Chapter 1: The Cursed Wolf

Selene

I cursed silently as the silver tray trembled in my hands. The crystal wine glasses clinked together like a death bell, and I knew that tonight would end badly for me.

'Keep your head down, Selene. Just serve the wine and get out,' I told myself, pressing my lips together as I approached the grand dining table where the most powerful wolves in our territory sat like kings.

The Crescent Claw Pack's great hall had never felt more suffocating. Golden chandeliers cast dancing shadows on the polished marble floor, and the air was thick with the scent of roasted meat and, may I disrespectfully say, their overloaded testosterone.

Our Alpha, Marcus Blackwood, sat at the head of the table, his chest puffed with pride as he entertained his distinguished guests.

I mentally rolled my eyes. I wasn’t a fan. How could I be when he was the very reason why I was belittled at every turn I made?

To his right sat Caelum Veylor—the billionaire Alpha whose steel-grey eyes could freeze blood in your veins. Even sitting, he commanded the room with an aura so cold I could practically feel frost forming on my skin.

His dark hair was perfectly styled, his black suit probably cost more than most wolves made in a year, and when he moved, it was with the calculated precision of a predator who never missed his target.

To Alpha Marcus's left was Darius Thornveil, and just looking at him made my wolf whimper and try to hide deeper inside me. Like she wasn’t already hiding deep enough due to everything we’ve suffered from our other pack members.

Sometimes, I wish I could set her free so she could live a happy life with normal wolves, but if wishes were horses, I’d literally be Luna, or the chosen one.

Where Caelum was ice, Darius was fire—wild, dangerous, and oh, so sexy. Scars decorated his chest, back and arms like battle trophies, and his amber eyes tracked every movement in the room as if he was constantly ready for war.

Both Alphas were from the neighbouring packs, and from what I’d heard, they were like enemies, and they always clashed.

Apparently, they were here for some political alliance nonsense that I wasn't important enough to understand. All I knew was that I'd been assigned serving duty because, according to Beta Collins, "the cursed wolf should make herself useful for once."

'Cursed wolf.' The name followed me everywhere like a shadow I couldn't take out with the most blinding of lights. The darkness always clung to me.

I approached Alpha Caelum first, my hands somehow steady despite the tremor in my chest. Just as I leaned forward to pour the wine, his scent hit me—pine and expensive cologne mixed with something darker, something that made my wolf stir restlessly.

"Careful," he said without looking at me, his voice carrying that soft menace that made grown men step back.

My hand jerked. The wine bottle tilted too far, and deep red liquid splashed across the white tablecloth and, to my absolute horror, across Caelum Veylor's perfectly pressed shirt.

The entire hall went dead silent.

I felt the blood drain from my face as Caelum slowly looked down at the spreading stain, then up at me. His grey eyes were flat and emotionless, which somehow made it ten times worse than if he'd been angry.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—" I started, reaching for a napkin, but his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

The moment his skin touched mine, electricity shot up my arm like I'd been struck by lightning. My wolf, who had been hiding for weeks, suddenly surged to the surface, alert and... interested?

Caelum's grip tightened, and I saw something flicker in those cold eyes. Confusion?

I wanted to laugh. Did I wish to see another emotion other than disdain so bad that my brain is now selecting the expressions I see?

I opened my mouth to apologise again, but someone beat me to it.

"Let her go."

The command came from Alpha Darius, and his voice was pure Alpha dominance wrapped in barely controlled rage. I looked over to find him still in his chair, but his amber eyes were fixed on where Caelum held my wrist.

Now, why was he angry?

I wasn’t too smart, but I was smart enough to know that he wasn’t defending me. He simply saw an opportunity to pick on his rival, and he took it.

How could he even defend me when he hated me to the moon and back?

‘Everybody hates me.’

"This doesn't concern you, Thornveil," Caelum said, but he didn't release me.

"Everything in this room concerns me." Darius moved closer, and the temperature seemed to spike. "I said let her go."

They were both staring at me like I was something dangerous. Not cursed or worthless like usual, but... dangerous.

Now, this is getting weird.

"Gentlemen, please," Alpha Marcus interrupted, his voice tight with the embarrassment of his pack's screw-up causing drama. Then he added with a murderous glare sent my way. "Selene, apologise properly and clean this up."

I tried to pull away from Caelum, but his grip was iron. "I said I was sorry—"

"Are you?" Caelum's voice was venomous. "Or are you just sorry you got caught being clumsy?"

Heat flashed through me—not the electric kind from his touch, but good old-fashioned anger. I'd spent years apologising for things that weren't my fault, bowing my head while pack members reminded me that my family were traitors and I was lucky to be alive.

‘Lucky’? I probably got the wrong definition of the word then, if this is what being lucky is like.

"I'm sorry I spilled wine on your shirt," I said, meeting his gaze directly. "But I'm not sorry for existing, if that's what you're asking."

A few pack members gasped at my audacity. You didn't talk back to visiting Alphas, especially not when you were already the pack's punching bag.

Something dangerous flickered in Caelum's eyes. "Interesting."

The moment stretched taut like a wire about to snap. I was standing there thinking, ‘This is it. The moment they finally put an end to my misery, and kill me.’ But instead of that happening, Alpha Caelum released my wrist so suddenly that I stumbled back a step.

"Clean it up," he said dismissively, but I caught him rubbing the spot where he'd touched me, like his skin was burning.

I grabbed some napkins with shaking hands and started dabbing at the wine stain, trying to ignore the way both Alphas kept watching me. Their attention felt like being caught between two storm fronts, and my wolf was acting strange—restless and alert in a way she hadn't been since the night my parents died.

I could feel his chest from the wet fabric, and I had to tell myself over and over to focus because it wasn’t my place to enjoy the feel of him.

"That's enough," Alpha Marcus said finally. "Selene, go to the kitchens and help with dessert preparation."

I nodded quickly, desperate to escape, but as I turned to leave, Alpha Darius spoke.

“Wait.”

Is this it? My end?