Chapter 2

LOCHLAN’S POV.
The car moved slowly along the road leading into Night Crescent Pack.
I sat in the back seat, staring out of the window.
It had been years since I left this place.
Years since I last called it home.
Nothing about coming back felt good.
Not even a little.
My jaw stayed tight as the pack borders came into view.
I did not want to be here.
Not after everything that had happened.
My father is dead.
Alpha Frank is gone. He and I had never been close, and we drifted farther apart after the death of my mother. Maybe that was the reason his death hit even harder. Because we rarely spoke, we rarely saw each other.
And now he is gone. Everyone says it is because of a servant girl.
Nima. I heard her name was.
I had never met her.
But her name already sat heavily in my mind.
Because how else was I supposed to feel?
My father died saving her.
A mere servant who is not even from Night Crescent.
Someone who should never have been important enough to matter.
My chest tightened with anger.
The car stopped at the gate of Night Crescent Pack.
I stepped out slowly, and the cold air hit my face immediately.
Guards stood at attention.
The moment they saw me, they opened the gate fully.
People were already gathering.
Whispers spread quickly through the crowd.
“He’s here.”
“The future Alpha has returned.”
I walked forward, my face staying calm.
No emotion.
No greeting.
Beta Hank stepped forward first, followed by the elders. I recognized him from when he visited with my father in the past.
All of them bowed slightly.
“Welcome home, Future Alpha Lochlan,” one of them said.
Home.
That word meant nothing to me anymore.
Beta Hank gestured behind him.
“I don’t suppose you would recognize Violet, my daughter.”
Behind them, I saw others standing in line.
And among them… Violet.
I didn’t particularly recognize her. It had been too long. It was her straight blonde hair that gave her away.
She stepped forward with a confident smile.
“Lochlan,” she said softly. “Welcome home, my love. I’m glad you made it home safely.”
Violet.
My childhood betrothed.
Daughter of my father’s Beta.
We had been promised to each other since birth.
A political bond.
A future already decided for us.
“Violet,” I acknowledged with a single nod, my eyes already moving away.
I turned to the elders.
“Where is she?” I asked coldly. “The servant girl.”
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Silence spread through the group.
A few of them looked uncomfortable.
One elder finally spoke.
“You mean Nima.”
“Yes,” I said.
Another voice came quickly.
“She is still in the packhouse, Future Alpha.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Is that so?”
No one answered at first.
Then words started coming out.
“That girl is a curse,” one man said.
“She brings misfortune,” another added.
“She is the reason Alpha Frank is dead.”
My hands slowly tightened at my sides.
“All because her wolf is so weak,” someone continued.
“She shouldn’t have gone into the woods that night, knowing fully well she can’t shift.”
Every word made something inside me burn hotter.
So it was true.
Everything I was told. Everything I feared.
It was all real. She was responsible for my father’s death.
“Oh! There she is, Future Alpha!” a voice called, and I turned to where he was pointing.
Then I saw her.
A little distance away from the crowd was a she-wolf wearing a maid uniform. She was carrying a basket full of laundry, moving carefully. Slowly.
Like her body was tired from years of work.
Her head stayed down the entire time.
No one spoke to her.
No one even looked at her properly.
She looked small.
Too small for someone who was supposed to carry this much blame.
For a moment, I just watched her. My wolf stirred.
So this was her.
The girl responsible for my father’s death.
“Nima,” I called.
My voice cut through the noise, and everything went quiet instantly.
She stopped walking. Slowly, she turned.
Her eyes met mine for a second, then dropped immediately.
Fear.
Good.
She should be afraid.
“Come here,” I said.
She hesitated before taking one step.
Then another.
Finally, she stood in front of me.
Her hands were shaking slightly as she clutched the basket tightly.
I looked down at her.
This was her.
The servant girl everyone blamed.
The one tied to my father’s death.
“You know who I am?” I asked.
She nodded quickly.
“Speak,” I said sharply.
“Yes… sir,” she whispered.
My eyes hardened.
“Good,” I said coldly.
She looked confused for a second.
Then I stepped closer.
“My father died because of you.”
The words came out without hesitation.
Her face changed immediately.
Pain and confusion, all mixed together.
“Alpha, I… I didn’t—” she tried to speak.
But nothing came out properly.
She just stood there frozen.
Good.
Let her carry it.
Let her feel the gravity of what she caused.
Before I could say anything else, an elder stepped forward.
“My Future Alpha,” he said carefully.
“Tonight is the full moon.”
I turned slightly.
“So?”
His expression tightened.
“Your wolf… has not been stable for years.”
Silence fell again.
I already knew that.
But I said nothing.
The elder continued.
“It becomes worse during the full moon.”
I exhaled slowly through my nose.
Something inside me stirred restlessly.
The sun began to set over the pack.
Shadows stretched across the ground as nighttime arrived.
As usual, I felt it.
The shift.
The pressure under my skin.
My wolf was waking up.
I clenched my fists tightly.
Not now.
Not here.
But I already knew the truth.
I would not be able to stop it.
The full moon was calling him out.
And I was losing control.