Rejected and Claimed by his Best Friend, Book 1

Chapter 13

Alice

The moon hung heavy and full in the sky as I sat at the edge of the lake, my fingers idly tracing circles in the water.

Winter was restless in my mind, pacing and huffing with growing unease. I couldn’t blame her. Every time I thought I was finally getting stronger, finally ready to face the mess my life had become, something pulled me back under.

**Josh. Harmonie. Silvermoon.**

Their names tasted like ash on my tongue.

“You’re brooding again,” Winter teased lightly, her voice brushing against my mind like a soft breeze. It was comforting. She always knew how to lighten the heaviness in my chest.

I gave a small laugh, even though it was hollow. *“Maybe just a little.”*

Winter sat beside me in the mental space we shared, her white fur shimmering under the glow of the bond we were still learning to strengthen. She nudged me gently.

*“You can’t let them control your every thought, Alice. Not anymore.”*

I sighed. “I know. It’s just—” I broke off, unable to explain the tangled mess inside of me. The betrayal still stung, even if I told myself over and over again that I didn’t care.

Winter stayed silent, giving me the space to think. She understood me in ways no one else could.

The wind shifted, and suddenly, the scent hit me.

Sharp. Metallic. Wrong.

I stood up instantly, my body tense, my heart pounding. Winter growled low in my mind.

*“Blood.”*

Without thinking, I shifted into my wolf form, my clothes shredding as my bones cracked and reshaped. My paws hit the ground hard as I raced toward the source of the smell, my instincts taking over.

As I ran, flashes of red blurred past me—too much blood for something natural. My stomach twisted in dread.

The trees opened up into a clearing, and that’s when I saw it.

A lycan lay dead on the ground, its body mangled and broken. Blood soaked the earth around it, and the acrid scent of death was almost overwhelming.

And standing just a few feet away… was Harmonie.

She looked up at me, her face pale, her hands shaking. Blood smeared her clothes, and for a split second, I saw fear flash in her eyes.

“Alice!” she cried, stumbling forward. “I— I found it like this! I swear!”

Winter growled low and menacing in my head. She didn’t believe her. Neither did I. There was something off about the way Harmonie stood there, something rehearsed, almost too perfect.

I shifted back into my human form, not bothering to hide my suspicion. “What happened?” I demanded, my voice sharp.

“I don’t know!” Harmonie said quickly, too quickly. She wrung her hands together, smearing more blood across her skin. “I was just walking and… and I found it like this! I swear it wasn’t me!”

Winter growled again. *“She’s lying.”*

I stepped back, suddenly uncertain. The timing. The blood. The way she was trying so hard to look innocent.

But before I could say anything else, voices echoed through the trees—other pack members, drawn by the scent of death. Panic flared in Harmonie’s eyes.

“Please,” she whispered harshly, grabbing my arm. “You have to help me. They can’t think it was me.”

I stiffened, my heart racing.

When the others burst into the clearing, Harmonie let go of me and immediately pointed.

“She did it!” she cried, her voice high and panicked. “Alice killed the lycan!”

The world seemed to stop.

I stared at her, my heart breaking into a million pieces.

And as the pack turned their accusing eyes on me, I realized—

Harmonie had set me up.

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