Chapter 1: The Birthday Betrayal

Happy eighteenth birthday to me.

The sound of bass thumping from the speakers downstairs vibrated through the floorboards of the Pack House, but all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart. I held the small, velvet box in my hand tightly—a custom-made watch I had saved up for six months to buy for Liam.

Tonight wasn't just my coming-of-age ceremony. It was the night Liam, the future Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, was supposed to publicly announce us as mates. We had been together since we were kids. Everyone knew it. I was going to be his Luna.

"Liam?" I whispered, pushing open the heavy oak door to his bedroom.

I wanted to surprise him before the ceremony started. But as the door creaked open, the smile froze on my face.

The air in the room was thick with a scent that made my wolf whimper in disgust. It was the smell of sex. Recent sex.

And there, tangled in the satin sheets of Liam’s king-sized bed, were two naked bodies.

One was Liam, his dark hair messy, sweat glistening on his back. And underneath him, giggling with a sound that clawed at my insides, was Chloe.

My stepsister.

My fingers went numb. The velvet box slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a dull thud.

Liam froze. He scrambled up, pulling the sheet over his waist, but there was no shame in his eyes. Only annoyance.

"Elena," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You were supposed to wait downstairs."

"Wait?" My voice came out as a broken croak. I stared at Chloe, who was smirking at me while lazily covering her chest with a pillow. "Liam... today is my birthday. We... we are mates."

"Were," Chloe corrected, her voice dripping with poison. She leaned into Liam’s shoulder, marking him with her scent. "He rejected you, Elena. Didn't you feel the bond snap?"

I looked at Liam, waiting for him to deny it. Waiting for him to tell me this was a sick nightmare.

But he didn't. He looked at me with cold, Alpha eyes.

"She's right, Elena," Liam said, his voice flat. "I can't have a weak, wolf-less girl as my Luna. The pack needs strength. Chloe has a strong wolf. You... you're basically human."

"But I love you," I whispered, tears finally spilling over. "I've loved you my whole life."

"Love isn't enough," he sneered. "Tonight, at the ceremony, I'm announcing Chloe as my true mate. You can stay if you want, but... try not to embarrass us."

Embarrass them?

Something inside me snapped. It wasn't the bond. It was my heart shattering into a million jagged pieces.

I didn't scream. I didn't attack them. I was too weak for that. Instead, I turned around and ran. I ran past the decorations, past the guests gathering downstairs, and out into the pouring rain.

I ran until my lungs burned, ending up at the one place no one dared to go.

The Forbidden Wing.

They said a monster lived here. A ruthless beast who had been exiled from the main pack years ago.

Perfect.

I wiped the rain and tears from my face, a dark, twisted thought taking root in my mind.

Liam wants strength? He wants a strong Luna? Fine. I’ll show him strength. I’ll sleep with the only man in this world who is stronger than him.

I looked up at the towering, dark mansion in front of me.

I’m coming for you, Killian Blackwood.

The heavy mahogany doors of the Forbidden Wing were unlocked, as if the monster inside didn't fear intruders. Or maybe, he just liked it when prey walked right into his mouth.

I pushed them open, my soaked dress clinging to my skin like a second, freezing layer. The silence inside was heavier than the storm outside. It didn't smell like the rest of the Pack House—no cheap air freshener or lingering scent of wolf musk.

It smelled of expensive scotch, old leather, and something dark... like a storm about to break.

"Lost, little sheep?"

The voice didn't come from in front of me. It vibrated from the shadows of a large armchair in the corner, deep and rough, like gravel grinding against velvet.

I froze. My wolf, usually quiet and dormant, suddenly whined in the back of my mind. Submissiveness. It was an instinctual reaction to a much, much stronger Alpha.

A hand reached out from the dark, swirling a glass of amber liquid. Then, the man leaned forward, and the moonlight sliced across his face.

I stopped breathing.

Killian Blackwood was terrifying.

He was older than Liam—maybe in his late thirties—but time hadn't weakened him; it had only carved him into something sharper. A jagged scar ran from his jaw down to his neck, disappearing under the collar of a crisp black shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, revealing hinted muscles that looked like they were cut from stone.

His eyes were the worst part. They weren't golden like a normal wolf's. They were a piercing, icy blue. Cold. Dead. Calculating.

"I asked you a question," he said, not standing up. He took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes raking over my wet, shivering body with zero modesty. "Did you lose your way from the nursery party next door?"

"No," I managed to say, though my voice trembled. I took a step forward, forcing my legs not to buckle. "I... I came for you."

Killian paused. A dark, amused smirk played on his lips. He set the glass down on the table with a sharp clink.

"For me?" He stood up then.

Oh, Goddess.

He was massive. At least 6'4". He towered over me, filling the room with a suffocating aura of dominance. As he walked toward me, the air felt thin, like he was sucking the oxygen out of the room.

He stopped just inches away. I could feel the heat radiating off him. He smelled of rain and danger.

"Do you know who I am, girl?" he whispered, tilting his head.

"You are Killian," I said, looking up into those predator eyes. "The Alpha King. The exile."

"And Liam's father," he added, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. He reached out, his rough thumb grazing my cheek, wiping away a raindrop—or maybe a tear. His touch was electric, sending a jolt straight to my core. "Does he know his little girlfriend is wandering into the lion's den?"

"Ex-girlfriend," I corrected, my anger flaring up again, overpowering the fear. "He rejected me. Tonight."

Killian’s eyes narrowed slightly. He stared at me, sniffing the air near my neck. "Ah. I smell it now. Betrayal. And... desire."

His hand moved from my cheek to my throat, resting there lightly. His thumb pressed against my pulse point. He could kill me in a second. Snap my neck like a twig.

Instead, he leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear.

"So, you want revenge?" he murmured, his hot breath making me shudder. "You want to use me to hurt him?"

I swallowed hard, looking straight into his eyes. "Yes."

Killian laughed. It wasn't a happy sound. It was dark and wicked.

"Good," he said, suddenly slamming his hand against the door behind me, trapping me between the wood and his hard body. "Because I haven't eaten in days. And you look... delicious."