Chapter 1

Eloise

The moon was at its highest point when a chill ran through my body.

I didn't know where I was, but I could feel the old, dark, heavy magic in that terrifying forest. The intense petrichor invaded my nostrils so strongly that I felt dizzy for a moment and had to sit down on the damp moss of that unknown forest.

Out of nowhere, a terrifying howl was heard in the distance, and my skin bristled completely.

Fear settled in my chest, and then I felt a discomfort in my stomach.

I shook my head in confusion and let my beast, Alondra, slip under my skin to intensify my senses. When the scent of an unknown wolf wafted in with the wind, I knew I was in serious trouble.

I got up abruptly and started running toward the river.

My heart began to beat rapidly, and my body began to sweat with nerves.

I tried to shift, but the heavy magic prevented me from doing so, and I felt even more afraid.

You have to run with all your strength; it's not time yet, said my she-wolf Alondra firmly.

I didn't know what she meant; I didn't even ask. Fear consumed me to such an extent that I felt as if it were a snake about to squeeze my neck.

A howl sounded right behind me, and I ran even faster; then a terrifying growl sounded at my side, and when I turned my head, a colossal black wolf with red eyes was staring at me with such intensity that I felt my heart stop.

And just then I woke up.

I gasped at the intensity of the dream and shook my head in disbelief.

I was drenched in sweat, and my heart was beating so fast that I could easily believe I had really been running through that strange forest.

I got up quickly and drank some of the water I had left on the nightstand.

At that moment, my bedroom door opened and Edna, the housekeeper and my nanny, calmly entered. The elderly woman, around 60 years old, looked at me with a frown and an expression of complete concern.

“Did you have that strange nightmare again?” Edna asked anxiously.

I shook my head so as not to worry her, but she frowned even more and crossed her arms.

“Eloise,” Edna said firmly. “I helped your parents take care of you, and I know you very well. I know you're lying to me so I won't worry.”

“It's nothing, Edna,” I said calmly and sat back down on the bed.

“That nightmare is something,” Edna said, looking me seriously in the eyes. “You've been dreaming for a whole week that you're being hunted by a colossal beast, but you're unable to talk about it with anyone else or visit a sorceress to interpret the dream. I'm sure it's an omen.”

“It's not an omen; it's just nonsense,” I said calmly. “Better tell me if everyone is awake. I'd like to have breakfast with everyone before finishing the last-minute wedding preparations.”

Edna raised her eyebrows, then sighed and brushed aside her reddish hair, which was already streaked with gray.

“Your father and Dinora are in the office,” Edna said, and I nodded. “Emmett is still in bed, and Giselle hasn't been back since last night. So you can have breakfast with those who are at home.”

I nodded more calmly.

“Hall hasn't come?” I asked, frowning.

“No,” Edna said, and I sighed with some annoyance. “But I'm sure he'll be here for lunch, so you'd better hurry up so we can get everything done. Your wedding to Hall is the most important event to be held in the East since your parents' wedding, so we have to get everything ready.”

That made me smile.

We'll finally be Hall's, Alondra said finally.

“You're right,” I said excitedly. “Finally, after three long years, we'll be married, and I'll be his.”

Edna laughed, and I got up quickly, forgetting the nightmare that had been bothering me for days. I took a quick shower, got dressed in a hurry, and then went downstairs excitedly, so excited that my father smiled when he saw me, even though he didn't look well. He seemed more tired than usual and looked pale.

“Good morning, princess,” Dad said, and I smiled before hugging him and kissing him on the cheek.

“Good morning, Dad,” I said calmly, then frowned when I felt that his skin was very cold. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” my father said calmly. “I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all.”

I looked at him closely and didn't believe him, but I didn't want to press the issue because I knew he would get upset if I insisted. At that moment, Dinora, his wife, approached us and looked at me excitedly.

“It's so good to see you, Eloise,” Dinora said calmly. “Seeing how busy you were yesterday, I took the liberty of having the dressmaker come over to make all the adjustments to the dresses and leave them here at once.”

