Freya’s POV
Being the Alpha's daughter was far from a privilege; it was a constant survival test. I never had the luxury of lowering my guard, knowing every minor misstep would invite immediate punishment. Everyone monitored my every move, consumed by the paranoid belief that I might undermine or outright usurp my brother’s birthright as the future Alpha—an accusation thrown at me endlessly.
“What’s that sound?” a servant muttered nearby.
“We might be under attack. Stay sharp,” I murmured.
The metallic scent of blood hung heavily in the air, causing my wolf to pace restlessly in the back of my mind. Still, I kept her leashed until I could verify the threat looming in the distance.
“Danger? Watch your tongue!” the servant snapped back. Even the domestic staff felt emboldened enough to disrespect me. It was a harsh reminder of how utterly worthless I was to everyone here.
My instincts, however, proved entirely accurate. Rebels struck our packhouse without warning, plunging the grounds into absolute chaos. All scrutiny and petty slander abruptly ceased as everyone scrambled frantically to stay alive. The insurgents occupied the very heart of the Sapphire Pack well past dawn, eventually breaching the main estate.
I was forced to take shelter inside the fortified core of our mansion, surrounded by a detail of elite warriors. Yet, safety felt entirely out of reach. We were the prime targets—the Alpha’s immediate family. The bitter irony wasn't lost on me: the smaller packs that had once begged my father for sanctuary and pledged absolute loyalty years ago were now leading the charge against us.
The air echoed relentlessly with agonizing howls, deep growls, and snarls. When the sound of splintering wood signaled that the rebels had forced their way into the mansion, I knew hiding was no longer an option. I had to fight.
“Freya!”
My nanny shrieked after me, but she was powerless to stop my momentum. Father and his remaining warriors were already locked in combat with the intruders. His magnificent golden wolf looked battle-weary and pressed to his limits. Without a second thought, I gave in to the shift. The torturous secret rituals I had endured in isolation over the past few nights had finally shattered the mental block, gifting me this physical form.
I charged into the fray, ripping and tearing into the rebel ranks, focusing particularly on those swarming my father. He had no clue I was present, let alone that I had finally unlocked my wolf. But whether he understood the surprise or not, I was here to keep him breathing.
“Freya?!” Father’s utter astonishment crashed through our mindlink.
“What on earth are you doing? You’re a girl, damn it—you should’ve stayed locked away!” my brother, Ryker, spat as he waded into the violence beside us. I hadn't even noticed his arrival. He was still barely seventeen, having only recently stepped into his wolf.
“Maybe you should’ve been the one hiding,” I shot back through the mental bond.
The tension escalated drastically when the mastermind behind the uprising, Asher himself, stepped forward to join the assault. This rebellion was deep-rooted; Father had been completely blind to the treachery festering within the minor packs he had long protected. Asher clearly had years of planning behind this coup. Blood smeared the walls and floors of the grand mansion, structural pillars cracked under the physical strain of shifting bodies, and the air filled with the groans of the dying. Ruin had descended upon the Sapphire Pack right before my eyes.
“Surrender now!” Asher’s voice sneered across our shared mental network.
“Never, not even if it takes my last breath,” Father growled back, his Alpha aura flaring fiercely as he fought to crush Asher and reclaim our home.
“So be it.” Asher grinned maliciously. “Kill his son!” he commanded, gesturing directly toward Ryker. The order sent a jolt of pure horror through us. Instead of pressing the attack against the Alpha, a wave of rebel fighters pivoted and swamped my brother.
I tore through every opponent in my path, desperately fighting toward the crushing circle around him. But I was too late. Ryker went completely limp as a barrage of fangs and claws ravaged his body, his form shifting back to human, coated in a thick layer of blood.
“Ryker?! My boy!” Father’s voice fractured into a raw, desolate howl of pure agony.
“You bloody bastards!” he roared, launching himself at Asher’s men with reckless, feral fury. The murder of his heir—the son meant to secure his legacy—had inflicted a wound far more lethal than any steel blade.
Though we managed to cut down a significant number of the insurgents, victory felt hollow while their ringleader still drew breath. I swept my gaze across the carnage, searching for the face of the enemy commander. Asher was nowhere to be found.
“Where is he?” I demanded through the mindlink, hailing the surviving warriors.
