Behind Enemy lines

Sera POV

The moment I crossed the border, the silver light flickered and went out. Whatever had happened there before faded away, leaving me cold, empty, and utterly weary. My legs finally gave way, and I collapsed to the ground. The white ceremonial gown was torn and soiled, soaked with dew and my own blood from scratches I hadn't even felt.

I curled up, my arms wrapped around my waist as if I could hold the shattered pieces together with my bare hands. My wolf had fallen silent, retreating to the darkest corner of my mind to lick its wounds. We were alone now. Truly alone. The pack that had accompanied me my entire life was shattered, torn apart by rejection. I was a loner.

The thought should have horrified me, but I felt nothing, only a bottomless abyss in the depths of my mind.

I didn't know how long I lay there, but it was long enough for the moon to change its position, for the sounds of the forest to shift from the hunting of nocturnal predators to the chirping of birds before dawn. Long enough for my tears to dry on my cheeks, leaving salty traces. Long enough that I didn't hear the footsteps until they were right behind me.

My wolf stirred in alarm, but I was too exhausted to move. If it was a wild wolf who wanted to kill me, perhaps that was for the best. At least the pain would end then.

"Well," said a voice, deep and gentle, with a hint of dark amusement. “

I forced myself to raise my head.

A man stood over me, bathed in the glow of the setting moon. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and exuded a power that instinctively made my wolf bare its throat, even in my wounded state. Alpha. But not just any Alpha—something about him was different, ancient, dangerous.

His eyes caught the moonlight and flashed a color I had never seen before. Not golden like most Alphas. Silver. Like the light that had emanated from me during the ceremony.

“Who—” My voice was hoarse, broken from screaming. “Who are you?”

He crouched down and studied me with an intensity that should have alarmed me. Instead, my wolf perked up, intrigued despite our broken state. His scent enveloped me -- pine wood, smoke, night air and something wild that spoke to intimate parts of me.

“I am the Alpha of the Shadow Crest pack,” he said, and my blood ran cold. Shadow Crest. Nightshade’s fiercest rival. The pack we had been on the brink of war with for five years. “And you, little wolf, are the most interesting thing I’ve seen in a long time.”

“I’m not…” I was about to say that I was nothing, not interesting, not worth his time, but he interrupted me.

“I saw what happened at your rejection ceremony.” His lips curled into an expression too sharp to be called a smile. “I saw the silver light.” “I know what you are, even if you don’t know it yet.”

“What I am?” I repeated, confused and scared, still too numb to fully process this conversation.

He reached out his hand, and I should have stepped back, but I didn’t. His fingers brushed my cheek, wiping away a tear, and the touch sent a jolt of electricity through my skin. My wolf whimpered, torn between fear and something that felt dangerously intriguing.

“A Moon Wolf,” he said softly, the words sounding like both a death sentence and a blessing. “A bloodline that should have been extinct.” And if I'm not very much mistaken, this is the key to saving everything—or destroying it.”

I stared at him, trying to make out his words through the fog of exhaustion and pain. Moon Wolf. I'd heard the term before, in old stories told to puppies. They were ancient wolves with powers beyond normal shapeshifting, blessed—or cursed—by the Moon Goddess herself. But those were just legends.

Only the silver light hadn't been a legend. The power that had shattered ancient protective spells wasn't a figment of my imagination.

“I don't understand,” I whispered.

“You will.” He stood up and held out his hand. “But not here, and not now. You're injured, exhausted, and still on neutral ground, where anyone can find you, even the pack that just cast you out.”

I looked at his outstretched hand, then back at his face. This was madness. He was the alpha of our enemy pack. Taking his hand would be the ultimate betrayal of Nightshade.

On the other hand, Nightshade had just broken my heart in front of hundreds of witnesses.

“Why are you helping me?” I had to ask. Nothing is free, especially not from an alpha.

There was a flash of predatory, possessiveness in his silver eyes. “Because, little wolf, I’ve been searching for a moon wolf for five years. And now one has literally fallen at my feet, broken, powerful, and perfect for what I need.”

It wasn’t a comforting answer. Not even a kind one. But it was honest, and in that moment, I preferred honesty to the pretty lies Damien had spun for me.

I placed my hand in his, and the moment our skin touched, a force discharged between us like a lightning bolt. He felt it too—I saw his eyes widen for a moment, his jaw muscles tense. My wolf was suddenly wide awake and very interested in this dangerous stranger.

He effortlessly pulled me to my feet, and I stood close enough to see the scar above his left eyebrow, the way his dark hair fell over his forehead, the sharp features of his face that spoke of violence, power, and absolute authority.

“What should I call you?” I asked, because I could no longer refer to him as “the dangerous alpha.”

“Kade,” he said. “Kade Blackthorn.” His hand was still holding mine, his thumb brushing my knuckles in a way that shouldn’t feel as familiar as it did. “And you’re coming with me, little wolf.”

It wasn’t a question. Not even a proper offer. It was a statement, made with the absolute confidence of an alpha who had never been told no.

I should have refused, should have told him to let me go, to find my own way, to figure out what the hell had just happened to my life without jumping from one alpha to the next.

But I was so tired, so broken. And despite the obvious danger he posed, despite knowing he was using me for his own purposes, despite every instinct telling me this was a terrible idea—

my wolf wanted to follow him. And after being ignored, dismissed, and rejected, it was intoxicating to be looked at by someone with a strong gaze, rather than a weak one.

“Where are we going?” I asked instead of refusing.

His smile was full of teeth and dark promises. “Shadowridge territory. Hostile territory, if you want to look at it that way.” He started walking, still holding my hand, and led me deeper into neutral territory, away from everything I had ever known. "But something tells me you no longer consider Nightshade your home."

He was right. The thought of returning, facing Damien and Vanessa, and enduring all those pitying stares made me shudder.

"And believe me," Kade added, his eyes shining with an unreal silver glow, "they'll regret it. All of them. By the time I'm done training you, Damien Thorne will be choking on his rejection."

Those words should have alarmed me. Should have made me question what I'd gotten myself into. Instead, they ignited something within me, a spark of anger that had survived the pain of my broken heart.

Fine. Let them regret it. Let them see what they've thrown away.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, and I noticed a car waiting at the edge of the median, a sleek, black Lexus that exuded power and wealth. A man was leaning against it, tall and muscular, with the aura of a beta.

“Boss,” he said, his eyes widening when he saw me. “Is this…”

“Yes,” Kade interrupted. He opened the back door and gestured for me to get in. “We need to hurry. Thorne will soon realize she’s crossed the border, and I don’t want to start a war tonight.”

“Tonight?” the beta repeated with a touch of dark humor. “So you’re just putting it off?”

“Probably.” Kade’s voice sounded nonchalant as I slid into the leather seats. Exhaustion made everything seem unreal. He sat beside me, so close I could feel his warmth and smell the intoxicating scent of pine and smoke.

As the Beta started the engine and we pulled away, I watched the forest disappear behind us. Somewhere back there was the pack I’d grown up in, the life I’d dreamed of, the mate who’d thrown me away like I was nothing.

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back into the seat. My body ached. My heart was broken. And I’d just gotten into a car with the Alpha of my pack’s greatest enemy.

What the hell had I done?

“Rest,” Kade said softly, and I felt his hand on mine on the seat between us. That electric spark shot through me again, and my wolf growled with something that was neither agreement nor disagreement. "Tomorrow your true training begins."

"You're with me now, little wolf. And believe me—they'll regret it."