I nodded with relief.

“Thank you so much, Dinora,” I said with a smile. “That's very helpful.”

I still don't like her, but she's polite, unlike her daughter, Alondra said humorously.

“Emmett!” my father shouted, his voice echoing throughout the mansion.

My little brother came down the stairs, grumbling about something, and when he saw me, he hugged me. I kissed him on the forehead and smiled at him. He was the real darling of everyone in the pack, especially me.

My little brother was my everything.

“Good morning,” he said calmly to my father and Dinora, then looked around and frowned. “Where's Giselle?”

He and Giselle, unlike me and her, had a good relationship as step-siblings.

My father's wife's daughter was the kind of she-wolf I didn't get along with, so our relationship was a bit difficult.

“She's not here yet,” Dinora said calmly. “She went out with some friends.”

My father frowned but said nothing, and neither did I.

Dinora was used to Giselle's outbursts, especially her tantrums, but my father wasn't, although he didn't usually get involved in their relationship.

“Find her, tell her Eloise needs help,” my father said, and Emmett nodded.

Dinora smiled feebly but said nothing, so we sat down to eat calmly and talked about the wedding, the guests who would arrive the next day, and the celebration. I was so excited telling him the details of the rituals I wanted to do that I didn't realize my father was choking until Emmett shouted.

“Dad!” my brother exclaimed fearfully, and I immediately fell silent.

My father was red and had trouble breathing, so I got up quickly and used my Omega power to calm him down. He looked at me in pain and then fainted. Dinora and Emmett screamed in fear, but I checked him and realized his heart was beating very slowly.

Edna came in, and two of my father's guards entered, helped me carry him, and we rushed to the hospital. There, all the doctors focused on helping my father and stabilizing him, and the hours passed.

I wrote to Hall and tried to talk to him through the pack link, but he didn't answer, and that began to make me desperate.

Dinora paced back and forth, and Emmett sat with a distraught look on his face and fear etched in his eyes.

“Is Dad going to die?” my little brother asked, and I quickly shook my head.

“No,” I said sharply and took his hands. “Nothing is going to happen.”

At that moment, Tom, the doctor in charge of the hospital, came out. His face was very serious, and I knew what he was going to say was bad.

Shit, Alondra said, and my stomach churned.

“What's wrong with my husband, Tom?” Dinora asked anxiously.

Emmett stood up and squeezed my arm tightly.

“We don't know,” Tom said, and I frowned. “Everything seems to indicate that Alpha Marcus's body is failing, but we don't know exactly why. We have to keep him in isolation for a few days to find out more.”

“Don't you have a theory?” Edna asked worriedly.

“Some of his symptoms appear to be those of poisoning, but they are not conclusive, so we need to do more tests and have the healers come and examine him,” said the doctor, and I swallowed hard.

Emmett looked at me fearfully, and Dinora sat down, bewildered.

“I'll bring the healers right away,” said a guard.

“Find Zuma, the sorceress who is friends with the Alpha,” said Edna, and Dinora raised her eyebrows. “She could do an energy reading on him.”

I nodded and swallowed hard.

“Take Emmett home, Edna,” I said calmly, and my brother was about to protest, but I looked at him firmly. “You have to go home. The hospital is no place for you.”

At that moment, Mark, my father's Beta, arrived, looking worried.

Edna took Emmett, Dinora stayed at the hospital with Mark, and I went to find Hall to tell him what was going on.

I needed help with the wedding, but he was nowhere to be found, and no one knew anything about him.

Frustrated, I went to the small house he had on the outskirts of the pack, but nothing prepared me for what I was about to see.

I hurried up the stairs and realized the door was open.

That made me frown, so I entered calmly and walked somewhat quickly, but when I reached the bedroom door, I saw the most disgusting scene of my entire life.

Hall, my partner, the man I had loved more than my own life for three years, was penetrating Giselle, my damn stepsister, with such violence that my body froze.

She screamed loudly as she orgasmed, and I immediately froze.

My heart exploded and broke into a thousand pieces.