Chapter 1Driving home for my mother-by-bond Pearl's birthday, I saw strange comments—saying my mate would frame me for Pearl's death. What?
But sitting at that red light, maybe three blocks from home, these weird glowing comments just... appeared.
Right there in front of me, like floating text.
[Girl, don't go home! You walk through that door and you're done for!]
[The minute you step inside, Pearl's gonna fall from that balcony!]
[Your scent will be everywhere. They'll pin it on you. Murder charge, and your so-called mate Maddox will take off with Jocelyn and the huge money!]
My wolf stirred uneasily in my chest, hackles rising at the warning.
I sat there, hands frozen on the wheel.
Then I made a choice. I'd gamble on this.
The light flipped green. I started the car and slammed my foot down, aiming straight for the concrete barrier.
......
Today was Pearl Hawthorne's sixty-fifth birthday.
My mate Maddox wanted something quiet—just family at the house.
So the second that alliance meeting ended, I drove straight back.
I was cruising along, maybe three intersections from our packhouse, when those translucent comments popped up out of nowhere.
Like some kind of weird vision, text scrolling across my sight.
Warning after warning.
[Oh Moon Goddess, she's almost there. No way out now.]
[Honey, your mate's gonna find some excuse to leave you alone with Pearl. He's setting you up. Don't go inside, whatever you do.]
[7:10 PM—that's when Pearl falls. And you'll be the killer.]
[Watch your back with Jocelyn. She and Maddox have been sneaking around. They're planning to take you down.]
My mouth dropped open.
I actually rubbed my eyes, thinking maybe I was seeing things from the long drive.
But the comments stayed right there, clear as day.
My wolf started pacing anxiously, whining low in my mind.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
Why would Pearl suddenly fall?
Why would Maddox and my best friend want me gone?
Questions spun through my head, making it hard to think straight.
My phone buzzed on the dashboard—twice.
Maddox's name lit up the screen.
[Babe, you close?]
[Just got a pack-link from the Pack's security chief. Emergency at the borders. Gotta handle it now.]
[Go ahead and do the cake with Mom. I'll get back soon as I can.]
Reading those messages made my blood turn to ice.
Could it really be that convenient?
Right when I'm pulling up, he's gotta leave?
If these comments were legit, the moment I walked in, I'd be alone with Pearl.
If she fell, all eyes would be on me.
My scent on the scene would seal it. DNA evidence. No talking my way out.
I couldn't let myself think further.
My fingers hovered over the screen. I didn't reply.
I checked the time: 6:40 PM. Thirty minutes until Pearl's supposed fall.
By the time that light turned green, I'd already decided.
If the comments said I was being set up, I'd take the chance.
Chapter 2
Simple—if I wasn't alone with Pearl tonight, they couldn't frame me.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, pulled in a deep breath, and floored it.
The engine roared. My wolf surged forward with the adrenaline.
I aimed straight for that thick concrete barrier and hit it dead-on.
The crash was deafening—metal crunching, glass shattering.
My wolf yelped in my head as the impact threw us forward.
The airbag exploded out, cushioning the blow.
I slumped back against the seat, head spinning.
Pain hammered through my skull like someone had cracked it with a rock.
My wolf whimpered, trying to push healing through, but the shock was too much, too fast.
Warm blood trickled down from my forehead.
Through blurry vision, I saw wolves gathering.
Some had phones out filming. Others were yelling, calling for help.
A couple of Road Wardens in their yellow vests pushed through the crowd and rushed toward my car.
"Ma'am, can you hear us?"
One of them knocked on the window, voice muffled through the glass.
I tried to answer, but nothing came out.
Soon I felt hands lifting me onto a stretcher.
Only when I was safely in the ambulance did I let my eyes close.
At the medical wing, a healer cleaned up the gash on my forehead.
By then, my head had cleared up some—my wolf finally settling down enough to help.
