Chapter One

Laina

The scream outside my room was the first sign that everything had gone wrong, before then, I had been sitting in front of the mirror, dressed like a sacrifice.

People from different regions and packs had gathered at the very top of our mountain tonight to witness the union between the Harold Pack and the Carl Pack, my union.

My father had arranged my mating to Carl, a cruel Alpha old enough to know exactly what kind of man he was and still decided I would make a suitable gift.

Tonight, I was supposed to walk out of this room, stand before our packs, lie down, and allow that brutish prick to claim me as his mate, but I had a plan of my own. 

If everything went according to schedule, by this time tomorrow, both Carl and my father would be dead and they well deserved what was coming.

My only problem was that I had been locked inside this room for the past twenty four hours. I hadn't been allowed outside, which meant I had no idea whether my allies were in position or whether the coup against my father had already begun.

I glanced at my best friend and confidant Penny through the mirror.

She stood behind me, watching silently as she helped prepare me for a mating neither of us wanted.

The dress Carl had given me was barely a dress at all. Sheer material clung to my body, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. 

The only mercy was the lace bralette covering my breasts and the tiny pair of panties that offered just enough coverage to keep me from being completely exposed.

Carl wanted everyone to see what would belong to him tonight.

The mating ritual was an ancient tradition, one that allowed members of neighboring packs to witness the union and ensure the couple honored the sacred bond between them.

I had begged my father to stop the public spectacle but he had refused, of course he had, my father had never cared about what I wanted all he really cared about was power and money. 

And tonight, marrying me to Carl would strengthen his alliance.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, heavy smoky eyeshadow surrounded my blue eyes, dark eyeliner making them stand out. Deep red lipstick covered my lips, a shade I would never have chosen for myself.

I looked like a perfect bride but I felt like a prisoner.

“It's time,” one of Carl's betas announced from the doorway and my fingers curled around the edge of the stool.

Then I heard it, a sharp scream that came from somewhere beyond the door.

Everyone in the room froze and my heart slammed against my ribs as another scream followed, but this time it sounded closer. 

A slow smile spread across my lips, my coup had started early, I stood up immediately and Penny's eyes met mine in the mirror.

“Laina”

Before she could finish, I moved toward the door, the moment I opened it, every light in the lodge went out, it was dark in the hallway and whispers erupted behind me.

Penny's hand landed on my shoulder.

“It's them,” she whispered.

For the first time tonight, hope flickered inside me, our allies had showed up and started the coup.

I stepped into the darkness.

My wolf's enhanced vision adjusted almost immediately, allowing me to see the hallway despite the lack of light.

There was no way I was staying locked inside while my pack fought for its freedom.

I moved quickly, Penny close behind me then the smell hit, the smell of blood, I was still not used to it and my stomach twisted.

We rounded the corner, and I stopped so abruptly that Penny nearly crashed into me, a body lay across the floor.

“Don?”

I dropped beside him.

His face was pale, blood running from the corner of his mouth.

“Run, Laina run,” he rasped.

I stared at him confused 

“What happened?”

His eyes widened with fear.

“It isn't us.”

“What?”

“Someone else is attacking.”

His body convulsed and I watched in horror as silver veins began spreading across his face.

“Run Laina!”

Penny grabbed my hand and yanked me away.

“Don't touch him!”

I stumbled to my feet and looked toward the hallway ahead, where the sounds of fighting were growing louder and all hope vanished, this wasn't our coup.

“Hunters,” I whispered.

Penny's face paled.

“No.”

“Yes.” I swallowed hard “They must have sealed the mountain passes. If they did, our reinforcements won't be able to reach us.”

Gunshots echoed through the lodge followed by screams as I ran toward them.

We burst through the enormous doors leading into the courtyard, and the sight before me stole the breath from my lungs, it was chaos everywhere. 

Hunters were fighting our pack, they carried guns loaded with silver ammunition and blades designed to kill wolves. Guards were being slaughtered where they stood.

Women crouched on the ground, screaming and clutching dead mates.

Children were being dragged toward safety as bodies littered the courtyard.

For several seconds, I could only stare in shock, this wasn't my father's coup, this wasn't my plan, this was war. 

“Laina!” Penny shouted, I barely heard her.

My eyes swept across the battlefield, searching desperately for someone familiar then I saw him.

He was larger than every other man around him.

He stood among the hunters, covered in blood and tattoos, fighting with two blades in his hands.

Three men attacked him at once, he barely seemed to notice and one fell, then another, the third didn't even have time to raise his weapon before the stranger's blade found him.

I couldn't look away, there was something about him, something disturbingly familiar.

Then he turned and our eyes met and everything stopped.

His greenish blue eyes stared directly into mine and for a second my heart stopped. 

It couldn't be.

My wolf whimpered inside me.

His scent reached me through the thick copper smell of blood, Sage and bergamot, a scent I had spent ten years trying to forget.

“Trey.” The name came out barely a whisper and he stared at me, his face expressionless, there was no warmth in his eyes, no love, no trace of the boy I remembered, only hatred.

He started walking toward me.

Men rushed around him, but he pushed through them without breaking eye contact

My body refused to move as memories slammed into me, still so fresh like it was yesterday, his smile, his hands, his voice, the first time I realized he was my true mate and then the day I destroyed him.

My father's threat echoed through my mind.

Reject him or watch him die, I had chosen his life.

I had stood before the entire pack and told Trey that what we shared had never been a mating bond, I had called it lust.

I had rejected my true mate and forced him from our pack.

I had watched him leave with hatred burning in his eyes but I remember before he disappeared, he had looked at me one final time.

“I will come back, Laina.” His voice had been quiet, “I will return and destroy you and everything you love.”

I had never forgotten those words and now he was here, he had kept his promise. 

“Fuck!” I grabbed Penny “Run!”

She didn't argue, we turned and sprinted back into the lodge, but as we ran, I saw more familiar faces.

Trey hadn't come alone, he had his two most trusted friends with him. 

The boys who had once driven my father insane, the ones who had been banished alongside him, except they weren't boys anymore, they were powerful Alpha's now and had brought an army with them.

We slammed the doors shut behind us.

Penny and I pushed a heavy wooden bar into place.

My chest heaved as I leaned against the door.

“Holy shit,” Penny breathed. “They are back.”

The sound of an axe striking wood made us both jump.

The door shook and Penny stared at me as another blow landed and a crack appeared in the wood.

“Hide,” I ordered.

“Laina”

“Penny.” I grabbed her shoulders “You need to get the children out.”

Her eyes filled with panic. “I'm not leaving you.”

“You are.”

Another blow struck the door and the crack widened.

“Trey will follow me,” I said. “And his men will follow him because he is their leader.”

“Laina”

“Find Brian.” She froze. “Get my child out of here.”

Her lips trembled “Not without you.”

“Penny, listen to me. Get Brian out. Get every child you can find and take them somewhere safe.”

The axe struck again and the wood splintered, Penny finally nodded.

“I will come back for you.”

“No.” I pushed her toward the hallway “Don't.”

She hesitated. “Go!”

Penny turned and ran toward the playroom where the omegas had been entertaining the children.

I watched until she disappeared then I turned back toward the door.

Trey was coming for me, the boy I had loved was gone, the man on the other side of that door had spent ten years becoming something else.

Something that had returned to fulfill a promise made when we were barely more than children.