C2

“I will sign the papers,” I whispered, voice breaking. “Tell the Alpha I’m returning to the pack house to strip myself of his name right now.”

I ended the call and forced my trembling legs to move. Every step away from that cursed alcove burned like silver in my veins, but I slipped through the crowded stone tunnels of Moonveil International Port before elite guards could catch the stranger’s scent on my skin.

“Clear the path for the Alpha!”

Heavy armored trucks bearing the obsidian Blackmoor crest tore through the gates. Warriors shifted partially, pushing back the crowd. Kairo Vale held the door of the lead vehicle open in total submission.

Gali Blackmoor stepped out.

Broad-shouldered, thick winter furs draped over scarred muscle, radiating terrifying dominance. His golden eyes scanned the area like a predator on the hunt.

“Did you track the scent?” he growled.

“The rogue attack drove us deep into the neutral zone, Alpha,” Kairo replied, head bowed. “The wolfsbane they slipped into your meat forced your beast into a frenzy. You claimed that female to survive the poison. We had to hunt the assassins first.”

“I gave her my word,” Gali snarled, claws extending. “I told her I would make her the most honored partner in the Blackmoor pack. A true Alpha never breaks a vow to his true match. Find her.”

Six Winters Later

Myhill CrestHALL Transit Gates

“Stay close to me, boys,” I murmured, pulling my three young pups tightly against my side as we stepped off the cargo transport.

Even in simple wool tunics, my face turned heads among the fierce northern warriors. My small family looked painfully out of place. The boys wore heavy cloth masks, but their large, round eyes blinked up at the massive stone city with innocent wonder.

“Look at those little ones,” a passing delta whispered. “They make me want to run home and start a family.”

I ignored the murmurs, heart hammering as I stared at the towering walls of Myhill CrestHALL.

Six years ago, Gali Blackmoor accused me of betrayal and threw me to the pack council. A moon later, my belly swelled with the stranger’s pups—proof, in everyone’s eyes, of my guilt. My foster parents cast me into the frozen wasteland to save themselves.

I almost left the pups in the snow. But they were mine. My blood. My pack.

I fled to Frostfang Hollow, washing dishes in a rogue tavern to survive the pregnancy. In my ninth month, I collapsed in a snowdrift. When I woke, I was in hidden mountain caves with three perfect boys howling against my chest. To this day, I don’t know who saved us.

The lone mountain wolves raised us in peace for five years. But as the boys grew, their wolves stirred. They needed proper training, a real future.

When I registered their names, the shaman gasped. The magic ink revealed the truth: my bond with Gali Blackmoor was never fully dissolved. The divorce papers I signed six years ago lacked his blood seal.

Gali’s name would automatically appear as father on their records. The Blackmoors would destroy rogue pups bearing their crest. I had to find him, get his blood on the final decree, and disappear—before he discovered my boys.

I felt no hatred for Gali. I had brought shame to his house. But the shadow stranger from the port? His lying promise still burned.

“I will make you the most honored partner in the pack.” Filthy liar.

“Mommy, my wolf is restless—I need the trees,” Leori tugged my tunic, cheeks flushed.

I looked down at Kairo Vale, Malek Thorncrest, and little Leori. Warmth filled my chest despite everything.

The past had broken me, but it gave me them.

“Hold on, Leori,” I whispered, scanning the crowded terminal. “We just need to reach the Alpha’s den, get the papers signed, and leave this place forever.”

A deep, commanding voice suddenly cut through the noise like thunder.

“Stop those travelers.”

My blood turned to ice.

Warriors moved aside as a tall, powerfully built male strode forward. Golden eyes. Scarred shoulders. Overwhelming alpha aura that made the air heavy.

Gali Blackmoor.

His gaze locked onto me, then slowly dropped to the three masked pups clinging to my legs. His nostrils flared, catching their scent.

For one frozen second, recognition—and something far more dangerous—flashed across his face.

“You…” His voice dropped to a lethal growl that shook the ground. “After six years, you dare return with my scent on your bloodline?”

The terminal fell deathly silent.

My boys pressed closer, their small wolves stirring in response to the powerful alpha before them.

The bond that refused to break had just dragged us straight into the heart of the storm.