Nene clicked END STREAM, stretching as the chat exploded with last-second messages.
"That last beat? Absolute fire!"
"Queen of underground beats, we bow to you!"
"Collab when?"
She smirked, rolling her shoulders to ease the tension from an hour of being hunched over her soundboard. Her 50K followers weren't massive compared to the big names, but she had built it herself—beat by beat, stream by stream.
She yawned, shut her laptop, and flopped onto her bed, letting the faint hum of her last track vibrate through the speakers.
Then her phone buzzed.
She ignored it.
It buzzed again.
And again.
With a groan, she reached for it, expecting her best friend to be spamming about some new track drop. But the moment she saw the name on the screen, her stomach twisted.
Dad.
Not him. Not the man who abandoned her.
Lin Guang—the man who actually raised her.
Her fingers hovered over the screen before she sighed and answered. "Hey, Dad. What's up?"
There was a pause. Then, in his usual no-nonsense voice, he said:
"Your biological father wants to talk to you."
Nene sat up so fast, she nearly knocked her laptop off the bed.
"…What?"
"He contacted me this morning. He wants a meeting."
A sharp laugh burst from her lips, completely caught off guard. "Oh, does he now? After eighteen years of nothing, he suddenly remembers I exist?"
Another pause.
Then, softer this time, Lin Guang said, "I think you should hear him out."
Nene gritted her teeth.
She didn't owe that man a damn thing.
But a small, nagging voice in the back of her mind whispered, "What does he want now?"
Nene tossed her phone onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, her pulse still hammering from the conversation.
Her biological father.
The man was a ghost, nothing more than a name she barely heard growing up. Lin Guang never talked about him, and she never asked.
What was there to ask? The facts were simple:
He didn't want her. He gave her away at birth. He never looked for her.
For eighteen years, that was all she needed to know.
She tried to think if there was anything else. Anything at all.
All she had were bits and pieces.
She knew his name seen him in the papers: Lin Zhen. A man with power, wealth, and influence—the kind that didn't leave loose ends unless he had a reason.
She knew he was a werewolf, though she never cared. Her adoptive father was human, and she never felt like she was missing anything. The whole pack thing? The hierarchy, the mate bonds, the territorial wars? That was their world, not hers.
And now, out of nowhere, this man—this stranger—wanted to talk.
Her gut told her one thing: This wasn't a family reunion.
Her phone buzzed again, but this time, an unknown number lit up the screen.
After the bomb Lin Guang just dropped on her, she wasn't in the mood for more surprises. But something in her gut told her this wasn't a random call.
With a sigh, she picked up. "Hello?"
A deep, smooth voice answered. "Good evening, Miss Lin. My name is Shen Qian. I am your father's secretary."
Her father's secretary.
The words alone made her stomach tighten. Her real father—the one who had ignored her for eighteen years—had a secretary reaching out on his behalf?
Nene didn't bother to hide her irritation. "Cool. What does he want?"
"I understand this call may be unexpected," Shen Qian continued, his tone calm and polite, like he was used to dealing with people who didn't want to talk to him. "However, as you are turning eighteen next Monday, there are legal matters that must be addressed."
"Legal matters?" she repeated, frowning. "I'm not signing anything."
A soft chuckle. "That is entirely your right, Miss Lin. However, you should be aware that, as the biological daughter of an Alpha, you are automatically registered under werewolf law upon reaching adulthood. Whether you claim it or not, you have legal standing within our society."
Nene froze.
Excuse me, what?
Shen Qian continued, completely unbothered. "You will also be granted full access to the Werewolf Interweb, a private system unavailable to humans."
Nene blinked. "...There's a werewolf internet?"
"Of course," he said smoothly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It is the primary digital network for all pack-related business, legal documents, and inter-territorial communication."
A werewolf internet. Werewolf laws. And somehow, she was already registered?
"Hold on," she said, rubbing her temples. "Are you telling me I don't have a choice in this?"
"You have a choice in whether you accept your status, but not in the fact that you legally exist in our system."
