CHAPTER ONE

The night was long and cruel.

Cold wind whipped through the towering pines, lashing my skin like punishment from the Moon Goddess herself. Leaves crunched beneath my bare feet—damp with mud and blood. Behind me, wolves howled.

Not in sorrow.

In warning.

I wasn’t one of them anymore.

I kept running. My lungs burned, legs shaking, but my wolf screamed for survival. Every breath carried fear, fury, and betrayal.

“By the Alpha’s decree, you are hereby banished for treason.”

The words cut deeper than the thorns scraping my legs.

My brother’s voice had been cold. Formal. He hadn’t stuttered. Hadn’t flinched. Hadn’t even looked me in the eyes. He stood beside my sister while the warriors dragged me from the packhouse like a stray mutt.

My parents’ bodies weren’t even cold.

And they blamed me for their murder.

A crime I didn’t commit.

A growl rumbled in my throat. My wolf paced beneath the surface—restless, enraged. They had taken everything. My name. My honor. My future.

But they couldn’t take my fire.

I would not be broken.

This was never a home to me.

Thunder cracked. The scent of rain thickened. The forest pressed in tighter. I had never run this far beyond the border, but exile didn’t leave me much of a choice.

I kept going—not for anyone else, but for me. For my wolf. For the sliver of hope I still clung to.

I ran until my body gave out, collapsing against a tree trunk. My chest heaved. My breath came in jagged pulls.

And then I smelled it.

Smoke. Pine. Dominance.

Power rippled in the air like a warning. My wolf froze.

This wasn’t rogue territory.

I’d crossed into a pack’s land.

Not just any pack—an Alpha’s domain.

Panic surged, but it was too late. He was already there.

He stepped from the shadows like the forest itself had parted for him. Massive. Shirtless. Storm-wet muscles gleaming under the moonlight. His black pants clung to powerful legs. Strands of dark hair fell over his forehead.

But it was his eyes that locked me in place—cold, grey, unreadable.

A predator.

And I was prey.

I felt it snap in my chest—the bond.

Unmistakable. Unforgiving.

Mate.

No. Goddess, no.

His gaze narrowed. “You crossed into my territory, little wolf.”

His voice was low. Smooth. Deadly.

I straightened, even as my knees threatened to buckle. “Then kill me,” I rasped. “Make it fast.”

He didn’t blink. “Why would I kill what belongs to me?”

The words hit like a slap.

Not a question.

A claim.

“I don’t belong to anyone,” I snapped.

His eyes darkened. “Liar.”

I hated how his voice slid over me like silk and steel—hated how my wolf whimpered beneath my skin, desperate to submit. I shoved her back.

“I don’t want a mate,” I hissed. “I don’t need one.”

He didn’t flinch. “You don’t get to decide what fate wants.”

“I don’t believe in fate,” I growled. “She abandoned me.”

Something flickered in his eyes. Pity? Curiosity?

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“I don’t have one.”

He stepped closer. Rain ran down the hard line of his jaw. His scent wrapped around me like smoke and earth, curling deep into my chest.

“My wolf knows you,” he said. “Serena.”

I flinched. A tremor ran through me.

He nodded slowly. “I’m Alpha Kael Thorn of the Black Ash Pack. And you just entered my land.”

His voice dropped to a near-growl.

“That makes you mine.”

My body moved before my brain caught up. I lunged—half-shifted, claws out, ready to fight.

But I was too weak. Too slow. Too tired.

The world spun.

I collapsed.

Strong arms caught me—warm, solid, unyielding. His scent swallowed me whole.

I hated how safe I felt.

“Sleep,” he murmured.

“No,” I choked.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you now,” he said softly.

I wanted to scream.

Too late.

But the darkness was already pulling me under.

The last thing I saw was the grey storm in his eyes.

And I knew everything was about to change.