CHAPTER 1

KAEDEN

15 years.

It has been 15 years since I left. Since I ran away from my pack in a desperate bid not to turn into my father. And now, I’m back.

I was 18 when I left, filled with rage and cold bitterness. And a year prior, I had begun to unravel mysteries about my father’s rule, about why the magick creatures, the witches and the elven folk were slowly disappearing, about my mother.

Anyways, when it was time for me to get tertiary education, I decided that I was going to use it as an opportunity to run away, to train, to make myself stronger than my father and then come back to hold him accountable for all the evil that he committed under the guise of being the most just Alpha there ever was.

And now, I’m a man of 33, of the sacred age when an Alpha’s heir is to rise up to the ranks of Alpha whilst the previous Alpha settles into the role of regent. Now is the time.

I have but 5 months until the blood moon, after all. And the blood moon is when I am to ascend to the throne.

I stare at the silver, washed out gates of the Silvermoon Park, watching them groan like a dying beast as the guards pull them open. I lean back to where I am seated at the back of the black SUV, letting my eyes wander to the towering ancient oaks that line the driveway, to the fountain centering the entrance.

My wolf, Fenris, paces restlessly behind my ribs, filled with excitement and anticipation. A wolf always yearns for home, and I have denied him the pleasures of home for far too long. He lets out a soft growl and I sigh.

“Down, boy.”

As I step out of the car, a hot wave of what seems to be agitation settles on me, but I shake myself back into place. I have nothing to fear.

My father is but a man. And I am stronger than him. The scars mapping my body detailing the tales of the decade I have spent in the brutal northern territories can account for that.

A floor guard glances at me and recognition instantly hits him. Before I can speak, he immediately ushers me in and mutters something about informing my father. As I would expect.

I enter inside and am nearly dazzled by the sheer and blatant display of extravagance at the interior. The Silvermoon mansion has always been extraordinary, the pride of the wealthiest pack in the world. But this, this is something else. It seems that in the past 15 years, my father has accumulated three times the wealth we already had. The entire place is so riddled with gold and priceless jewels and expensive paintings and sculptures that it almost hurts to look at.

“Comfort” Fenris sighs.

“No, greed.” I snap back.

Fenris hisses at me. He has never truly forgiven me for the hell that I put him through for 10 years at the Northern territories. He is too aware of what he is, an Alpha, deserving of comfort and riches and splendor, and we… we do not always share the same view on things.

The floor guard comes in. “He is waiting on the porch.”

Before I get to the porch, I can already smell his scent of cedarwood and expensive scotch.

Silas Vane. After 15 years.

He stands on the marble steps, his hair silvering perfectly at the temples, wearing a bright white suit, looking every inch like the image he has carved for himself. The perfect Alpha.

A fraudulent bastard.

I force my lips into a tight smile as he descends to meet me, with a smile that would have looked cheery if it met his dark, malevolent eyes.

“Father.”

“My son. You’re back. The prodigal Alpha, back to where he belongs. Back home.”

Not yet. Here is not yet home to me.

He gives me a forced embrace, stifling me with his scent. And as he does so, I cannot help but notice that I am now taller than him, with broader shoulders, thicker arms, denser muscles.

He is still a very strong man, has barely aged, but I am stronger. Much stronger.

He takes his hands off mine and looks at me, still smiling. But I notice there is a tightness to his smile.

He noticed the physical differences too.

 “You have been gone for so long. So long. What has it been, 15 years? I almost thought you for dead. I was so worried.” He steps closer. “And if you hadn’t come back this year, I would have declared you so.”

If he cared enough, he would have searched for me. But he never did.

“Well, I’m glad that you recognize exactly why I am here. Let’s not pretend that this is a family reunion, Father. I am here strictly for the succession.”

Silas’ smile refuses to falter, though his eyes hardens. “I never understood exactly what I did to you. Especially given the fact that I have done everything to usher you into an easy and glorious reign. Everything I have done, I have done for you.”

I refuse to tell him how much of a lie I know that is, of the news I have heard of his desire to rule for longer, of his exploration into the dark magic in a bid to gain immortality.

