Chapter 1

Pain was the first thing I felt. My body ached so much that moving any part of it—including my eyes—felt impossible. Still in darkness, I felt the bite of cold iron shackles around my wrists, followed by a dull, throbbing ache in my skull.

A whimper escaped my lips as I tried to flutter my eyes open. I blinked against the dim torchlight illuminating the cell.

Panic surged within me. "Where is my brother?" The question escaped before I could stop it, though I desperately wanted answers.

Memories flooded my head like a raging storm—the attack, my pack's desperate screams, the stench of burning flesh, the metallic scent of blood bitter as ash. My father is running instead of fighting. I remembered dragging my wounded brother toward the woods when black wolves with eyes red as burning coals surrounded us. Then darkness consumed me.

Now I was in his dungeon.

Footsteps echoed outside the cell, slow and deliberate. Snarling, I forced myself upright, teeth gritted against my stiff limbs. When the heavy door opened, he walked in.

Alpha Jared. The monster who had burned my pack—the only home I'd ever known—to the ground.

He looked at me with detached amusement, as if I were insignificant. Tall and dark-skinned with broad shoulders, he carried himself like royalty and a general combined. His dark tunic fit snugly over his muscled chest. His dark brown hair was tied back at his nape, but it did nothing to soften the cruel lines of his face.

"You're awake," he said, his voice deep and commanding.

I glared at him. "Where is my brother?"

Jared leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "Alive," he said with complete indifference.

Relief hit me hard, but I refused to let him see it. I swallowed. "I want to see him. Let me see Muriel."

He arched a brow. "You're in no position to make demands."

I closed my eyes, trying to contain the anger threatening to erupt. I needed to think straight. Fighting him would only make things worse—right now, I was weak, and my wolf was dormant. I didn't know what they'd done, but I couldn't reach Lily. I was completely at his mercy.

My hands curled into fists. What was the point of living? But if he planned to hurt my brother, he wouldn't be here talking to me. "Then kill me already. I won't beg."

He pushed off the doorframe, walking toward me with measured steps. The cell felt smaller with every inch he closed between us. When he crouched in front of me, his brown eyes glowed in the dim light, sharp and assessing.

"Kill you?" He curled his lips into something resembling amusement. "No, little lamb. That would be too merciful."

Little lamb? I wanted to snap at him. How dare he call me—a Beta warrior—a little lamb? Was he trying to provoke me? Make me show weakness?

I refused to look away. "Then what do you want?"

Jared reached into his pocket and pulled out a rolled parchment sealed with black wax. He let it drop between us. "Your father abandoned you." He paused, watching my reaction carefully. "He left you to die and took what remained of his warriors with him."

A sickening twist formed in my stomach. "You're lying."

Jared tilted his head. "Am I?"

I bit my lip. My father was many things, but not a traitor. He could be selfish, but he would stand his ground. Then the memory surfaced—seeing my father, the Beta of Moonlit Pack, running instead of fighting.

I shook my head. Maybe I'd misunderstood. Maybe he was calling for reinforcements.

"Yes, you are," I muttered, though my voice betrayed my uncertainty. Something inside whispered that he might be telling the truth, but I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Alpha Jared of the Black Shadow Pack was a monster.

I'd heard the tales. The first time I saw him, he was clothed in blood. The horror in my eyes wouldn't leave me—I'd watched him murder someone in cold blood.

"If you wish to stay in denial, that's your choice," he said.

My throat tightened. "It doesn't change the fact that you wiped out an entire pack—my pack."

"Wiped out? No." His voice turned cold and brutal, sending shivers down my spine. "You're still alive, so that doesn't count. But destroyed? Yes, I did that. And I'd do it again."

He leaned closer. "But now I'm feeling generous. I'm offering you a choice."

I furrowed my brows. "A choice?"

He closed the remaining distance between us, his lips close to my ear. I could feel his breath on my neck, every hair standing on end—a constant reminder of the danger radiating from him. "Be my Luna, and your brother lives."

I pulled back, searching his face for some cruel joke. But Jared's expression was unreadable, making it impossible to know if he was serious.

Be his Luna? The request was insane. I'd expected him to make me his slave, to display his power to other packs who dared defy him. Moonlit Pack had been one of the three strongest packs in this realm. My father was a feared warrior, a Beta who'd walked beside Alpha Damon for years. I was supposed to be crowned as the next Beta warrior, to fight beside Derrick—the Alpha's son and my childhood crush—when this destroyer came and ruined everything.

"Why?" My voice was hoarse. "Why would you want me as your mate?"

"Mate with you? No. Mark you? Yes," he responded, and my eyes flashed.

The bastard wanted me to be mateless. He wanted to stake a claim so no one would ever want me—not even my true mate.

I could read between his emotionless expressions. This was worse than slavery. Being his Luna didn't mean having power—he wanted to make me powerless, always at his mercy.

He knew that being at his mercy was the one thing I hated most.

"Over my dead body I will ever accept your offer," I spat

Jared stood to his full height, towering over me. A cruel smirk spread through his face

"Such fire." He chuckled, a sound devoid of warmth.

"I'll be sure to tell Muriel how bravely his sister condemned him to death. Perhaps he'll forgive you... if he lives long enough to hear it."