Chapter 1

Rain hammered the rooftop of the old warehouse on the edge of the city like it was trying to wash away the evidence of bloodshed committed and about to be committed that night.

Lachlan Livingston crouched behind a rusted ventilation unit, chest heaving with each ragged breath. Broad shoulders bunched under a soaked tactical jacket, obsidian-black hair plastered to his forehead, dripping into glowing eyes—a fierce, molten amber that cut through the dark like twin searchlights. His hands— morphed into an inhuman shape, large, covered in dark fur, and tipped with extended, bone-white claws that scraped against the gravel rooftop.

Seraphina lay a few feet away, her breathing shallow and wet, blood spreading across the concrete beneath her in a dark, glistening pool that the rain kept trying to dilute.

A masked attacker lunged from the shadows, flamethrower roaring to life. The jet of fire cut through the downpour like a blade of pure hate.

Lachlan roared and slammed into the man shoulder-first, driving him back several steps. The flamethrower swung wildly. Lachlan caught the barrel with one hand, the heat searing his palm instantly, and wrenched it aside with every ounce of Alpha strength he possessed. The attacker swung a fist. Lachlan ducked and drove his claws into the man’s side, ripping through fabric and flesh in a spray of blood.

The masked man staggered but did not go down. He twisted the flamethrower back toward Seraphina with desperate speed.

“No!” Lachlan shouted, voice raw.

The flame erupted.

Seraphina screamed as fire engulfed her left side and shoulder. The smell of burning flesh and hair hit Lachlan like a physical blow, cutting through the rain and the night.

He lost all control.

With a savage snarl he tore the mask off the attacker’s face, revealing a human mercenary with cold, empty eyes. Daniel Reyes burst through the rooftop door at the same moment, shifting mid-stride, claws flashing in the rain.

Together they took the man down hard. Lachlan pinned him to the wet concrete while Dan drove a clawed hand through his throat. The attacker convulsed once, gurgled, and went still.

Lachlan was already moving, scrambling across the slick rooftop to Seraphina. He dropped to his knees and gathered her into his arms, shielding her burned side from the rain as best he could with his own body.

“Sera... stay with me. Please. Just stay with me.”

Her face was pale, lips trembling. Half her left side was a mess of raw, blistered skin, the fabric of her clothes fused to the wound. She reached up with her good hand and cupped his cheek, her fingers slick with blood and rain.

“Lachlan,” she choked out, her voice barely a whisper against the storm.

He pressed his forehead to hers, rain mixing with the tears he refused to let fall. “Don’t speak. I have got you.”

“Lead them,” she gasped, her grip on his jaw tightening with a sudden, desperate strength. “You have to be strong.”

“I cannot do this without you.”

Panic flared in her fading eyes. She coughed, a wet rattle echoing in her chest. “The potions,” she wheezed. “He... he took the blood for the potions. Don't let him...”

Lachlan leaned closer. “Who? Sera, who did this?”

Her eyes widened in terror. “The pups... protect the pups from the...”

Her hand slipped from his face. Her eyes fluttered once, then closed for the last time.

The rain continued to fall, washing the blood from the rooftop but doing nothing to ease the raw, broken sound that tore from Lachlan’s throat as he held her tighter, rocking her gently like she might still wake up.

He stayed there for what felt like hours, the rain soaking him to the bone, until Dax finally knelt beside him and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

“She is gone, Alpha,” Dan said quietly, voice thick. “We need to get her home.”

Lachlan did not move at first. When he finally did, it was like lifting the weight of the entire world. He carried Seraphina’s body down from the rooftop himself, refusing to let anyone else touch her. The drive back to the pack house was silent except for the rain on the windshield and the occasional choked sound from the driver’s seat.

******

Three days later.

The funeral was held on a gray, windswept hill overlooking the river. Only the pack and a handful of trusted allies stood around the grave. Seraphina’s casket had already been lowered. The simple headstone read her name and the dates that marked far too short a life.

Lachlan stood at the front, shoulders rigid, hands clasped behind his back. He had not spoken a word during the entire service. Dan stood to his right, silent and watchful. Uncle Harlan stood to his left, face carved from stone.

When the last mourner left, Lachlan remained. The others gave him space, drifting back toward the cars. Only Dan stayed, a few paces behind.

The moment the last engine faded, Lachlan dropped to his knees in the wet grass. His hands pressed into the fresh earth over her grave. A low, guttural sound tore out of him, raw and broken. It was the kind of sound an Alpha should never let anyone hear.

He bowed his head until his forehead touched the ground.

“I failed you,” he whispered. “I should have been faster. I should have protected you. I am sorry, Sera. I am so damn sorry.”

His shoulders shook. Tears he had held back for days finally fell, mixing with the rain. He stayed there for a long time, fingers digging into the dirt as if he could pull her back, as if the earth itself might give her up if he only held on hard enough.

“I promised you revenge,” he said, voice cracking. “I will make whoever did this pay. Every drop of blood they took from you, I will take tenfold. But I don't know how to do this without you. I don't know how to lead them when every time I close my eyes I see you burning.”

He stayed on his knees until the rain turned to a drizzle and the sky began to darken. When he finally stood, his face was wet but his eyes were dry again. The grief had been released in private, where no one could see the Alpha break.

Dan stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “The elders are waiting at the house.”

Lachlan wiped his face with the back of his hand and nodded once. “Tell them I am coming.”

Dan did not move. He swallowed hard, his grip tightening on Lachlan’s shoulder. “Alpha... they did not come alone.”

Lachlan froze. He turned his head slowly. “Explain.”

“They brought Kaia Thorne,” Dan said quietly. “The daughter of the rival Alpha.”

Lachlan felt a cold fury replace his grief. “Why is she here?”

“They are demanding you mate her tonight,” Dan answered. “They said a pack cannot survive without a Luna. If you refuse, they will invoke the old laws and strip you of your authority. You will be Alpha in name only, and the elders will rule the pack.”