HIS

Kyra stood in front of the cracked mirror that hung above the bathroom sink, pulling the oversized hoodie tighter around her thin frame. The fabric hung like a shapeless sack, swallowing what little shape she had left. Her blonde hair fell limp over her shoulders, and her emerald eyes looked too large for her face. She tugged at the hem, trying to hide the sharp line of her hipbones that pushed against her jeans.

Her mother appeared behind her in the reflection. Silk whispered against skin as the older woman crossed her arms. The dress cost more than their rent for three months. She held out her palm, the white pill sitting there like a threat.

"Open your mouth."

Kyra's stomach turned. The suppressants always made her feel wrong inside, like something vital had been scraped out. "I already took one yesterday."

"And you'll take another today." Her mother's voice stayed flat. "We move into the Blackwood estate in two hours. You need to look pure. Clean. Like no one has touched you."

Kyra turned around. The bathroom felt smaller with both of them in it. She opened her mouth, and her mother pressed the pill onto her tongue before handing her a glass of water. The bitterness hit immediately. Kyra swallowed fast, but the aftertaste lingered, coating the back of her throat.

"Good girl." The words came out mocking. "Now go pack the rest of your things. And don't drag your feet. This marriage is going to change everything for us."

Kyra left the bathroom without answering. Her duffel bag sat half-full on the bed. She had never owned much worth keeping, and most of what she did own stayed hidden. Sketchbooks. Pencils worn down to stubs. Nothing that would draw attention. She zipped the bag shut and stood there, staring at the wall.

The drive to the Blackwood estate took forty minutes. Kyra sat in the passenger seat while her mother drove, humming along to a song on the radio. The city thinned out as they climbed into the hills. Iron gates appeared at the end of a long driveway, flanked by stone pillars that stretched taller than the car. The house beyond them looked more like a fortress than a home. Gray stone. Tall windows. Shadows that clung to the corners even in the afternoon light.

Her mother parked and checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror. "Remember what we talked about. Be polite. Don't speak unless spoken to. And for God's sake, don't look sick."

Kyra got out of the car. The air here felt different, heavier somehow. Her skin prickled as they walked toward the front doors. The feeling of Alpha power pressed against her from every direction, though she couldn't name what it was exactly. She just knew it made her want to lower her eyes and stay quiet.

The doors opened before they reached them. A man stood in the entryway, tall and broad, with gray threading through his dark hair. Alpha Damon Blackwood. His eyes moved over Kyra like he was checking inventory, not greeting a new stepdaughter. He nodded once at her mother and stepped aside.

"Welcome to the family." His voice carried the weight of someone used to being obeyed. "Your rooms are upstairs. The staff will show you."

Kyra's mother smiled, all teeth and calculation. She stepped inside without looking back. Kyra followed, her duffel bag heavy on her shoulder. The foyer opened into a space that felt too large and too cold. Marble floors. Dark wood. A staircase that curved upward into more shadows.

She felt it before she saw him.

The bond hit like a punch to the chest. Her breath caught. Every nerve lit up at once, and she staggered, catching herself against the wall. Her heart hammered hard enough that she heard it in her ears. Something inside her recognized something inside him, and the recognition burned through every defense she had built.

Zade stood at the top of the stairs. Black hair fell across his forehead, and his blue eyes fixed on her with a look that turned her blood cold. He was taller than his father, taller than anyone she had ever seen up close. He filled the space he occupied, and the power rolling off him made her want to run. Or stay. She couldn't tell which.

The disgust on his face came fast and hard. He descended the stairs slowly, each step deliberate. When he reached the bottom, he stopped a few feet away. His nostrils flared. He smelled the suppressants on her skin, in her sweat, in the air between them.

"You're her daughter." It wasn't a question.

Kyra tried to speak, but her throat had gone dry. She nodded instead.

Zade moved closer. She had to tilt her head back to keep looking at him, and even then she only reached the middle of his chest. His presence wrapped around her, and she felt small. Fragile. He leaned down, and his breath warmed the side of her face.