“He’s gone. Did he manage to slip away?” one of them replied hesitantly.
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, the taste of copper and defeat heavy on my tongue.
I needed to hunt down Asher and ensure he drew his last breath by my hands.
“Freya,” Father’s voice halted me as he shifted back into his human form. He was in critical condition, blood leaking from the edge of his mouth, crawling laboriously to evade the continuing onslaught of rebel fighters with his legs completely shattered. I immediately threw myself over a rogue wolf that lunged to finish him off.
“I can’t hold on much longer,” Father groaned. The formidable man who had projected iron-willed strength his entire life—especially toward me—was reduced to utter helplessness. I stood frozen, unsure how to process it. He had spent his whole life dismissing me, showering Ryker with affection while offering me nothing but cold neglect.
“I’m dying,” he choked out, tears finally breaking through. “Marry Aevren immediately so you have a shield to protect you.” His words came in ragged, painful gasps.
“We don’t love each other, Dad. This political arrangement will only bring misery.” For the first time in my life, I found the courage to push back.
“Freya, listen to me, only Aevren and his bloodline can salvage us from this ruin.” Father was desperate, pleading with his remaining strength. But my conviction held firm; I refused to bind myself to a man who felt nothing for me, knowing full well Aevren held the exact same disdain for my existence.
“For God’s sake, I can’t stand beside him. Even if the choice were entirely mine, I would reject him in every conceivable way!” I shouted over the din of the battle.
Since I was barely a toddler, Father had locked me into an engagement with Aevren, the heir of the After Dark Pack. It had always been a calculated, cynical alliance intended to bolster the Sapphire Pack’s political standing. In truth, the After Dark Pack merely used us as a disposable buffer against their enemies.
“If that is your final verdict, then listen to me: from this moment on, your name is Ryker. You will be my successor. Take this mask and carry the future of our pack forward.” With trembling fingers, Father nudged Ryker’s blood-spattered mask across the ruined floor. Crimson drooled from his lips, staining the wood even further. I stared at him in utter bewilderment, struggling to comprehend why he would demand I assume my dead brother’s identity.
“The pack requires an Alpha to survive. You are the Sapphire Pack’s only remaining lifeline. Lay aside your identity as a woman and step into the light as Ryker, our leader. My daughter,” he rasped, leaving me paralyzed by the absurdity and weight of his dying wish.
I was the outcast daughter whom the pack had marginalized, viewed with constant suspicion as a threat to my brother’s ascension. Yet here, at the edge of the grave, Father was handing me the crown.
“I can’t do this,” I whispered, shaking my head violently. I refused to desecrate Ryker’s memory by wearing his face and impersonating him to seize the throne.
“No one will ever discover the truth. Put on the mask and rule as Alpha,” Father insisted, ignoring my desperate headshakes. “Do it to safeguard our home,” he whispered, his life force visibly fading.
“Ryker, forgive your father, my boy. Protect our people,” he murmured, his mind slipping away as he accidentally called out to the son who already lay dead beside him, breathing his final, broken breath into the silence of the room.
With shaking hands, I lifted the mask from the bloodied floor. That single piece of porcelain had always symbolized the supreme authority of the Sapphire Pack's heir. For the survival of everything we had left, I buried my own identity, strapped the mask across my face, and stepped into my brother’s shoes.
No one else knew the true sequence of events, as I had been the sole witness to Father’s final moments.
Even the pack warriors clearing the carnage assumed the ruined body of the young male servant belonged to a casual casualty of the raid, entirely oblivious to the fact that the dead boy was actually Ryker, their intended future Alpha.
In truth, keeping the deception intact was made easier by pack history: ever since contracting a severe illness years ago that horribly disfigured his features, Ryker had been forced to conceal his face.
The pack elders had long comforted him, reassuring him that wearing a mask was a minor burden for a future leader.
“Ryker, tonight marks your formal coronation as Alpha. Make sure you are prepared,” Zane, my uncle and our trusted Beta, instructed as he approached.
I simply nodded, keeping my posture rigid while intentionally suppressing my voice so it wouldn't betray a woman's pitch. Zane furrowed his brow, tilting his head in confusion at my uncharacteristic silence. But as his gaze locked onto mine through the eyeholes of the mask, the color drained from his face and his eyes widened in sudden, horrifying realization. Zane had just seen straight through my disguise.
