Chapter 1When Mom died, she left me Whisperwood Territory and the pack trust fund.
The day Dad took a new mate, my stepmother pulled me into a hug, all smiles:
"Sweetheart, from now on, I'm gonna take care of you."
Six months later, my territory got signed over to her son's name.
A year after that, she emptied eight hundred thousand from the trust—said Drake was "investing" it.
Once I left for college, she started working on Dad:
"Five hundred bucks a month? That's way too much. You're gonna spoil her."
So Dad cut me off. Said I needed to learn to stand on my own.
I called Grandpa with an empty stomach, crying so hard I couldn't speak.
The next day, three black SUVs rolled up to the pack house.
---
The campus dining hall was closed.
I stood outside the gate, watching the workers wipe down tables inside.
My phone showed three dollars and seventy cents.
Dad hadn't sent this month's money.
He hadn't sent last month's either.
I called him. Two rings, then he hung up. I tried again—straight to voicemail.
So I called my stepmother.
She picked up, voice sweet as honey: "Tessa, sweetie! Your dad's busy right now. What's up?"
"The money... this month's—"
"Oh~ your allowance."
She dragged the word out.
"Tessa, your dad and I talked. You're twenty now—time you learned independence. Five hundred a month just teaches you to waste money."
"But I—"
"Other wolves your age? They work. They earn their keep. That builds character. All you do is hold your hand out. How's that gonna help you survive in the real world, huh?"
I didn't say anything.
She kept going. "Besides, it's not like your mom's money disappeared. Drake's investing it. For your future. Can't you see we're trying to help?"
Drake.
Her son. Drake Wolfsbane.
The territory Mom left me? His now.
The eight hundred thousand Mom left me? Gone.
"But what am I supposed to—"
"The dining hall has cheap food, doesn't it? Anyway, eating less is good for you. Girls look better lean."
She hung up. I could hear the smile in her voice.
I leaned against the pillar outside the dining hall, stomach cramping.
No breakfast. No lunch. And now dinner—locked out.
I dug through my backpack and found a pack of stale crackers from last week. Three left.
I crouched under a streetlight and ate them slowly.
Soft. Tasteless.
My wolf stirred weakly inside me. Hungry. Fading.
Mom had been gone three years.
Three years ago, the silver poisoning hit fast. By the time the pack healers realized, it was too late.
She held my hand and said:
"Tessa, I'm leaving you something. The territory, the trust—enough to finish school, enough for your mating bond... I'm so sorry, baby. I won't be there to see it."
We both cried.
She said, "Your grandpa's old now—don't worry him. And your dad... your dad will take care of you."
After she died, Dad fell apart for six months.
Then he met Verity Wolfsbane.
Forty-five. Put-together. Soft-spoken. Always smiling.
She had a twenty-five-year-old son. Said her last mate died and they were barely getting by.
Dad bought it.
I didn't.
Dad said, "Tessa, your mom's gone. I can't do this alone. Try to understand."
I said, "What about her son?"
"Drake's solid. He'll be like pack. He'll look out for you."
"I don't need him looking out for me."
Dad sighed. Didn't push it.
Three months later, they bonded.
At the ceremony, Verity wore red and pulled me close, grinning wide.
"Tessa, I'm your stepmother now. I'm gonna take real good care of you."
Her hands weren't cold.
But when she touched me, my skin crawled.
My wolf growled low.
Something was wrong.
Chapter 2
After Verity moved into the pack house, things changed bit by bit.
First, it was the den.
The ceremonial wolf pelts Mom used to display got shoved into storage.
"Too old-fashioned."
Dad didn't say a word.
Then it was Mom's portrait.
The frame got moved from the main hall into my bedroom.
"Tessa, honey, keep your mom's picture in here. Having it out there... it's just too hard on your dad."
Dad still didn't say anything.
Then came the territory.
One night at dinner, Verity set down a bowl of stew, smiling like she'd just had a brilliant idea.
