Chapter 1

Astrid’s Pov

Please, please, please stop. Please, I don’t want to die. Please, I beg of you, don’t do this.

The voice was mine, but I didn’t recognize it. It came out strangled and broken, trembling with a kind of fear I had never felt before. My own scream echoed back at me, swallowed up by the thick darkness that coiled like smoke in the corners.

“Wake up,” I whimpered. “Wake up, Astrid. You’re dreaming. Wake up… wake up…”

I clenched my eyes shut, my heart galloping in my chest.

“Wake up!”

I shot upright in bed, lungs burning as if I hadn’t breathed in hours. My sheets were tangled around me like a net, soaked with sweat. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. My eyes darted wildly around the room.

That’s when I knew.

It wasn’t a dream.

Something was wrong.

There were sounds, real ones. Not in my head and not from the nightmare. They came from outside, from everywhere. Crashes, screams, the sickening crack of splintering wood, and the unmistakable roar of fire.

I slipped off the bed, every nerve in my body screaming. My feet barely touched the floor as I crept toward the door, each step slow and careful. My pulse thundered in my ears.

Then the door slammed open.

I screamed.

And my mother fell through it.

“Mama!”

She collapsed at my feet, blood pouring from a wound in her stomach, soaking her gown, her hands, and the floor. Everything.

“No, no, no. Mama, what happened?” I dropped to my knees, trying to catch her, but I was too late. Her eyes fluttered open and her trembling fingers clutched my arm.

“Astrid,” she whispered, her breath sharp and ragged. “You need to run. Right now. Don’t ask questions. Run and don’t come back.”

“What?” My voice cracked with panic. “What do you mean? What’s going on? Mama, you’re bleeding. We need to go—”

“They’re here.” Her voice grew urgent, almost fierce. “They’re here, Astrid. And I won’t let them take you.”

“Who? Who is here?” I was crying, shaking. “What are you talking about? We need to go together!”

“The Valkarion warriors,” she said, and my blood turned to ice.

My mouth went dry. “Valkarion? You mean from the Wolf Kingdom? What do they want with us?”

“I don’t have time to explain!” she snapped, then winced in pain and gasped. “You have to trust me. Go. Now. Through the back door. Run toward the woods. East side. Do not look back.”

My heart was breaking. “No, you’re coming with me. You promised! You said we’d always be together. Don’t do this, don’t leave me, Mama—”

“I’m right behind you,” she said softly, her hand cradling my cheek for just a second. “Go. And Astrid, no matter what, do not tell anyone who you are. You are human, do you understand me? Human. No matter what they say, no matter what you feel. You are human.”

I shook my head, tears blinding me. “Why are you saying this? What do you mean?”

“RUN!”

The word cracked like thunder and jolted me to my feet.

I stumbled toward the back, my mind a chaotic blur. The smell of smoke grew stronger. Screams rose in the distance. I could see the fires, flames licking up the walls of nearby homes. People were being dragged from their houses and slaughtered in the open.

Monsters. Real monsters, glowing eyes, thick fangs, wolves.

My legs moved on their own, but my heart refused to follow.

I reached the back door and then I saw Tessa.

My best friend stood a few feet away, eyes wide with terror, blood on her clothes.

She looked me straight in the eye and whispered, “See you on the other side, Astrid.”

And just like that, they slaughtered her right there in front of me.

I screamed so hard I thought my soul would tear through my throat. My knees gave way, but I forced myself up again, stumbling forward in blind panic as my heart shattered into pieces.

Then, just as I reached the edge of the woods, a hand gripped my wrist. Hard.

I gasped and spun around.

Then it was total darkness.

****

The screams pulled me back to consciousness. My head pounded like I’d been thrown against stone. My limbs felt stiff. My body was on the ground.

I turned slowly, confusion thick in my chest. People were sprawled around me, faces I knew. Stormvale villagers. Men, women, even children. Some were groaning. Others lay still.

My breath caught as I spotted familiar clothing. This wasn’t a dream anymore. We had really been taken.

That’s when I saw the Valkarion warriors.

And suddenly it all made sense. We were in Valkarion.

Before I could move, one of them grabbed me, his grip bruising, and yanked me to my feet like I weighed nothing. Others were being pulled up too, forced to stand. The air reeked of fear, smoke, and blood.

Cries echoed. Whimpers. The sound of someone being hit.

And then I saw him.

Sitting on what looked like a throne carved from bone and obsidian, draped in power and shadows, was the most breathtaking man I had ever laid eyes on. He was too perfect, too terrifying. His hazel eyes glinted like ice under the moonlight, and his dark hair flowed to his shoulders in soft waves. He looked like he belonged to another world entirely, a cruel god sent to break us.

Beside him stood a woman. Tall, elegant, with eyes like sharpened sapphires and hair as dark as nightfall. She was so beautiful it made my chest ache, but even more terrifying was the way she flinched at the sight of blood on the floor and then smiled.

And then I saw Allen.

Our leader was being dragged like a broken doll by two Valkarion guards. His face was bruised and bloodied, but still defiant.

The man on the throne, the Alpha King, tilted his head slightly and spoke. His voice was low and cold enough to freeze time itself.

“You think you could ambush me, Allen? Is that how Stormvale plays its game?”

Allen opened his mouth, probably to explain or beg or try something. But the Alpha King waved a hand.

“I don’t need an explanation.” His voice cut sharper than any blade. “Kill him. And the rest too.”

No hesitation. Just death sentences.

That was when I stopped breathing.

My legs gave out beneath me, but the warrior holding me didn’t let go. I watched Allen struggle as they dragged him away, and then chaos erupted. Cries. Begging. I couldn’t process any of it.

Why? What did we do?

The blade sang through the air, and I knew I was next. I turned to the woman beside the Alpha King, hoping and praying for any flicker of mercy. But she only flinched as blood splattered near her, and her lips curled into something close to amusement.

She enjoyed this?

A cruel beauty.

I closed my eyes.

I was next.

Please… please let it be quick.

Then—

“Stop.”

The voice that thundered across the space didn’t come from a soldier.

It was him.

The Alpha King.