Chapter 1My roommate whined about her online mate being "too controlling."
"He's always tracking my territory and bossing me around. Everyone says guys like that are possessive freaks."
She smirked. "Lucky for you—since your dad bailed on your family—you'd probably love a controlling mate."
I was about to slap her when glowing comments flashed across my vision.
[Girl, are you insane? This Alpha is hot, powerful, and way more dominant than anyone at your basic training school. Lock him down and he'll give you EVERYTHING!]
[Yeah, Alpha Matthias is controlling—he'll control you right into elite training, force territory rights on you, push your pack transfer through, and drag you from low-tier omega school straight into Silvercrest Academy!]
[Relax. This Asha chick is just a plot device. Once Matthias figures out he's talking to the wrong girl, he'll come crawling back to our queen Celina for that steamy possessive bond!]
My hand dropped.
I gently patted her cheek instead.
"Thanks. I'll take good care of him."
Because honestly?
I REALLY want to get into the Silvercrest Academy.
---
The moment I got Celina Goldenbrook's burner account, I changed the password.
The second I logged in, my screen was flooded with messages that made my head spin.
[You alright? Why aren't you replying?]
[Skipping training again? Why's your location stuck at the den?]
[Answer the phone.]
The last one was sent two hours earlier: [I've arranged transport back. You'd better have a good explanation for this.]
Seeing that, I quickly scrolled through their chat history.
Just as Celina had said, he was an older man who spent most of his time managing distant territories.
They hadn't chatted much, but every time they did, he'd ask what she'd done that day, if she'd eaten, if she'd been training.
He'd even urged her to transfer from the low-tier omega school to proper pack trials, then advanced training, then full academy certification.
It wasn't all lectures, though; he'd send her funds, five thousand at a time.
That was a lot for an average trainee, but for Celina, it wasn't even enough for a single designer outfit.
Celina had tried asking for more, but he'd turned her down.
[I've checked. Most trainees get no more than two grand for expenses. Five grand is more than enough.]
[Don't flaunt resources. You don't want to stir up challenges at school.]
Those two lines must have made Celina write him off as a cheap, preachy old Alpha—one she'd happily handed over to me.
It had been two days since their last chat, and Celina's radio silence had pushed him to the edge.
I hurried to the text box and typed an apology as fast as I could.
[I'm so sorry, I had a bad reaction during my last shift, I've been recovering, and my phone broke too.]
Less than three seconds after I sent it, a voice call popped up.
I took a deep breath, declined it, and typed an explanation: [My throat's completely raw, I can't talk…]
He was silent for a few seconds, then a transfer notification popped up on my screen.
100,000 dollars.
[Is this because I didn't give you extra funds last time? Are you upset with me?]
I counted the zeros on the screen, my fingers trembling slightly.
A hundred grand, just like that.
Whoever said this man was cheap was dead wrong; he was insanely generous!
I didn't accept the transfer and typed back: [I don't want money.]
[Then what do you want?]
I stared at his words, my heart thudding in my chest.
[I don't want to stay at this school anymore.]
The chat box went silent the second the message was sent.
Chapter 2
At the same time, more comments flashed before my eyes.
[This fake omega is so greedy, wanting to be claimed the second she tricks an Alpha.]
[Too bad this guy hates manipulators the most; he respects wolves who fight for their rank.]
[Just wait, he won't reply. He can't stand weaklings who beg.]
My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly fired off another message: [I mean, I want to leave this school and retake the Pack Trials. Can you help me with that?]
Seconds ticked by.
I stared at the screen, my palms sweating.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Just as I started to fear he'd figured out I wasn't the real wolf and would never reply, a new message popped up:
[Sure.]
The day after I got that message, I got a phone call.
The man on the line said he was Declan Ashford, Alpha Stormclaw's Beta, and asked me to bring my pack papers to a café near the training grounds to discuss the trials.
Even though Celina had never given him any real details when they chatted, I was on edge the whole time I headed there.
Thankfully, Declan just glanced at my documents and said nothing, then asked if I had a target academy in mind.
I felt a little embarrassed and said, "I want to get into Silvercrest Academy."
Declan looked surprised.
The comments blew up again, too.
[Seriously? Does this fake have any idea what Silvercrest is? She thinks she can just quit and get in?]
[Is this girl actually dumb enough to think the Alpha can buy her a Silvercrest acceptance?]
[You're only good enough for omega school, just stay there and stop dreaming.]
I knew it sounded ridiculous.
