Chapter One: The Summons

"You're twenty-two and still unmated."

The words followed Natasha across the training grounds like an unwanted shadow.

She ignored them.

With a sharp twist, she caught her brother's wrist and used his momentum against him. Kael hit the dirt hard enough to shake the ground beneath them.

A chorus of whistles erupted from the warriors watching nearby.

Kael groaned from where he lay sprawled on his back. "One day I'm going to stop letting you do that."

Natasha snorted and offered him a hand. "You say that every time."

The morning air was cool against her sweat damp skin. Her muscles burned pleasantly from the fight, and for a few precious moments, she could forget the conversation waiting for her back at the pack house.

Forget the whispers.

Forget the pitying looks.

Forget that every unmated female in the kingdom had become a target.

Kael accepted her hand and pulled himself upright.

"Father's looking for you."

Of course he was.

"Let me guess." Natasha grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from her face. "Another lecture about finding a mate?"

Kael's expression turned apologetic.

That answer was enough.

Natasha clenched her jaw.

She was one of the strongest warriors in the pack. She led patrols. Trained recruits. Had fought rogues twice her size and walked away victorious.

None of that seemed to matter.

To most wolves, she wasn't a warrior.

She was simply an unmated female running out of time.

The blast of a horn echoed from the main gate.

Conversation died instantly.

Every head turned.

A royal courier bearing the Alpha King's crest rode into the courtyard.

Natasha's stomach sank.

Royal couriers never brought casual news.

With a curt nod to Kael, she headed toward the pack house.

---

Her father's study smelled of ink, leather, and old parchment.

Alpha Aldric stood near the window, a sealed scroll in his hand. The royal crest had already been broken.

That alone told her enough.

This wasn't a request.

It was an order.

"A summons arrived this morning from the Alpha King," Aldric said without turning.

Natasha folded her arms. "What now?"

"There is to be a royal ball."

Silence.

Then

"No."

Her father finally turned.

"I haven't finished."

"I don't need you to."

Aldric exhaled slowly.

"Every unmated wolf in the kingdom is required to attend."

Natasha gave a short, humorless laugh. "Required."

"It is not optional."

"I have patrol rotations."

"You will miss them."

"The northern border"

"Will survive without you."

Her jaw tightened.

"I don't belong at a ball."

That made him pause.

Not anger.

Something heavier.

Resignation.

"Natasha," he said quietly.

She hated when he used her name like that.

Like she was already halfway gone from the life she wanted.

"You are of age," he continued. "And the kingdom is watching unmated wolves more closely than ever."

"I don't care what the kingdom is doing."

"You will."

That landed harder than it should have.

Aldric stepped forward, placing the scroll on his desk.

"It is not just a ball."

Her attention sharpened.

"What do you mean?"

His gaze held hers.

"The Alpha King will be present. So will every major Alpha family in the kingdom."

Natasha's arms tightened across her chest.

"So?"

A pause.

Then

"And the Shadow Alpha will attend as well."

The name settled in the room like a weight.

Even Natasha had heard it.

Not from her father directly.

From whispers in training yards.

From traveling warriors.

From warnings disguised as admiration.

The Shadow Alpha.

Damien Blackthorne.

A wolf who had taken leadership by force and turned Shadow Fang into something larger, sharper, and far more dangerous than it had ever been before.

Some called him a strategist.

Others called him ruthless.

Most agreed on one thing.

He was not a man you underestimated.

Natasha gave a short scoff to cover the unease she refused to acknowledge. "A room full of Alphas judging unmated wolves. How festive."

"You will not be judged," Aldric said.

She looked at him sharply. "That's exactly what this is."

Silence stretched.

Then his voice lowered.

"Just attend. For me."

There it was again.

Duty wrapped in family.

Obligation dressed as love.

Natasha looked away.

She hated that it worked.

After a long moment, she gave a single nod.

"Fine."

Relief flickered across his face.

That only made her more irritated.

She turned and left.

---

In her chambers, she stripped away the sweat of training and washed the dirt from her skin.

On the bed lay a gown.

Emerald green.

Soft fabric.

Delicate stitching.

A weapon disguised as elegance.

Her sister's choice, no doubt.

Natasha stared at it like it had insulted her personally.

She would rather wear armor.

At least armor didn't lie.

In three days, she would wear it.

In three days, she would stand in a room full of strangers and be measured like currency.

And in three days, she would meet the Shadow Alpha.

She did not know why that thought lingered longer than it should have.

She turned away from the dress.

Three days.

Then it would be over.

Or it would begin.

---

Miles away, wolves lowered their eyes when Damien Blackthorne entered a room.

Not because he demanded it.

Because power recognized power.

At twenty eight, the Shadow Alpha ruled one of the strongest territories in the kingdom.

Three years after claiming leadership, he had expanded borders, secured trade routes, and crushed every challenge to his authority.

The elders called him the future of the kingdom.

The kingdom called him the Shadow Alpha.

Damien called the Alpha King's ball a complete waste of time.

Steam drifted through his quarters as he dragged a towel through his dark brown hair.

A knock sounded at the door.

Before he could answer, Jax entered carrying a scroll.

"The elders sent me."

Damien groaned. "Let me guess."

"They want your final answer."

"My answer hasn't changed."

Jax tossed the scroll onto the bed.

"They're still pushing the mate selections."

Damien didn't look at it.

A list of daughters.

Political alliances.

Carefully curated futures he had no interest in.

"They keep forgetting something," he said.

"Which is?"

"I don't choose a Luna because they want me to."

Jax exhaled. "You know the pack needs"

"A Luna," Damien cut in. "They say that every week. The pack is doing fine without one."

Jax raised a brow. "The elders disagree."

"The elders are welcome to marry among themselves."

That earned a reluctant laugh.

Damien pulled on a dark tunic, the fabric sliding over his skin as he fastened the silver fang clasp at his collar.

"They'll corner you at the ball," Jax said.

"Let them try."

"You'll be diplomatic?"

A pause.

"I'll be functional."

Jax frowned. "That's worse."

"It means I'll survive it."

Jax left shortly after.

Silence settled.

Damien crossed to the window overlooking Shadow Fang territory.

Dark forests stretched endlessly beyond the glass.

Somewhere out there, fate supposedly waited.

A mate.

A bond.

Something ancient and unproven in his experience.

He had never felt it.

Never heard the call.

Never been claimed by anything beyond his own will.

And yet

Something restless stirred beneath his skin.

Not recognition.

Not certainty.

Just a flicker of unease he couldn't name.

His wolf shifted.

Quiet.

Watchful.

Waiting.

Damien exhaled slowly.

Three days.

Then the Alpha King's ball would begin.