Chapter 1

Nyxaria (Nik-SAR-ee-ah)

A man was talking, so naturally, I stopped listening.

I focused instead on the heavy silver dagger tucked into his belt, wondering how many seconds it would take to slip it out, drive it through his boot, and see if he could keep making that stupid speech on one foot.

But who am I to interrupt the sacred tradition of a man congratulating himself on existing?

“You’re late,” I muttered, snapping my head to the side the exact second the scent of leather and cedarwood filled my nostrils.

“I had a few engagements,” My idiot older brother, Cassian, replied. I scoffed the moment my eyes caught the fresh purple hickeys painted across his neck. But it was the odd chain bracelet gleaming on his wrist that made my gaze narrow.

“You went to the city—”

“And I’m up, sis.” He changed the topic instantly, weaving through the crowd to take the stage and stand with my father and other brother.

Right on cue, the Alpha’s son finished his speech.

“By Moon decreed. By strength upheld,” I mumbled the ancient creed that had been beaten into our heads since infancy alongside the pack members.

We all stared at the stage at our leaders. The Alpha, my father—our Beta, the Gamma, and their sons all smiled at the roaring applause. Up on the platform, Cassian had already tucked the human-made bracelet safely into his pocket.

My pack was one of the very few left that was still stubbornly stuck in the old ways. We didn’t conform to human modernization but did everything by ancestral law. From hunting to leadership to our entire way of life.

Tucked into the rugged wilderness, we were cut off entirely from the rest of civilization.

Heck, the only thing I really knew about the modernized packs in the city or the humans themselves was that they existed.

“Where are you going?” my mother asked from my left, her sharp eyes pinning me in place.

Well mother, I’m off to the woods before I suffocate on the thick cloud of male ego taking up all the oxygen in this clearing.

“Just heading to the back,” I lied smoothly, shifting my weight. “Too many people.”

My mother opened her mouth to speak but closed it just as fast, nodding.

Sometimes I felt bad for her. She had a Beta mate and two knucklehead sons. I was her last chance at femininity in the household, but her only daughter would rather wrestle a boar in the mud than go through the motions of braiding her hair.

“Don’t go too far,” she called after me.

I broke into a sprint the second I was out of the crowd, politely ignoring the chatter from the pack members as I slipped past them. Once I’d gotten far enough into the outskirts of the pack, I smiled at the familiar mop of blonde hair that came into view.

“Kai!” I beamed.

Kai had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. As the son of the head warrior, he was the one who had taught me everything I knew about fighting, skills I never would have learned as a woman in this pack.

He turned around immediately I called his name, and his grin got bigger the closer I got. I didn’t waste time on small talk. I stepped right into his space and pulled his mouth down to mine.

He caught me by the waist with ease, his fingers digging into my hips as he deepened the kiss, matching my urgency.

“I missed you, Nyx.”

I punched him lightly in the arm, hating the sudden, spike of warmth in my chest at his words. “Just casual, remember?” I mocked, throwing his own rules back at him.

He laughed, returning the punch to my arm and the light gesture annoyed me more than I cared to admit.

“Why didn’t you come for the gathering?” I asked, though the words quickly turned into a moan when his hands moved under my linen tunic, his calloused thumbs grazing my nipple.

“I had something to do,” he murmured against my neck, his other hand sliding down.

We’d been sleeping together since last year. Even if we weren’t destined mates, I figured it didn’t hurt to fool around until the Moon Goddess inevitably decided to trap me with one soul forever.

“Already soaked for me, baby?” he whispered directly into my ear, sending a violent wave of shivers down my spine.

At least I got to have him as my designated dick before some magical bond ruined a perfectly good arrangement.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck, trying desperately to muffle my shameless moans when he suddenly pushed a second finger deep into my slick, aching heat.

“ Kai—” I gasped as he opened me up, his knuckles rubbing against my sensitive folds with a torturously slow, rolling rhythm.

He knew exactly how to find that sweet spot that had my hips instantly rolling forward against his hand, begging for a faster pace.

His scent was so beautiful, I almost wished he was mine but there was something else mixed with the usual smell of citrus and spiced embers today.

Even as the waves of pleasure from his fingers threatened to take my mind entirely, I couldn't help but press closer to sniff him.

My wolf recoiled internally. It was a heavy, bitter chemical odor like stagnant oil and scorched metal. In a pack that hunted by the old ways, the smell was strange.

And suddenly, Cassian's hurried arrival at the gathering made perfect sense. They had been in the exact same place.

“You went to the city!” I shoved him away from me, my body clenching hard at the sudden, freezing loss of warmth from his fingers.

He looked shocked by my sudden outburst, but he quickly masked it.

It was so annoying how he and Cassian could just leave the territory whenever they wanted without ever getting caught, while I was always stuck behind the suffocating walls of our pack.

“Nyxaria—”

“Nyx!” I snapped, correcting him immediately.

My full name was just another reminder of exactly what I was trapped into being. A she-wolf whose only path in life was to bear children and wear her mates’ name like a badge of honor.

Usually, Kai would rush to appease me, but this time he just stood there, staring at me with a small, knowing smile.

“You’re going to ruin the surprise,” he chuckled, shaking his head.

I opened my mouth to argue, but he was already moving, grabbing my hand and dragging me deeper into the forest. I couldn't help but admire the sharp flex of his back muscles as he led the way, suddenly regretting not having an orgasm first.

He stopped by a massive oak tree and bent down, pulling out a heavy bag that looked like it had been freshly dug out of the dirt.

“What’s that?” I asked, keeping my arms crossed and my lips formed into a stubborn pout.

Kai smiled, his dimples popping as he leaned back against the tree trunk, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

“Happy early birthday, baby,” he murmured, his eyes locking onto mine. “I’m taking you to the city next week. And this—” he kicked the muddy bag, “is everything we need to blend in.”

The city.

I was actually going to the city?