01 - Crown Falls
The halls of Evernorth High used to part for me like the Red Sea.
I was Frieya. The name alone carried weight—the kind of royal, absolute authority that made lower-ranking wolves drop their gazes to the polished floor before my designer heels could even touch the tiles. My bloodline was sacred, pure, and immensely powerful. In our lineage, our wolves awakened early, bursting with raw strength, agile instincts, and an undeniable aura of dominance before we even hit mid-puberty.
I was born rich. I was born superior. I was born breathtakingly beautiful.
Power didn't just flow through my veins; it defined every breath I took.
"Look at him," I whispered to my friends one afternoon during our senior year of high school, tapping my manicured nails against my iced coffee cup.
We were standing near the grand entrance of the cafeteria. Coming down the hallway was a soft, overweight wolf clutching his books tightly against his chest. His posture was hunched, his head lowered, hoping to slip into the room unnoticed.
Leon. A nobody. A chubby, low-ranking wolf whose family barely scraped by in the outer rims of the Evernorth territory.
A cruel smile curved my lips. I set my drink down on a nearby ledge and stepped directly into his path.
He froze. When his eyes met mine, panic flashed across his soft, pale face.
"Where do you get the courage to show your face here after yesterday?" I asked softly, my voice smooth as silk, yet cutting like a silver blade.
Yesterday, I had knocked his tray out of his hands in front of three hundred students, laughing as he scrambled on all fours to clean up his food. I thought he would have transferred by now. I thought he would have known his place.
"F-Frieya..." he stammered, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his books.
I took a slow, deliberate step forward, closing the distance between us until I was leaning right into his space. The royal scent of my wolf radiated off me, heavy and suffocation-level strong, pressing down on his shoulders like an invisible weight.
"You... don't... belong... here," I whispered, enunciating every single word with icy venom.
He trembled, his lower lip quivering, looking like he was on the verge of breaking into pieces right in front of me.
I offered him a sweet, picture-perfect smile. "I don't ever want to see your hideous face here again, okay? I mean it."
That was the last time I saw him.
By the next morning, his desk was empty. He had vanished from Evernorth High entirely. And for the rest of my high school years, I continued to reign supreme over the school, untouched, unchallenged, and worshipped as the undisputed queen.
Until everything crumbled.
It happened during the summer before university.
It started with rumors, quiet at first, then exploding like wildfire across the territory. A court guard dispatched by the council locked my parents up in a secure, subterranean cell located in the distant, icy borders of Evernorth. A powerful civilian alliance had filed charges against them, accusing my father of abusing his alpha authority and stealing pack resources.
Before I could even process what was happening, my family’s assets were frozen. The grand estate was seized. The guards who used to bow to me suddenly stopped answering my calls.
In a single fortnight, the riches disappeared. The title was stripped. The safety net that had protected me my entire life vanished into thin air.
They left me all alone.
When I arrived at Evernorth University for my freshman year, I tried to keep my chin up. I tried to walk through the halls with the same sharp, arrogant posture that had once terrified everyone around me.
"Step aside," I snapped on my second week of classes, trying to push past a group of girls blocking the hallway near the registrar's office.
In the past, they would have scrambled out of my way, apologizing profusely.
This time, the lead girl didn't move an inch. She simply turned around, looked me up and down with a sneer, and let out a cold laugh. "Or what, Frieya? You'll tell your dad? Oh, wait. He's rotting in a cage."
My heart hammered against my ribs. I tried to summon my wolf, to unleash that overwhelming pressure that used to force people to their knees, but nothing happened. My wolf felt sluggish, weak, suppressed under the heavy suffocating weight of stress and panic.
What the hell is wrong with them? Don't they know who I am?
They didn't care anymore. My superiority was gone. The fear I had spent years cultivating was completely erased.
At first, I told myself I could handle it. I told myself my parents would be released soon and that this was all just a temporary misunderstanding. But day by day, reality hit harder. Day by day, my life spiraled into a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.
It reached a breaking point when I stood at the campus cafeteria card reader, holding my lunch tray.
DECLINED.
The bright red letters flashed on the screen.
"Try it again," I demanded nervously, my voice trembling despite my best efforts. "There must be a glitch."
"It's declined, sweetie," the cashier said, her voice completely devoid of respect. "Next in line, please."
I was forced to leave my tray behind and walk away under the mocking stares of dozens of students. I didn't even know where my parents were specifically being held. I had no money, no connections, and no one to protect me.
