The door felt heavier than it should have as I pushed it open, stepping into Alpha Kade's office. The scent hit me first pine and sandalwood. Dominance rolling off him in waves that made my wolf whimper and tuck it's tail.
He stood with his back to me, silhouetted against the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked pack lands. Broad shoulders rigid, hands clasped behind his back. Even in stillness, he radiated lethal power.
"Close the door." Came his rough voice.
"Alpha, you summoned"
"Be quiet." He turned, and the full force of his gaze slammed into me.
Hazel eyes. Cold and merciless. They swept over me with such visceral disgust that I actually took a step back. His upper lip curled slightly, as if my very presence fouled the air he breathed.
Whatever I'd expected, it wasn't the pure, concentrated hatred burning in those eyes.
My wolf keened, confused and wounded. We'd done nothing to earn this. Nothing except exist.
"Do you know," he said softly, each word precisely measured, "how much restraint it takes not to throw you out of my territory right now?"
I swallowed hard. "Alpha, I don't understand—"
"I said be quiet." Power rippled through his command, forcing my jaw shut. Alpha authority, undeniable and absolute.
He moved closer, predatory and controlled. Every step deliberate. My instincts screamed at me to submit, to bare my throat, to make myself smaller. But I held his gaze even as my hands trembled at my sides.
"Three days ago," Kade continued, stopping just feet away, "Alpha Theron Blackwood sent an emissary to my border."
My blood went cold. Theron Blackwood. The name alone carried weight—the alpha of the Shadowfang pack, ruthless and expanding his territory through blood and brutality. Packs that refused his offers simply... disappeared.
"He's demanding a meeting. Neutral ground. Seven days from now." Kade's jaw clenched, a muscle ticking beneath the stubble. "He says if I don't comply, he'll consider it an act of war."
Horror crawled up my spine, but confusion quickly followed. "I don't understand what this has to do with—"
"He wants you." The words cracked like a whip. "Specifically. By name. He'll withdraw his threat, leave our borders alone, provide safe passage and trade agreements for the next decade. All for one thing."
The world tilted.
"He wants you delivered to him in seven days, or he'll burn this pack to the ground to take you himself."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. "That's... that's impossible. I don't even know him. I've never"
"Don't lie to me." Kade's voice dropped to a lethal whisper, and suddenly he was in my space, towering over me. The hatred in his eyes intensified until it was almost a physical force. "What did you do? What secrets have you been selling? What bargain did you make with that monster?"
"Nothing! I swear on my life, I've never even met Alpha Blackwood!"
"Then explain to me," he snarled, "why the most dangerous alpha in three territories knows your name. Knows you're here. Wants you badly enough to threaten war." He leaned closer, and I could see the gold flecks in his irises, the barely leashed violence. "Explain to me why I shouldn't just hand you over right now and be done with it."
My wolf howled in despair. Not just at the threat, but at the loathing emanating from him. This was our alpha. Our—
No. Not ours. He'd made that abundantly clear.
"I can't explain it," I whispered, my breath shaky, my eyes teary even though I tried to blink back my tears, I couldn't appear weak in front of the alpha no matter what, instead I exhaled and said "I don't know why he wants me. But I'm not a traitor. I would never"
"Spare me." He turned away sharply, returning to his desk. When he faced me again, his expression had gone cold. Calculated. "The pack council meets tomorrow night. They'll want answers. They'll want to know why I'm even considering protecting someone who's brought this threat to our door."
"Protecting?" The word escaped before I could stop it. "You just said you wanted to hand me over."
Something flickered in his eyes too fast to read. "What I want is irrelevant. I'm alpha. I don't abandon pack members without cause, no matter how much I..." He stopped himself, fingers curling into fists on the desk. "You'll attend the meeting. You'll answer their questions. And if I find even a hint that you've brought this on us deliberately..."
He didn't finish the threat. He didn't need to.
"Until then, you're confined to pack grounds. Rowan will be assigned as your guard."
"Rowan?" The name sent an unexpected shiver down my spine.
Kade's eyes narrowed dangerously, catching something in my reaction. "Is that a problem?"
"No, Alpha."
"Good. Because if you run, if you try to leave, I will hunt you down myself. And I will deliver you to Blackwood personally just to watch whatever happens next." The promise in his voice was darker than any threat. "Do you understand me?"
I forced myself to nod, not trusting my voice.
"Get out of my sight."
I turned toward the door on shaking legs, but his voice stopped me one more time.
"One more thing." I glanced back. The hatred had dimmed slightly, replaced by something almost worse cold curiosity. "Blackwood's message included a detail. He said you'd know why he wants you. That you've always known."
My heart stuttered. "That's not"
"Seven days," Kade interrupted. "Figure it out. Because if you can't give me answers, I'll have no choice but to consider his offer."
The dismissal was clear. I stumbled out of his office, barely making it three steps down the hall before my legs gave out. I caught myself against the wall, gasping.
