chapter 1

JADE POV

"We can't let you through, Princess," the guard on the left gritted out, his knuckles turning white around the hilt of his weapon. "We won't allow you to harm the Queen. It’s our duty to protect her!"

Both guards stationed outside my stepmother’s bedchamber braced themselves, bringing their heavy iron blades up to block the heavy double doors.

A cold smirk tugged at my lips as I reached down, snatching a second broadsword from the cold grip of a fallen guard pooling in his own blood. The corridor behind me looked like a slaughterhouse. Dozens of bodies littered the stone floor. I couldn't even count how many I’d ripped through tonight, nor did I care. My stepmother, Sarah, was going to die before dawn, no matter how many men she put between us. She poisoned my sister, and blood demanded blood.

I adjusted my grip on both hilts, feeling the wet, sticky heat of fresh blood coating my hands.

"Fine," I growled, my voice dripping with lethal promise. "Then die protecting her."

Before they could even draw another breath, I blurred forward. Steel flashed through the air with terrifying speed. Two wet thuds echoed in the narrow hallway as both heads hit the cold stone floor simultaneously, their body collapsing a second later.

Everyone in this pack knew my name, and everyone feared it. I was the strongest warrior our bloodline had ever seen, a lethal force that never tolerated disrespect—and above all, I loved my sister more than life itself. She was fragile, weak, and constantly battling illness. Earlier today, I left the pack territory to forage rare medicine for her condition. But the moment I stepped back into the village, I found her body cold, skin purple from venom. No one else had the motive. Ever since our mother died and Sarah wiggled her way into taking her place as Luna, that woman hated us with everything she had.

I slammed my heavy boot against the center of the bedchamber doors. The wood splintered with a deafening crack, caving inward and crashing onto the floor.

I stepped over the broken frame into the grand room. Sarah sat perched on the edge of the silk-draped bed. Her posture was stiff, her hands folded tightly in her lap as she attempted to project calm, but the rapid rise and fall of her chest betrayed her. Horror flickered deep within her eyes.

"Have you come to kill me?" she rasped, her lips trembling despite her harsh tone. "You filthy animal."

"Don't take it personally," I purred, stepping closer as red dripped from the tip of my blade onto her expensive carpet. "It's just eye for an eye. Revenge for my sister."

"I had no hand in her death!" she shrieked, backing away until her shoulders hit the headboard.

"Is that so? Well... tell her that yourself when you join her."

I lunged, hoisting the bloody sword high over my shoulder to end her miserable life.

Thwack.

A sudden, sharp burst of agony exploded in the center of my spine. I gasped, the air completely rushed out of my lungs as a long iron-tipped arrow punched straight through my back and burst out the front of my chest.

Panic flared in my veins as a burning numbness spread rapidly through my nervous system. Wolfsbane. The toxic plant paralyzed a werewolf's body within seconds if it pierced deep enough into the flesh.

My knees buckled instantly. The swords slipped from my numb fingers, clattering onto the floor before my vision swam, plunging me into pitch-black darkness.

When my consciousness flickered back, heavy iron crushed against my skin.

I was bound from head to toe in massive, heavy-duty chains bolted directly into the stone ground of the pack courtyard. The long shaft of the arrow still protruded viciously from my chest, though the lethal venom had diluted enough for tiny twitches to return to my fingertips.

The entire pack had assembled in a tight circle around me. Angry glares, hushed insults, and judgment hung heavy in the chilly air. Sitting in the center of it all on his high oak throne was my father, Alpha Vincenzo. Beside him stood Sarah, her arms wrapped tightly around her spoiled, trembling daughter, Angela.

Alpha Vincenzo’s brow furrowed, his jaw clenching tightly as he met my gaze. "Daughter... what have you done? Why did you choose to go against pack orders?"

A raspy chuckle escaped my throat, painted with pure venom. "I did what I did without a single regret. And if I ever get the chance to break these chains, I’ll slaughter her and her useless daughter where they stand."

Low murmurs exploded across the crowd. Sarah gasped in horror, burying her pale face against my father's shoulder while her hand desperately clutched his arm.

"Silence!" my father roared, his gaze darkening. "You are my daughter and you will do no such thing!"

"Do not call me daughter!" I spat, pulling uselessly against the heavy chains as sparks brushed off the iron. "I am nothing like you! I would never stand by and watch my wife and child die while I lay in bed fucking a whore and raising her bastard!"

Vincenzo flinched, his lips pulling back in a pained grimace. "She had no part in your mother’s death, nor your sister’s! You think I didn't lose family too? You think any of this was easy for me? What happened to them is connected to you—there are secrets here you know nothing about!"

I hardened my posture, staring him down with pure disgust. "I don't care about your pathetic excuses. You are a absolute disgrace to fatherhood, Vincenzo. I challenge you to a duel right now. Fight me if you dare! You claim to be the strongest Alpha... let the strongest survive."

His expression crumbled, a flicker of shame crossing his eyes. "I will do no such thing. It brings no honor to fight my own flesh and blood."

"Honor?" I threw my head back, laughing bitterly. "Tell me, what do you know about honor? Is it honorable to sleep with other women while your first wife rots in the ground?"

Vincenzo lowered his head, a heavy sigh tearing from his chest. "I am sorry... but I cannot grant you freedom. What you have done is treason of the highest order. If I let you walk away, I forfeit my respect as Alpha." He straightened his spine, closing his eyes tightly. "I, Alpha Vincenzo, sentence you to death."

He paused, his voice trembling slightly. "I cannot bear to watch my strongest daughter executed before my eyes. You shall be taken into the deep woods and dealt with."

"No!" I screamed, thrashing against the cold metal as tears finally burst past my eyelids. "Kill me here! Kill me with your own hands! I have nothing left to live for anyway! At least I can finally be with my mother and sister! Kill me!"

My screams echoed uselessly off the courtyard walls as three heavy guards stepped forward, unlocking the anchor chains and dragging my limp body along the dirt. They hauled me deep into the dense, dark woods, far past the pack boundaries.

As the trees grew thicker, an unfamiliar sensation churned deep within my chest. My inner wolf, usually silent and restrained, began to howl wildly inside my mind. She was restless, clawing at my consciousness in a way I had never experienced before.

The guards finally brought me to a halt beside an ancient, moss-covered tree. One of them stepped forward, hauling me down to my knees by my hair while the second drawn his heavy steel blade, raising it high above his head to sever my neck.

Before the steel could descend, the shadows behind the trees twisted violently.

A dark, towering figure with glowing red eyes erupted from the darkness, his voice ringing out like thunder through the quiet woods.

"Leave her."