Chapter 1

Sent Away

The sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the Alpha Manor.

A servant gasped.

Another froze in place.

No one dared move.

At the center of the grand hall stood Summit Angel Warm.

Or as everyone in the Warm Clan called her—

Sam.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as shards of a crystal vase scattered across the marble floor. A few feet away, three elders stared at her with expressions ranging from shock to disbelief. One of them pointed an accusing finger.

“You’ve gone too far this time, Summit!”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

The elder nearly choked.

She crossed her arms. “It was ugly anyway.”

The servant beside the elder almost fainted.

The vase she had broken wasn’t just any vase. It had been gifted by a neighboring Alpha during a diplomatic gathering.

A symbol of alliance.

A symbol of respect.

A symbol Sam clearly didn’t care about.

“Young Miss!” another elder barked. “That vase was worth more than most wolves earn in ten years!”

Sam shrugged. “Then maybe you should’ve hidden it better.”

The hall erupted into chaos. The elders complained all at once. Some demanded punishment. Others demanded she apologize. Sam ignored every single one of them. She had heard it all before.

Reckless.

Stubborn.

Disobedient.

A disappointment.

The words no longer hurt.

Not after what happened two years ago. Not after losing her mother. The cheerful girl everyone once knew had disappeared with her. And no one seemed to understand that.

Not even her own father.

Especially not him.

A deep voice suddenly thundered through the hall.

“ENOUGH!”

Silence immediately followed. Every wolf lowered their head. The air itself seemed to grow heavier.

Sam sighed. She didn’t even need to look.

Only one person could command that kind of authority.

Alpha Apo Warm. Leader of the Warm Clan.

Her father.

The giant wooden doors opened. A tall man entered. Power radiated from him. His silver hair was tied behind his back while his sharp golden eyes scanned the room.

Everyone bowed.

Except Sam.

Alpha Apo noticed immediately.

His expression darkened. “Summit.”

She smiled innocently. “Father.”

The elders immediately began speaking.

“Alpha, she broke the alliance gift!”

“She insulted the elders again!”

“She disrupted today’s council meeting!”

“She refuses to follow clan rules!”

The complaints continued.

One after another.

Like arrows being fired toward her.

Sam yawned.

Apo pinched the bridge of his nose. His daughter was testing the limits of his patience.

Again.

“You have something to say for yourself?”

Sam tilted her head. “Not really.”

The elders looked ready to explode.

A vein appeared on Apo’s forehead. For a long moment, he simply stared at her. As if searching for the little girl she used to be.

The girl who laughed.

The girl who followed him everywhere.

The girl who loved flowers because her mother did.

The girl who smiled.

That girl was gone.

And he had no idea how to bring her back.

“You are becoming impossible.”

Sam’s smile vanished. “So I’ve been told.”

A shadow crossed Apo’s face. The answer sounded too familiar. Too practiced. Almost as if she’d repeated it hundreds of times. Maybe she had.

The room became silent.

Then Apo spoke again. “You skipped your training.”

“So?”

“You skipped council lessons.”

“Boring.”

“You scared away three suitors.”

“They were annoying.”

One elder suddenly shouted. “You chased one with a shovel!”

Sam grinned. “He deserved it.”

The elder looked horrified.

The servants looked terrified.

Apo looked exhausted. Very, very exhausted. Before another argument could begin, a voice interrupted.

“Brother!”

Everyone turned.

A handsome young man entered the hall.

Lucifer Warm.The eldest son of Alpha Apo.

Unlike Sam, Lucifer carried himself with elegance and confidence. His dark hair was tied loosely behind his head while his warm eyes immediately landed on his younger sister.

Relief flashed across his face.

“Thank the Moon Goddess.”

Sam smiled genuinely for the first time.

“Lucifer.”

He walked over and ruffled her hair. “Creating trouble again?”

“I prefer the word entertainment.”

He laughed.

The elders groaned.

Apo looked ready to age another ten years.

Then another voice entered the hall.

A sweet voice.

Too sweet.

“Father.”

Sam’s expression instantly hardened.

Fuji Warm entered gracefully.

Beautiful.

Elegant.

Perfect.

Everything the clan expected a daughter of an Alpha to be.

The exact opposite of Sam.

Fuji smiled softly.

“You shouldn’t be so harsh on Summit.”

The elders immediately nodded.

“What a kind sister.”

“So considerate.”

Fuji lowered her gaze modestly.

Sam nearly rolled her eyes.

She knew that act.

Better than anyone.

Fuji had mastered pretending.

Pretending to be sweet.

Pretending to be caring.

Pretending to love her.

But Sam knew better.

She always had.

“Perhaps Summit is simply hurting.” Fuji continued.

The hall softened.

Even Apo’s expression eased.

Sam felt anger rise inside her chest.

There it was again.

The pity.

The whispers.

The constant reminder that she wasn’t who she used to be.

She hated it.

Without warning, she turned and started walking away.

“Summit.”

Apo’s voice stopped her.

She froze.

The room grew quiet.

Something felt different.

The atmosphere had shifted.

Even Lucifer seemed to notice.

“What is it?”

Sam asked.

Apo stared at her.

His eyes carried a strange seriousness.

The kind that made even stubborn wolves listen.

Then he spoke.

“I’ve made a decision.”

Her stomach tightened.

Lucifer frowned.