"Honey, I wanted to run something by you."
"What's that?"
"That land Tessa's mom left her—Whisperwood. I was thinking..."
I put my fork down and stared at her.
She kept going:
"It's just sitting there. Drake's twenty-five now. He needs land of his own if he's ever gonna find a mate. So I thought maybe..."
"That territory is mine. My mom left it to me." I cut her off.
Her smile froze for half a second, then snapped back.
"Sweetie, I'm not trying to take anything from you. Just let Drake use it for now. When you bond with someone, it'll still be yours, right?"
"No."
"Why are you making this so difficult?" Her voice went up.
"Your mom would want that land being used, wouldn't she? Drake can look after it for you."
Dad cleared his throat. "Tessa, Verity's got a point—"
"Dad. That's Mom's."
Dad went quiet. After a long pause, he said, "Let's just eat."
The subject got dropped.
A month later, Drake showed up.
He stood in front of me, a whole head taller, eyes dragging down slow like he was sizing me up.
"Hey, sis. Letting me use your territory for a bit isn't a big deal, right?"
"It is."
He smirked. "You're just a college kid. What do you need hunting land for? You're not even here."
"Doesn't matter. It's mine."
The smirk dropped.
That night, Verity cried.
She sat in the den sobbing, saying I didn't see her as pack, that bonding with Dad had been a nightmare, that Drake had nowhere to hunt and it was breaking her heart.
Dad stood there looking lost.
He looked at me, face all twisted up.
"Tessa, can't you just give a little?"
"No. That territory is all I have left of Mom."
Dad's jaw twitched. He didn't say anything after that.
The next morning, Verity made breakfast with red, swollen eyes.
When she saw me, she didn't speak—just sighed.
Dad kept glancing between us the whole meal, like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
This went on for two weeks.
Then one day, Dad called me into his study.
"Tessa, I need to talk to you about something."
"That territory. We're gonna transfer it into Drake's name for now. Just temporary. When you find a mate, we'll transfer it back."
"Dad!"
"Let me finish." He cut me off.
"Verity hasn't been sleeping. Her health's falling apart. If Drake can't establish himself, it's gonna kill her."
"And that's my problem how?"
"Tessa!" His voice snapped. "She's your mother!"
I stared at him. "My mother's dead."
He froze.
After a long silence, he said, "You're signing whether you like it or not. I'm your father. I'm still alpha of this house."
"Grandpa secured that land for Mom. It's in my name."
"It got put in your name when you were underage. Your mom didn't think ahead. Now you listen to me."
He walked out.
Three days later, Drake showed up at my dorm with papers.
"Sign it."
"No."
He grinned and shoved them at me:
"Your dad already agreed. You really think you can stop this?"
I ripped the papers in half.
His face changed. He raised his hand like he was gonna hit me.
Dad walked in and grabbed his wrist.
"Drake. Don't."
Drake pulled back, glaring. "You see how she's acting?"
Dad looked at me. His eyes were cold. I barely recognized him.
"Tessa, you're really disappointing me."
That night, I tried calling Grandpa.
He was in his seventies, living upstate with the elders' council, health failing.
Before Mom died, she made me promise not to worry him.
The phone rang and rang. No answer.
The next day, Dad dragged me to a pack registrar's office.
Verity and Drake were already there.
The registrar asked me, "Do you consent to this territorial transfer?"
I shook my head.
Dad's hand clamped around my wrist so hard it left marks.
He said quietly, "Tessa. Do what you're told."
Verity dabbed at her eyes. "Tessa, sweetie, I know this is hard. But I'm begging you—just help your brother out this once. We're pack now."
Drake stood off to the side, face blank.
The registrar asked again.
Dad answered for me. "She consents."
The territory got transferred.
Whisperwood—the land my mom left me—from that day on, it wasn't mine anymore.
Chapter 3
Three months after the territory, they came for the trust fund.
