Chapter 1

I turned to leave. But Liana, Leon’s mother, stepped forward and grabbed my wrist.

“Elara, don’t go!”

She turned to Leon, her son, and her expression froze into something cold and sharp.

“Leon. Apologize. Now. This isn’t a game.”

Leon just tightened his grip on Selene’s hand. Liana lowered her voice, the growl in it meant for his ears only.

“You know why our Pack has sworn the blood-oath to their kind for generations! Thirty years ago, your uncle thought he could break it. On his thirtieth birthday, he went for a run and was found torn apart by silver-laced traps!”

“And your great-uncle! He renounced his promised mate just like you’re doing now. So fearless. He blew out the candles on his cake and dropped dead before the scent of wax faded. His wolf just… extinguished.”

“Your birthday is in three days. You are courting death. Now, apologize to Elara—”

“Enough, Mother!”

Leon cut her off, his voice thick with impatience. He pointed a dismissive finger at me and snorted.

“An accident and a weak heart! That’s all that was. It has nothing to do with some archaic oath or a curse!”

“It’s a scam, tailor-made to prey on our Pack! And I’m sick of looking at her. If you force this mating, I won’t wait for my birthday. I’ll end it myself. Right now.”

He moved fast, a silver-edged ceremonial blade flashing in his hand and pressing against his own throat.

Selene gasped and dropped to her knees before Liana, her voice a pretty, practiced tremble.

“Please, Liana, trust science just this once! I’ve had monitors on Leon. His vitals are perfect! His wolf is strong.”

“His birthday is in three days. We will prove it to you. This ‘curse’ is a lie. I studied under the Coven’s best healers, I earned my credentials, all for this moment. For him. Please, give us a chance.”

“Mother, if you don’t agree…” Leon pressed the blade deeper. A thin line of crimson welled up, staining the fine linen of the mating ceremony tunic I’d chosen for him.

“I agree!”

Liana’s voice broke. She lunged, wrenching the blade from his hand. Then she looked at me, and the shame in her eyes was a physical weight.

“Elara, I am so sorry—”

“It’s fine.”

I cut her off, forcing the corners of my mouth up.

“I hope Selene succeeds, too. It would free all the daughters of my bloodline from this… duty.”

I walked away, fast. Behind me, Leon’s voice, dripping with venom, followed.

“Pathetic blood-sucking leech. The sight of you makes me sick. Get out of my territory.”

I broke into a run the moment I cleared the hall. Outside, under the cold, distant moon, I doubled over and vomited a thick, black sludge onto the pristine snow.

I shouldn’t be here. My training wasn’t complete. My family had hidden me, my true nature, for a reason.

But three years ago, Leon had found me. He’d looked at me with such intensity, taken my hand, and whispered promises that felt like moonlight on my skin. A young she-wolf hears what she wants to hear. I’d felt the unnatural weakness in his life-force, the curse gnawing at his wolf even then.

Worried, I’d defied my family. I’d chosen him. I’d used my birthright, the White Wolf’s gift in my veins, to sustain him.

Every night, I’d paid the price. The pain of sharing my essence felt like my bones were being ground to dust. I’d endured, believing it was for my fated mate.

What a joke. His “love” had just been a game. A challenge. A way to conquer something rare.

I wiped the dark blood from my lips.

The pain in my chest had nothing to do with the curse.

I pushed the feeling down and left, thinking the nightmare was finally over.

But when I reached the small den I’d made for us on the edge of Pack lands, I stopped cold.

The walls of the hallway were smeared with red paint. FAKE. BLOOD-TRAITOR. OMEGA WHORE.

And the door to my home… was a frame of blazing fire.