Dr. Hope Stevens is a dedicated trauma surgeon in the quiet mountain town of Black Hollow. Her entire existence is rooted in logic and science. But when she is taken against her will to tend to rapidly healing wounds of the most attractive man she has ever seen, her world shatters. That man is Malakar Greycloud, the feared and respected Alpha of the Eclipseborn Pack. A ruthless yet fiercely loyal wolf who never expected to find his fated mate in a human that doesn't even believe in the existence of his kind. The pull between the however, is undeniable, raw and dangerous. As Hope is thrust into his world, his pack is anything but welcoming. All they see when they look at her is a weak outsider that puts them at risk. The pack elders insist that Malakar reject her, but his wolf refuses. She belongs to him, and he belongs to her. When Hope looks into his primal eyes and sees the rage that lingers just beneath the surface, she wonders if she can love both sides of him. The strong yet gentle man and the murderous beast that has killed. She can't help but wonder if she's falling for a monster. With a rival pack closing in and a mysterious Hunter tracking their every move, Hope has a decision to make. Will she turn her back on Malakar, or will she step into the darkness with the man who has claimed her soul? Malakar faces his own battle: proving to his pack that Hope is not their greatest weakness, but perhaps their greatest strength.
View MoreHope's POV.
"Try and get some sleep, Hope."
"You can count on it." I wave over my shoulder at Dr. Moore as I rush over to the parking lot. It's pouring with rain and everything is shrouded in a thick, grey blanket of mist. I'm soaked down to my skin by the time I make it to my car.
I've just finished a grueling twelve hour shift as a trauma surgeon at the Black Hollow Medical Center, and I'm dead on my feet. I cannot wait to get back to my apartment, curl up under the covers and sleep.
I'm just about to open my car door when I feel something slip over my head and I'm surrounded by pitch black darkness. A pair of hands close around my arms and it feels like they've been placed in a vice-grip. I try my best to struggle, but the hands have got such a tight grasp on me that it's useless. I barely move. The strong hands move down my arms to my own and they tie a rope around my wrists. The rough, slightly bumpy texture immediately digs into my skin.
"You're coming with us, Doctor." A dangerously raspy voice whispers into my ear.
I'm thrown onto the backseat of a vehicle. I hear two doors being slammed shut and then we speed out of the hospital parking lot with screeching tyres. The vehicle has an awful, musty smell to it. It smells so much like wet dog that I wonder if there might be one in the backseat with me.
I can hear two voices whispering in the front seat. It sounds like they're having a heated argument, even though their voices are low.
"This is a huge mistake, Talon! Malakar is going to kill us both!"
"Malakar won't be around to kill anyone if we don't get him some help! So, shutup and drive!"
I start to panic. I can feel my heart pounding away in my chest. My lungs burn as my breathing becomes more and more rapid. I'm hyperventilating. I think I might be having a full-on panic attack.
Talon? Malakar? What kind of names are those? Malakar is dying from some sort of wound, but he might also kill my two captors? What the hell is going on? Where the hell are they taking me? I have an awful, dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I need to get out of here.
I struggle against the rope around my wrists, but all I manage to do is make it dig deeper into my skin. My breathing grows even more rapid and my chest feels tight. I struggle for air and gasp.
"You better calm her down, Talon. She won't be any use to us if she passes out before we even get there."
I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. It's warm to the touch. Warmer than it should be. The person the hand belongs to, Talon, must be running a massive fever.
"Calm down, Doc. We're not going to hurt you. We just need your help." "Just try to relax."
"Relax! Relax! Let's see how calm you are when someone pulls a bag over your head and drags you into the unknown!" The words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them.
I hear a soft chuckle coming from Talon and he takes his hand away from my shoulder. I'm not sure if it's because of my little outburst, or the gentle, reassureing tone in Talon's voice, but I do feel a little bit calmer. My heart rate and my breathing both start to slow done.
After driving for what feels like hours, the vehicle finally screeches to a stop. Two doors open and then slam shut again. The back door opens and Talon pulls me out of the vehicle again. I still can't see a damn thing, but I know that we must be in the forest somewhere. I can smell the scent of the trees and I can hear the rushing of the river.
Talon ushers me forward gently. I stumble and trip over seemingly nothing. "Can't we just take this damn bag off already? Or do you want me to break my neck before I get to your injured friend?"
I feel a strong tug on my arm and we stop. A jolt of fear shoots through my heart and it falls into my stomach. Maybe I just pissed him off. Then, the bag is pulled from my head and I have to blink a few times to adjust my eyes to the bright light.
I'm shocked by what I see when I finally manage to open them again. I'm in the middle of a very large camp. Multiple tents are pitched up all over the place, and a lot of people are moving around, staring at me with wary, suspicious eyes. These people aren't just camping out, they actually live here. But why? Why would anyone want to live like this? In the middle of nowhere, like savages?
"Come on, Doc. We don't have time to waste." Talon pushes me from behind again.
I jerk my head around to face him and I have to stop myself from gaping. Talon is tall, like really, really tall. And he's massive. His hair is dark and his eyes feel like their staring right into my soul. He has a very primal look about him. I gulp and allow him to lead me in the direction of what looks like a medical tent. I'm not entirely sure if I'm totally terrified or totally arroused by Talon.
