Melina POV
I was still reading the page about human mates when a soft knock sounded at my door.
"Ma'am? It's Shelda," her gentle voice floated in.
"Come in," I answered, quickly pushing the map under my pillow.
She walked inside with her usual calm smile. "Alpha Mason said I should show you around the pack if you're ready."
I nodded nervously and closed the book. "Uh… yeah. Sure. Let's go."
We stepped into the hallway and walked together. The silence was awkward, and my mind kept going back to everything I had just read mates, wolves, Alphas, glowing stomachs. It all felt like some crazy fantasy… until now.
"Shelda," I said suddenly, my voice shaky. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Are… are werewolves real?"
Shelda stopped walking.
Then… she smiled.
Not a normal smile.
A knowing smile.
"Do you want to see for yourself?"
My heart nearly dropped out of my chest. "W-What do you mean?"
Before I could step back, her bones cracked softly at first, then louder. Her body shifted, bending and reshaping like something out of a horror movie.
Her clothes melted into her skin.
Her blonde hair disappeared.
And right in front of me…
Where Shelda once stood…
A wolf stood there.Snow-white fur.Sharp blue eyes.Not a dream.Not a vision.
Real.
My breath caught.
My whole body froze.
The wolf lowered its head gently, like it was greeting me.
"Shelda…" I whispered, my voice trembling.
She shifted back quickly, and the next thing I saw was Shelda. Naked.
I gasped and immediately turned around. "O–oh my God! You're… you're naked!"
She laughed lightly. "Sorry, clothes don't shift with us."
Still facing the wall, I removed my top and stretched it backward toward her. "Here… take this. I'm wearing a singlet underneath."
"Thank you," she said softly as she slipped it on.
"Now you believe," she said softly.
I stumbled back a step, my lungs refusing to work. "You're… you're all monsters…"
She blinked, hurt flashing in her eyes. "We're not monsters, Milena."
But I didn't wait to listen.
I turned and RAN.
Down the hall past paintings, past expensive vases, past staircases until I slammed the door to my room and pressed my back against it, panting like someone chased me.
My legs trembled.
My heart thundered painfully.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't imagination.
It wasn't a book story.
Werewolves are real.
This house is full of them.
And I'm the mate of their king.
I walked slowly to the bed and grabbed the heavy werewolf book again. My fingers shook as I opened to the next chapter.
If I stayed here…
If Mason found out I knew too much…
If these creatures got hungry…
I swallowed hard and whispered to myself:
"I need to run away… before these creatures eat me."
I pulled the map out of my clothes and laid it next to the book.
If I was going to survive…
I needed a plan.