Chapter 1: The Rescued Survivor

Alara’s POV

At the first crack of dawn, when the sky was still shaking off the last traces of deep blue, I stepped out of the pack house. Golden light spilled slowly across the grounds, casting long shadows over the training yard as wolves and warriors began their morning routines. The air was alive with the shuffle of paws and boots, with murmured commands and soft growls.

I walked with a faint bounce in my step, unable to hide the flutter of anticipation building inside me. My gaze swept across the grounds, my hazel eyes scanning every face, every silhouette, searching for one person: Kael. My fiancé. My Alpha. 

Being an only child, I had lost both my parents in the rogue war when I was just six. Kael’s parents—the former Alpha and Luna—had taken me in and raised me as their own. I grew up with Kael by my side, and somewhere along the way, he became the center of my world. He was all the family I had ever truly known.

“Has Kael returned?” I asked the moment I reached the training grounds, already frustrated at not finding him. It had become a routine question.

“Good morning to you too, Alara,” Jacob scoffed. “I’m doing great, thanks for asking.” As Kael’s Beta and childhood best friend, Jacob knew him nearly as well as I did.

I smacked him on the arm, earning a dramatic yelp.

“Ouch! Alara!”

“Don’t be such a baby. I barely used any strength,” I shot back, rolling my eyes. I knew him too well to fall for his theatrics.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that you’re my future Luna, you’d be flat on your back right now,” he declared, puffing his chest out proudly.

I poked him right in the center of his puffed-out chest. “We both know if we sparred, you’d be the one eating dirt, Jacob.”

I wasn’t bragging. It was the truth.

I came from a long line of exceptional soldiers. My wolf was stronger than most, and even in human form, I could hold my own against almost anyone. I could even keep up with Kael in combat on a good day.

Jacob batted my hand away with a huff. “Yes, yes, my dear future Luna.” Then he dipped into an exaggerated bow. “We also both know why you aren’t standing in my shoes.”

His tone shifted, quiet, almost resentful, and the subtle tension behind his words made my wolf whimper in my chest.

“Hey.” I slung an arm over his shoulders. “I might be better in combat, but you’re one hell of a Beta, and you know it.”

His expression softened.  “Means a lot coming from you…” he muttered, finally smiling.

But I wasn’t here to stroke his ego—not today. The anxiety in my chest pulsed sharper. “Now that you’re done sulking, can you tell me about Kael? Did he send a word? Anything?”

His smile faltered.

Two weeks. It was supposed to be one. Kael had taken a team of elite warriors north to deal with a sudden surge of rogue activity. I’d wanted to go with him, but he’d shot the idea down instantly. The mission was too risky, too unpredictable. He didn’t want to risk my life.

But now it was his life I was worried about.

“Jacob,” I pressed, “has he sent a message?”

He glanced around, then gently took my elbow and pulled me aside. He didn’t want anyone overhearing. That alone knotted my stomach.

“Alara…” He ran a hand down his face. “I’m not going to lie to you.”

My heart sank.

“Two days ago, our sources went silent. I sent a tracker, but… I haven't been able to reach him either.”

The world seemed to tilt for a moment. “And?” I whispered. My nerves felt stretched thin, ready to snap.

“This stays between us.” His voice dropped, all Beta formality disappearing. “If Kael was dead, the entire pack would feel it. The alpha bond would shift. It hasn’t. That means he’s alive.”

Alive. But where?

His reassurance soothed only a fraction of the burning ache in my chest. That ache had begun the moment I woke up—deep, sharp, foreboding. As though something inside me already knew the day would go horribly wrong.

“If only he had marked me before leaving…” I whispered to myself, but Jacob caught it.

“He will,” he began, but I cut him off.

“When, Jacob? We’ve been together for four years. Engaged for more than six months. He could’ve marked me anytime. Before he left. Before any of this.”

“Alara—”

“If he truly chose me, why hasn’t he—?”

“He did choose you,” Jacob insisted. “You weren’t his fated mate, and he still chose you the moment you turned eighteen. That matters. You know it does.”

His words softened me, but the worry still gnawed relentlessly at my insides. “I just want him to come home,” I murmured. “I’ll let you get back to training…”

I turned toward the pack house, but a young warrior sprinted toward us, breathless.

“Beta Jacob,” he panted, then dipped his head respectfully to me. “Your pack link was blocked… they’ve returned.”

My lungs froze.

Jacob opened his mouth to respond, but I didn’t give him the chance.

“Kael is back?”

The warrior barely nodded before I was already running.

The pack house came into view, crowded with wolves and pack members murmuring anxiously. My eyes darted from face to face until they found him.

Kael.

I slowed to a jog, my breath catching. He was alive. 

But the relief hit a wall inside me, twisting into something else.

Kael stood bruised, battered, his clothes torn and dried with blood. His arms were wrapped protectively around a small, fragile-looking woman who clung to him like she was afraid he’d vanish if she let go.

Her face was pale, streaked with dirt and blood.

And Kael…

His eyes never left her. Every movement he made was careful, tender. A softness I knew too well because he had always reserved it for me.

Until now.

“K-Kael?” My voice cracked as I stepped closer, but he didn’t look up.

Pack members began to shift aside, giving me space, or maybe giving him space. Their whispers prickled along my skin.

I stopped a few feet away, my heart thundering in my chest. “What’s going on? Who is she?”

Only then did Kael meet my gaze. His expression was unreadable.

“Jacob,” he called, “take Miss Vivian to the infirmary. Make sure she receives immediate care.”

His eyes stayed locked on mine.

But then—

“Kael…” the woman whimpered, tugging weakly on his shirt.

And his attention snapped back to her instantly.

“It’s okay, Vivian,” he murmured — softly, warmly, in the voice that used to melt me. “You’re safe now. My Beta will take good care of you. I’ll come see you soon. There’s something I have to take care of first.”

His gaze flicked toward me again, just briefly.

But in that fleeting look, everything inside me shattered.

The ache in my chest ignited into something sharp and violent. My wolf recoiled.

And the truth hit me with the force of a blade.

Vivian wasn’t just a rescued survivor.

She was Kael’s fated mate.