Prologue

Karica's POV

Butterflies should have fluttered...

Bliss and longing should have been birthed inside me...

The heart should have skipped beats...

But none of this happened.

Instead!

Dread! waves and waves of it washed over me.

It was my 20th birthday and according to the rules of our world, I was an adult now, ready to be tested for my potential mate.

Who wouldn't want a mate? Right? Everyone wants to be cherished and yet my heart knew it was just a fantasy now.

Our world had progressed to the point that once every werewolf crossed the age of 20, he or she would give their blood sample at the collection centre and with that numerous tests were carried out, genetic makeup was checked and potency for potential mates was reviewed.

The matches were made on the computer and meetings of these 'hopeful' mates were held. 97 per cent was the success rate of this system called "The Mate Fusion" and now almost everyone relied on it. Because finding your fated mate in the open world was an arduous task.

The catch was, the supernatural world was experiencing a crisis. The number of females who could give birth was dwindling. No one knew for sure what was causing it but the birth hormone 'Liastronse' was decreasing.

There were all kinds of conspiracy theories regarding the issue but no one knew the truth. So fertile females were now regarded as precious gems, and demand was so high that the test results were kept top secret. In case of a leakage, the fertile ones were kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder in the black market.

Packs began sharing females, even fertile Lunas were not safe and some sick-minded alphas began using them as breeders. Sending them to other alphas who needed an heir or even sharing them with their betas and other pack members.

Sacrilegious mate bond was being squandered by many and this scared the hell out of me.

My father Wakins Ruthinie was the alpha of our pack, 'Solstice Howlers', one of the largest packs in the South and I was his eldest daughter; Karica Ruthinie.

I had twin siblings who were three years younger than me. Being the oldest, a lot of eyes were on me and my father wanted me to find my mate and settle down with him.

So the very next day after I turned 20. My father sent me to the lab for being tested to determine my compatibility with a potential mate and also for levels of Liastronse in my body. Any female with levels higher than 60% was considered fertile and thus heavily guarded. Their independence would be squashed and no free will existed for them.

Deep within, I yearned for the gift of fertility, like an innate desire rooted in my being. Yet, as I thought about the bleakness of this twisted world. I realized that embracing such a prospect would turn out to be ill-fated for me. What if my fated would want to share me with others? I would prefer death than to be humiliated in such a fashion.

My siblings Kaina and Kilran accompanied me to the lab.

"You alright?" Kaina affectionately asked, seeing me lost.

"I am, I just don't want to end up with some jerk. I want someone sweet and kind," I confessed to her.

The nurse sharply jabbed me with the syringe as if she had some personal vendetta against me, I cringed.

"More like you want someone boring," she rolled her eyes at me, making me laugh.

"Don't worry big sis, I will always protect you," Kilran spoke from my other side, rubbing my arm. Our future Alpha and my younger brother. He was smart and intelligent and I knew the pack will be in good hands after our father stepped down.

"All done," the nurse announced, rubbing the pricked area with a spirited cotton swab.

"When will the results be available?" Kilran asked her.

"Tomorrow," she picked up her apparatus and left the room with vials of my blood. A suffocating sense of nervousness fell over me, enveloping me in its dark tendrils. I didn't have a good feeling about it.

We went home and I confined myself in my room. The night was spent on tenterhooks. My father was a daunting Alpha and he didn't believe in weakness. He had always been harsh with my now-deceased mother and I didn't want someone like him to be my mate.

He was set hard in his ways and I knew he wouldn't even flinch before handing me over to my potential mate, no matter who it would be.

The next day, my father had an official meeting with some other alphas, so he left with instructions that he needed to be informed as soon as I got my results.

I dreaded opening them, so I just sat there with my phone in my shaky hands. A profuse amount of sweating covered me and I nervously chewed on my fingernails, while tapping my right foot on the wooden floor.

"It will be alright. Mate will love us," my wolf Laila purred in my head. I got her when I turned 15 and she had been a great companion since then.

"We don't know that. What if he is a sadistic prick? Or if he is a Lycan? You know how they are. Brutal and barbaric," I murmured with a sigh.

The continent of 'North Camlus' belonged to the Lycans and no one else could step foot in their territory. They held zero remorse while killing others and no supernatural being was safe from them. Not many lycans were seen in South but their names were used to instill fear into the hearts of children as well as adults.

"Big sis, did you see your results?" Kilran asked, walking towards me while munching on an apple, I shook my head.

"Let's see it together," he sauntered over to my side and affectionately wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

With trembling hands I swiped the screen of my phone, bringing it to life and opened the website. My heart beating fast inside my ribcage and my throat parched like a desert.

I punched in my name 'Karica Wakins' and searched. The results were displayed in a second on the screen and I gasped and almost dropped my phone.

1. Liastronse level = 91%

2. Fertile or Barren = Fertile

3. Potential Mate = Xynathius Warvine

The ground seemed to have shifted from below me at his name and I shuddered. My brother's hold tightened around my shoulder and a low growl escaped him. My hands shook uncontrollably and I couldn't hold the phone any longer. Kilran took the phone from me and pulled me closer, while blankly staring at the screen.

"I can't," I whimpered to my brother as tears streaked down my cheeks.

"Run away and hide. I know few people in the human world. They will help you. I will not let father hand you over to a monster," Kilran announced with a tightened jaw, he was barely holding onto himself.

Xynathius belonged to the most ruthless Lycan pack in the North. The Warbringer Pack. It was known for the bloody wars they had fought over history. They were remorseless killers and stopped at nothing but to destroy whatever stood in their way.

"But…," I began but Kilran cut me off.

"We don't have time. He must have gotten the notification by now and will be on his way to take you away. I have heard about their pack, they haven't had a child born in over five years now. With that level of Liastronse, I will not risk your life. You have to go while father is away."

He dragged me up and steadied me. Taking my face in his hands, he wiped my tears. I was shivering uncontrollably as he lovingly spoke with his forest green eyes holding back emotions.

"I will handle everything, don't worry. Just go and pack," and ushered me to my room.

"We can't run away. We have to wait for our mate," Laila was upset with the turn of events. But I had no time. I didn't want to end up in some twisted s*x orgy or to become a fucking breeder. Because that's what most fertile females ended up doing.

So that was the day I ran, from my pack, my family, my life and my mate and I never looked back.

Unaware that the three sets of eyes opened differently that day.

Black

Blue

Green