Chapter 2

The wind screamed through the trees as Evelyn ran, heart pounding with every step.

She didn’t remember leaving the room. Didn’t remember tearing open the front doors or sprinting barefoot into the storm.

All she knew was rage.

A red, seething rage so consuming it made her wolf claw at her skin, begging to be let out.

The bond flared again. A hot spike in her chest. Another wave of betrayal. Another rush of pain.

She could feel Adrian’s pleasure. His lust. His disgusting satisfaction as he lay with Nina—his fated mate—while their daughter’s body cooled in her bed. Dead and gone, forever.

A strangled sob escaped Evelyn’s throat, but it turned into a growl halfway. She wasn’t crying anymore.

She was done crying.

Her feet pounded the slick stone steps of the packhouse. She threw the doors open, thunder crashing overhead.

She stormed up the stairs, past startled omegas and warriors too stunned to stop her.

She knew where he’d be.

Adrian’s private quarters.

The scent hit her before she reached the door—hers. Nina’s. Sickly sweet. Familiar.

She could hear their voices through the half-closed door, low and breathless.

Then:

“She should be gone by now,” Nina whispered. “We did what we had to. You did the right thing, my love.”

Adrian let out a breathless chuckle. “That pup would’ve ruined this pack. Her sickness made us look weak. Like we couldn’t even breed proper heirs. You proved to me that my children can be strong, our son will be the strongest wolf in the land.”

Evelyn’s legs buckled.

He had known.

All along, he had known.

“I hated her from the beginning,” Adrian muttered. “That child was a curse. Just like her mother. She could never figure out when enough was enough.”

Something inside Evelyn shattered.

She didn’t remember shifting. One moment she was Evelyn—the grieving mother, the betrayed mate—and the next, her wolf burst through her skin in a storm of black fur and flaming fury.

She body slammed through the door, snarling.

Nina screamed. Adrian barely shifted in time to block her.

But Evelyn wasn’t after him.

Not yet.

Her wolf lunged straight for Nina—jaw wide, teeth snapping.

She collided with the woman and slammed her to the floor, snarling, biting, clawing.

Blood spattered across the floorboards. Nina shrieked, her hands flailing against Evelyn’s muzzle. Her face vanished beneath crimson.

Then Adrian roared behind her and tackled Evelyn off, sending them both crashing into the dresser.

“YOU INSANE BITCH!”

Evelyn lunged again, eyes wild, fangs gleaming. She bit deep into his shoulder. He howled in pain and slammed her into the wall.

They tore into each other—snarls, claws, blood flying.

“YOU MURDERED HER!” Evelyn shrieked, her voice half-wolf, broken and raw. “SHE WAS OUR DAUGHTER!”

Adrian’s eyes were blazing gold. “She was yours, Evelyn. She was never mine. The second she came out weak and half dead I realised she would never be able to take over the land in my place.”

The words sent her reeling.

But there was no time.

Voices thundered up the stairs—warriors. Dozens. Drawn by the chaos.

Adrian turned toward the open door and shouted, “She’s snapped! She killed Nina! Evelyn’s killed Nina.”

Evelyn’s head turned slowly.

Nina’s body lay motionless on the floor. Blood pooled beneath her head. Her eyes were closed.

A sob cracked in Evelyn’s chest—shocked and full of pain—but her wolf pulled her back to her feet.

You can’t die here. Not like this. RUN.

She leapt out the window, crashing through the glass, the impact leaving tiny shards in the skin beneath her wolfs fur.

The fall broke her arm on impact, but adrenaline kept her moving. Her body ached. Her vision spun. But she ran.

Behind her, howls filled the air.

They were coming.

Dozens of them.

The forest was a blur of black and green and rain. Trees whipped past. Branches tore at her skin. She couldn’t outrun them for long, not this many wolves.

Then claws raked down her back.

Evelyn screamed, falling hard. Blood poured from her side. A second wolf lunged and bit deep into her thigh, shaking its head like a rabid dog.

Her wolf fought back—biting, snarling, slashing—but they kept coming.

Teeth sank into her ribs. Another tore into her flank.

She was losing blood. Fast.

They were going to kill her.

But then—

A scent. Old. Strange. Powerful.

The border.

Just ahead.

A line carved by ancient magic. No wolf dared cross it.

She used the last of her strength to leap forward, tearing free from the jaws of the wolves.

She rolled, bleeding and broken, onto a stretch of dark, mossy earth.

The moment her body hit the other side, everything went silent.

The pack wolves skidded to a halt at the edge of the boundary. One stepped forward—and whimpered. Another let out a sharp, warning growl and backed away.

They didn’t follow.

They wouldn’t dare.

She had crossed into the Lycan King’s territory.

Evelyn collapsed near a cluster of stones. Rain washed over her, mixing with blood. Her vision swam with stars.

She had seconds left—maybe.

Her heart thudded once.

Twice.

Then slowed.

Footsteps.

Soft. Deliberate. Not rushed.

A figure emerged from the trees—shrouded in a deep, ash-colored cloak. Small, hunched slightly with age. But her steps were steady.

The woman knelt beside Evelyn’s body, brushing soaked hair away from her bloodied face.

“Foolish girl,” she murmured, voice like old parchment and smoke. “You should’ve died in those woods. But fate… fate always finds a way.”

Evelyn tried to speak. Nothing came out.

The woman laid a wrinkled hand on her chest, just over the heart. Her touch was cool. Soothing.

“You’ll live,” she said softly. “But nothing will be the same.”

Evelyn slipped into unconsciousness.

And in her dreams—dark and warm and ancient—something stirred.

A massive wolf stood on a cliff, silhouetted in red moonlight. Black as the void. Eyes glowing like rubies.

He turned his head toward her.

And bowed.

A deep ethereal voice echoed through the dreamspace:

“You’ve returned to me, Evelyn. The world will burn for what they’ve done to you.”