I was in class when Verity called.
"Tessa, I need to talk to you about something."
"That trust your mom left you—the eight hundred thousand. I need to borrow it for a bit."
I hung up.
She called back.
"Sweetheart, just hear me out."
"Drake's got this incredible pack investment opportunity. No risk, all reward."
"We put in eight hundred grand, and in a year, we double it."
"Imagine—one point six million. You'd get every cent back, plus profit."
"No."
"Why are you being so stubborn?!"
Her voice went up. "What's the point of letting it sit with the council? Those elders aren't doing anything with it."
"That money is from my mom."
"Your mom, your mom—Jesus, she's been gone three years! Can you move on already?"
I hung up. Turned my phone off.
When I got back to my dorm that night, my roommate told me Dad had come looking for me.
"He waited outside for two hours. You didn't pick up, so he left."
I turned my phone back on. Twenty-three missed calls.
I called Dad back.
"Tessa, about the trust. You need to agree to this."
"No."
"Why do you have to be so damn difficult, just like Verity said?"
"That money is all I have left of her."
He was quiet for a moment. Then: "Your mom's gone. That money's just sitting there. Drake's venture is solid—I looked into it myself. It's a sure thing."
"You looked into it? What do you even know about pack business?"
"Tessa!" He shouted. "I'm your father!"
I shouted back. "Then why don't you use your money?!"
He went silent.
After a long pause, he said, "Verity handles our finances now."
I laughed. Couldn't help it.
"Dad, you're pathetic."
He hung up.
Three days later, Drake showed up at my dorm.
He stood outside the building, holding another set of papers.
"Hey, sis. Just need a signature."
"Not happening."
"You're gonna sign eventually."
He stepped closer, voice dropping. "Your dad's pack credentials? My mom's got all of them. Anything he wants to do goes through her. That eight hundred grand? It's ours one way or another."
I stepped back.
He grinned. "Relax. I'm not gonna touch you. Just letting you know how this works."
He shoved the papers into my hands and walked off.
It was a trust authorization form—permission for Drake Wolfsbane to access the funds in my name.
I tore it into pieces and threw it in the trash.
A week later, I contacted the pack's financial office to check my trust.
Balance: zero.
I stood there staring at the screen on my phone, brain completely blank.
I called the office directly.
The clerk said, "This amount was transferred out last month. According to our records, it went to... let me check... Ironjaw Guard Fund."
"Who authorized the transfer?"
"Your father. Reid Nightbrook."
"How could he transfer my trust?"
She sounded uncomfortable.
"Well... this trust was established when you were underage. Your father was listed as co-guardian. Even though you're an adult now, at the time the funds were deposited, he had joint access..."
I stopped hearing her after that.
Eight hundred thousand dollars.
Mom spent three months with the pack healers. Silver poisoning treatments, rituals, everything they could try. She sold her ceremonial jewelry, borrowed from other packs, did everything. It still wasn't enough.
She lay in that bed, nothing but skin and bones, holding my hand:
"Tessa, I'm leaving you money. Finish school. Live well."
That eight hundred thousand—she fought for every day to leave me that.
Now it was gone.
I stood outside the administration building and called Dad.
"Where's the money?"
"What money?"
"The eight hundred thousand. From Mom."
Silence. Then: "It's invested."
"In what?"
"Drake's venture. It's a sure thing."
"That was my money!"
"Tessa, do you have to be so selfish?" His voice shot up.
"That venture is solid. When it pays out, you'll get your share and more. This is for your benefit. Why can't you see that?"
"Did you even ask me?"
"Would you have said yes? You're young! What do you know?"
His tone softened. "Tessa, just trust me on this."
I hung up.
That night, I looked up Ironjaw Guard Fund online.
According to pack registries, the organization had existed less than six months.
Registered capital: a hundred thousand dollars.
Director and legal representative: Drake Wolfsbane.
