CHAPTER 6

Two days until my eighteenth birthday.

Two days until the mate bond either changed my life forever… or shattered every plan I’d dared to make.

And my wolf was acting weird about it.

Not excited.

Not nervous.

Just… alert.

Too alert.

“Can you stop pacing?” my brother Kieran groaned from the couch, arms folded behind his head. “You’re making the floorboards anxious.”

I shot him a glare. “I’m not pacing.”

“You’ve done the same loop around the dining table eight times,” he said, counting off on his fingers. “Actually nine. Should I start charging you?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but my wolf surged restlessly again, pacing under my skin like she could hear something neither of us understood.

What is it?

But she only huffed, attention stretched toward the window like she was trying to scent the wind through the glass.

Before I could press her further, Mum swept into the room, hands full of last-minute decorations and a look that meant she expected everyone to be helpful right now.

“Ainsley, sweetheart—can you take these down to the event tent? And please make sure the caterers know the Blood Moon delegation has arrived early.”

I blinked. “Blood Moon? They weren’t supposed to arrive until tonight.”

“I know,” Mum sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “But they’re here now. Their Alpha requested permission to enter early.”

A strange, soft shiver rolled across my spine—my wolf lifting her head sharply, ears perked.

Them.

The word wasn’t verbal. Just instinctive.

I didn’t like it.

Blood Moon had a reputation. Ruthless warriors. Fierce borders. Zero tolerance for weakness. The stories were half legend, half warning… and none of them matched well with my desire to heal, not fight.

Dad stepped in a moment later, aura strong enough to thicken the air. “Ainsley,” he said with a nod, “you’re on greeting duty. Nothing formal—we’re still in prep mode. Just be polite.”

I groaned. “Dad—”

“No arguing.” His voice softened, one eyebrow lifting. “Unless you want to help Kieran clean out the guest cabins.”

Kieran yelped. “Hey!”

“You’re the one who hasn’t found your mate yet,” I teased sweetly. “Shouldn’t you be greeting the visiting packs?”

“Please,” he muttered, raking a hand through his dark hair. “If I make eye contact with one more overly hopeful she-wolf, I’m going to fake shift and sprint into the woods.”

Dad cut us both off with a rumbling chuckle. “Ainsley. Go.”

My wolf shoved me forward before I could reply—impatient, twitchy, drawn toward the open front doors like a string had hooked itself behind my ribs.

I stepped outside.

And froze.

A line of unfamiliar vehicles had just pulled into the clearing—not fancy, not flashy, but radiating an unmistakable presence. Warriors climbed out first, disciplined and stone-faced, followed by a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair and an air of barely leashed aggression.

His gaze swept the territory with sharp precision, assessing everything and everyone.

He didn’t look cruel.

He looked… controlled.

Like if he let go for even a second, something inside him would break loose.

I didn’t know who he was—not officially—but his dominance hit the air like a hammer.

Alpha.

Then, without warning, his head turned slightly.

Not toward me directly.

Just in my direction.

My wolf jolted like someone had struck her with lightning—ears forward, tail high, steps itching to pull me closer.

What are you doing? I hissed inwardly.

But she didn’t answer.

She just stared at him through my eyes, breath caught, torn between curiosity and something deeper she refused to explain.

The Alpha didn’t stare long.

Just a heartbeat.

A flicker of awareness.

Then he turned away, heading toward my father with his beta—Daxon, if I remembered right—walking at his shoulder.

My wolf deflated with an irritated huff.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself.

Why him?

Why now?

He hadn’t even looked at me properly.

And yet… something in the air shifted the moment he arrived. Something I couldn’t name.

I tightened my grip on the decorations and forced my feet to move, but the strange tug in my chest didn’t fade.

If anything—it grew stronger.

Two days.

Two days until everything changed.

And suddenly, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for any of it.