Chapter 2

LOGAN

Something wasn’t right.

I felt it the moment Ava disappeared into the woods. At first, I thought it was just the lingering adrenaline from messing with her, watching her fall, hearing her sharp intake of breath. But now, standing at the edge of the academy grounds, I couldn’t shake the strange pull gnawing at my chest.

“You’re staring into the distance like a creep,” Liam said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “What’s going on?”

I shrugged him off, my eyes narrowing as I scanned the tree line. “Nothing.”

Landon snorted. “You’re a terrible liar, Logan. You’ve been acting weird ever since we saw her.”

Her. Ava.

I clenched my jaw. “Drop it.”

But they didn’t. Of course, they didn’t.

“She gets under your skin, doesn’t she?” Liam teased, grinning like he’d uncovered some deep, dark secret. “The little Omega with her big, defiant eyes.”

“Enough,” I snapped, my voice colder than I intended.

Lucas, as usual, stayed silent, his expression unreadable. But I could feel his gaze on me, sharp and calculating.

“She’s nothing,” I said firmly. “Just an Omega.”

The words felt hollow, even as I said them.

“Sure, Logan.” Liam smirked, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. “Whatever you say.”

The woods were quiet, too quiet.

I didn’t know why I was here, why my feet had carried me to the same spot where I’d seen Ava disappear. It wasn’t guilt. It couldn’t be.

I was the future Alpha of the Nightshade Pack. I didn’t feel guilty about putting an Omega in her place.

And yet, here I was.

The wind shifted, carrying a faint, unfamiliar scent. My instincts flared, and I straightened, scanning the shadows.

“Come out,” I called, my voice steady. “I know you’re there.”

Silence.

Then, a low growl.

It wasn’t human.

My wolf surged forward, alert and ready. I stepped into the trees, my hands curling into fists. The growl came again, louder this time, vibrating through the air.

“Logan.”

I spun around to see Landon stepping out of the shadows, his face pale.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, his eyes darting toward the trees. “But we’ve got bigger problems.”

Before I could ask what he meant, a figure emerged from the darkness—a massive, snarling rogue wolf, its eyes glowing with an unnatural light.

Landon shifted instantly, his wolf tearing through his clothes as he lunged forward. I followed a second later, my bones snapping and reforming as my wolf took over.

The fight was brutal, a whirlwind of claws and teeth. The rogue was stronger than it should have been, its attacks fueled by something dark and unnatural.

We managed to take it down, but not before it sank its teeth into Landon’s shoulder. He growled in pain, staggering as the rogue collapsed in a heap.

“What the hell was that?” I panted, shifting back to human form.

Landon didn’t answer. He was staring at the rogue’s lifeless body, his face grim.

“This isn’t over,” he said quietly.

I followed his gaze, my stomach knotting. The rogue’s eyes, even in death, still glowed faintly with that eerie light.

For the first time in a long time, I felt a flicker of fear.

Back at the pack house, I couldn’t shake the memory of Ava. She’d been in the woods, alone, right before the attack.

What if the rogue had been after her?

I shook my head, dismissing the thought. She wasn’t important. She couldn’t be.

And yet, as I lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling, her face haunted me.

Something about her wasn’t adding up.

I didn’t know it yet, but Ava Daniels was about to change everything.