Chapter 1

I felt it the moment he stepped into the circle.

My pulse spiked, my wolf stirred beneath my skin, and the air thickened with a strange, electric pull that wrapped around my chest like a chain. One look at him, and I knew.

The bond had formed.

And I wanted nothing to do with it.

The moon hung high in the sky, full and unforgiving, casting silver light over the sacred ground. The scent of burning herbs mixed with the cool night breeze as my pack knelt in reverence, waiting for their mates to be revealed.

I hadn’t planned to stay long.

The annual Moon Ceremony had never meant anything to me. Every year, I stood here like a statue — the Alpha with no mate, no weakness, no need for one. I didn’t believe in fate. I believed in strength.

But the Moon Goddess clearly had other plans tonight.

He stepped into the circle barefoot, dressed in tattered jeans and a blood-stained shirt, eyes wide and dazed like he’d wandered out of a dream. Or a nightmare.

The crowd parted around him in confusion. No one knew who he was. He wasn’t one of us.

But the moment our eyes met, I felt the bond snap into place — real, raw, and impossible to ignore.

I staggered back a step before I caught myself.

No. This couldn’t be happening. Not to me.

Murmurs rippled through the circle.

“Who is that?”

“He’s not part of our pack…”

“Why is the Alpha—?”

“Silence!” I barked, and the crowd instantly obeyed.

I could feel every pair of eyes on me, waiting to see what I’d do. I was Alpha Selene Blackthorn. The youngest female Alpha in the region. Feared. Respected. Untouchable.

And now fate had given me a mate.

A rogue one, at that.

The stranger’s gaze darted around the circle, landing back on me with something that looked like panic. “I… I don’t know where I am. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“You didn’t intrude,” I said sharply. “You were brought here.”

He looked at me like he didn’t understand.

I didn’t blame him. I didn’t understand either. My wolf was howling with recognition, clawing inside my chest to get closer to him — and I was fighting every instinct to run in the opposite direction.

“I’m Selene Blackthorn,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack.”

The stranger swallowed hard. “Liam. Just… Liam.”

Of course. No last name. No pack. No status. Just a name and a bond I didn’t want.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady the chaos inside me. I could feel the mate pull surging between us, alive and pulsing with every heartbeat. My wolf didn’t care that he was weak. She only knew he was ours.

I wanted to scream.

“This is a mistake,” I said under my breath.

But the Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. That’s what the Elders always said. When the bond forms, it is sacred. Eternal.

Unbreakable — unless rejected.

And rejection came with a price.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Liam said again, quieter now. “Why do I feel… this?”

I stepped forward, keeping my voice steady. “It’s the mate bond. You were chosen.”

He blinked. “By who?”

I stared at him for a long moment. “By the moon.”

He flinched like I’d struck him.

I wasn’t gentle. I wasn’t going to pretend this was a dream come true. My entire life, I had fought to earn respect in a world that believed only males were strong enough to lead. I had spilled blood to protect this pack. I didn’t have time for a mate. Especially not one who looked like a stray.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I muttered.

His shoulders slumped. “Neither did I.”

For a moment, we just stood there — two strangers pulled together by something ancient and unstoppable. I could feel his emotions like whispers in the back of my mind. Fear. Confusion. And something else. Something softer. He didn’t want to be here… but he wasn’t running.

That unsettled me more than anything.

“Selene.” My Beta, Mira, approached cautiously. “Do you want me to remove him?”

My eyes narrowed. Remove him? That would be easy. Clean. Expected.

But my wolf growled in protest, and a sharp pain shot through my chest.

No. We couldn’t hurt him. Not without hurting ourselves.

“He stays,” I said. “Take him to the guest wing. He’ll be under watch.”

Mira hesitated. “Are you sure—?”

“I said he stays.”

Liam looked at me, surprised. I didn’t look back.

Later That Night…

The moon had lowered, but sleep didn’t come. I paced my room like a caged animal, restless and burning with tension I couldn’t shake.

I could feel him in the house. One floor below me. Breathing. Alive.

Connected to me in a way I couldn’t explain or control.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face. Not because I wanted to. Because the bond forced it.

A knock echoed from my door.

I didn’t hesitate. “Come in.” 

He stepped inside slowly, barefoot, clean now, his hair damp from a shower. His shirt was too big, borrowed from one of the guards. His eyes met mine, and the pull hit again — strong enough to make my breath catch.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “For causing trouble.”

“You didn’t cause this,” I said, my voice tight. “The moon did.”

He nodded. “I don’t even know who I am. Where I came from. I just… woke up in the forest two days ago. Like everything before that was a blank.”

I studied him, my Alpha instincts warning me to stay cautious — but my heart... traitorous heart… leaned closer.

“You’re not weak,” I said finally. “But you’re not ready.”

“For what?”

“To be mine.”

He flinched, then whispered, “But I am yours."

The words sent shivers through me.