Why would Alpha Blackwood want me?
And more terrifying still why did some buried part of me whisper that Kade was right?
That I should know why.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Heavy. Measured. I looked up to find a man approaching tall, dark-haired, with amber eyes that seemed to see straight through me. A jagged scar ran from his temple to his jaw.
Rowan. The pack's head enforcer.
"So," he said, his voice hoarse."You're the one causing all the trouble."
He extended a hand to help me up, and when our fingers touched, something sparked between us. His eyes widened fractionally—the first crack in his otherwise impassive expression.
But he said nothing about it. Instead, he released my hand and stepped back, his face returning to that unreadable mask.
"Come on," he said gruffly. "Alpha wants you under watch until the council meeting. That means you're with me."
"I'm not a prisoner," I said, finding my voice.
"No?" His amber eyes pinned me. "Could've fooled me. You're confined to pack grounds, can't leave without permission, and have a personal guard. Sounds like a prisoner to me."
I wanted to argue, but he was right. I pushed off the wall, steadying myself. "Where are we going?"
"Your quarters. You'll stay there until summoned." He turned and began walking, clearly expecting me to follow.
I hurried to keep pace with his long strides. "Rowan, I need you to believe me. I don't know why Blackwood wants me. I've never—"
"Doesn't matter what I believe," he cut me off. "Matters what the council believes. What the alpha believes."
"And what about what's true?"
He stopped so abruptly I nearly crashed into his back. When he turned to face me, something flickered in those amber depths. "Truth is a luxury in times of war. Right now, you're a liability. My job is to make sure that liability doesn't run or cause more problems."
The words stung, but before I could respond, a familiar voice called out.
"There you are!"
Elena came running down the corridor, her blonde hair flying behind her, concern etched across her face. My best friend since we were children, she was one of the few people in this pack who'd never looked at me with suspicion.
"Elena—" I started, but she threw her arms around me, pulling me into a fierce hug.
"I heard," she whispered against my shoulder. "The whole pack house is talking about it. About Blackwood's demand. About you."
I hugged her back my eyes tearing up again , grateful for the contact, the support. When we pulled apart, her green eyes were bright with unshed tears.
"You can't let them give you to him," she said urgently. "You can't. Everyone knows what Blackwood does to"
"That's enough," Rowan interrupted, his voice carrying authority. "This isn't the place for this conversation."
Elena glared at him. "She's my friend. I have a right to—"
"Your friend is under alpha's orders. She goes to her quarters. Now." His tone brooked no argument.
We'd almost made it back to my quarters when a commotion near the pack house caught our attention. A crowd had gathered—wolves in human form, all talking at once, their voices raised in what sounded like alarm.
"What's going on?" Elena whispered.
"I don't know. Stay back. We're not supposed to"
But then the crowd parted, and I saw Elder Mariah standing on the pack house steps. She was ancient easily over two hundred years old with silver hair and milky eyes that could still somehow see more than most wolves with perfect vision. She served as the pack's seer and spiritual advisor.
And right now, she looked terrified.
"Silence!" Alpha Kade's voice cut through the noise. I couldn't see him through the crowd, but his Alpha command was unmistakable. Every wolf immediately went quiet.
"Elder Mariah," Kade continued, his voice tight. "Repeat what you just told me. So the whole pack can hear."
The old woman's hands trembled as she raised them, her voice cracking with age and fear.
"I have seen it in the flames," she said, her words carrying across the suddenly silent crowd. "A prophecy, given to me by the Moon Goddess herself."
My blood ran cold. Prophecies were rare. And they were never, ever good news.
"The Mating Solstice approaches," Elder Mariah continued. "And with it comes a test. The Moon Goddess has decreed that any wolf who finds their true mate during the Solstice must accept the bond. No mate can be rejected. No bond can be broken."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. That was unusual but not unheard of. Mate bonds were sacred.
But then Elder Mariah's voice dropped lower, heavy with dread.
"Should any wolf reject their mate during the Mating Solstice whether through words, actions, or denial of the bond a curse will fall upon this pack. A sickness will spread through our bloodlines. Our wolves will weaken. Our young will sicken. Our strength will fade."
The crowd erupted into chaos. Wolves shouted questions, their voices overlapping in panic and confusion.
"How long will the sickness last?"
"What kind of illness?"
"Why would the Moon Goddess curse us?"
"Enough!" Alpha Kade's command silenced them again. "Elder Mariah, is there more?"
The old seer's milky eyes seemed to look directly at me across the distance, though I knew that was impossible. She couldn't even see me from where she stood.
Could she?
"One more thing," she whispered, though somehow her voice carried to every ear. "The wolf who rejects their mate will not know they are the cause. The sickness will strike without warning, without mercy, and without cure. Only when the rejected bond is accepted will the pack be saved."
She swayed on her feet, and two guards rushed forward to steady her. "That is all the Moon Goddess revealed. May she have mercy on us all."