CHAPTER 5

Raithe

The moment his SUV rolled across the border into Silver Shadow territory, Raithe felt the familiar shift of dominance—his wolf prowling just beneath his skin, testing every scent, every sound.

Calm.

He pushed the command inward, but his wolf only snarled back. Two days. Two days until the girl—the Alpha’s daughter—turned eighteen. The mate-seeking celebration that every unmated wolf on the continent seemed eager to attend would begin tomorrow night, then he would know if she was here, his salvation from the growing madness. Or maybe she wasn’t and he would be cursed to loose himself to the madness that was threatening to take over more and more every day.

He hadn’t come for the party.

He’d come for survival.

The Blood Moon Pack was fraying under the strain of his worsening temper, and elders whispered that he was slipping toward the madness that claimed Alphas who went too long without their mate. He tried to ignore the murmurs, the fear in his warriors’ eyes, the weight of expectation.

Finding his mate was no longer a luxury.

It was the last thread keeping him from losing himself completely.

The Silver Shadow packhouse came into view—modern lines and glass, sprawling across the forest clearing. Wolves milled about, directing arrivals, hanging lights, arranging tables. Preparations for a grand celebration.

He hated parties.

He hated crowds.

But he could stomach both if it meant stopping the chaos clawing at him from the inside.

They parked, and he stepped out, the cool wind cutting across his arms. Daxon and Mara, his beta pair, flanked him silently.

The second he set foot on the gravel path, something… shifted.

Not heat.

Not the bond snap described in stories.

Nothing that made him think mate.

Just a whisper along the back of his mind—a tug. A presence. A prickle beneath the skin he immediately chalked up to lack of sleep.

Until he saw her.

Not up close.

Not properly.

Just a girl stepping out of the packhouse doors, laughing lightly as she carried a stack of folded linens. Sunlight hit her golden-brown hair, the strands catching in the breeze. She wasn’t dressed up—a simple blue dress, hair in light curls framed her face—but there was a quiet confidence about her movements that drew his eyes like a magnet.

He didn’t know her name.

He didn’t know why he couldn’t look away.

Dax murmured something to him, but Raithe didn’t hear it. For one strange heartbeat, the world narrowed to the girl who shouldn’t have mattered.

And then—she looked up.

Bright hazel eyes locked with his across the distance.

Not recognition.

Not a spark of destiny.

Just… curiosity. A flicker of something he couldn’t place.

Raithe blinked hard and forced himself to turn away first, jaw tightening.

No.

Absolutely not.

He didn’t get pulled toward girls who didn’t even spare him a second glance. He didn’t feel anything he couldn’t explain.

“Alpha Raithe?”

He spun toward the approaching Silver Shadow warriors, nodding stiffly.

“Welcome to our territory. Alpha Thorn is expecting you.”

“Good,” Raithe answered, forcing his attention forward.

But as he followed the escorts toward the main entrance, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing back once.

The girl was gone.

But the faint, irritating tug in his chest remained—so slight he almost convinced himself he imagined it.

Almost.

His wolf, however, stirred in a way he hadn’t felt in years.

What was that?

Raithe ignored him.

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

He wasn’t here for distractions.

He was here to stay sane.