And then came the physical toll.
Stress hit my wolf hard, but my body reacted in a way I never could have anticipated. My appetite spiked out of control, driven by hormonal imbalance, and my metabolism completely crashed. Within months, the razor-sharp jawline, the flat stomach, and the slender, model-like figure I took so much pride in vanished.
I began to gain weight at a terrifying speed.
Desperate, I had used the last bit of cash in my pocket to visit a clinic off-campus. The doctor’s words still echoed in my mind: “It’s a metabolic wolf affliction, Miss Everly. Stress-induced. Your body is retaining energy and mass as a survival defense mechanism. Your wolf is trying to protect you from the trauma.”
I was diagnosed with a condition that made me gain weight exponentially, transforming my physical appearance into something I barely recognized in the mirror. My sharp, regal beauty was replaced by soft curves, heavy thighs, and a plush waist.
I had become plus-size.
Today, sitting in the crowded, noisy cafeteria of Evernorth University, I stared down at my cheap, discounted bowl of soup. I kept my head down, my dark hair falling over my shoulders to hide my face. I had learned the hard way that drawing attention to myself was dangerous now.
Slam!
Someone suddenly shoved my shoulder from behind, knocking my soup bowl over. Warm liquid spilled across the plastic table and onto my faded jeans.
"Get out of the way, fatass," a loud, sharp voice barked from behind me.
I gasped, sitting up quickly. Standing there was a group of high-ranking female wolves, dressed in designer clothes, sneering down at me. They looked exactly like the girls I used to hang out with. They looked exactly like me three years ago.
"This is our table now," the lead girl spat, tossing her luxury bag onto the surface. "Move your heavy ass somewhere else."
A flare of my old, fiery temper erupted in my chest. My hands clenched into tight fists. How dare you talk to me like that! I am a royal bloodline wolf! I could rip your—
I caught myself. I forced my breathing to slow down. I swallowed the bitter pride burning in my throat and lowered my gaze.
No. You can't fight back, Frieya. You don't have a pack to back you up. You don't have money. You don't have strength.
"Sorry," I muttered quietly, grabbing my canvas bag and standing up.
Laughter erupted behind me as I hurried away, my face burning with intense shame. I clutched my bag tightly against my chest, navigating through the sea of students who didn't even bother to look at me—or worse, shot me disgusted glances as I squeezed past them.
I missed it. I missed everything.
I missed the power, the respect, the feeling of being untouchable. I missed looking in the mirror and seeing a queen looking back at me instead of a girl struggling to keep her head above water.
I made my way toward the exit of the cafeteria, desperate for fresh air, when the heavy double doors suddenly swung open.
The entire cafeteria fell instantly silent.
The loud chatter, the clinking of silverware, the laughter—everything vanished in a split second. A thick, suffocating aura of pure, unadulterated Alpha dominance swept through the entire room, making every low-ranking wolf in the vicinity involuntarily bow their heads.
I froze near the doorway, my breath catching in my throat.
Walking through the doors was a man.
He was breathtakingly handsome. Broad, square shoulders fill out a tailored dark jacket, leading down to a narrow waist and long, powerful legs. His jawline was sharp enough to cut glass, his dark hair styled effortlessly, and his piercing golden-amber eyes scanned the room with terrifying coldness. He radiated wealth, unmatched physical power, and an ancient, dangerous authority that demanded absolute obedience.
Beside him walked a gorgeous girl—flawless, glowing, with long silky hair and an arrogant, radiant smile. She looked like a goddess, the absolute definition of perfection. She was everything I used to be. A sting of intense jealousy pierced through my heart as I stared at her.
Who are they?
I had never seen either of them on campus before.
The crowd parted instantly, creating a wide path for the male Alpha. As he walked, his golden eyes casually swept over the room, filled with a quiet, dangerous confidence.
Then, his gaze locked onto me.
I shrank back against the wall, trying to make myself as small as possible. I didn't want any trouble with a high-ranking Alpha like him. But his eyes didn't leave my face. He stopped right in front of me, his tall, towering frame casting a massive shadow over my voluptuous body.
The air between us grew thick, heavy with an electric tension I couldn't explain.
I kept my head down, refusing to meet his eyes, praying he would just keep walking. I didn't know who he was. I had no idea that this stunning, lethal Alpha standing before me was the same chubby, helpless boy I had publicly broken and driven away years ago.
And I had no idea that my living nightmare was only just beginning.