Chapter 1

Maria POV

“Stop right there!” the damned Maithon shouted furiously as he ran after me with a bunch of idiots who called themselves pack guards.

As if I would listen, you fool.

I ran with all the strength I had, my heart pounding violently, my breaths ragged. I had to get out of this damned pack.

Inside this pack, I was nothing but a servant… worthless. No one knew who I truly was, not even me. All I knew was that I had been here since childhood.

I grew up surrounded by insults, orders, and contemptuous stares that followed me everywhere. I stayed here only so I wouldn’t become a rogue wolf.

But I had finally reached my limit because of the damned Damian, the Alpha’s brother. That bastard never left me alone for a single day. His looks, his touches, the way he approached me… everything about him disgusted me. I tried to ignore him, tried to escape, tried to stay silent… but the bastard dragged me into the basement by force and tried to rape me. When I escaped him, he followed me upstairs, and I lost control.

Today was my eighteenth birthday… it was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I would finally find my fated mate and start a new life. But when he did that, a strange power surged through my veins, and my wolf, Ira, burst free.

And in a single moment… everything ended.

My claws pierced his chest and plunged straight into his heart without hesitation.

Everyone saw what happened, and now I was being hunted by the pack’s talkative Beta, Maithon.

A strong grip seized my arm violently, stopping me in place.

“Got you, murderer.” He yanked me toward him harshly. “How dare you kill Damian?!”

I smiled mockingly. “No need to thank me. I didn’t do anything great… I just got rid of the pack’s trash.”

His face hardened with rage, and his eyes burned like fire. “You were warned countless times, but you never stopped causing trouble. And this time… you won’t escape.”

He dragged me behind him violently, but I didn’t stay silent.

“I was honestly waiting for your thanks. You’re just a stupid Beta.”

He stopped abruptly and turned toward me as if his wolf was about to break free. But before he could speak, another voice appeared.

“That’s enough.”

Lucian, the dumbest Alpha in this world, stood before me, his aura filling the place, his eyes looking at me as if I were nothing.

“You are nothing but a rogue. You were brought into this pack… and you were supposed to live as a servant. But you chose rebellion.”

He stepped closer, his voice lowering terrifyingly.

“Take her to the basement. I won’t kill her now… I’ll wait until the coronation ceremony ends and the Lycan King leaves. After that… I’ll enjoy torturing you in the most horrific ways.”

“I am not a rogue!” I screamed. “I don’t know who I am… but one of you knows the truth! And I will find out… I will get out of here… and I’ll make all of you regret it!”

He didn’t speak to me or answer with another word, and Maithon dragged me away with the guards toward the palace.

We reached the palace quickly.

“Oh, look who’s here… the murderer.”

Perfect. The only thing missing was this idiot too. What a wonderful birthday.

I continued sarcastically, “I thought your head would be in one place… and your body in another.”

I slowly raised my eyes, a mocking smile forming on my lips.

“Oh, look who’s talking… the annoying whore, Emilia… the one who throws herself at the Alpha every chance she gets.”

Her expression froze for a few seconds, then her face burned with rage exactly as I expected. Her eyes gleamed with malice and hatred, and her teeth clenched so hard I could almost hear them grinding. Her hand trembled slightly, as if she was desperately trying to control her wolf that was close to snapping free.

“How dare you speak to me like that?!” she shouted, her voice shaking with fury. “Do you even know who I am?!”

I let out a quiet laugh filled with contempt.

“Of course I know…”

I stared at her challengingly.

“Just a pathetic girl… living in the hope that Lucian the whore-loving bastard might look at her one day.”

The thing she cared about most was her image in front of everyone. She believed she would become Luna someday.

She stepped closer to me, her movements sharp and fast, rage radiating off her like flames.

Then I felt a powerful slap.

Her palm struck my face hard, throwing my head to the side, and I tasted blood filling my mouth.

Silence fell for a few seconds.

Slowly, I turned my head back and lifted my eyes toward her… then I smiled.

A slow… wicked… provoking smile.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I said with deadly calm as I licked the corner of my lip, because the guards were still holding my hands behind my back.

She was about to respond, fury blazing in her eyes, but the arrival of one of the border guards cut the moment short.

He was running at full speed, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling violently. He stopped in front of the Beta and bowed slightly while panting.

“The Lycan King has arrived… He’s at the border now.”

Silence filled the place for a second… then Emilia’s trembling scream shattered it.

“What?!” she gasped, her face suddenly turning pale. “Wasn’t he supposed to arrive tomorrow during the coronation ceremony?!”

No one answered her.

Maithon’s features hardened, and his eyes became sharper.

“Why didn’t you contact us through the bond?”

Without waiting for the guard’s response, he gestured to another guard while looking at me.

“Take this murderer to the prison below. I’m heading to the border immediately.”

The next moment, the guard shoved me violently toward the basement, carrying out Maithon’s orders.

This rotten place…

The place whose walls I knew better than any other.

I walked through the narrow corridors, dampness clinging to my skin while the smell of mold and blood filled my lungs. Every step brought back memories of pain… screams… and the torture I had endured here countless times.

They threw me inside and looked at me with contempt.

“You’re all idiots,” I muttered mockingly. “I saved you from a monster, and instead of thanking me… you want me dead.”

One of them stepped closer, hatred filling his eyes.

“The Alpha forbade us from touching you… but don’t worry. Tomorrow isn’t far away. And we’ll watch your head roll.”

I smiled stubbornly.

“Fuck you and your Alpha, you—”

My words stopped abruptly.

Something changed.

My heart started pounding wildly… faster… stronger… as if it would burst out of my chest.

My wolf, Ira, awakened inside me, restless… tense… and a strange feeling overwhelmed me.

A scent.

The most beautiful scent I had ever smelled in my life.

My eyes widened, and my breathing quickened.

Ira whispered clearly inside my head.

“Mate…”