I cracked my eyes open just enough to check the clock on the wall. 7:00 PM exactly.
I shut them again. Just ten more minutes. Hold on till 7:10.
While I lay there pretending to be out, the comments kept coming, showing me the truth.
Turned out Maddox and Jocelyn had been fooling around for months. He wanted me gone but couldn't figure out how to do it cleanly.
And with Pearl recently diagnosed with Memory Dissolution, Maddox saw her as dead weight.
Expensive. Embarrassing.
So those two cooked up this sick plan.
After they got me convicted, Maddox would sob to the Werewolf Council about how I'd been cruel to his mother. How I'd said I wanted her dead.
He'd work up public outrage. Wolves from packs across the region would be howling for justice, demanding the harshest punishment.
The Council would have surveillance from the packhouse garage showing "me" arriving at 7:00 PM, taking the elevator up.
A neighbor would testify to hearing me yelling, hitting Pearl.
Ten minutes later—crash. She'd fall from the balcony, dead on impact.
With all that, I'd be sentenced to death by the Council.
Meanwhile, Maddox and Jocelyn would've dumped their burden, claimed his mother's fortune, seized my assets, and put me six feet under.
Reading all that made every hair on my body stand up.
My wolf snarled in my head, wanting blood.
Two monsters had been right beside me this whole time.
I didn't know how they'd planned to fake everything—make it look like I was there when I wasn't.
But for now, I just had to wait it out.
Chapter 3
Every second lying there felt like forever.
My wolf kept pacing inside me.
Finally, the clock ticked past 7:10 PM.
I let out a quiet breath and slowly opened my eyes.
The door to my room eased open.
Seeing I was awake, the healer came over and checked me out.
Thankfully, my car had good safety features, and I hadn't been going that fast.
Plus, my wolf healing had already kicked in for the worst of it. Just some external cuts and bruises. A scan of my head came back clear—no internal damage.
I'd be fine in a few days with rest.
After the healer left, two Road Wardens walked in carrying notebooks.
"Ma'am, how you feeling? Think you can answer some questions about what happened?"
I rubbed my still-throbbing head and said quietly, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little dizzy still."
I paused like I was trying to remember. "I was stopped at the light when my phone buzzed. Reached for it without thinking and must've hit the gas instead of the brake. Next thing I knew—crash."
The Wardens wrote everything down carefully.
"We checked the scene. Looks like a single-vehicle accident. Lucky no one else got hurt. You'll probably have to cover repairs for the barrier, though."
"And your front end's pretty smashed up. We had it towed to a shop."
I nodded, forcing a weak smile. "Of course. I'll handle it. Thanks for your help. Sorry for the trouble."
Cost me some money and left me banged up, but it was worth it.
Road Wardens at the scene, healers, plenty of witnesses—they'd all given me an alibi without even knowing it.
The Wardens handed back my busted phone—barely turned on anymore.
I signed their report, settled up with the medical wing, and got out of there fast.
When I stepped outside, I checked the time. Almost 7:30 PM.
I flagged down a pack member heading back toward our pack and caught a ride.
But the second we pulled up to the house, my stomach dropped.
The area below our building was packed with wolves.
Voices everywhere—murmuring, gasping, grieving.
I pushed through the crowd, and my heart just... stopped.
Maddox was on his knees on the ground, his laptop bag dumped beside him. Like he'd just rushed over from the office.
His hair was a mess. His face was wet with tears—real or fake, I couldn't tell anymore.
He was holding a blood-covered body, sobbing hard.
"Mom! Mom, wake up! Please, you can't leave like this. I'm so sorry, Mom."
"This is my fault. I shouldn't have left. That bitch wouldn't have pushed you if I'd stayed."
Seeing Pearl's face—so familiar, so kind—made everything inside me go cold. My wolf howled in anguish.
I stumbled back a step, head buzzing.
I hadn't gone home. I hadn't followed what the comments said would happen.
So why did Pearl still fall?
