Chapter 1

My daughter was killed by rogues. I’ve had the same nightmare for three months.

"No, please, don't—"

I shot up in bed, my chest heaving.

The sheets were soaked. My heart was trying to hammer its way out of my ribs.

The image came back.

Aria, lying in a pool of blood. Silver had torn through her chest. Her golden wolf, her very soul, seeped from the wound in her chest.

"Mom..." She grabbed my hand with her last bit of strength. "I'm sorry... I couldn't protect myself..."

"Selena?"

Kael’s voice came from the doorway.

He rushed to the bed, his eyes filled with worry.

"The same dream?" He sat on the edge, reaching for my hand.

I pulled my arm back. After the nightmare, I couldn't stand anyone's touch. Not even his.

"I should have waited for you," I whispered, hugging my knees. My voice was hoarse. "If I'd waited for you and the guards, if I wasn't in such a rush—"

"No. It wasn't your fault." Kael's voice was soft and gentle. "It was mine. I was swamped with Pack emergencies. I should have postponed those meetings. I should have been with you."

He reached out to touch my hair, but I flinched away again.

"It's been three months, Selena." He sighed, a deep, heavy sound. "You can't keep torturing yourself like this."

I looked at him. The man I once loved with all my heart.

He had dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't shaved. He looked just as tormented as I felt.

"The Pack doctor says your wolf is fading," he continued, anxiety lacing his voice. "If you don't pull yourself out of this—"

"I know." I stood and walked to the window. "The Void," I whispered. "It's what happens when a wolf loses their family."

Moonlight streamed through the glass.

I remembered how Aria loved to shift on nights like this. How she loved to run under the moon.

I hugged Kael and told him not to worry. But inside, I made a decision. I was going back to the island.

I had to build a memorial for her. In her favorite place.

That cliffside garden... She used to say the moonpetal flowers looked like stars that had fallen from the sky.

But I couldn't tell Kael.

He was so stressed with Pack business. I couldn't be weak in front of him anymore.

Every time I broke down, I saw the pity and exhaustion in his eyes. It made me feel ashamed.

He'd already lost a daughter. He didn't need a broken mate, too.

The next day, I took a private jet to the island.

As the plane got closer, the wolf inside me started to growl.

It was scared.

We were both scared.

I clutched the last photo I had of Aria.

It was from her 18th birthday. Her smile was like sunshine.

"Ma'am, we're about to land," the pilot said over the intercom.

I took a deep breath.

The island’s silhouette grew clearer in the moonlight. I could see the cliff. Aria’s favorite spot.

"She always said she wanted to build a little cabin there," I whispered to the photo. "So she could watch the sunrise every day."

The plane landed smoothly. I told the pilot I wanted to go alone and walked toward the cliff.

But I heard something I shouldn't have.

The roar of machinery.

The growl of engines.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I broke into a run, scrambling up the slope.

I reached the cliff's edge. What I saw shattered my world.

Bulldozers were leveling the land.

An excavator's giant claws ripped through the soil, tearing up flowers and roots.

The moonpetal garden I had designed for Aria was being destroyed.

"Stop!" I screamed, running at the nearest worker. "What are you doing?!"

A foreman in a reflective vest turned around. He looked awkward when he saw me.

"You are...?"

"I'm Selena! This was my daughter's garden!" I pointed at the uprooted moonpetals, tears streaming down my face. "You have no right to touch this place!"

"Oh, you're Alpha Kael's mate." He took off his hard hat, his expression shifting to one of respect. "My apologies, ma'am. But we're on a strict deadline. This training ground has to be finished by next month."

My blood ran cold.

"What training ground?"

"A private training facility for young werewolves." He unrolled a blueprint. "State-of-the-art equipment. A full strength-conditioning system. Lady Isabella explained her son, Leo, is frail. He needs this place to build his strength."

Every word was a hammer blow to my heart.

"Lady Isabella?" My voice trembled.

The foreman looked confused. "You didn't know? The lady... she said her son, Leo, is frail. He needs this place to get stronger."

The world spun.

Isabella. The name was a venomous snake slithering through my mind.

Kael's ex-lover.

What right did she have to give orders about my daughter's island?