Chapter 1

Alpha Kane Fenwick, my fated mate, had rejected me for another she-wolf. Now that he'd lost his memory, I meant to make him fall for me again and be the one to reject him.

I led him back to the Alpha's bed, a wide, almost bare expanse.

Kane settled against the headboard. His amber eyes were still clouded with confusion, and he looked like a wild creature dropped into a world that made no sense.

He studied me, his eyes holding a faint trace of curiosity and need. His voice came out hoarse. "Tell me about our past."

I sat on the edge of his bed, met his searching gaze, and began to spin my first lie. "Our first meeting was by Sacred Spring."

I looked at him, letting just enough warmth into my voice. "There was a full moon that night. You'd gone there to pray, and I was only a Beta who had slipped out to watch the moon.

"You found me, but you didn't drive me away. You said you'd never seen a wolf like me, that my eyes looked as if they held a whole galaxy."

Kane's brows tightened at my words, as if he were pulling something half-formed from a haze of memory.

Suddenly, his body jerked. His amber eyes flew wide. He looked at me as wariness and confusion gave way to recognition.

"I-I remembered something."

He reached for me as if he were going under, grasping the one thing that might keep him afloat. I went with it, set my hand in his, and felt his warmth rise to meet mine.

I pressed my advantage and drew a moonstone from my frayed pocket. "Of course you'd remember. You gave me this."

I set the smooth, moon-washed stone in Kane's palm. "You called it your token. As long as I carry it, your wolf will find me, no matter where you are."

The moment he touched it, a familiar heat surged through him like a live current. He closed his fist around it.

His gaze held mine, lit with the wild relief of something finally found and a devotion that ran to the bone.

"It's mine. It belongs to me," Kane murmured, as if trying to convince himself.

He didn't know that he'd seen this moonstone before he lost his memory, and before he rejected me.

Back then, Selena Crowther, his sickly, frail childhood sweetheart, had just returned to the country.

Cradled against his chest, she coughed up a thin thread of blood, her face drained of color. She gripped his wrist, her voice shaking.

"Beta… Isla's power is overwhelming, Kane. My wolf felt like it was being torn apart just being near her… I'm scared…"

When Kane saw Selena, the one he'd looked out for since they were kids, hurting, a chill cut through his eyes. He nodded and said firmly, "Leave it to me."