Episode 3

"Did you hear? The Princess of Silvermoon pack ran away from her wedding this morning."

"The grand wedding, after all the preparations her father made." The other girl said, casually gossiping as they passed by the bush where I'm hiding.

"Her fiancé is losing his mind. He's ordered a search and put a bounty on her. Not just that, but her dad had a heart attack when she ran. Now he's ill."

My heart stops. Dad had a heart attack? The wolfsbane must be working faster than Rebecca expected. Or maybe the shock of me running made it worse.

"If the alpha dies, who becomes alpha when the princess ran away? Is it the alpha's current wife or the princess' fiancé?"

"I don't know. That's never happened before. Usually the alpha's heir takes over, but she's gone."

"Maybe they'll have to share power or something. Split the responsibilities."

"That would be a disaster. Two people trying to run one pack never works."

Deep down, I know the dreading reality. It's both. My fiancé and my stepmother have been sleeping together behind everyone's back, and now they're positioned to take everything. They don't need to share power or split responsibilities. They're already working together. The pack just doesn't know it yet.

Their voices fade as they walk away. I wait another five minutes before crawling out of the bush. My wedding dress is torn and dirty, covered in mud and leaves. I look like I've been through hell, which isn't far from the truth.

A bug crawls up my leg and I push it off. My name is Aria Stone, and I've been a princess all my life. I've never had to work outside my training. I'm a warrior but I don't have any outside experience. I've never needed to use my combat skills to defend or kill anyone. I'm not even sure I can.

Right now, I'm stuck in the middle of the rogue forest, the famous wasteland where spineless wolves go to die. I can't show my face around here. If they see me, they might kill me. There's nothing rogues hate more than alphas, especially alpha's daughters.

My plan is simple but dangerous. Sneak past the rogues until I get to the border. From there, I'll march myself over to Shadowmoon pack, the largest in the region, and give myself up to my father's worst enemy.

Alpha Jeremy is a mean, dangerous man who kills for sport and runs the tightest ship in his pack. He hates my father so much that he's been planning ways to torture and make him suffer for years. That's why he's the only person who can help me. He hates my father enough to want his death only by his hands, not by some poison administered by his wife.

I start walking deeper into the forest, trying to remember the stories about why Alpha Jeremy and Dad hate each other so much. It started fifteen years ago when both packs were fighting over territory rights to the eastern mountains.

The mountains had the best hunting grounds and fresh water sources in the region.

During the territorial dispute, Dad's pack captured Jeremy's younger brother, David, who was barely eighteen. David was just a scout, not even a warrior. But Dad was desperate to end the conflict quickly because Mom was pregnant with me and he wanted the territory secured before I was born.

Dad ordered David to be held for ransom, but something went wrong. David tried to escape and Dad's beta killed him. Shot him in the back while he was running. Dad claimed it was justified because David attacked first, but Jeremy never believed it.

In revenge, Jeremy waited two years. He planned everything carefully. When I was two years old, he kidnapped Mom while she was out gathering herbs near the border. He kept her for three days before Dad found her.

But when Dad got there, Mom was already dead. Jeremy had tortured her slowly, making sure she suffered the way he imagined his brother had suffered. He slit her throat and left her body where Dad would find it.

Dad never got over it. He blamed himself for Mom's death, and he blamed Jeremy for taking away the only woman he ever loved. That's why he was so happy when Rebecca came into his life. He thought he deserved a second chance at happiness.

The irony makes me sick. Jeremy killed the woman Dad loved, and now the woman Dad married is killing him slowly.

I hear voices ahead and duck behind a tree. Three rogues are sitting around a small fire, cooking something that smells awful.

"You hear about the bounty on the Silvermoon princess?"

"Yeah, fifty thousand dollars for her alive. Twenty-five if she's dead."

"Why would anyone want her dead? She's more valuable alive."

"Her fiancé doesn't care. He just wants her back. Apparently, she humiliated him in front of everyone. Made him look weak."

"Serves him right. Alpha Marcus was always a cocky bastard. My cousin worked for his pack before he got kicked out. Said Marcus treated everyone like dirt."

"Still, fifty thousand is fifty thousand. I could live like a king for years with that money."

"You'd have to find her first. Smart money says she's either dead already or she made it out of the forest."

"Nobody makes it out of the forest without help. Especially not some spoiled princess who's never been outside her pack house."

I wait until they move on before continuing. They're right about one thing – I have no idea what I'm doing out here. But I don't have a choice. If I go back, Marcus will force me to marry him and Rebecca will keep poisoning Dad. If I stay hidden, Dad will die from the wolfsbane or the heart attack.

My only option is Jeremy. He's the only alpha powerful enough to challenge both Marcus and Rebecca. And he hates Dad enough to want to be the one who decides his fate.

The sun is setting when I finally reach the border. I can see the Shadowmoon territory markers in the distance. My dress is completely ruined now, and I'm covered in scratches and bug bites.

Two guards are stationed at the border crossing. They look bored until they see me stumbling out of the forest.

"Holy shit," one of them says. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Princess Aria Stone," the other one confirms. "There's a bounty on her head."

"Wait." I hold up my hands. "I need to speak to Alpha Jeremy."

They look at each other and start laughing.

"You need to speak to the alpha? Lady, you're either brave or stupid."

"Both, probably. But I have information he wants."

"What kind of information?"

"About my father. About how he's being poisoned by his own wife."

The first guard stops laughing. "You're serious?"

"Dead serious. Alpha Jeremy has been trying to destroy my father for fifteen years. Well, now he has his chance. But only if he helps me first."

"Why would you betray your own father?"

"Because the woman who's killing him is the same woman who's been sleeping with my fiancé behind my back. Because they used me to steal my money and humiliate me in front of everyone I've ever known. Because I want them both to pay for what they've done."

The guards exchange another look. This time, they're not laughing.

"Wait here," the second guard says. "I'll contact the alpha."

He pulls out his radio. "Alpha Jeremy, this is Border Station Three. We have a situation. The Silvermoon princess is here asking for asylum. She says she has information about Alpha Jonathan being poisoned."

The radio crackles. Then a voice comes through, one that makes me gulp and clench my thighs. He sounds different than the monster I’ve imagined all these years. The man who killed my mother.

"Bring her to me. Now."

The guards look at me with something like pity.

"You sure about this, princess? Once you cross that border, there's no going back."

I think about Marcus and Rebecca laughing at me this morning. About Dad lying in bed, getting weaker every day. About the heart attack that might kill him bef

ore I can save him.

"I'm sure. Take me to Jeremy."