Fuji’s eyes flashed briefly.

The elders looked curious.

“What decision?” Sam asked.

Apo took a deep breath.

And delivered the words that would change her life forever.

“You are leaving the Warm Clan.”

Silence.

Pure silence.

The world seemed to stop moving.

Sam blinked.

“What?”

No one spoke.

Even the servants looked stunned.

Lucifer immediately stepped forward.

“Father.”

Apo raised his hand.

The warning was clear.

Lucifer stopped.

Sam laughed.

A short, disbelieving laugh.

“Good joke.”

“No joke.”

The smile vanished from her face.

Apo continued.

“You will travel north.”

The room felt colder.

“You will leave at sunrise.”

The knot in her stomach tightened.

Then came the final blow.

“You are to become the mate of Froz White Fang.”

Everything stopped.

The elders gasped.

Servants exchanged terrified looks.

Even Lucifer looked shocked.

Only Fuji seemed strangely interested.

Sam stared at her father.

Surely she had heard wrong.

Surely he couldn’t be serious.

“Who?”

Apo’s expression remained firm.

“Froz White Fang.”

The name spread through the room like poison.

Whispers immediately followed.

“The Ice Alpha…”

“The White Fang heir…”

“The cold-blooded one…”

“The monster…”

Sam had heard the stories.

Everyone had.

Froz White Fang.

The future Alpha of the White Fang Clan.

The strongest young Alpha in the northern territories.

A man feared by enemies.

Avoided by allies.

A wolf surrounded by rumors.

Some said he killed traitors without mercy.

Some said he froze an entire battlefield with his wolf aura.

Others claimed he had once loved someone.

And that love had destroyed him.

Since then, he trusted no one.

Loved no one.

Needed no one.

The thought alone made Sam laugh.

A harsh laugh.

“You want me to marry him?”

Apo nodded.

“No.”

His eyes narrowed.

“It has already been decided.”

The words struck harder than any slap.

Sam couldn’t believe it.

No.

She refused to believe it.

“You don’t get to decide my mate.”

“I am your Alpha.”

“You are my father!”

The hall trembled from her voice.

Years of frustration erupted at once.

“You never asked what I wanted!”

Apo’s expression hardened.

“And what exactly do you want, Summit?”

She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

The truth hit her unexpectedly.

She didn’t know.

Ever since her mother died…

She had simply been angry.

Angry at fate.

Angry at the Moon Goddess.

Angry at herself.

Angry at everyone.

Apo saw the hesitation.

His expression softened briefly.

Then disappeared.

“This is final.”

“No.”

“Summit.”

“No!”

The hall shook.

A powerful aura burst from her.

Several servants stumbled backward.

Golden eyes flashed.

Her wolf stirred.

For a moment, everyone saw it.

The immense strength hidden beneath her rebellious nature.

Even Apo looked surprised.

Then disappointed.

“So much power.”

His voice echoed.

“Wasted.”

The words pierced deeper than she expected.

Pain flashed across her face.

Only for a second.

But Lucifer saw it.

And so did Apo.

The Alpha closed his eyes.

Then made his final decree.

“At sunrise, you leave.”

Sam stared at him.

Waiting.

Hoping.

For him to change his mind.

He didn’t.

The realization settled heavily in her chest.

He had already chosen.

Her father.

Her Alpha.

Had chosen power.

Politics.

An alliance.

Over her.

Without another word, Sam turned.

And ran.

Past the elders.

Past the servants.

Past Fuji’s satisfied smile.

Past everything.

She didn’t stop until she reached the cliff overlooking the clan lands.

The wind whipped through her hair.

Tears threatened to fall.

She refused them.

Refused every single one.

The sun slowly disappeared beyond the mountains.

Painting the sky in shades of orange and gold.

The same colors her mother once loved.

A familiar voice appeared behind her.

“Sam.”

Lucifer.

She didn’t turn around.

“Go away.”

“No.”

A long silence followed.

Then Lucifer sat beside her.

Neither spoke.

Neither needed to.

Eventually, Sam broke the silence.

“Do you think he ever loved me?”

Lucifer’s heart clenched.

“Of course.”

“Then why does he keep choosing everyone else?”

He had no answer.

Because deep down…

He had asked himself the same thing.

The siblings sat together as darkness slowly swallowed the horizon.

Far away.

Beyond mountains.

Beyond forests.

Beyond frozen rivers.

A different Alpha stood upon a balcony of ice.

Blue eyes colder than winter itself gazed toward the south.

Toward the Warm Clan.

Toward the mate he never wanted.

Froz White Fang slowly closed his eyes.

The wind howled around him.

A servant approached carefully.

“Young Alpha.”

Froz didn’t look back.

“She’s coming.”

Silence.

Then a cold voice answered.

One capable of freezing souls.

“I know.”

The servant lowered his head.

“What shall we prepare?”

Froz’s eyes opened.

Dangerous.

Emotionless.

Heartless.

“Nothing.”

The servant hesitated.

“But she is your future mate.”

The temperature around them instantly dropped.

Frost crawled across the balcony floor.

Froz’s voice became colder than ice.

“She is not my mate.”

A terrifying silence followed.

Then he spoke once more.

And somewhere beneath the same moon, fate quietly began to move.

“If she is smart…”

His blue eyes glowed.

“…she will run before she reaches me.”