CHAPTER 1

Tiffanie

“Only a marriage allegiance can end this debt,” the voice behind the door was hoarse and cold, and I found myself cowering away from the sound.

“A marriage allegiance or your life, Beta.”

“Killian…there’s no way you expect me to give you one of my daughters,” my father, Harnold, snapped, a cold dread slipping into his voice. “I would rather have you take my life.”

I should totally turn away from the door and pretend like I hadn’t just heard the ruthless lycan king request for a bride from my father. The sentiment wasn’t lost on me. I could understand quite well why my father was reluctant to give either of his daughters to the blood moon pack. The name alone sent horror down my nerves. 

A low dark chuckle rumbled out, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“I wouldn’t just kill you, Harnold. I would make your family watch your death—including that daughter of yours that you’re trying to protect,” he paused for dramatic effect, the silence settling over me like a grip. “ And when I’m done destroying everything you’ve worked hard for, I will drag your precious little thing and have her as my warriors’ breeder. She would be nothing but a slut for my pack. And I’ll make sure she doesn’t enjoy any second of it.”

The threat cut through my heart, a low whimper escaping through my lips. I slapped my hand around my mouth, thankful they hadn’t heard me. I didn’t want to imagine what father would do to me when he found me eavesdropping on such a conversation. I was already his least favorite child. 

My feet felt rooted to the spot, patiently waiting for my fathers response.

He was trapped. We both knew it. 

“Fine. I’ll give my daughter to you,” he forced out through clenched teeth and I could just imagine the rage burning under his glare. 

“Good. My nephew, the alpha prince, has come of age and he would be needing a woman by his side. A chosen mate. Your line of family is known to possess the strongest of female wolves. This allegiance should build a strong bond in the future,” he sneers, the words pouring out of him like acid on skin. “I hope you don’t fuck this up.”

The Moon Bound pack wasn’t simply dangerous. It was legendary for its cruelty, and the whispers about what they did to wolfless female shifters had always filled me with terror. They forced those girls into brutal rituals meant to drag the wolf out by any means necessary. Sometimes it worked. More often, it shattered them beyond repair or killed them outright.

In my twenty-one years, I had never shifted, no matter how many full moons rose and fell. My stepsister, Liora had found hers years ago, beautiful and strong, just like every other part of her. A white wolf. So when my father finally spoke again, his voice heavy with defeat, I clung to the fragile hope that this nightmare couldn’t touch me.

“I’ll bring her for the mating ceremony in two days.”

I turned to slip away quietly before anyone noticed me lingering, but the door swung open without warning.

I collided hard with a solid wall of muscle and overwhelming strength. The impact drove the air from my lungs, and for a dizzying moment all I could register was heat, raw power, and the crushing weight of his presence.

When I looked up, my heart stuttered.

He towered over me, gigantic in stature, with silver eyes that pierced straight into my soul. I had never seen anything like them. His face was strikingly beautiful—sharp, commanding, and utterly cold—yet his expression remained stoic except for the faint hint of irritation at the corner of his lips.

The Lycan King. Killian. 

His aura pressed down on me, cold and dangerous, smothering everything else in the hallway. It left me feeling small and exposed in a way that had nothing to do with my plump body and everything to do with the power radiating from him.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, the words tumbling out in a rush. “I didn’t mean to run into you. I was just—”

He didn’t wait for me to finish. He simply stepped past me and continued down the hall as if I were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. 

Dinner that evening felt like stepping into another trap. I sat at the far end of the long table while everyone else ate heartily from plates piled high with roasted meat (that I had hunted myself) and warm bread. I couldn’t touch a single bite. My gaze kept drifting down to the gentle curve of my belly beneath my dress, the way it stayed soft and full no matter how desperately I tried to change it.

I had starved for days, going on strict diets till my eyes blurred. Nothing changed. I remained curvy and soft in all the places that made my family look at me with open disgust. To them, I might as well not have existed at all.

My father finally set his knife down and cleared his throat. I waited for the announcement. Then his gaze landed on me, and my entire world shattered.

“Tiffanie, prepare for your marriage,” he said simply. “You’ll be marrying the future heir of the Moon Bound pack.”

The words struck me like a physical blow. I couldn’t breathe. 

I shook my head, desperately willing myself to wake from this nightmare.

“Father,” I turned my head to him, eyes with shock. “There has to be some kind of mistake. I’m wolfless. Eliora—“

“Weren’t you listening to my conversation with the king?!” He growled as his fist hit the table. I immediately cowered away from him, fear sipping through my cracks. 

So he knew. 

No. There was no way this was happening. The blood moon packs would eat me alive. They hated wolfless females!

“Since you clearly know everything, then I’m sure you know the wedding is in two days' time. Prepare yourself!”

My eyes almost bulged out of my eye socket. My lips trembled. “You can’t do this, father. Eliora…she has a wolf. They wouldn’t hurt her. Why would you do this to me?!” I screamed, tears spilling out of my eyes. 

His face morphed into one of disgust like I had just asked the most stupid thing ever. “You are useless to this family, Tiffanie. Isn’t that enough reason?” He sneered, his hands tightening into an angry fist. “After everything we have given you, after feeding you while you continue to fatten yourself up and remain a burden, this is the only thing you can do to protect us. A useless wolf who can’t even find her own beast. This is your purpose.”

Tears cascaded down my cheeks, hot and humiliating. I tried to hold them back, but my voice cracked with the weight of years of pain. “How can you say that? I never asked for any of this. All my life I’ve stayed out of your way because you couldn’t even look at me without disgust. I’ve never asked for anything… but you’re so quick to throw me into death?”

A flicker of something conflicted crossed his face, but it vanished in an instant as my stepmother Vespera’s voice sliced through the air. 

“Did you truly believe we would sacrifice our beloved Liora to a pack that devours weaker wolves?” A bitter chuckle escaped her, grating over my skin like broken glass. “This has always been your fate, girl. You would do well to be grateful for this opportunity. A fat baggage like you could never get a fairy tale ending.”

I sat there stunned, the betrayal sinking deeper into my bones with every word. 

I had always known my family loathed me, especially after my mother died from that terrible disease five years ago. The pack had labeled me cursed, claiming the Moon Goddess had taken my mother to spare the clan from whatever darkness I carried. The sickness had begun right after I was born, and my father had never looked at me the same again. It was as if he blamed me for her death. He had married Vespera soon after, and she had turned our home into a living nightmare for me. Her daughter Liora was no different.

My father stood abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. 

“You have no choice in this, Tiffanie. Accept it. In two days from now, you will fulfill your duty to this family.” He left without another glance, and Vespera followed, her steps sharp and satisfied.

Only Liora remained. She rose with graceful ease, her slim neck and slender arms a painful reminder of everything I had always longed to be. She walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder, her touch light but mocking.

For one stupid moment, I thought she would console me. Tell me that everything would be alright. Only the Gods knew how much I needed good luck. 

“Don’t fool yourself into thinking this will end well for you,” she said softly, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “You will never survive the cruelty of the Moon Bound pack. But I will come with you to the mating ceremony. I want to be there to watch the horror on the Alpha prince's face when he sees exactly how ugly his chosen mate truly is.”