He snarled, low and furious. “And that bastard kept her alive?”The venom in his voice struck like a blade. The woman didn’t answer.She opened her mouth, perhaps to offer an explanation, a guess—but he cut her off before the words came.“And how, exactly, do you know this?”The question landed like a trap, sharp and waiting.The woman stiffened. She hadn’t expected that. Her silence stretched too long.Then, carefully, she chose her words.“On the night we scouted the Black Oak border,” she said, “I caught a scent.”“A scent,” he repeated, voice like ice.“The forbidden one,” she clarified. “Faint… but distinct. One that only she has. At first, I thought it was someone else. I dismissed it. But then, after the attack on Silver Claw the next day… when we found no trace of her…”She paused, then continued more quietly, “I believe she’s the one. I believe it was her scent I smelled. She made it to Black Oak before we could take her.”The man was silent for a long moment. His face remain
His eyes glowed with restrained power, his chest rising and falling like he was holding himself back—barely.“Mate,” I whispered.The word left my lips before I could stop it. Before I even truly understood what it meant to say it.But it felt right.The moment it passed through my lips, Alpha Black reached for me. He didn’t hesitate. His mouth met mine like it was inevitable—like he’d been waiting for this one moment forever. His kiss was hungry, possessive, raw—but not cruel. It was fire wrapped in control.And I kissed him back.I didn’t think. I didn’t wonder. I just knew.It was the only thing in the world that made sense.We might have stayed there in that suspended second forever—lost in something ancient and powerful—if someone hadn’t cleared their throat loudly from across the room.The sound cut through the haze like a slap.I jolted, pulling back slightly, heart still racing. I blinked and remembered where we were.The dining hall.Every single person was staring at us.Hea
I had become something I never imagined I could be—powerful, skilled, and completely unrecognizable from the girl who crossed this Pack’s border terrified and starved.I rubbed lotion into my face, halfway through my routine, when I heard it.A voice—soft but unfamiliar.“Hello, Selene.”I froze mid-motion. My hand stopped just short of my cheek.That wasn’t Nora. The voice didn’t sound like her.“It’s me,” the voice added gently.A chill went down my spine.“Who are you?” I asked silently.“I am Luna. Your wolf.”My knees almost gave out.I hadn’t even realized the tears were coming until they were already rolling down my cheeks.All this time, I thought I was wolf-less. That maybe I was too different, too broken, too… other to ever feel what it meant to be a full-blooded wolf.But she’d been there all along.I moved to the mirror slowly, inspecting my face. My body. My soul, maybe. I still looked like me—the same scars, the same eyes, the same history carved into my skin—but inside?
As the last of my strength slipped from me, I whispered to her with what little air I had left, “Remember who you are, Selene. You are me. And this… this is what I am.”The words were soft, but somehow the wind picked them up and carried them. Then everything around me faded into dust.I snapped back into the real world.My eyes flew open and I screamed.The transition was so violent, so sharp, I could still feel the phantom pain of the sword in my back. My whole body trembled.And there—standing just inches in front of me—was Alpha Black.His tall frame cast a long shadow over the grass. His dark eyes were locked on mine.I scrambled to my feet, my chest heaving.“What the hell was that?” I whispered, panic tightening my throat.“I do not know,” Nora answered quietly inside my mind. “Those aren’t my memories. I didn’t do that. I didn’t live that.”Her voice was shaken. That alone scared me more than anything.“Selene?” Alpha Black said again, this time more gentle. But it still made
I stepped outside, squinting into the sunlight and silently asking myself what kind of “preparation” Alpha Black had meant. Training had already started, and I was still in the same clothes—light, breathable, good enough to move in.Good enough for now.I followed the sound of clashing bodies and barked commands. The Pack was already mid-session, and sure enough, I spotted Diva waving me over from across the training field. She and Dianne were lounging on the grass, sweat-slicked and grinning like they'd just come out of a warzone and loved every minute of it.I jogged over, and as I approached, they both stood.Without much of a greeting, the training began.Sparring. Forms. Movement drills. It didn’t matter what came first—once I tapped into that rhythm, everything faded. My muscles burned, my breathing grew heavy, and my limbs moved like they remembered things I hadn’t even been taught yet.It was exhausting—and freeing.Afterward, soaked in sweat and mud, we all headed back to the
Alpha Black walked ahead of me, steady and sure, toward the pack house. He didn’t glance back, didn’t say a word. I followed in silence, a few paces behind, trying not to trip over the fact that my heart was still racing.People watched us as we passed. Warriors paused, then quickly looked away, returning to the grim task of clearing the battlefield—piling rogue bodies, tending to the wounded. I didn’t know if anyone from our side had fallen. I hoped not. But no one was celebrating.Dawn was just beginning to rise, pale light peeking through the trees. The sky was still bruised from the night’s battle.As we reached the pack house, I saw the older women and children—the ones who had been hidden for safety—begin to emerge. They came out hesitantly at first, then faster, many rushing to embrace bloodied warriors who had made it back alive.It was quiet joy. A kind of shaky relief.We stepped inside.Alpha Black led me through the hall and straight into his office on the ground floor. As