Everything that he has done, he has done for himself. So that he can rule forever.

And he is deeply unhappy that I have returned.

A sweet smell suddenly overwhelms my nose, of vanilla and wild berries and storm clouds.

I feel Fenris ears perk, his fur bristle, and a soft growl fills my ears.

Goosebumps envelop my skin. What is going on?

“Ah, yes,” Silas says in a chirpy tone. “Avara, you can come forward.”

Avara. That name sounds familiar, like a name I have once heard, a name I know, but have not thought of in a long time.

And suddenly, I remember.

………………….

It was a night before my escape. I had a million and one things on my mind and definitely had no space in my mind to entertain any more things.

So when my father summoned me to the living room to meet who he said was to be my little sister, a small child of no more than 6, I could not be bothered to comprehend the gravity of what he was saying.

A human sister. The only question I bothered to ask was why the fuck he was adopting a human girl to be my sister.

My father cooked up a story that I instantly recognized as bullshit, as he always did. About how the girl was a victim of a rogue attack, how her parents died and he found her alone when he came for damage control, of how he found a fatherly bond between himself and the girl and instantly decided that he wanted to do nothing but to protect her for the rest of his life.

“Even though she is a human? You are to let a human bear the surname of an Alpha?”

“There is nothing wrong with being a human. Besides, it is not like she is to become Luna, she is just to take my name and my protection.”

It took me one glance at the little sobbing 6 year old’s bright green eyes to realize that she was definitely not a human. Not werewolf, but not human. I could not place what she was but my mind was too preoccupied to think too much about her.

And I had dismissed her as a political prop, and nothing more than that. Greeted her, consoled her, told her I was her brother, then hurried away to continue packing up.

……………………….

Now, I feel a bit of guilt that I haven’t thought of her in the past 15 years. Not even once. I should have written to her, tried to form a connection with her.

She is my sister, after all.

Avara steps in and my breath ceases for a second. She looks ethereal, still with the bright green eyes, pale skin, black hair in waves cascading to the back of her waist, a wearing a soft cream gown that makes her look pure and innocent and almost out of this world.

My sister, I tell myself, almost as a warning, but for some reason, Fenris is going berseck and the sweet smell has become dangerously stronger, as if coming from her.

A blonde, easylooking wolf of about the same age as she is walks behind her and for some reason, I feel unease at the way he smiles at her, the way he holds her waist, the way she leans into him. I look at him and can almost detect a cruelty mirroring that of my father.

“I’m glad that you are here, Avara. Kaeden meet the person who has become the lady of this home whilst you were playing soldier in the dirt in God knows where, your sister, Avara. You remember her, right? I introduced her to you the night you left. Oh and her boyfriend, Julian.”

Julian speaks first. “Welcome back, Kaeden, Alpha heir.”

“Julian… Julian?”

“Thorne.”

Thorne. Son of Cassius Thorne, Beta of Silvermoon. What a delectable match.

That sweet smell hits my nose like a storm again and forces my attention back to Avara, who stares at me with a strange expression on her face. Not a smile, not a frown, almost calculating. That look inadvertently brings a smile to my face. With that gown of hers, she almost looks like a bird in a golden cage, but I see fire in her eyes. Which tells me enough.

She finally moves close to me. “Hello Kaeden.”

Her voice completely contrasts the fierce expression which she has carefully tucked away. It’s soft, like velvet over glass. Fenris perks up again, basically panting. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, being around her, knowing who she is and feeling… well, feeling the way I feel.

“Avara. You were just a child when I left. But look at you, a full grown woman.”

“Yes,” she sighs and I swear that there is a bit of disdain in her voice. “It has been a while.”

I stretch out my hand to give a cold, formal handshake, already ready to leave and process what is going on with my body.

She reaches for it.

And the moment our hands touch, the world tilts.

An electric shock bolts up my arm, searing straight into my chest. I feel a sudden, violent alignment, as if something deep inside me has snapped into place. My vision blurs and swarms with gold.

Fenris surges, his sharp claws raking inside of my chest, and lets out a deafening, blood-curdling howl and shakes me to my marrow.

MATE