Chapter One

(Zarah)

“Survive...Live on. Remember, the clock is ticking.”

My mother, the Alpha of the Silverstone pack, muttered, wiping my tear-stained cheeks right before her eyes closed and her body stiffed.

The Silverstone was one of the five major wolf clans in Northern Ireland. We were a bloodline of wolves that were descendants of the Moon Goddess. Our Alpha line carries special ability of telekinesis which could be passed on to the next generation. Also, our blood gives us abilities to share our mates' strength, and they could do the same with ours.

My mom never talked about my father. I knew nothing about him—not even his name.

The only thing I knew was that he wasn’t her mate.

“Mom, why did you never get married?”

I asked her one night as she tucked me into bed.

“To keep the peace,” she replied softly.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Our abilities are both a blessing… and a threat to our survival,” she said, brushing hair from my face. “There are those who want it for themselves. And if I pick a side, the balance tips.”

“I still don’t understand.”

She smiled.

“You will,” she whispered. “When the time is right. Goodnight, baby.”

It would be my eighteenth birthday soon—the day telekinetic powers were meant to awaken.

A night before then, my life stopped.

Shouting. Screaming.

My bedroom door burst open. My mom and my aunt Lyra rushed in.

“Mom, what’s happening outside?” I asked, heart pounding.

“Zarah, sit down,” she commanded, already drawing symbols on the floor—setting up a spell.

“Why? What are you doing?” I asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

“We’re under attack, Zarah.”

“So why are you here? Let’s go fight!”

She turned to me, eyes filled with sorrow.

“Zarah. We can not win this one. And I need to protect you by binding your powers.”

How could she even say that? What is a wolf without her powers?

“What?!”my voice high, hands trembling. “You can’t!! I’m supposed to get my powers soon!!.”

“It’s the only way,” she whispered. “This will keep you safe—until you meet your mate.”

“Safe? A spell that kills me before twenty-two? How sure are you that they will let me live, Mom?”

She didn’t answer.

She turned to my aunt, “There’s no time. Hold her down.”

“Mom. Mom. You can’t do this—"

She began to chant the forbidden spell, our pack sworn never to use.

“To the Moon Goddess, I offer the blood of my fallen kin.

With their innocence, I bind her power.

Let her wolf be sealed, her light hidden,

Until after her twentieth year, when fate shall decide her path.

Protect her soul, shield her strength,

And let only her true mate break the chains I cast."

The spell was done.

I felt weak immediately.

My mother stood quickly and concealed every trace of what she had done.

“Lyra, thank you, and I’m sorry.”

They both hugged.

“She’s in there!,” a voice from outside shouted.

My door was broken down, and my aunt killed.

I barely had time to scream before two men stormed in. One grabbed my mother, forcing her to her knees. The other—cold-eyed and smirking—stepped over my aunt’s body like she was nothing more than discarded trash.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, Alpha Karen,” said a man with one eye, his voice heavy with cruel amusement.

“Let my mom go,” I snapped, spitting at him in pure rage.

He backhanded me so hard my head cracked against the wall. The room tilted. Blood rushed to my ears. I tasted iron.

“Please,” my mother cried out, straining against the hands that held her. “Please don’t hurt her. I’ll do what you want.”

The man smirked. “Good. Devlin.”

One of the men stepped forward.

The man called Devlin walked to my mother, marking her, and tore all her clothes in an attempt to complete the marking process.

“No—don’t!” my mother begged, her voice sharp with terror. “Not in front of my daughter.”

The Alpha didn’t even flinch. “Oh, she gets to watch. That’s the point.”

I screamed her name. Tried to get up. Tried to run to her. But the world was spinning, and my body wouldn’t listen. All I could do was watch.

“It’s done,” Devlin said.

“Try it out,” the Alpha could

Devlin moved a sharp wood from the floor and plunged it into a pack member foot without even moving an inch.

“Excellent” the Alpha laughed maniacally.

I crawled to where my mom was lying on the floor.

“Mom.”

“Baby, you have to survive. Live on. Remember, the clock is ticking. You decide your fate here on.” She whispered.

She used the last of her strength to push me away before plunging the knife into her heart.

“Mum!!” I screamed out, but she was gone. Her limp body fell to the floor.

My mother...the martyr.

The Alpha and Delvin turned to me

“What do we do with her?” Devlin asked.

“Keep her. She is evidence of our success and your stepdaughter, after all.”

He laughed, walking away.