Chapter 1

I lay in bed, my eyes heavy with the weight of sleep. Moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting an eerie glow in the room. My dreams had always been filled with moonlit encounters, with a shadowy figure standing amidst the silver beams. It was him, Lucien Blackthorn, the man I had rejected as my mate. Night after night, he had haunted my subconscious, reaching out with desperate arms, his gray eyes imploring me to accept him.

But tonight was different. It was the first time in years I'd seen him in my dreams, and I had almost forgotten the depth of his anguish, the torment etched into his chiseled features as he begged for my love.

"I, Corrigan Price, hereby reject you, Lucien Blackthorn as my mate," I declared, my voice echoing through the moonlit clearing.

Lucien's shoulders slumped, and a heart-wrenching anguish overcame his striking features. "Corrigan, please," he whispered, but the words seemed to dissolve in the night air.

With a sudden jolt, I awakened, gasping for breath. My palm clutched my chest as if to calm the wild thudding of my heart. The room was dark, but darkness was the least of my worries.

It had been three long years since that night. Three years since I had watched Lucien get exiled from our pack, our future torn asunder. Two years since my dreams stopped torturing me.

But why had he come back now, invading my dreams like an unwelcome phantom? The memories were back, as vivid as the night it had happened. I bit my lip, running my hands through my tangled auburn hair.

"Would he come back? Like he’d sworn to?" I wondered, my thoughts a whirlwind of fear and confusion.

"For your sake, I hope I die in exile because the day I return, you will pay," Lucien's last words still echoed in my mind. I shuddered, desperate to block them out.

"Your wedding is tomorrow, Corrigan," I muttered to myself, trying to distract my thoughts. I was engaged to Dante, the Alpha of the Black Crest pack, my pack. Tomorrow, our engagement would be sealed, and I would become Luna. But all I felt was dread, a suffocating weight in my chest.

Nobody knew Dante like I did. The things he was capable of, the secrets he held. Tomorrow, we would bind ourselves in an unholy matrimony, and my destiny would be sealed.

As I lay in the cool embrace of my bed, I closed my eyes, hoping for the respite of sleep. But just as I started to drift, a soft voice whispered in my mind, a voice I hadn't heard in two long years.

"I'm back, pet."

Three Years Ago

My mother's voice had pierced through my drowsy state. "Smile, darling. You look like a corpse." Her hushed words carried a note of irritation, and I forced a smile, hoping to appear joyful at the Full Moon fete. The week-long celebration of the full moon demanded my presence as the Beta's daughter, and I played my part dutifully. But after eighteen years of celebration, it had all grown painfully mundane.

I watched the dancing, the music, and the merriment unfold before my eyes, feeling disconnected from it all. Dante, the current Alpha, sat beside his Luna, Anneliese, and I wondered how someone so young and pleasant could be so submissive.

He was handsome, they said, but in a bland, predictable way. I didn't have a particular type. I was content to let fate decide my mate. I had seen members of our pack find happiness without falling for their mates. Maybe I'd be one of them.

Looking up at the full moon, I silently prayed, "When will I meet him, moon goddess? Please, let him be handsome and kind." My wishes were simple. But the moon offered no reply.

My mother's glare snapped me out of my reverie. "Falling asleep during the ceremony, Corrigan?"

I blushed and mumbled, "I wasn’t falling asleep. I need some fresh air."

Without waiting for my mother's approval, I stood and hastily left the pack house. Shaking my hair free from its styled constraints, I ventured into the woods behind our dwelling. To many, it might have appeared eerie, but to me, it was a haven, especially under the full moon.

I knew I shouldn't worry so much about finding my mate, especially since I had only shifted a few months ago. But the worry nagged at me. What if I ended up like those she-wolves in their thirties who never found their mates? What if I never had one, or what if I ended up like Dante's playthings?

Suddenly, my wolf, Crystal, became restless, scraping at the surface of my consciousness. "Run," the wolf urged.

I glanced around, confusion in my eyes. "Run where?" I whispered.

"Run," Crystal repeated, the urgency in her voice driving me to take off. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I raced through the forest, feet pounding on the earth, twigs and leaves crunching beneath me.

Crystal's restlessness made me almost laugh with exhilaration as I scaled trees and leaped from one to another. When my wolf finally settled, I slowed down, leaning against a tree, my chest heaving as I caught my breath.

A short distance away, nearly half a mile down, I spotted a river. A figure stood there, a male, and he was completely naked.

Gasping, I hid behind a shrub, silently cursing my wolf's choice of a hiding spot. I couldn't believe my luck. Here I was, attempting to hide, right in front of a male from our pack, completely exposed.

The man had a strong, muscular back, illuminated by the moonlight, giving him an aura of darkness and mystery. My gaze drifted downward, captivated by his form.

I had lived a sheltered life, thanks to my mother's watchful eye, and had never been so close to a man's naked body. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant experience.

"Don't move," the man's voice cut through the night. "If you run, I will chase you. And whether or not I put on any clothes is anyone's guess."

I gasped, my heart pounding. I had been caught. I was about to run when he added, "Stay."

With a heavy swallow, I obeyed, realizing I couldn't let anyone find out I had been caught ogling a pack member while he was stark naked. I would have to explain to my mother why my dress was in tatters.

He approached me, and I stammered, "This was an honest mistake."

"Of course," he said, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. "And I didn't mean to... see me naked?"

My face flushed, and I struggled to find the right words. "Do you mind letting go of my neck?"

"So polite," he murmured, his fingers grazing my skin, his touch surprisingly gentle. My wolf stirred as his thumb brushed my lower lip, and I shivered. My eyes drifted closed as his lips brushed mine slowly, and they returned more forcefully, urging mine apart and brushing his tongue against mine. My moans filled the night, and my wolf became restless.

But as I angled my head and lost myself in the kiss, the man suddenly broke it off, stepping back with his fingers loosening around my throat. I stared up at him, my mind still hazy from the kiss.

He turned away, taking steps that would lead him into the trees. I released a breath I hadn’t known I had been holding and leaned back against the tree.

My fingers brushed the healing bruise on my neck from his fingers, and I groaned, both from the pain and the pleasure that still coursed through me. I had to get back to the pack house.

Dread gnawed at my insides, knowing that my mother would have a million questions about my ruined dress and the fading mark on my neck. It was no doubt that she would soon hear about my little escapade in the woods, and there was no doubt that she would not be pleased.

I could only hope that the man I had just encountered, the one who had stirred such unfamiliar desires in me, would be just a nameless encounter, a secret hidden in the dark of the night.

My heart raced, not just from the kiss but from the fear of the unknown. And as I made my way back to the pack house, the moonlight bathed my trembling form, leaving me to question the depths of my desires and the secrets that the night held.