Chapter 1

The moon was bright over the clearing. I stood there waiting for Tore, my hands shaking. My heart beat really fast. Tonight would decide everything.

"He's coming," I whispered. "He has to come."

Three hours. I waited three hours for him to make his decision about our mate bond. The pack elders said he needed time to think. Time to consider what accepting me would mean.

What it always meant. Death.

I heard footsteps in the grass. My breath stopped as Tore came out from behind some buildings, but he wasn't alone. Elder Morio walked beside him, along with four other pack members. Witnesses.

My stomach felt sick. You don't bring witnesses for good news.

"Kiera." Tore's voice cracked when he said my name. He couldn't look at me. His eyes kept moving to the ground, to the buildings, anywhere but my face.

"Tore." I stepped toward him, but he backed away like I was dangerous. "You came."

"I had to." He cleared his throat and stood up straight. "The pack... everyone needs to hear this officially."

Elder Morio moved forward, holding an old ceremonial blade. The rejection blade.

"State your intentions, Beta Tore," Morio said.

Tore's hands shook as he reached for the blade. "I... everyone was saying..."

"Speak clearly," Morio snapped. "The moon sees everything."

"Everyone was saying the curse, Kiera." Tore's words came out fast and scared me. "Three mates died! Three! Silas died in that hunting accident just two weeks after he accepted you. Then David got killed by rogues. And Wesley..." He shook. "Wesley just dropped dead. No reason. Nothing."

"Those weren't my fault!" The words tore out of my throat. "You know those weren't my fault!"

"How can I know that?" Tore's voice got loud, panic in every word. "How can anyone know that? I'm twenty-three years old, Kiera. I have my whole life ahead of me. I can't... I won't be the fourth."

"Please, Tore." I reached for him again, desperate. "You know me. You've known me since we were kids. You know I'm not cursed. Don't listen to them!"

"But what if they're right?" Tears ran down his face now. "What if accepting you means I'm going to die? I'm sorry, Kiera. I'm so sorry, but I can't do this."

He took the ceremonial blade from Morio with shaking hands. The metal looked bright in the moonlight as he held it between us.

"I, Tore Almond of the Duskhaven Pack, formally reject you, Kiera Thorne, as my mate. " His voice broke completely. "I reject the bond between us. I reject any claim you have on my heart, my body, my soul."

The words hurt me badly. Each one broke something inside my chest. The mate bond, weak since it was so new, snapped completely. Pain went through me and I doubled over.

"Tore, please don't do this," I said, but he was already cutting his hand with the blade.

"I seal this rejection with my blood." He let the red drops fall onto the ground between us. "Let the moon goddess see that I choose my life over this bond."

The ceremony was done. Elder Morio. My fourth rejected mate bond in three years.

I stood up slowly, wiping tears from my face. The pack members who came to watch were already whispering.

"Fourth rejection," someone said quietly. "Has to be a record."

"Poor girl doesn't understand what she is," another voice said. "Someone should put her out of her misery."

"Who's going to tell her she's untouchable now?" That was Rebecca, the pack gossip. "No one will risk it after this."

"Rebecca," I called out, my voice steadier than I felt. "If you have something to say about me, say it to my face."

She stepped forward with a mean smile. "Fine. You're cursed, Kiera. Everyone knows it. Four mates, and look how it ended. Three dead, one smart enough to run."

"I never hurt anyone,"

"Didn't you?" Rebecca's voice was fake sweet. "Sailas, David, Wesley. All dead within months of accepting you. That's not a coincidence, honey. That's a pattern."

"A pattern of bad luck,"

"Call it whatever you want." Rebecca shrugged. "But the result is the same. You're poison to any male who gets close to you. Tore just saved his own life."

"She's right," said Thomas, another pack member. "My wife told me I can't even talk to you alone. Said she won't lose her husband to the cursed mate."

"Cursed mate." The words tasted awful in my mouth. "That's what you all call me now."

"That's what you are," Rebecca said bluntly. "Face reality, Kiera. No one in this pack will ever risk accepting you now. You're going to die alone."

"Maybe that's for the best," Thomas said quietly. "End the bloodline before it spreads."

My hands made fists. "Get away from me. All of you, get away from me right now!"

"Or what? Haha!" Rebecca burst to laughter. "You'll curse us too?"

Before I could answer, I heard cars coming. Heavy engines, multiple vehicles. The entire clearing went silent as headlights came through the pack territory.

"What the hell?" Elder Morio looked toward the main road. "Who's coming here at this hour?"

Three black cars rolled into the clearing, with dark windows that hid whoever was inside.

The first car door opened, and a huge man got out. He wore all black clothes that looked more like armor than regular clothes. Two other men got out of the other cars, just as scary.

"Oh shit!" Tore whispered, backing away from me. "Oh shit! oh shit! oh shit!"

"What?" I looked between him and the new guys. "Who are they?"

Elder Morio stood up straight, but I could see he was scared. "Grimshaw enforcers."

My blood went cold. The Grimshaw pack. The triplet Alphas who controlled half the territory in this area. Stories about them spread through every pack. Stories about power, violence, and debts that always got paid back.

The lead enforcer walked up to our group, his cold eyes looking at each of us before stopping on Morio.

"Elder Morio," the man said in a voice like rocks grinding together. "We're looking for Alpha Finnick."

"He's... he's at the pack house," Morio stammered. "What's this about?"

"You know what this is about." The enforcer's smile had no warmth. "The debt. Payment was due three months ago."

"Debt?" I looked at Morio, confused. "What debt?"

Nobody answered me. The pack members were all looking at the ground and backing away slowly.

"Alpha Finnick has been avoiding our calls," the enforcer continued. "The Grimshaw brothers don't like being ignored."

"I'm sure there's been some mistake," Morio said weakly.

"No mistake." The enforcer pulled out a tablet, looking through documents. "Finnick borrowed two million dollars from the Grimshaw pack eighteen months ago. Promised to pay back two and half a million within a year. That deadline passed three months ago."

Two million dollars? My head spun. Our pack barely had enough money to keep the territory we had.

"We'll need to speak with Finnick immediately," the enforcer said. "Alpha Finnick, the debt is due. Tonight. No extensions."

Like he heard those words, another car roared into the clearing. Finnick's truck stopped hard, and our Alpha jumped out, his face white with panic.

"Gentlemen," Finnick called out, walking toward the enforcers trying to look calm. "I wasn't expecting you tonight."

"Were you expecting us at all?" the lead enforcer asked. "You've been avoiding our calls for weeks."

"I've been... working on the payment situation."

"Working on it?" The enforcer's voice went deadly quiet. "Alpha Finnick, two and half a million dollars doesn't work itself out. It gets paid."

Finnick's eyes moved around the clearing, looking at all the people watching his shame. When he looked at me, something changed in his face. Something calculating.

"I understand the urgency," Finnick said slowly. "And I believe I have a solution that will satisfy the Grimshaw brothers."

The enforcer raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

Finnick stared directly at me, and my stomach dropped. The look in his eyes was the same look he gave cattle before selling them.

"The debt can be paid in full," Finnick said. "But not with money."

"Alpha Finnick," I whispered, with fear. "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer me. He kept his eyes on the Grimshaw enforcer.

"What exactly are you proposing?" the enforcer asked.

"I'm proposing a trade."