Chapter One

The lie tasted like metal and mint, a flavor Kara swallowed down every morning with her herbs. From the veranda of the great lodge, she watched the mist curl off the rushing Clearwater River, a living thing twisting through the giant ferns below. Her voice remained even, cutting through the damp air and the grumbling of the two warriors before her. "You both patrol the northern ridge," she declared, her authority unquestioned. "Torvin, the high path; Bael, the low. Settle your squabble by seeing who scents a rogue first."

As they grumbled their assent and departed into the dense forest, her thumb brushed over the cold, heavy diamond on her finger. It was a beautiful cage, a symbol of a promise Kael had spun about a bond of choice, not savage instinct. But a cage it was, and with her next heat only a week away, she could feel the wildness the ring could never hope to contain beginning to stir.

Staring out towards Mount Rainer, the ice glinting even in the distance, she couldn't help but wonder if the lie was worth it. The constant web she had to weave left her drained and damaged, but it was better than the alternative. As a natural born Omega, she was the lowest of the low, good for breeding pups and not a lot else. If it wasn't for Kael, she would've already had several by now and due to her heat, to many different fathers.

A cold knot of dread tightened in her stomach, a feeling as familiar as the weight of the ring on her finger. But before the despair could truly take hold, a new sound cut through the air—not a warning cry, but a chorus of excited shouts echoing from the treeline. The noise grew, a wave of celebration that sent birds scattering from the high branches of the firs.

A single cry of "Alpha Kael has returned!" ripped through the morning's peace, and it was enough to send the entire pack pouring into the main clearing. He had been away for weeks securing an alliance with a neighboring pack, and his return was a cause for wild celebration.

For Kara, however, the cheers were secondary to the wave of pure, unadulterated relief that washed over her. It was a selfish thought, but a desperate one: he was back. He was back in time to help her hide her coming heat.

The tight knot of fear in her stomach, the one that tasted of herbs and desperation, finally began to loosen. Allowing a rare, genuine smile to grace her lips, she moved through the throng of her cheering pack, her eyes scanning the crowd for the sight of him. And then she saw him. He stepped out from the treeline, every inch the powerful Alpha she knew, and her heart swelled with a pride that was dangerously close to hope.

And then she saw him. He stepped out from the treeline, every inch the powerful Alpha she knew, and her heart swelled with a pride that was dangerously close to hope. He was home.

But her smile faltered as a strange quietness rippled through the crowd. It started with the wolves closest to the forest's edge, their cheers dying in their throats, replaced by stunned, wide-eyed silence. The quiet spread like a disease through the pack until the only sound was the rushing of the river. Confusion pricked at Kara. Why had they stopped? What were they all staring at?

The silence broke, not with cheers, but with a low wave of murmurs. Then, the worst part: a few pack members turned, their gazes landing on her with expressions of open, gut-wrenching pity. The dread in her stomach turned to ice. They weren't just staring at him; they were pitying her.

Her gaze pushed past the wall of stunned pack members, finally landing on the source of the silence. There, clinging to Kael’s arm, was a woman with hair like spun fire cascading over pale shoulders. Her green eyes, sharp and intelligent, swept over the crowd with an air of regal ownership. Kara’s breath hitched. Siobhan Redding—the Alpha's daughter from the Silver Creek pack. A princess.

A horrified whisper cut through the air from someone nearby. "Gods... she's wearing his mark."

And there it was. A brutal, vivid scar of a bite mark, stark and angry against the pale skin of Siobhan’s neck. It was a raw, biological claim, a mark of true possession that screamed fated and mine. In that instant, the heavy diamond on Kara's own finger felt like nothing more than a child’s toy, a cold, pathetic piece of glass and metal.

The world didn't tilt. It simply ceased to exist, shattering into a million silent pieces around her, mixed in with pieces of her once full heart.

Finally, Kael’s voice cut through the silence, calm and commanding. He swept his gaze over the pack, deliberately avoiding Kara. "Siobhan Redding is my fated mate," he announced. "From this day forward, you will honor her as your true Luna."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in before continuing, his tone shifting to one of solemn apology. "I owe all of you an apology," he said, and the pack leaned in, hanging on his every word. "For years, I have allowed a deception to persist in our ranks for the sake of stability. I have carried a burden for the good of the pack."

His eyes, cold as the ice on Mount Rainier, finally landed on Kara.

"I have protected and sheltered one who is not what she seems," he declared, his voice ringing with false sincerity. "Kara is an Omega."

The word dropped like a stone. A shocked gasp rippled through the crowd. He had made her a secret, and now, in front of everyone, he was making her a sin.

And as the pack stared at her, their pity turning to revulsion, Kara saw it. The almost imperceptible nod Kael gave to his personal guard. The guard's immediate, purposeful turn towards the great lodge. Towards her rooms. Towards the herbs that kept her safe.

He wasn't just revealing her. He was disarming her. He was leaving her defenseless for the slaughter.