But what wolf from the Meadowrun Pack hadn't dreamed of getting into Silvercrest Academy?
I'd only ended up in the low-tier omega school because I'd had a bad shift reaction and missed the combat portion of the trials.
After I got my results, I wanted to retake them.
But my parents had refused.
They wanted me to finish training sooner and start working sooner so I could help support my younger brother.
Even so, my trial scores had still been way higher than Celina's and the others'.
I'd fully expected Declan to tell me to stop dreaming, just like the commenters did, but instead he just nodded and said, "Alright then, we'll set up a plan to get you into Silvercrest, Ms. Briarthorn."
I asked him what the plan would be.
Declan said he'd first handle my withdrawal from the school, then he'd help me get Ironveil territory rights, and arrange elite trainers to work with me one-on-one.
I was stunned when I heard that.
Ironveil territory rights?
Did that mean I'd be able to take the trials there?
And one-on-one training with elite fighters?
If I'd had that back then, I never would have failed the combat test.
I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to stay calm, and said, "Beta Declan, how much will all this cost?"
Declan said, "You don't have to worry about the cost, Ms. Briarthorn. Alpha Stormclaw will handle everything."
After our talk, Declan took me to a pack outfitter, saying the Alpha had told him to get me proper training gear and a new phone.
It was during this trip that I found out the Alpha's name was Matthias Stormclaw.
He led his own pack, a small territory, and was currently managing distant lands, so he wouldn't be back for at least a year.
I snuck out my phone and looked up this name online.
Declan had made it sound like a tiny holding, but when I saw the words Ironveil Pack on the screen, I was blown away.
A small territory?
No. Freaking. Way.
Chapter 3
Matthias's pack controlled more territory than all the Alphas in Celina's contact list combined.
And that wolf? More dominant than any Alpha I'd ever heard of.
[Oh no, now that the replacement knows his real rank, she'll never let go.]
[Back off, fake! The Alpha belongs to Celina!]
[Don't worry, everyone, once he finds out she's not Celina, he'll reject her on the spot.]
The word "reject" jolted me awake.
Matthias would come back for Celina someday, that much was certain.
But until then? I'm gonna play the perfect contact. I'm gonna treat Matthias like my ticket to Silvercrest.
I grabbed my phone at once and fired off messages thanking him.
In my haste, I typed one line too many: [Thanks, Daddy.]
By the time I realized what I'd written, it was too late to unsend it.
I was doomed.
My cover was about to be blown, and I'd fail to get into Silvercrest before I even took the trials.
Just as I panicked, a voice message from Matthias popped up.
"Alright, little wolf."
His tone was low and rough.
But I knew it.
That "Daddy" thing? He ate it up.
I'd just walked back to the den with my arms full of gear bags when Celina came crowding over to me.
"Asha, who was that man who dropped you off this afternoon? Did he buy all this stuff for you?"
I paused and said, "You know... that contact you passed to me?"
Celina frowned, looking clearly annoyed.
"What did you do? When I talked to him, he only sent me five grand a month, and now he's buying you all this?"
Lucky for me, I'd thought ahead.
I hurried to open the bags and show her the contents, saying, "Look, there's a lot of stuff, but it's all basic training gear. This shirt's only twenty bucks, the pants are thirty-nine. All of it together doesn't even add up to two hundred."
Celina's expression softened a little, but she still wouldn't let it go.
"Are you lying to me? I saw the car he was driving. That's pack elite level!"
My heart skipped a beat, but my face stayed calm as I said, "It's a pack vehicle. He's a Beta. He gets to use his Alpha's car sometimes for official business."
Relief washed over Celina then. "I thought he was actually high-ranked or something."
She let out a snort and said, "But even a second is more than you could attract with your bloodline. He's spent so much on you, you owe me a thank you, don't you? Buy me dinner."
I pretended not to pick up on her mockery, said it was only right, and asked what she wanted to eat.
"I'll have to think about it. I'm bringing a few friends with me, you don't mind, right?"
I nodded.
Less than two hours later, the rumor that I was being sponsored by some wolf had spread through the entire den.
I couldn't have cared less about the gossip—I'd be leaving this school soon anyway.
I let out a sigh of relief, pulled the gear out of the bags, picked out a few pieces to put on, and took a photo of myself.
I sent the photo to Matthias, hesitated for a second, then added a line:
[Daddy, I love all the gear Declan got me today. Which set should I wear for training tomorrow?]
Matthias: [The first one.]
From that day on, I started updating him on everything I did.
