Chapter 1

"Are you all ready?" he whispered, his amber eyes cutting through the gloom like blades.

Five men were spread out among the bushes and ancient trees. Loyal warriors of the Ironfang pack, dressed in black tactical gear and masks that hid almost all of their faces. They nodded silently, already in formation.

Cael raised his hand, giving the signal. With agile and synchronized movements, the group advanced.

The mission was clear: destroy a clandestine outpost of the rival pack, the Bloodclaw. Internal intelligence had revealed that Lucian, the Alpha of the Bloodclaw, was trafficking lone wolves, selling them as mercenaries to unscrupulous humans or using them as bargaining chips in power struggles. A brutal crime, even by the standards of the cruelest alphas.

Cael moved with precision, as if he were part of the forest. His breathing was contained, controlled. The wolf inside him, always lurking, remained alert, but silent.

"Target 200 meters north," murmured Jarek, his Beta, in a whisper almost inaudible over the communicator. "We have a heat signature coming from the structure. Presence confirmed."

"Await my command," Cael replied, his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead. "No rash actions."

They were approaching the perimeter when Cael stopped suddenly. A different scent cut through the air.

It wasn't iron, sweat, or smoke. It was something softer... yet saturated with despair. A scent that activated something primal in his chest. Crouching slowly, he inhaled once more. There was blood, fresh, mixed with the sweet perfume of a female omega.

The wolf inside him growled.

"Change of course. Something's wrong," he said, veering east without explanation.

"Cael?" Jarek called over the communicator. "We need to stay focused."

"I said something's wrong," the Alpha snarled, cutting the conversation short. His voice was deeper, more laden with instinct. No one dared to question him.

Following the scent through thick roots and low branches, Cael advanced about thirty meters until he found her.

The young woman lay fallen among dry leaves, her body covered in scratches, bruises, and mud. Her hair was tangled and dirty, stuck to her sweaty forehead. Her slightly parted lips released weak, almost irregular breaths.

Time stopped.

The moment his eyes landed on her, Cael felt a violent impact in his soul. As if a lightning bolt had struck him, splitting him in half. A warmth ran through his chest, his muscles, his bones. His wolf howled inside him, desperate to get closer.

The connection was clear.

She was his mate.

"By the Moon..." he whispered, kneeling beside her body.

He reached out carefully, as if afraid she would disappear at his touch. His fingers landed on the cold skin of her neck, searching for a pulse. Weak. But still there.

Her body trembled slightly. A murmur escaped her chapped lips.

"D-don't make me... I... don't want... to marry..."

Cael's eyes widened.

She was running away. Running from someone who wanted to force her to marry. And, by the scent on her skin, that someone was from the Bloodclaw pack.

His blood boiled.

"Jarek, prepare for extraction. We found a prisoner. We're taking her now."

"A what? Cael, this could be a trap," the Beta retorted.

"She's my mate."

Silence.

It took Jarek two seconds to process.

"We're on our way."

Cael slid his arms gently under her body, trying not to press on her visible wounds. She moaned softly, unconscious, and instinctively snuggled against his chest. The gesture broke his heart.

I will protect you. You are safe now.

In the following minutes, the group retreated through the forest in absolute silence. The outpost was left for another night. Nothing else mattered to Cael at that moment. That wounded, fragile woman he barely knew... was his other half.

As they got into the armored truck, he settled her body on his lap. With his jaw tense and eyes narrowed, he whispered in a dark tone:

"Whoever hurt you, I swear to the Goddess they will pay with their life."

The interior of the vehicle was completely silent, except for the faint sounds of the young woman's irregular breathing in Cael's arms.

She was still unconscious, her eyes squeezed shut as if living a nightmare she couldn't escape. With every muffled moan, the Alpha's heart constricted, and the wolf inside him growled, impatient.

"How long until we arrive?" Cael asked, without taking his eyes off her face.

Jarek, at the wheel, shot a quick glance in the rearview mirror. "Less than fifteen minutes to the estate gates."

Cael nodded, stroking the omega's pale face with his fingers. Her cheeks were cold. Her skin, marked by dark bruises. Her lips, chapped. Yet, even in such a fragile state, she was beautiful. As if the Moon herself had placed her blessing upon her.

He felt the bond vibrating beneath his skin, unstable, incomplete. But real. Intense.

She was his.

"Alpha..." Jarek hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "Are you sure about this? About her?"

Cael lifted his eyes slowly, the muscles in his jaw rigid.

"The moment I touched her, I knew. The bond is real. The wolf recognized it before I did. She is my mate. My Luna."

Silence returned, but this time laden with meaning. In the wolf hierarchy, a mate bond wasn't a choice—it was a spiritual, sacred, indestructible truth.

When they finally passed through the Ironfang estate gates, the mansion of stone and glass was revealed in the background, grand, imposing amidst the darkness. Surrounded by hectares of forest and protected by magical barriers and security technology, it was a safe refuge and now, the home of the wounded young woman.

"Tell Doctor Myles. He has five minutes to be here." Cael's voice was a sharp order.

Jarek immediately got out and ran inside the mansion, activating the pack's emergency system. Meanwhile, Cael carefully carried her up the stairs, crossing the silent corridors to his own room.