Chapter one

CHAPTER ONE

Genesis

---

The first time I stepped into the Varkas estate, I didn’t look at the Alpha.

I felt him.

Power has a presence. It presses against your skin, settles into your bones, demands acknowledgment whether you give it or not.

I gave it nothing.

My heels clicked softly against polished marble as I crossed the threshold, the sound deliberate, measured. Every step had been practiced. Every breath controlled. Every movement calculated down to the smallest detail.

Genesis Walker.

That was who I was now.

Not the girl who had once screamed as flames devoured her home. Not the child who had clawed at blood-soaked ground, begging for a family that would never answer.

That girl was dead.

I killed her myself.

“Miss Walker.”

The voice came from my left smooth, respectful, carefully neutral. A servant. Or perhaps an enforcer dressed as one. In a place like this, the line between the two blurred.

“This way. The Alpha is expecting you.”

Of course he was.

Lucien Varkas did not wait for anyone.

I inclined my head slightly, offering nothing more than polite acknowledgment, and followed.

The deeper we moved into the estate, the heavier the air became. Not physically, no. This was something else. Something older. Stronger. The kind of presence that only came from a wolf who had fought, killed, and claimed his dominance without mercy.

Good.

I needed him to be exactly what they said he was.

Ruthless. Untouchable. Unbreakable.

Because I hadn’t come here to challenge a man.

I had come to destroy a monster.

We stopped in front of double doors carved from dark wood, intricate patterns twisting across their surface like something alive.

“Wait here,” the man said quietly before pushing them open.

I didn’t wait.

I stepped inside.

---

The room was silent.

Large. Dimly lit. Dominated by a single figure standing near the far window, his back turned as he looked out over the territory that belonged entirely to him.

For a moment, I allowed myself to see it.

The control. The power. The absolute authority woven into every inch of this place.

Then I let it go.

Because none of it mattered.

Not when I knew what it had cost.

“Genesis Walker.”

His voice was low.

Calm.

And completely devoid of warmth.

Slowly, he turned.

And for the first time

I saw him.

Lucien Varkas was not what the stories described.

He was worse.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in black that fit him too perfectly, like it had been tailored to a body built for war rather than luxury. His features were sharp, almost too precise, as though carved rather than born.

But it was his eyes that held me.

Cold.

Not the kind of cold that came from arrogance or indifference.

No

This was something deeper. Something carved out and left empty.

A man who did not feel.

Good.

That would make this easier.

I lowered my gaze just enough to be respectful, but not submissive.

A careful balance.

“I appreciate you seeing me, Alpha.”

Silence stretched between us.

Heavy.

Testing.

I could feel it, the weight of his attention, the quiet assessment in the way he looked at me. As if he were stripping away layers, searching for something beneath the surface.

Let him look.

He wouldn’t find anything.

I made sure of that.

“You requested a position within my estate,” he said finally.

“Yes.”

His gaze sharpened slightly.

Most would have elaborated. Explained. Tried to impress him.

I didn’t.

Because men like Lucien Varkas didn’t care for desperation.

They respected control.

“And you believe you’re qualified?” he asked.

“I know I am.”

Another pause.

Longer this time.

Then

He moved.

One step.

That was all it took for the air in the room to shift.

Predator.

Every instinct in my body recognized it instantly. The quiet danger in the way he carried himself. The restrained violence beneath his stillness.

This was a man who didn’t need to prove anything.

Because he already had.

He stopped a few feet in front of me.

Close enough that I could feel the heat of him. Close enough that most people would have stepped back without realizing it.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t breathe differently.

I didn’t break.

And for the first time

Something changed.

It was subtle. Barely there. A flicker in his expression, gone so quickly most would have missed it.

But I didn’t.

Interest.

Good.

“Look at me.”

It wasn’t a request.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze.

Our eyes met fully this time.

And the world

Stopped.

It wasn’t dramatic. There was no sudden rush of wind, no visible shift in the room.

But something… clicked.

Deep.

Primal.

Wrong.

My chest tightened not with fear, but something far more dangerous. Something I hadn’t felt in years.

Recognition.

No.

Impossible.

I buried it instantly.

Locked it down before it could even fully form.

Because if there was one thing I refused to believe in—

It was fate.

His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, as if he had felt it too.

But unlike me

He didn’t hide it as well.

Interesting.

“Careful, Alpha,” I said softly, my voice steady despite the storm threatening beneath my skin. “You’re staring.”

A dangerous thing to say.

To anyone else, it would have been a mistake.

To him

It was a challenge.

The corner of his mouth shifted, not quite a smile.

“Most people avoid my gaze,” he said.

“I’m not most people.”

Silence again.

But this time

It wasn’t empty.

It was charged.

“You’ll start tomorrow,” he said abruptly.

Just like that.

No further questions. No hesitation.

Decision made.

Of course it was.

Men like him trusted instinct over explanation.

And something about me had triggered his.

Perfect.

“Thank you, Alpha.”

I turned to leave.

Three steps.

That was all I managed before his voice stopped me.

“Genesis.”

I paused.

Slowly, I looked over my shoulder.

His gaze was still on me.

Unrelenting.

Sharp.

As if he were trying to see through skin and bone and lies all at once.

“Try not to disappoint me.”

For a moment.

just a moment.

I let something real slip into my expression.

Not fear.

Not hesitation.

Something darker.

“You won’t be disappointed,” I said quietly.

A pause.

Then, softer

“Not in the way you think.”

And with that

I walked out of the room.

---

I didn’t allow myself to breathe until I was alone.

Didn’t allow my composure to crack until the doors closed behind me and the weight of his presence lifted just enough for me to think clearly again.

Mate.

The word surfaced uninvited.

Unwanted.

Dangerous.

My fingers curled at my sides, nails pressing into my palms hard enough to ground me.

No.

Absolutely not.

Fate didn’t get to decide this.

Not after everything that had been taken from me.

Not after everything I had become.

Lucien Varkas was not my mate.

He was my target.

And I would destroy him.

Even if it destroyed me first.