Chapter 3

MIRA

I could not stop thinking about the strange dream I had. I smoothed down the rough fabric of the simple linen dress Luciana had tossed at me, my mind spinning with the vivid images of the dream I just had. I had never seen that courtyard or those people in my entire life. Why did I call those people my parents? They were clearly royals.

I was just an orphan omega who had cleaned floors and archived records in the Silver Crest pack since infancy.

I shook my head hard, trying to banish the lingering memory of the woman’s silk sleeve and the man’s golden crown.

It was just a weird nightmare. It had to be a hallucination, a strange trick of my subconscious mind brought on by the terror of Alpha King Asher’s arrival. I chalked the entire thing up to being a bad dream because of the monster waiting for me downstairs.

The guards outside my bedroom door were busy arguing about the size of the royal escort arriving at the border. Taking advantage of their distraction, I slipped out through the narrow back kitchen door. I needed to breathe before they officially carried me away to the king’s pack forever.

I ran toward the western edge of the pack lands, my bare feet sinking into the cool, damp moss of the forest floor.

I got to my favorite spot in the entire pack. It was a cliff overlooking s river. It was also the highest point in the pack but people rarely came here it was the only place in the territory where I could speak without the pack watching my every move or judging my lack of a wolf.

I stepped onto the flat stone, the wind whipping my long hair across my face. The deep, heavy roar of the water below filled my ears, matching the storm brewing inside my chest. The rejection from Richard still burned, but the betrayal from the entire pack leadership burned hotter. They were selling me like a piece of livestock.

"I hope this entire territory burns to the ground!" I screamed into the open air, my voice cracking with pure rage.

I kicked a jagged loose stone off the edge, watching it fall into the water below. My voice echoed through but at this point I didn’t care who heard me, I just wanted to let out my frustration.

"Richard is a pathetic, cowardly bastard! I hope he lives a miserable life." I yelled at the trees, my fists clenched tightly at my sides until my fingernails bit into my palms.

"I curse them both with the moon sickness and I hope they both burn in hell! Fucking weakling!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I took a deep, ragged breath, the scent of damp earth and pine filling my nose, but it did nothing to calm my racing heart. My thoughts turned to the monster who was currently sitting in our pack house, waiting to claim me like a trophy of war.

"And Alpha King Asher can go straight to hell too!" I shouted louder, my chest heaving against the tight fabric of my dress.

"Everyone talks about him like he is some terrifying god, but he is just a ruthless, brainless tyrant. He probably has to buy an omega because no sane woman can stand to be near him. I don't care how strong or powerful people say he is. He is a monster who thrives on tormenting people smaller than him."

Hot tears of frustration finally spilled over my eyelashes, rolling down my cheeks. I wiped them away roughly with the back of my hand, glaring out over the tree canopy.

"If that stupid king thinks I am going to bow down to him and play the role of his obedient little Luna, he is completely wrong," I spat, my voice dripping with venom.

"He is an arrogant, judgmental piece of garbage, and I will make his life an absolute living nightmare the moment he touches me. They are all monsters. Every single one of them and I will make sure to kill them all."

"You have an incredibly loud mouth for such a tiny, defenseless female," a deep, incredibly smooth voice rumbled from behind me.

I froze instantly.

The air trapped itself inside my throat, and my heart jumped violently into my chest. The absolute shock of the voice hit me like a physical blow to the stomach, making my knees go completely weak. I hadn't smelled anyone approaching. I hadn't heard a single twig snap over the sound of the river.

I spun around slowly on the limestone rock, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps. My eyes widened in pure terror as I took in the man standing at the edge of the clearing.

He was leaning casually against the thick trunk of an old cedar tree, his massive frame completely dominating the space. He was at least six feet four inches tall, with a broad, powerful build that stretched clothing.

He was handsomer than any man I had ever seen in my life, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he had heard everything I said and he was probably from the alpha king’s convoy because I had never seen him in out pack and he had just heard me insult the alpha king.

A cold sweat broke out across the back of my neck. He had been standing there. He had heard everything. He had heard me call the future Alpha of my pack a cowardly bastard, and worse, he had heard me call the supreme ruler of the entire werewolf kingdom a ruthless, brainless tyrant who belonged in hell.

The man didn't move from the tree, but his golden eyes slowly traveled down my body, scanning my disheveled hair, my tear-stained face, and my bare feet. A slow, incredibly dangerous smirk touched the corners of his lips.

"Tell me, does the Alpha King know you think so highly of him, or is this a compliment you usually save for the woods?" the stranger rumbled, his deep voice sending a terrifying shiver straight down my spine.

My jaw went completely slack, and icy dread settled deep into my stomach. I was caught. I was completely, utterly caught insulting the highest authority in the land, and the sheer power radiating from this man told me my life was in immediate, fatal danger.