Chapter 1 - How Dare You !

"Finally!" Rhiannon Blackwood whispered, a smile stretching on her lips. She held up a small amber-coloured vial to the overhead lights, excitement buzzing in her veins.

She was currently in her lab and had just perfected the 'Lunar Bloom' serum. With this serum, Werewolves, especially the younger ones, could experience pain-free shifts. This was something she had been working on for months and had been one of her most difficult projects.

She couldn't wait to let her family know about the good news.

She brought the vial closer, about to place it into its cryopreservation unit when suddenly, the heavy, reinforced door to her lab was slammed open, almost tearing off its hinges.

Rhiannon yelped, spinning around to catch three figures marching into her lab. They were hulking and menacing, and she recognized them as some of the Pack's warriors. Their faces held grim expressions, and a bad feeling crept up Rhia's chest.

"Rhiannon Blackwood," The one in front called, "You've been ordered to come with us,"

Before she could demand an explanation, the other two guards moved and seized her arms, their grip rough and unyielding. The vial in her hand clattered to the floor, rolling away.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Rhia blasted at them, her eyes burning with rage, "Have you forgotten I'm the Head Strategist of this Pack and the Alpha's daughter? Or are you insane?"

They ignored her tantrums, effortlessly dragging her out of her lab. In a few minutes, they had arrived at the dungeons and the one in front unlocked one of the doors, and she was tossed into the dark, cold cell.

Rhiannon was confused. She stood up and gripped the reinforced bars, threatening and yelling at the warriors but they ignored and left without a word, leaving her wondering what was going on.

It didn't take long before someone walked into the dungeon, and she recognized the spitting image of herself walking down the stairs, heading toward her cell. It was Eleanor, her twin sister.

"El, Can you imagine what just happened to me? How could they do this to me...," Rhia burst out, walking back and forth.

"Hello, Rhia," A terrifying gleam flickered through her eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it came, "What did you do? How did you end up here?"

"I don't know. Some warriors dragged me down here. Could you please help me call dad so this can be sorted out? I demand to know what's happening!"

Eleanor remained silent, simply staring at her sister.

"El!" Rhia called, "Please, Go already,"

Then, a full blown smirk touched Eleanor's lips. She seemed a little too happy to see her sister behind bars. Confused, she opened her mouth to say something when the large doors were thrown open and heavy boots walked down the long flight of stairs.

From the sudden overwhelming aura that filled the room alone, they could tell the Alpha had arrived.

Alpha Killian Blackwood of the True North Pack stood next to his daughter, beside him was his wife and their mum, Astrid. Killian had the usual, strong look in his eyes that gave nothing away.

Rhiannon sighed with relief, as she watched him walk down to her cell, "I'm so glad you're here, Father. I don't know what's going on. Some warriors just barged into my lab and dragged me down here. Could you please let me out?"

"Henceforth, you're no longer the Head Strategist of this Pack," Killian announced, his eyes simmering with suppressed anger.

Her eyes widened, and she fought to comprehend the meaning of what he was saying, "This has to be a joke, right?"

He glared at her, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"It doesn't make any sense. How can you just decide that I cannot be the strategist anymore? Father, all my life I have poured my heart and soul into everything I've done for this pack, why would you...,"

"Because I'm the Alpha and I said so!" He exhaled powerfully, knocking the air painfully out of her lungs, "I cannot leave the Pack's activities forever in the hands of a Wolfless person like you. Your Twin sister will do a much better job, as my heir. And don't even let me start on the crime you had just committed. How dare you add Wolfsbane to your new serum?!"

Rhiannon stood there, frozen solid. She searched for any sign in his eyes that all this was a joke, but there was no such thing when it came to Alpha Killian Blackwood.

"I did no such thing! I would never...,"

"A good amount of Wolfsbane was found inside your prototype last night. Did you really think you can try to poison my Pack members and go away scot-free?"

"What are you talking about? It makes no sense!"

"You're the only one who's been handling all those prototypes. It's your fingerprint that was found all over them, and yesterday morning the bottle of Wolfsbane I kept in the storage went missing,"

"It could have been anyone! Anyone could have...,"

"It's you!" He growled, "You're the only one who has access to the Lab,"

They were so adamant on making her the Villain, without proper investigation first. She could see it in their eyes that no one was gonna take her side.

A tremor ran through her body, and she fought the tears back and held her head up. Everything she had done for this family, right from the beginning, all the sleepless nights she had spent for the betterment of the family and the Pack as a whole, made her lungs burn with every breath she drew.

She had dedicated her life to the True North Pack. As a child, she was always compared to Eleanor, who was gifted with a strong wolf right from a young age.

To compensate for her lack of wolf even as she grew older, Rhiannon became the brain behind the Pack's survival and dominance.

Right now, the True North Pack was the strongest Pack among the three Powerhouse Packs in the North here, and it was all thanks to her.

When others were sneaking out to parties and spending time on their phones, she was studying and bringing ideas to life.

With her influence as the lead strategist, she had not just grown the Pack, but also the Family company.

As a scientist, she had developed pharmaceuticals that benefited Werewolves, from Advanced healing compounds beyond normal werewolf regeneration to suppressants for heightened werewolf instincts to help them blend in with humans more easily. And today, she had perfected the Pain-free shifting serum for younger wolves.

Most of all, she had done all this in hopes that one day, she would win the favour of her family, especially her father. Eleanor was always the best in his eyes, no matter how hard she tried.

Without even realising it, she had begun seeking his validation, his acceptance, as if he weren't her father, too.

Rhiannon stared at her mother this time, "Mother...," Her voice trembled, "You're not in with them on this, right? I've done so much for this family," She fought back, her shock shifting into anger, "I'm the reason why we are where we are today. There's nothing I wouldn't do for this family,"

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Oh please, save it! You're not even my daughter, so why should I take your side?"

"Huh?" Rhia creased her brows, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"This!" Killian growled, throwing a piece of paper at her face. It fell to the ground, and Rhia picked it up and unfolded it...her eyes skimming through the contents of the documents, broadening with intense shock as she did.

It was a DNA test report of her and Eleanor which proclaimed they were not related in any way, and also said Rhia was not Killian's daughter, as their DNA was a 99.9 mismatch.

Unlike Eleanor's.

"You were never a part of this family, Rhiannon. You're just a regular human, which explains why you do not have a wolf. It just happened to be a coincidence that you look exactly like Eleanor,"

A tear rolled down her eyes, and her emotions came pouring out of her eyes and lips, "How long have you all known about this? You used me for your own benefit all my life, and now I'm something to be discarded? Is that it?!"

In a flash, Killian's hand was inside the cell and had gripped Rhia by the neck, his grey eyes transforming into a crimson-red pool of rage as he squeezed the life out of her, "How dare you speak to me that way?!" He thundered, his aura blasting through the room

Even Astrid and Eleanor composed themselves, cowering in front of the Alpha's dominance.