Chapter 1

The blaring of my alarm broke my peaceful slumber. Punching it off, I stretched my limbs before standing groggily on my legs.

“Good morning, Jasper,” I said with a soft smile and kissed my locket. It’s the only memory I have of my true love. Wearing my slippers, I headed straight to the restroom to perform my daily routine.

So, let’s start with the introduction. I am Emmaline Richard Dawson aka Emma. I am seventeen years old, an average teen blessed with a golden mind. Though I hail from a small town in Texas, I relocated to New York to pursue my career as a software engineer.

Being a prodigy, I cleared the entrance exam of Wellington Institute of Technology which is the top university in New York in one attempt. As I am on my own so I didn’t have a problem with shifting. I grabbed all my belongings which were just a few pairs of clothes, my laptop, and a bunch of books, and shifted to New York without any hassle. I live in a small apartment which constituted of a single bedroom with an attached bathroom. An open kitchen to the left and a small drawing room. My favorite spot was the balcony where I always spend my time talking with my plants or working on my laptop while sitting on my swing chair.

Talking of my darkest secret, I am a werewolf. To be precise, the daughter of the Alpha of Silver Moon Pack, one of the strongest packs in the Scarlet Mountain that was seized by the Shadowed Banes, the cruelest maniacs of the world around seventeen years ago. The day our pack was attacked, I was brought up in this world by my mother. But the monsters of Shadowed Banes turned my birthday into a curse. Their ruthless Alpha Xander devoured all the wolves of my pack, my parents weren’t spared either. I became an orphan the day I was born. My fate couldn’t be unluckier than that.

I was saved by a boy named Jasper Colt. He brought me to his house and his parents were the ones who took care of me and raised me. Jasper told me my history when I turned older enough to understand the cruelty of the world. That’s when I came to know that Jasper was the future Alpha King of the Vengeful Hunters.

Jasper was my best friend, childhood love, and my world. His parents also loved me like their own daughter and I was treated no less than a queen.

Bitterness started spreading its claws between me and Jasper’s parents as soon as he turned sixteen. The Luna of the pack, Ela no longer approved of our friendship. She warned me multiple times to stay away from Jasper. Her concern was genuine though ‘cause Jasper’s life would soon be completed by his mate and I would be considered as a third wheel. I also became a sore eye for the Alpha Blake Colt. He even scolded me multiple times by saying that my presence was affecting Jasper and ruining his life. According to him, Jasper was the future Alpha king and he had to shoulder huge responsibilities in the future. But he used to waste his ‘precious’ time by hanging with someone like me. Who had no dreams, no career, no life.

One day I had enough so I left their house and went to Texas. I had no idea where my life was taking me but now there was no going back or time to regret it. Initial days, it was a tough journey. I used to sleep on the metal benches of the parks and satisfy my empty stomach by only surviving on water and the fruits that I used to steal from the gardens. When Moon Goddess finally realized that she had gone overboard with her punishments, she made me meet a man, Billy who was in search of a cashier for his departmental store. I immediately took his offer and that’s how I started earning for myself. Though Jasper’s parents left me in a lurch when I needed them the most, still I thank them for everything they had done for me. They never compromised on my education which indeed came as a blessing in disguise. There was an old computer at Billy’s store which soon became my best friend. I learned computer skills myself and bought my cell phone with my first salary. With that, I learned to work on Microsoft Office, learned coding, and even tried my hand at software like Python and Java by watching videos on YouTube.

To keep the wolf from the door, I used to do multiple jobs and studied hard to maintain my scholarship. Because of my intellectual skills, I completed my schooling at the age of fifteen. It’s surprising but yeah that’s what makes me unique. After that, I researched good engineering colleges when I came across Wellington Institute and instantly applied for it. I topped the entrance exam which was considered highly unlikely as Wellington Institute is renowned for setting the toughest exam papers.

I have been living in New York for the past two years. No one knows my secret and I don’t even want to reveal it. My wolf Reina initially used to scold me and fight with me to find our mate. She was disappointed as I had no plans of taking revenge on people who ruined my whole life.

Life is your biggest teacher. The heart-wrenching experiences of my life had made me indifferent and impassive. Like what will this vengeance lead me to? Can I fight with the Alpha King of the Shadowed Bane all alone? Not at all. I am just a forgotten chapter in history. I bet no one even knows my name cause my whole family was wiped from the face of the earth on the day I was born. And Alpha Blake hid my identity ‘cause he was afraid that the bloodthirsty Alpha will come for me.

To be honest, I hate being born as a werewolf.

This life has only given me pain, depression, and anguish whereas the life of a normal human being gave me respect, love, and happiness. Right now, my goal is to become the world’s biggest hacker and start up my own IT company. I have no plans of going back. Where will I go even? I have no parents, no pack, no friends, nothing. Jasper might have found a mate by now and I am happy for him. It’s just I can’t convince my heart to forget him.

Donning a pair of blue jeans and a white T, I threw my bag on my shoulders and grabbed my keys. Not car keys, my house keys. I know I am not broke but my job as a tech expert in Knight Corporation is enough to pay my tuition fees, not more than that. To fulfill my necessities, I work as a content writer for various tech companies. I had even hacked into their systems to know about the latest software and methodologies which can prove useful for me.

I applied for a job in Knight Corporation as soon as I stepped onto the land of New York. I needed to find a source for my living and it was a job with a good cachet. They were a bit hesitant to recruit me at first but no one can reject me after checking my profile. I ain’t bragging but that’s what allows me to take pride in myself.

As I had college in the morning so I had to do night shifts. I was completely okay with that. Who would dare to harm a werewolf?

Claire, my head was shocked as taking in my appearance I resembled a naive, fragile girl, and my acceptance to work graveyard shifts was a genuine reason for her to worry. Only if she knew that I was far from being fragile.

Reina and I were on no-talking terms. She hates me for disregarding my responsibilities but helps me lighten my mood whenever I am down. We are inseparable and that’s what makes our inscrutable bond strong. I don’t make friends ‘cause I am afraid of relationships now. I already had a heartbreak; I can’t afford more.

Jasper was my friend but once I left home, he never came looking for me. Somewhere, in my heart, I had a bit of hope that he would come one day but with time, that hope died. I don’t blame him, he also had a life, huge responsibilities, and promises to fulfill. But still, I had his locket with me as a souvenir which always reminds me of the beautiful and happy moments of my life.

Moving on was a challenging task but it was necessary. I had a life of my own. Born with such an agile mind, I won’t waste my time shedding tears at the arrival of my lover boy. I need to achieve my dreams and become someone whom the world would respect.

Within a minute, I reached the subway which was approximately seven miles away from my house. You can’t judge me, who would take a cab when you are blessed with super speed? Well, I can reach college this way too but my love for traveling by train forbade me to do that.

Taking the ticket, I was about to get into the subway when my phone pinged. I checked the notification. It was from Claire.

“Reach office sharp at 7 p.m. The CEO will be visiting Knight Corporation today so we had organized a welcome party for him.”

My eyes widened in shock. It’s been two years since I joined Knight Corporation and never even checked who the boss was. I chortled at my stupidity which earned me weird looks from passersby.

The phone again pinged. I checked the notification. Claire sent me the schedule for today’s event. I started skimming through it when my gaze stopped at his name.

“Damien Knight”

It rolled off my tongue so smoothly that even made me shocked as to why I called him like that. His name itself oozed an aura of dominance and authority. I wonder how the person would look in real life.

Sighing, I fished my phone back into my pocket and got on the subway.

Today was indeed a big day.