Two more large men are standing watch in front of the medical tent. They share a look with Talon as they hold the flaps open for us to enter.
I freeze in my tracks immediately. My breath catches in my throat and I almost choke on it. I blink my eyes once again, not because of the bright light this time, but because I can't believe that what I'm seeing is actually real.
Emory's POV.The mood grows increasingly awkward as we all stand around outside, waiting for Velara and Vladimir to arrive. Malakar and Hope thought it best for everyone to be present before I begin explaining what I know about Hope’s father and the prophecy. I agree with them — I just wish everyone would stop looking at me in a dozen different ways.Hope stares at me like I — and I alone — hold the answers to everything she’s ever questioned about her life. There’s so much expectation etched into her face, it almost breaks my heart. I really feel for her. She might not believe it after everything that’s happened, but I care about her — deeply. She’s my friend. My best friend. The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt her, to betray her trust. But I had no real choice — not when the truth meant risking the safety of my pack… of our entire species. I can only hope she’ll understand that someday — that she’ll be able to forgive me, maybe even trust me again.Malakar keeps his gaze mostly
Hope's POV.Everything I thought I knew was a lie.My father… the man I idolized, trusted, loved beyond words — he was a hunter. A killer. A man who trained to destroy the very people I now call family.And I was supposed to be one too.The thought still feels foreign, unnatural. Like someone’s stitched it into the fabric of my life and tried to convince me it was always there. But it wasn’t. It couldn’t have been. Not in the life I remember — the bedtime stories, the gentle laugh, the way he used to lift me onto his shoulders and call me his "brave little lioness." That man... he wasn’t a killer. He wasn’t a zealot. He wasn’t this cold, brutal person the letters make him out to be.Was he?I wrap my arms around myself as I lie in bed, the covers drawn up to my chin, listening to Malakar as he dresses in the bathroom. Questions haunt me like shadows at my heels — constant, clawing.What made him change? What made him see past the black-and-white his training must have drilled into him
Lucian's POV.I volunteered for a patrol shift this morning.The forest is quiet — too quiet. The kind of silence that presses against your skin like a warning. A thick blanket of grey mist curls low around my boots, veiling the ground in soft obscurity. Moisture clings to everything — the skeletal branches above, the fallen leaves crunching beneath my steps, even the fur of the smaller animals darting through the undergrowth in search of breakfast.I needed the space. Needed time away from everyone. Time to think... to untangle the whirlwind in my head.The prophecy.Those damn words.All this time, I’ve been drowning in anger — rage at Velara. My mother. I resented her for abandoning me, hated her for walking away from me and my father like we were nothing. I could never make peace with it — how she just left.But now...Now it turns out she may never have had a choice. Fate had its own plans for her. Maybe no matter what she did, she would’ve ended up with Vladimir. She would’ve ha
Malachai's POV."So you're saying that Hope doesn't know a thing about any of this. Not about her father - her legacy, what she is and where she comes from? Not about the prophecy? None of it."Izak and I sit close around the fire, warding off some of the early-morning chill as we wait for the sun to make its ascension over the horizon. The forest is still, peaceful - not yet fully awake. So is the rest of camp. Here and there hunters can be seen emerging from their tents, lighting a fire, fixing a cup of coffee, but for the most part - Izak and I are alone.He shakes his head slowly, looking at me with an intense expression on his face. "No, we don't think that she does. As far as we know, she's still very much in the dark about who she really is."I take a moment to consider his answer. "Of course. That was a foolish question. I should know better. If Hope knew - if she had the slightest inkling about her past, or her destiny - she would never lie with those beasts. She would do wha
Malakar's POV.The room has gone quiet - not a single sound can be heard save from the sound of Velara's staggered breathing. The joyous atmosphere from just moments ago completely dissipated.Our mother sits in the far corner, wringing her hands in her lap - eyes unfocused and filled to the brim with unshed tears.Lucian watches her just as he watches Hope and me. His eyes dart wildly from one to the other. His shoulders are tense, his back rigid - jaw tight, unyielding. A strange fire burns behind his wild eyes.Morgana sits on the sofa, stunned. She holds onto Talon's hand as if her life depended on it. Talon keeps his gaze firmly locked on the carpet in front of him, but I can see the wheels spinning - he looks just as intrigued as he does upset by the epic bombshell that Hope dropped on all of us tonight.None of us could have guessed that this night would end like this.I shift my gaze to my mate - to Hope, still standing next to me. She watches all of them carefully, searching
Hope's POV.I smile when I’m supposed to. I laugh when everyone else does. I even manage to win a round of charades when Morgana insists we play as couples. But inside, I feel like I’m slowly coming undone.The room is buzzing with warmth and easy conversation, but I can’t seem to reach it. I sit next to Malakar, his hand occasionally brushing against mine beneath the table — grounding me — but even that doesn’t pull me out of the fog completely. I want to be here. I want to be part of this — this messy, healing, beautiful chaos they’re building back together. Lucian is smiling more than I’ve ever seen him smile. Malakar is laughing — actually laughing. Velara is glowing with something close to peace. And Morgana? She’s in her element, ruling over this strange, blended pack-family with that quiet fierceness only she possesses.But I feel like a ghost sitting among the living. I can’t stop thinking about the letter. The photos. The journal. I’m the daughter of a hunter. No — not just a
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