CHAPTER 001

ODESSA:

The scream tears from my throat before I can stop it.

"Kade!"

I'm running toward the cliff's edge but strong hands grab me from behind, pulling me back. I fight against them, clawing and kicking because I need to get to him, but the beta won't let go.

"Luna, stop! He's gone!" Marcus's voice cracks as he says it.

"No," I shake my head violently. "No, no, no, let me go—"

The mate bond snaps and it feels like someone reached into my chest and ripped out half my soul. The pain is so intense that everything goes black and I collapse in Marcus's arms.

When I wake up, it's three days later and Sarah is sitting beside my bed. She tells me that Kade's body was never found because the fall was too far and the ravine was too deep and the current was too strong.

She tells me the rival pack attacked without warning and that Kade died protecting our territory. She tells me a lot of things but none of it matters because my mate is still gone.

"Two years," I whisper, staring at the ceiling. "We were only mated for two years."

Sarah squeezes my hand gently. "Odessa, you need to eat something before the funeral tomorrow."

"I can't eat," I say, my voice flat.

"You have to try. The pack needs to see you strong."

I don't respond because I don't feel strong at all.

The funeral is held under the full moon because that's our tradition. We honor our fallen shoulders when the Goddess can see us clearly from above. I stand at the front of the gathering in a black dress that feels too tight around my chest, making it hard to breathe.

The worst part is, thery couldn’t even find Kade’s body to bury, my mate is now nothing but a stone marker with his name carved into it.

Kade Alcide. Alpha. Mate. Gone too soon.

Elder Thomas speaks about how Kade was the strongest alpha our pack had seen in generations, how he was brave, honorable, and fierce in battle. I barely hear any of it because the words just blur together into meaningless noise.

Behind me, I can hear pack members whispering to each other about how young Kade was, only twenty-five, and how short our mating was, and what's going to happen to the pack now that we don't have an alpha.

I close my eyes and try to block it all out because I don't care about pack politics right now, I just want—

A collective gasp cuts through the clearing, and my eyes snap open immediately.

"Who is that?" someone whispers.

"Is that?...no, it can't be," another voice says.

"Oh my Goddess," Sarah breathes beside me.

A figure emerges from the tree line, silhouetted against the bright full moon behind him. He's tall and broad-shouldered, and he walks with this confident stride like he knows exactly what kind of entrance he's makin,g and he doesn't care who he's interrupting.

For a second, my heart stops because he looks so much like Kade, with the same dark hair and sharp jawline, and overwhelming presence that I almost think…but no, it's not him.

"Damon," Elder Thomas says, and there's shock written all over his face.

The name hits me like a blow.

Damon Alcide. Kade's older brother. The one who left five years ago after challenging Kade for the alpha position and losing.

They had the most brutal fight anyone in the pack had ever witnessed, brother against brother, ending with Damon being exiled. Kade never talked about him after that because the betrayal cut too deep.

Damon walks straight through the crowd like he owns the place, his eyes scanning everyone with this cold, assessing look until they finally land on me. We stare at each other for what feels like forever, and I notice his eyes are different from Kade's, bright green to his dark brown.

"I've come to claim what's mine," he announces, his voice carrying across the now-silent clearing.

Elder Thomas steps forward carefully. "Damon Alcide, you were exiled five years ago. You have no right to be here…"

"My brother is dead," Damon cuts him off sharply. "That changes everything."

"The pack has not chosen a new alpha yet. There are protocols…"

"I'm the eldest Alcide son," Damon says, his gaze sweeping across the crowd like he's daring anyone to challenge him. "By birthright and blood, the alpha position belongs to me."

Something hot and angry rises in my chest.

How dare he? He's been gone for five years, five whole years, while Kade worked tirelessly to build this pack stronger, protected everyone here, and earned their loyalty and love through his actions. And now Damon just walks back in and thinks he can take it all?

"No," I say, and the word comes out louder than I intended.

Every single person turns to look at me but I don't care. Damon's focus shifts back to my face and one of his eyebrows raises slightly like he's amused.

"No?" he repeats.

"You left," I say, and my voice is shaking but I force myself to keep going. "You abandoned this pack, you abandoned your brother when he needed you. You don't get to just walk back in here like nothing happened and—"

"And what?" He takes a step closer to me. "I'm here now. That's what matters."

"What matters is that you weren't here when we needed you!" The grief and rage that I've been holding back for days comes pouring out. "You weren't here when the Silverfangs attacked our border. You weren't here when Kade fought to protect everyone. You weren't here when he…when he…”

My voice breaks and I can't finish the sentence.

Damon's expression doesn't change at all, like he doesn't even care. "I'm here now," he repeats coldly. "And whether you like it or not, little Luna, you're my responsibility now."

The way he says "my responsibility" makes my skin crawl with something I can't name.

"I'm not your responsibility," I snap back. "I'm not your anything."

"Pack law says differently," he states matter-of-factly, then turns to address the entire crowd. "As of tonight, I claim the Alcide pack as its rightful alpha."