Chapter 1 – The Contract Is Signed

They called me cursed.

Not in the way people threw around bad luck or superstition. Not the kind of curse you could shake off with a stiff drink and a forced laugh. No, mine came with whispered warnings and wolves who wouldn't meet my eyes. It came with dead mates and a reputation that clung to me like a second skin.

And now, it came with a contract.

The Council chamber smelled like burning sage and old power. Ten Elders sat in a semicircle, their expressions showing that they were emotionless, because their faces were blank, some showing quite disdain. In front of me, there’s a parchment laying on a polished mahogany table, it's the parchment that determines what will happen to me.Either good or bad.

"You understand what this means, Seraphina Nightbane?" Elder Garrick spoke with the heavy voice of a man who had controlled too many lives"I sank into my chair and folded my arms across my chest. "That you’ve officially washed your hands of me?"

A few of the Elders stiffened. Garrick, unsurprisingly, remained unshaken.

"You will be mated by contract. A powerful Alpha has agreed to take you in."

"Take me in?" I let out a short laugh, bitter and sharp. "You make it sound like a charity case."

Garrick’s mouth pressed into a thin line. "You should be grateful."

Grateful. Right.

I stared at the contract, its edges curling slightly from the candlelight. My signature was already there, written in dark ink that might as well have been blood.

"Which poor bastard got roped into this?" I asked, lifting my gaze.

The doors creaked open before anyone could answer.

A presence filled the room before I even turned my head. The scent hit first—crisp, sharp, like pine in the dead of winter, laced with something darker beneath.

Kieran Stormclaw.

The most feared Alpha in the werewolf world.

He didn’t just enter the room; he claimed it. Every movement he made was like a king walking slowly and powerfully like there was nothing that could stop him. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his black clothes were making him look more intimidating —like his patience had already run out. His sharp features and cold, unreadable gaze pinned me in a place like he expected me to look away or feel afraid in order to submit.

I didn’t bow.

"That would be me," he said, his voice smooth, even. "Try to contain your enthusiasm."

I smirked. "Stormclaw. How lucky for me."

"For a split second, the corner of his mouth moved jerkily—then his face turned to stone.

"You’ve got a sharp tongue," he muttered, closing the space between us. "Hope you know when to bite it. ”Elder Garrick cleared his throat. "Seraphina, you will leave with Alpha Stormclaw immediately.’’ The contract is binding, as is the mate bond."

Something shifted under my skin. A strange feeling settled in my lower back, like a warning I couldn’t quite understand. Not the bond itself—at least, not yet—but something like a whisper of it, waiting.

Kieran felt it too. A flicker of something passed across his face before he turned back to the Elders. "We're done here."

And just like that, I belonged to him.

Black Moon Pack wasn’t just a pack. It was an empire.

"The drive dragged on for hours, the forests blurring past beyond the estate walls.The sky glowed with streaks of orange and violet,as the car slowed in front of the packhouse.

'Nice place,' I murmured, stretching as I stepped out. "Very ‘villain’s lair in the middle of nowhere.’"

The driver said nothing. Probably under strict orders not to.

The front doors opened before I even reached them.

Kieran stood in the entryway, arms crossed. He didn’t say a word, just watched, waiting. His wolves flanked him—three men built like war itself, their gazes locked onto me like I was a loaded gun with the safety off.

I arched my brow. "You always greet your guests like this? Or just the ones you don’t trust?"

One of the wolves stiffened. Kieran lifted a hand, a subtle gesture, but they stepped back immediately.

He turned to me. "Inside."

I hesitated a beat, and it was just long enough to make a point,then I stepped past him.As I was passing by him our bodies brushed one another with just a brief contact, but the gap between us is enough for a flicker of heat to spark.

"His jaw tensed, but he didn't say anything.

The house was an unusual mix of old-world charm and modern design, its sheer size is very large and overwhelming . The smoky scent of burning wood lingered in the air and blended with something familiar—something just out of reach."

He shut the door with a soft click.

'Rules,' he said, his voice steady, leaving no room for argument.

I let out a slow breath and set my bag on the nearest chair.

"Already? At least let me find my room first."

His gaze didn’t waver. "No running. No games. You stay where I can see you. You follow my lead. And you don’t test me."

I tilted my head. "Define test."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "Push me, and you’ll find out."

A slow, sharp thrill curled in my chest. Dangerous. This was dangerous. But I’d spent my whole life balancing on the knife’s edge of survival. One more threat wouldn’t change much.

"Got it," I said. "Anything else, Alpha?"

He moved closer to me, his voice low,quiet, but firm. 'I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I want you to get one thing very clear—now you belong to me. And trust me, you’ll find out exactly what that means enough very soon.’’ I held his gaze, heartbeat steady. "To who?"

His fingers brushed my jaw. A light touch. Intentional.

"To everyone who will come for you," he said quietly.

A chill rolled down my spine.

"Who says anyone’s coming?"

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. "Because you’re not just cursed, Seraphina." His voice was almost gentle. "You’re hunted."

A sharp knock shattered the moment.

Kieran’s intense look flicked toward the window. Before he turned, a muscle moved jerkily in his jaw, moving with the kind of predatory grace that made it clear he was ready for whatever—or whoever—was on the other side.

Something inside me tightened. A warning. A knowing.

He pulled open the door.

And the scent of blood filled the room.

The body lay crumpled at the threshold.

Snow had begun to gather around the edges, staining the red mess of what used to be a throat. A message had been carved into the chest, deep and jagged, the letters raw against pale skin.

I stepped closer, ignoring the static hum in my ears.

Four words. That was all.

Your mate will die.

Kieran’s posture didn’t change, but the air around him did. The kind of stillness that came before storms. Before war.

His gaze locked onto the message, then flicked to me.

For the first time since we met, Kieran Stormclaw looked at me not as a contract. Not as a political move.

But as a target.

He exhaled slowly, then tilted his head. "Still think no one’s coming?"

I swallowed.

And for the first time in years, I wasn’t sure if I was the hunter—or the hunted.