Chapter 1

ELOWYN

Today was either going to be the happiest day of my life, or the day my worst fears came to pass.

Today was the day that the blind son of our alpha, Kieran Fenralson, was going to choose a mate to continue the lineage of his father.

And I hoped to the goddess that it would be me.

But even as I stood there, watching the elders begin to assemble, their expressions fiery and unreadable, I knew I was wishing for stars.

The alpha wouldn’t go for an absolute nobody like me. Not when there were other powerful females in the pack. Women with wolves that answered when they called. Women who could fight beside him, lead beside him. Women who could win wars.

I was born without a wolf. With no strength, gift or power. If war broke out right now, I’d be the first to die.

And yet... I dared to hope Alpha Kieran would choose me? Was I mental? 

A man with oiled skin and muscles that rippled as he moved stepped to the cusp of the ridge and clanked the cymbals in his hands. The sharp sound sliced through the air, and the crowd went eerily silent.

Then one of the elders stepped forward. Elder Varnor. He was the oldest in the pack. His hair was white, and his goatee reached all the way to his chest. 

Our alpha king, Jacob Fenralson was not present. He was now very old, and had been bedridden for months, which was the more reason why this had to happen. 

“Blood,” he called out. “We gather here where the ridge meets the sky, to witness Alpha Kieran choose a mate for himself. As we all know, Alpha Kieran was brutally wounded in battle and can no longer recognize his true mate. The bond is silent in him.”

There was a murmur across the crowd. But Elder Varnor raised a hand and continued.

“Tonight, he shall choose, not by bond, but by instinct. By scent. By the rhythm of the heart. The unmated women of age shall dance around him, and he shall feel them, until he is certain of who he wants to settle for.”

And with that, Elder Varnor stepped back and the murmur returned. 

The oiled man returned, this time with drummers behind him. Their chests were bare, and the mark of the Ornyth pack was drawn on their foreheads, dark and bold.

They began to drum. Low at first, then louder. The sound sent a tremble through the earth. The murmurs faded. Tension pulled the crowd into a hush.

And then, he stepped forward.

Alpha Kieran.

He held a cane in one hand, and a wolfbone scepter on the other. His upper body was bare, broad chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths. His exposed skin was lined with the scars of his last battle. Marks I had been privileged to see up close. Wounds I had tended with my own trembling hands.

Despite the cane, his movements were sure. His stride confident.

His unseeing eyes scanned the crowd like they could see. For a moment, it felt like they landed on me. Those stormy grey eyes... they locked with mine.

My breath caught.

For one insane moment, I let hope bloom in my chest.

Maybe... maybe he had come for me. After weeks of caring for him, dressing his wounds when no one else would. After all those nights, maybe he remembered. Maybe he knew.

As he began to move in my direction, my heart slammed hard against my ribs. This was really gonna happen! 

But then, someone shoved me hard. 

I turned, stumbling slightly, only to see her.

Sabrina. 

Those wicked green eyes glaring at me like poison.

“Come with me,” she said, voice cold. “You have something I need.”

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed my wrist and began to drag me away from the crowd.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, struggling against her grip. But she was stronger. 

“You’ll see soon enough.”

I turned my head, scanning the crowd with panic in my chest. But all I saw was the Alpha turning away, his body shifting, his cane tapping as he moved in another direction.

He hadn’t seen me.

Of course not.

He was blind.

Sabrina pulled me behind a thick tree. We were completely hidden from the ceremony now. From everything.

“Give me your dress,” she said.

I blinked. “What?”

“Your dress,” she snapped. “Give it to me.”

“Why?” My voice shook.

“Because you’re pathetic. You think just because you snuck into his room while he was injured, you actually stand a chance?” Her green eyes glittered with something cruel. “What do you think the elders will say when I tell them you’re the reason he’s blind?”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

“He was healing,” she said softly. “Until you started sneaking in. With your strange concoctions. You’re the pack doctor's daughter, you know how herbs work.”

“I gave him no concoctions,” I whispered. “I was only tending his wounds because no one else would. Everyone was scared to get close to him, afraid that he would kill them.”

“Exactly,” she hissed. “And when I tell the elders that’s when the infection spread, who do you think they’ll believe?”

I stared at her, helpless.

“So,” she continued, “Give me your dress. And maybe, I'll keep your dirty little secret.”

I bit down on my lip. Hard. My hands trembled.

If she told the elders what she claimed... they’d believe her. I was the pack doctor's daughter. I knew different herbs that could cure and could harm. And I’d be punished for something I didn’t do.

“Fine,” I whispered. “Take it.”

I removed my clothes slowly, numbly, and handed them to her. She stripped with no shame and handed me hers.

Sabrina pulled my dress on, smoothed her hair, and without another word, disappeared toward the ridge.

I stood there, numb.

By the time I returned to the edge of the clearing, Alpha Kieran was still moving through the women. He didn’t see them. But he smelled them. Felt them.

He paused and sniffed once. And then, again. 

Then, slowly, he began to move toward where Sabrina stood.

He stopped in front of her.

Leaning forward, he inhaled the scent of the gown she wore, my scent. And then, he smiled. A satisfied, soft smile. And my heart shattered. 

He reached out and took her hand. And the crowd exploded.

Cheers. Howls. Joy. The alpha's son had chosen a mate. 

Pain unlike anything I'd ever felt tore through me. I opened my mouth to cry out, but the sound never came. It stayed stuck in my throat as Sabrina tilted her chin proudly and stood beside him, claiming the place that should have been mine.