An Alpha's Forbidden Mate

Chapter One:

“Let me go!” My throat was raw from screaming, but I kept thrashing against the ropes cutting into my wrists. Silver burned my skin, every second searing deeper. “Let me go, damn it!”

The laughter that answered me froze my blood.

Damien.

Out of all people, it had to be him. My classmate. The boy I’d crushed on for months. The one I’d dreamt about kissing under the bleachers. Now he stood in front of me, smirking like this was some twisted joke.

“You always wanted my attention, didn’t you, Luna?” His tone dripped with mockery. “Well, here it is. Not quite the date you imagined, huh?”

A date. He had asked me to come with him tonight, and stupid me—I’d said yes. I thought he liked me. I thought maybe the universe had finally given me something normal. Instead, I was tied up in the middle of the forest, surrounded by men reeking of blood and steel. Hunters.

“You knew?” My voice cracked as I forced the words out. “You knew what I am?”

Damien’s smirk widened. “Of course I knew. Do you think I’d waste time on a boring human girl? No, Luna. You’re valuable. Every part of you is worth something.”

My stomach lurched. “What… what are you talking about?”

He leaned closer, close enough for me to smell the metallic tang of silver on his hands. “Your wolf. Your blood. Your heart. Our clients want parts of you. So we’re going to give them exactly what they paid for.”

“No…” The word slipped out like a prayer, my voice trembling. “You can’t—”

He straightened and barked to the others, “Give her the wolfsbane. Then take what the clients asked for. Bury the rest.”

Terror ripped through me. My body shook violently against the ropes. “No! Don’t touch me!”

One of the hunters grabbed a vial, the sharp stench of wolfsbane filling the air. My wolf inside me howled in agony, thrashing harder than I was. If that poison touched me, she’d be crippled—maybe gone forever.

“You bastards!” I screamed, choking on rage and fear. “Do you even know who you’re messing with?”

“Shut her up,” Damien ordered.

A rough hand shoved a filthy rag between my teeth, cutting off my words. I gagged, twisting my head violently, but they forced it in. My cries turned muffled, desperate.

Then—movement.

A rustle in the bushes. A low growl rolling through the night.

Every hunter froze.

“Check it out,” Damien snapped, pointing his knife at one of the men.

The man hesitated. “Damien, maybe we should—”

“Now!” Damien barked.

The hunter cursed under his breath and edged toward the noise, silver blade raised. The forest was silent for a beat—then a scream ripped through the night, high and shrill. It ended in a crunch, bones snapping like twigs.

The others swore, stumbling back. My heart thundered. Someone—or something—was out there.

I spat the gag from my mouth, gasping. “You’re screwed now,” I rasped, glaring at Damien.

His jaw clenched. “Shut up.”

Another growl. Another rustle.

“Go,” Damien ordered a second man, shoving a silver blade at his chest.

The hunter’s face went pale. “I’m not going out there—”

Damien’s voice sharpened. “Do it, or I’ll gut you myself.”

The man swallowed hard, then crept forward. He disappeared into the shadows. Seconds later, another scream split the air, cut short with a sickening snap.

My blood sang with savage relief. Whoever was out there wasn’t human. Maybe one of my pack. Maybe the Moon Goddess herself.

Damien swore and yanked me upright by the ropes. Cold steel pressed against my throat—his silver blade. “Listen to me, wolf bitch!” he shouted into the trees. “Show yourself, or I slice her open right here!”

The blade nicked my skin, sending a sting of pain blazing down my neck. I sucked in a sharp breath, heart racing so hard it hurt.

And then I saw it.

Eyes.

Glowing red in the darkness.

A massive wolf stepped out of the shadows, its fur dark as midnight, its presence filling the clearing with raw power. The hunters around Damien staggered back, fear flooding their faces.

Damien’s hand trembled against my throat. “Shift back!” he shouted, voice cracking. “Shift back into human form!”

The wolf’s lips peeled back, exposing teeth sharp enough to tear through bone. But then, slowly, his body shimmered. Fur rippled, limbs twisted, and in seconds, a man stood before us.

Naked. Powerful. His chest heaved with steady breaths, muscles taut beneath moonlight. His eyes—still glowing faintly red—locked on Damien with a cold fury that made the hunters quake.

And me?

My heart stuttered. Even in my terror, something inside me sparked. My wolf whimpered, not in fear, but recognition.

Damien forced a laugh. “What the hell are you doing here?”

The stranger didn’t answer. His eyes flicked to me, then back to Damien.

“You hear me?” Damien shouted, desperate now. “Answer me, or I’ll kill her!”

The man bent, picked up a blade from the dirt, and in one fluid motion, hurled it across the clearing.

I barely had time to blink.

The silver struck Damien straight in the head. His eyes went wide, his body collapsing to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Dead.

Silence crashed over the clearing.

The last hunter bolted into the forest, footsteps pounding until they faded. Only the stranger remained. He walked toward me, slow and deliberate, the moon catching on his skin. My body trembled—not from fear, but something hotter, wilder. My veins burned as though my wolf was clawing to the surface.

He knelt, sharp claws sliding out just long enough to cut the ropes. The silver bindings fell away, and I collapsed forward, catching myself on shaking arms.

“Wait,” I gasped, voice breaking. “Please—don’t go.”

He froze, his back half-turned.

“What’s your name?” I asked, my voice raw, desperate.

For a moment, he didn’t answer. Then he glanced over his shoulder, his crimson eyes softening just enough to steal my breath.

“John.”

And before I could say anything else, he shifted back into the massive wolf and vanished into the night.

I stayed there on my knees, heart pounding, staring at the spot where he disappeared. My wrists throbbed, my throat burned, but none of it mattered. Because one truth was louder than the pain, louder than the fear.

John wasn’t just a stranger.

He was my destined mate.

And no matter what it took, I was going to find him.