"I don't know what game you're playing with those pills, but it won't work on me." His voice stayed low, meant only for her. "You think you can trap an Alpha by pretending to be something you're not? You're pathetic. Fake. And I will never claim a girl like you."

The words landed like stones. Kyra's hands shook. The bond that had flared so bright a moment ago twisted into something painful, something that clawed at her ribs from the inside. She swallowed hard and forced herself to stay upright. She would not fall. Not here. Not in front of him.

Zade pulled back. His expression hadn't changed. Still disgust. Still rejection. He turned and walked away without another word, his footsteps echoing against the marble. The front door slammed behind him a moment later, and Kyra flinched at the sound.

Her mother appeared from a side hallway, chatting with Damon about furniture and staff schedules. Neither of them had noticed the exchange. Kyra stayed where she stood, her back against the wall, trying to breathe through the ache in her chest. The suppressant made her stomach roll again. She pressed a hand to it and closed her eyes.

She had known this move would be difficult. She had not known it would start like this.

A staff member appeared, a woman in a plain uniform who took Kyra's bag without asking. "I'll show you to your room, miss."

Kyra followed her up the stairs. Each step felt heavier than the last. The hallway on the second floor stretched long and quiet. The woman opened a door near the end and set the bag inside. Kyra thanked her quietly and stepped into the room alone.

It was larger than any bedroom she had ever had. A bed with too many pillows. A desk by the window. Curtains that blocked out the light if she wanted. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her hands. The bond still hummed under her skin, angry and raw. She could feel him somewhere in the house, or maybe outside it, and the distance did nothing to ease the pull.

Her mother knocked once and entered without waiting. She looked around the room and nodded, satisfied. "This will do. Damon says there's a uniform waiting for you. You'll start at the academy tomorrow."

Kyra looked up. "Tomorrow?"

"Pack Academy. It's where all the shifter children go. Damon arranged it." Her mother smoothed her dress. "Don't embarrass me there. And don't let anyone know about the suppressants. If they ask why you smell like nothing, tell them you're human. Or defective. Either works."

She left before Kyra could respond. The door clicked shut, and the silence settled back in. Kyra stood and walked to the window. Outside, the grounds stretched wide and manicured. She could see the edge of a forest beyond the lawn. Somewhere out there, Zade had gone. She could still feel the echo of his rejection, like a bruise forming under her ribs.

She changed into the uniform that had been left on the chair. The skirt felt too short. The blouse too thin. She pulled the hoodie back on over it and sat down again. Her body ached in places she couldn't name. The suppressant worked its way through her system, making her joints heavy and her head light. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Sleep didn't come easily. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Zade's face. Heard his voice. The bond twisted again, and she pressed a hand to her chest like she could hold it still. She had spent years learning how to hide. How to make herself small enough that no one would look twice. Now she had been dragged into a house full of Alphas, and the one person who should have protected her had looked at her like she was poison.

She rolled onto her side and pulled her knees up. The hoodie bunched around her, and she tugged it down over her legs. Tomorrow she would face the academy. Tomorrow she would walk into a building full of shifters who would smell the nothing on her skin and decide she didn't belong. She already knew how that story went.

But tonight, in this room that wasn't really hers, she let herself feel the weight of everything that had already gone wrong. The bond. The rejection. The way her body fought against the pills that kept her safe and made her sick at the same time. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about the way Zade had leaned in close, his breath hot against her ear, and told her she would never be enough.

The house settled around her. Somewhere below, voices carried up the stairs. Her mother. Damon. Staff moving through hallways. Kyra stayed in her room, the door locked, the curtains drawn. She had learned a long time ago that safety came from staying invisible. But invisibility had never felt harder than it did in this house, with a bond she hadn't asked for pulling at her from the inside out.

She pressed her face into the pillow and breathed through the nausea. The suppressant would pass. The bond would stay. She didn't know which one scared her more.