The Alpha’s Forbidden Mate

“Do you think they’ll dare look me in the eye tonight, Kael?”Ronan’s voice cut through the stillness of the evening, low and edged with the same hostility that had been burning in my chest since the message arrived. He stood at my side, his broad shoulders taut, every muscle prepared for a fight that hadn’t yet begun. The moon’s pale light spilled across the clearing where the Shadowfang warriors had gathered, their silver eyes glinting in silence, awaiting my command.“They’ll have no choice,” I replied, my voice as cold as the night air. “Darius knows what happens to those who disrespect me. He can bring every last one of his mongrels, and it still won’t save him from my claws if he forgets it.”I could feel their fear even before I saw them. The stench of the rival pack—Stormclaws—carried on the wind, bitter and sharp, stirring the instincts in my blood. They were close.Tonight was supposed to be the night of truce, the first time in two decades that our packs would sit in the sa

“So it is decided then?”Darius’s voice was calm, but there was an edge to it, like steel sheathed in velvet. His amber eyes glinted in the firelight of the council hall, daring me to defy him.For a long moment, I said nothing. The hall was silent but for the crackle of the torches lining the stone walls. My warriors stood behind me, tense shadows in the flickering light. Stormclaw wolves filled the other side of the chamber, their gazes sharp, their distrust palpable.This was not peace. This was theater. And I hated every second of it.“Agreed,” I said at last, the word like ash on my tongue.The tension in the room broke with a ripple of murmurs. Stormclaws straightened, some with surprise, others with smug satisfaction. Behind me, I felt Ronan’s fury like a storm barely contained. He would have words for me later. Harsh ones.But right now, all I cared about was the way Darius leaned back in his chair, smiling like a man who had just won.“Good,” he said. “Then allow me to presen

“Again, Alpha?” Ronan’s voice carried a note of amusement as he fell into step beside me. His boots crunched over the damp earth, matching my stride as though he had walked this path a thousand times. And maybe he had—patrols were as natural to him as breathing.I kept my eyes ahead, scanning the tree line where the shadows grew thick. The air was sharp with pine and the metallic tang of dew. Night still lingered, but dawn was pressing at the horizon, bleeding pale gold through the branches.“Again,” I muttered.Ronan chuckled. “Most Alphas would be sleeping after the day you had yesterday. Diplomacy. Agreements. Promises.” He spat the last word like it tasted bitter. “But you? You’d rather stalk the woods at dawn.”“Sleep doesn’t quiet my head,” I said flatly.And it didn’t. The weight of Darius’s stare still sat heavy on my shoulders, the echo of Lyra’s polite, measured smile etched into my memory. A deal had been struck, an alliance sealed in words, but my chest felt like a cage cl

Elara’s POVThey say curiosity kills the cat.But standing at the edge of the woods, staring into the thick wall of trees that seemed to breathe on their own, I wondered if it would kill me too.Mom’s words still echoed in my ears: Promise me you won’t go near the woods.Her eyes had been so sharp, so afraid, it had left a chill in my bones.And yet here I was.I wasn’t sure what had dragged me out of bed that morning—the restless dreams, the unanswered questions, or the way the forest seemed to hum at the edge of my life like a secret waiting to be uncovered.Maybe it was all of it. Maybe it was just me being stupid.But the truth was, I couldn’t stay away any longer.I tightened the straps of my backpack, though I had nothing useful in it besides a water bottle and a notebook. My sneakers crunched over the grass as I took that first step past the tree line.The air changed instantly. Cooler. Thicker. Every breath filled my lungs with the scent of pine and damp earth, so sharp it was

Elara’s POVI barely remembered the walk home.My sneakers carried me across the familiar dirt road, my body moving on autopilot, but my mind was still in the forest.That man.Those eyes.That voice.“The one thing you should fear the most.”The words wouldn’t leave me alone, circling in my head like a song I hated but couldn’t stop humming.And then there was the way the path had opened, as if the forest had let me go the moment he vanished.It wasn’t normal. None of it was normal.I should’ve been terrified, I told myself. And I was. My hands still shook, my pulse hadn’t calmed, and every rustle of leaves made me flinch. But fear wasn’t all I felt.No. Beneath the panic, something else burned.Recognition.That was the part I couldn’t explain. How could you recognize someone you’d never met?By the time I slipped quietly through the front door of my house, night had deepened. My mom’s light still glowed under her bedroom door, but I crept past, not wanting to face her—not yet. Not