Nene groaned. This was so much worse than she thought.
Shen Qian, ever patient, continued. "To make this transition easier, I have prepared a basic overview of what this entails. If you'd like, I can send you a secured link with your registration details."
She almost said no.
Almost.
But something told her that ignoring it wouldn't make it go away.
"...Fine," she muttered. "Send it over."
"Very well," he said smoothly. "Additionally, should you require further explanation, I would be happy to walk you through the key details."
Nene rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. This was too much. She had spent her entire life ignoring werewolf society, and now it was apparently dragging her in whether she liked it or not.
After a moment, she sighed. "Alright, hit me. What do I need to know?"
"Let's start with the basics," Shen Qian said. "You are legally classified as an Alpha-born Beta, given your mixed upbringing outside of pack law. This means you have the right to territorial claims, pack alliances, and mate bond registration. However, you are not required to assume leadership unless you choose to challenge for an Alpha position."
Nene almost choked. Territorial claims? Mate bonds? Challenge for an Alpha position?!
"I'm sorry, what?!"
"These are standard rights for an Alpha-born heir," he said calmly. "Your father's lineage grants you automatic recognition, even though you were not raised within a pack structure."
Nene sat up. "Okay, wait. Let's rewind. What does this actually mean for me?"
Shen Qian paused, then broke it down.
She was now officially part of the werewolf legal system. She had access to private werewolf networks that humans didn't. She had the right to challenge for power or make political alliances. Her future mate bond—if it ever happened—would be automatically registered and legally binding.
That last part made her stomach flip. Legally binding?
"I'm not planning on getting 'mate bonded' or whatever," she said flatly.
Shen Qian made a thoughtful sound. "Most Beta-born individuals do not concern themselves with such matters until their mate bond is confirmed."
"Yeah, well, that's never happening," she muttered. "Anything else?"
"Yes. As a final note, your father has requested to meet with you in person this week."
Nene knew that was coming, but it still made her blood pressure spike.
"Of course, he has."
"You may refuse," Shen Qian said smoothly. "However, I would advise at least hearing what he has to say. There are matters concerning your future that he believes you should be aware of."
Nene narrowed her eyes. Future? That word set off every alarm in her head.
She sat up. "Alright, no. See, I was going to let this whole 'suddenly my father remembers I exist' thing slide, but now you're making it sound like there's a plan for me. So why don't you just tell me? What does he want?"
A slight pause. Then, in the same calm, diplomatic tone, Shen Qian replied, "It would be best if you discussed this with your father directly."
Nene huffed. "Translation: you know, but you're not allowed to tell me."
Shen Qian didn't confirm or deny it. Which meant she was right.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, pacing. "Let's try a different question. Why now? He's had eighteen years to play the concerned parent. What changed?"
There was another measured pause before Shen Qian finally said, "You are turning eighteen. That makes you legally recognized as an adult under werewolf law. As the biological daughter of an Alpha, you now hold a position—one that others may try to use."
Nene froze mid-step.
"Use me?" she repeated. "For what?"
Shen Qian hesitated just long enough to make her suspicious.
"I can only say that your father believes it is in your best interest to meet with him before certain individuals become aware of your status."
Nene stared at the floor, processing.
Certain individuals.
People who didn't know she existed—but who would, soon.
Her heart kicked up a notch. "Shen Qian," she said slowly. "Are you telling me that someone—or multiple someones—would care about me now, just because I turned eighteen?"
A pause.
Then, quietly, "Yes."
She exhaled sharply, gripping the edge of her desk. This wasn't just about family drama anymore. There was something bigger at play.
And she needed to know what it was.
"Fine," she said. "I'll meet him. But I want details. No cryptic, half-answers. If I show up, I expect the whole truth."
A small hum of approval. "Understood. I will make the arrangements."
The call ended.
Nene set her phone down, her mind spinning.
She had gone her entire life ignoring the world of werewolves. She didn't care about packs, territories, or Alpha politics.
But now?
Now, it seemed like the werewolf world cared about her.