Chapter 1: To keep me save

Elena Cruz

My father told me to get in the car if I wanted to live. There was no time to pack properly, no time to think, barely enough time to shove my shoes on before he grabbed my arm and dragged me out the back door.

“Dad what’s happening? What the hell is going on?”

He didn’t look at me. Didn’t speak. Didn’t slow down. All he said was, “I have one job and that’s to keep you alive.”

I didn’t realize what that meant until he drove me out of Crescent territory and kept going. Past the highway. Past the signs. Past everything I knew.

“You can’t be serious,” I said.

He pinched the bridge of his nose like I was the problem. “Elena, I don’t have time to talk…just to get you out now”

“Dad…”

“And his house is close to your new school, it will be easier for you to…This is for your safety.” That was the last thing my dad said before he dropped me at the estate. No explanation, no real goodbye, not even the decency to look me in the eye when I asked what exactly he was keeping me safe from. I kept pushing for answers anyway, but all I got was his jaw tightening and his hands gripping the steering wheel. Apparently I was too young, too sheltered, too “not ready” to hear the truth.

My father is a medic in Crescent Pack, respected enough that people trusted him with their lives. Somehow, that same man decided I didn’t deserve to know what danger had him packing up my mother and siblings in the middle of the night and rushing them off to a hidden safehouse. He drove me somewhere else entirely, miles away from everything familiar, and acted like that was normal. He knew I was furious. He still didn’t tell me anything.

There had been attacks on children. That much I overheard. Nothing detailed. Nothing direct. Crescent Pack liked pretending I was made of glass—too weak, too slow, too “dormant” to be involved. My wolf barely stirred most days. Sometimes I forgot she existed. They never let me train, never let me defend myself, never let me ask questions about what a half-blood like me could or couldn’t do. So while everyone prepared for whatever threat was crawling toward our borders, I was thrown into a car like baggage.

He left me in front of Dr. Alexander Hale’s estate, a place I’d never seen before. My father insisted Alex was his closest friend and that I’d be safe with him while I started university in the city. Safe. That word had been tossed at me so many times it stopped sounding like comfort and started sounding like a warning.

So that was it, no explanation , no goodbye and no hug. Just a shove out the door like I was a burden. He drove off before I could slam the door in his face.

I stood there with my suitcase and watched his headlights disappear. I should’ve cried. Or screamed. Instead I felt that numb, electric feeling you get right before something bad happens.

I took a breath and walked up to the door. My hand was shaking, but not from fear. From anger. From confusion. From the sense that I’d been thrown into something bigger than “pack attacks on children.” Something my father didn’t trust me enough to explain.

I pressed the doorbell.

It opened before my finger lifted. The moment I set eyes on him , I forgot how to breathe.

Dr. Alexander Hale was not the man I expected.

Older than my father, broad shoulders under a fitted shirt, strong hands, sharp jaw, eyes that made it hard to look away. He wasn’t handsome. Handsome is not enough. This man was dangerously hot in a way no one warns you about.

His gaze swept over me, steady, unreadable. It felt like he was seeing every thought I tried to hide.

“Elena Cruz,” he said. “You grew up so fast.”

I had no idea what that meant. I didn’t care. My attention was stuck on his voice which was low and sweet the kind that could make a prayer sound sinful.

I swallowed. “Hi.”

“Come in,” he said. “I’ve been expecting you. Long trip?”

“It was fine.” That was all I managed to say. Everything felt cramped inside my chest, and I hated that I reacted to him at all.

I brushed past him, and something warm shot through my skin. Not nerves. My wolf twitched. She never twitched. She barely had a pulse. I could go months without feeling her at all.

But the second his scent hit me clean, crisp, something masculine underneath she lifted her head like she recognized him.

I forced myself to ignore it.

“I’ll take your bags.”

“I can carry it,” I said automatically, even though the suitcase felt like it held every mistake I ever made.

He didn’t argue. He just took it like it weighed nothing and stepped aside for me to walk in.

“My father said I’d be safe here,” I said, glancing around the house.

“He did.” Alex’s tone didn’t change. “And you will be.”

I nodded, pretending I didn’t notice the way his gaze lingered not inappropriate, not invasive, just… observant. Attentive. It almost unnerved me.

A woman approached us. Older, tidy, calm. “This must be our guest,” she said before smiling at me. “I’m Mrs. Parker.”

Alex handed her the suitcase. “She’ll take you to your room.”

I followed her through the house, and every few steps I had the same sensation his eyes on me. I turned once, and he didn’t look away. He smiled like he wasn’t caught.

When Mrs. Parker opened the door to my room, I stepped inside and felt like I’d entered a different world. It was twice the size of my room in Crescent Pack, with fresh linens, a soft rug, and enough storage for a small family. I thanked her, and she excused herself.

As soon as I was alone, reality hit me. A stranger’s house. No real answers. My family gone without warning. My father’s last words echoing in my head.

I dropped onto the bed and let my body fall back. The mattress sank under me softly, unfamiliar but comfortable. My phone buzzed. A message from my dad glowed on the screen:

“I’ll come back for you. Don’t be mad at me”

I locked the phone without replying. If he wanted forgiveness, he needed to start with the truth.

After a while, the stillness got too heavy, so I got up and walked toward the door. The handle was cold under my hand, grounding me for a second before I stepped out.I heard Alex’s voice downstairs.

“Yes. She arrived.”

My heart snapped to attention and my heartbeat picked up. I inched closer to the railing but stayed hidden.

“You should have told me sooner,” he continued. “You didn’t say it was this bad.”

My father must have said something in return. Alex’s tone changed not angry, not frustrated, but firm.Then another pause.

“I said I’ll handle it, Miguel. You worry too much.”

Hearing my father’s name made everything sink deeper. He wasn’t just panicking at home. He was still panicking now.

Then Alex said something that made my skin prickle.

“I gave you my word. She’s protected here.”

Protected from what?

My fingers tightened around the railing until my knuckles went stiff. It wasn’t fear that pushed into my chest it was the sting of being kept in the dark by the two men who were apparently making decisions about my life without me.

I stepped back carefully and returned to my room. The door closed with a soft click, sealing me inside with my thoughts.

Why me?

What did they want?

And why did Alex sound like someone prepared to fight the whole damn pack for a girl he barely remembered and why did my dormant wolf react to him, or was I imagining things?

I backed away before he could catch me listening. My heart hammered not from fear, but from the sudden realization that whatever was happening… it wasn’t small.

Someone wanted something from me.I stood there with my thoughts running too fast to catch, and only one question cut through everything clearly.

Safe from what?