Chapter 1

Kade, the Alpha of the strongest pack in the North, was finally asleep beside me. The sunlight highlighted the perfect lines of his face and the muscles of his chest. He looked peaceful, an obvious contrast to the animalistic hunger he’d shown all night.

It had been a frenzy. Starting in the back of his luxury car, steam fogging the windows. Then up against the glass shower door, water sluicing over our heated skin. Finally, collapsing in a wet, tangled heap on the sofa.

As dawn approached, we finally stopped, collapsing into a exhausted sleep in each other’s arms. Wrapped in his scent, I felt something I thought I’d lost—a sense of home.

I’m Lila. People call me the most beautiful Omega wolf in the North. While every other man seemed to be pursuing me, I only ever wanted Kade. My family and pack were all gone, wiped out, leaving me completely alone. It was Kade who had found me in the ruins of that devastation, pulled me out and brought me into his world. I had fallen in love with him from the moment our eyes met. Our connection was instant and explosive, like lightning igniting a forest, utterly uncontrollable.

In the beginning, Kade had no idea about my ability—I could see omens of doom. I got flashes, brief catastrophic visions of what was about to happen to someone—an assassination, poisoning, a trap.

Not long ago, when a rival pack launched a surprise attack, I saw it coming. I warned Kade’s pack, giving them just enough time to escape the ambush. Since then, they had started to regard me as their seer among wolves.

What just happened between us...it was wild, like it always is. For him, it was probably just a way to blow off steam. For me, it’s everything. I pretend to be this carefree girl, but deep down, I’m desperately in love with him.

Right now, while he’s sleeping, I let myself imagine a different life. Maybe one day I could be his Luna.

It was a too nice dream.

Morning came, and Kade woke up. The warmth vanished from his eyes instantly. He got out of bed and started pulling on his suit pants without a single word.

“What’s wrong? You were chanting my name all night, and now you have nothing to say?” I asked lazily, watching him button his shirt. His hair was slightly messy from our night, but it did nothing to hide how devastatingly handsome he was.

"I have things at the office. We’ll talk later." Kade's tall, powerful frame was sheathed in his impeccably tailored black suit jacket. Then his phone on the pillow buzzed. I just happened to glance over and see the name on the screen: Sara.

I’ve heard that name before. The kitchen staff whispered about her. Sara was Kade’s childhood friend, and they had remained inseparable throughout their university days. They were always together—studying, walking around campus. It was during one of their walks that a rival faction attacked them. Sara took a fatal blow meant for Kade. She was severely injured. He sent her to a secluded place in the North to recover. I didn’t know she was back.

He snatched the phone, his eyes softening as he read the message.

“Is it business at the office, or is someone your business?” I asked him intentionally.

He thumbed my swollen lower lip. "Be good. Don't make trouble."

The door clicked shut. The smile instantly dropped from my face.

I threw on some clothes, called a cab, and followed him.

Several minutes later, the cab stopped in front of a luxury hotel. Through the rain, I saw a girl in a white dress run out of the lobby. Kade hurried forward, shrugged off his suit jacket to drape over her shoulders, and then swept her up into his arms smoothly.

"It's cold out. Why did you come out without a coat, hmm?"

His movements were so practiced, so familiar, as if he'd done it a thousand times.

I gripped the door handle, watching him carry her carefully back into the hotel.

“Take me back,” I snarled at the driver. He opened his mouth to complain about the short fare, but one look at the pure fury on my face made him shut up and drive.

I went back to my room and stood by the window. The Frostfang fortress spread out below, huge and cold. I felt incredibly small.

That was when I saw it. The dirt in the garden below was moving. A moment later, a weird, ugly, lizard-like creature with lumpy skin that matched the gravel path popped out. An Earth-Scale Newt. I’d heard of them. Southern packs used them for sending messages no one else could intercept.

It stopped right below my window. Tied to its back was a small metal tube, a sleek black credit chip, and a smooth, grey river stone.

My omen sense prickled, the same feeling I got when poison was near. This was trouble.

I sneaked down and out into the garden. The newt didn’t move. I carefully untied the items. The tube was sealed with wax stamped by a crest: a sharp claw inside a shadow. It was the mark of the Shadowclaw Pack from the South.

My hands shook a bit as I unrolled the small scroll inside.

The message was short and to the point.

"To Lila,

Our Alpha, Alex, is dying from his wounds. Our seers have spoken. Your unique bloodline is the key. We need you to come south and perform an ancient bonding ritual with him. It will use your strength to heal him. In return, you will receive unimaginable riches and the permanent, sworn protection of the mighty Shadowclaw Pack. The credit chip is a token of our sincerity. Use the speaking stone to give us your answer.

We are looking forward to your reply."

I stood frozen. A bonding ritual? They wanted me to be the luna of some dying Southern alpha I’d never met to be his magical cure? It sounded insane.

But then the words echoed in my mind. Permanent protection. A memory flashed—fire, screams, the devastating feeling of loss when my pack was destroyed. A deep, aching longing for belonging, for protection, surged up in me.

I looked back up at my dark, empty room. I thought of how Kade’d left me without a backward glance this morning. I thought of Sara in his arms. The speaking stone felt cool and weighty in my palm.

What did I have to lose here? Absolutely nothing. But in the South... maybe I had everything to gain.