CHAPTER 1

Ayla's pov

I’ve always known my Destiny.

Some people spend their lives searching for meaning, drifting from purpose to purpose. Not me. From the moment I was born, to two Guardians, the strongest warriors the Moonridge Pack had ever known, I understood exactly who I was meant to be. A fighter. A protector. A Guardian.

My parents, Elara and Kael Hart, weren’t just warriors. They were fated mates two halves of the same soul. In our world, that kind of bond makes you stronger. More lethal. More complete. Some wolves reject the bond, afraid of the vulnerability that comes with love. My parents embraced it. It made them unstoppable.

As Guardians, they were tasked with protecting the pack’s leadership Alpha Dorian Vale, his Luna Series, and their son Kieran, who would one day inherit the title. My parents trained their whole lives to defend the bloodline of power. They carried that weight like armor, and I wore the same expectation from birth.

But none of us saw the ambush coming.

I was five when the Black River Pack attacked. They thought they could break us, steal our land, and dethrone our Alpha. They underestimated us. Still, that hat left blood on the soil and a hole in my world.

My mother died shielding Luna Series and Young Kieran. She held off two wolves while injured, but a third one sank its teeth into her throat. I still remember the scent of blood in the air. I remember my father’s scream.

He fought harder than I’ve ever seen anyone fight. Five wolves came at him when he leapt to protect Alpha Dorian. He held them off long enough for the other warriors to reach them. But when my mother’s tether broke, when the bond between them shattered, something inside him cracked. He faltered.

One of the wolves leapt on his back. He couldn’t bring my father down with strength, so he bit deep into the base of his spine. I didn’t know then what it meant. I just saw my father fall and not get up.

Wolves heal. Fast. Our bodies end bones and skin faster than humans blink. But spinal injuries? Those don’t heal. Not when the nerve is severed.

From that day on, my father was a different man. The pack called Him a hero, but he never saw it that way. He lost his mate, his legs, and his role as Guardian all in one day. What remained of him was devoted to me. I was all he had left.

He loved me. Still does. But I’ve watched him grow smaller in his own eyes. I’ve seen the light fade from him. He never fully recovered from losing her losing them. I think some days, he only survives for me.

And now, I carry what’s left of their legacy.

I train harder than anyone. I fight smarter. I stay in the shadows, preparing for the day I’ll be called to serve. The Council says I’ll be the Guardian of Kieran Vale when he takes his father’s place as Alpha.

Only… Kieran doesn’t even know who I am.

We grew up in the same territory. I’ve seen him train, seen him fight, seen him flirt and shift and rise through the ranks. But to him, I’m invisible. A shadow in the background. He doesn’t know I was born to protect him. Doesn’t know what my parents gave for his life.

But he will. One day, he will.

Because my destiny has never changed.

I was born to be a Guardian. And whether Kieran sees me or not, whether he wants my protection or not, I will protect him.

Even if it breaks me.

The training grounds are always quiet before dawn. That’s when I like it best.

While the rest of the pack sleeps, I run drills alone. Sword forms. Shift transitions. Combat stances. Every move my mother once mastered, I now carve into muscle memory. The edges of my hands are calloused from hours on the blade. My knees are bruised. My body aches every night, and still I wake up hungry for more.

They say I’m too young. Too emotional. Too much of a girl would be like my mother. They don’t say it to my face but I hear the whispers. Even now. Even after all these years.

They look at me and see a child who should’ve broken down.

But I didn’t. I learned how to turn grief into discipline. Silence into strength. I’m not here to be liked. I’m here to be ready.

And I am ready.

After training, I return home and find my father in the sunroom, where I left him before sunrise. A blanket over his knees. A mug of tea in his hand. His eyes were tracking the birds beyond the window.

“Didn’t hear you come in,” he says, voice rough from sleep. He’s grown thinner in the last few years. His hair is more gray than black.

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

He nods and sets the mug down. “How was training?”

I sit beside Him. “Good. I ran through the Raven Form and the Iron Sweep. I think I’ve finally gotten the timing right.”

“Your mother used to say the Iron Sweep was the move that saved Luna Series.”

I don’t answer. We both fall quiet.

“She’d be proud of you,” he adds after a long moment.

I stare at the floor. “I hope so.”

We don’t talk about her much. It still hurts too much for him. I carry her name like Alike. He carries it like a wound.

That afternoon, I helped Rhea with sorting the supply crates for the upcoming Alpha Summit. She chatters away about strategy, dresses, and rumors about Alpha Thorne arriving with a proposal for a Luna. I barely listen.

My attention drifts to the thought of seeing again. The Summit will be the first time I’ve seen him in months. He’s been training with other Alphas across the territory, learning to lead. The last time he looked at me, it was with confusion as if I were a memory half-formed.

I still remember the only real moment we ever shared.

He was seven. I was six. He got lost in the woods behind the pack house. I found him huddled under a fallen log, shivering. He didn’t know my name. I didn’t say much. I just took his hand and led him home. He squeezed my fingers the whole way back, like I was the only thing keeping him from vanishing.

Sometimes I wonder if He remembers that moment.

I do. Every detail.

By night's fall, the weight of what’s coming settles heavy in my chest.

The Summit meameansange. For Kieran. For the pack. For me.

The Council will officially name his successor. And with that comes my role as Guardian. Bound to him. Sworn to him.

He still doesn’t know.

Part of me wonders if he’ll reject it. If he looks at me the same way the others do, with surprise that someone like me was chosen to guard someone like him.

But I’m not afraid.

I wasn’t born to be accepted.

I was born to protect.

No matter what.