raquelle couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face.
“Watch your mouth, brat, or I’ll cut your allowance.” Vanessa, nineteen, walked out from the living room, looking calm.
“Ignore her, Raquelle.
We’re glad you made it.
Come on, dinner is already served.” The family gathered around the long dining table.
Alpha Julian Blackwood sat at the head, his powerful frame clad in a casual shirt, while her mother, Theresa Blackwood, sat opposite him, watching her three daughters.
For the first twenty minutes, the dinner went smoothly—until the main course arrived.
Her mother cut into her steak, her sharp eyes lifting to lock onto Raquelle.
“So, Raquelle…
when exactly are you going to finally look for your fated mate?
Or have you even tried searching the surrounding areas?” Raquelle paused her fork.
“I don’t have time to look for a fairy tale, Mom.
I have a pack to run.” Her mother frowned deeply, setting her knife down with a click.
“I don’t like the way you are constantly messing around with your Beta and your Gamma, Raquelle.
It is the talk of the high circles.
I am your mother, and it hurts to see my daughter behaving like a whore.” The entire table went dead silent.
Stacy and Vanessa froze, their eyes darting between them.
Raquelle didn’t flinch.
Instead, she leaned back in her chair, letting out a cold, amused laugh.
She looked her mother dead in the eye, her golden gaze flashing.
“I’m not a whore, Mother,” Raquelle replied, her voice dangerously calm.
“I have only two body counts.” Her mother’s face instantly twisted in disgust, her cheeks turning red.
“I didn’t ask you!” “You sure did by poking your nose into my sexual affairs,” Raquelle fired back smoothly.
“Okay, that’s enough,” her father, Alpha Julian Blackwood, cut in.
His deep, commanding voice broke the tension.
He gave his wife a warning look before turning back to his food.
“Let’s eat.” *** After dinner, Raquelle had intended to drive straight back to her penthouse, but Stacy and Vanessa completely blocked the front door, begging her to do a sleepover with them.
Reluctantly, she agreed, letting them drag her up to Vanessa’s bedroom.
The three sisters lounged across the massive bed in their pajamas.
Stacy and Vanessa did ninety percent of the talking, full of energy, while Raquelle managed to respond with short answers, enjoying the rare moment of being just a sister instead of an Alpha.
“High school is literally a prison,” Stacy complained, throwing her hands up.
“I am so excited to be almost done with it next month.
The drama is exhausting!” “Just wait until college,” Vanessa laughed, leaning against her pillows.
“It’s a whole different level.
Last week, Lucas almost started a fistfight right in the middle of the lecture hall because a professor was staring a little too hard at my legs.” The three sisters burst out laughing, knowing how overprotective male wolves could get with their mates.
Suddenly, Stacy rolled over on her stomach, looking up at Raquelle.
“Hey, Raquelle…
how old is your Beta, anyway?” Raquelle raised an eyebrow, her instincts picking up the sudden shift in her sister’s scent.
“Dominic, He’s twenty-eight.
Why?” Stacy’s cheeks instantly flushed red, and she quickly looked away to avoid her sister’s eyes.
“Oh…nothing.
Just curious.” “Ewwww,” Raquelle groaned loudly, a look of pure amusement crossing her face as she pointed a finger at her youngest sister.
“You have a crush on him!
You are crazy, Stacy.
He could literally give birth to you!” “What?!
That is not true!” Stacy defended herself frantically, hiding her red face behind a pillow.
“He’s not your mate, by the way,” Vanessa added maturely, shaking her head.
“When the right time comes, you’ll find your mate, Stacy.” “What if he is?” Stacy asks dreamily, hugging the pillow tight.
Raquelle rolled her eyes.
“Then you would have found out two years ago when you clocked sixteen.
The bond would have snapped back then.” “Oh shoot…
he’s so handsome,” Stacy sighed dreamily.
“Gosh…
I want to puke,” Raquelle said, making her sisters burst into loud laughter.