The forest shouldn’t have been that quiet.

It wasn’t the gentle kind of silence that settles after rain or the sleepy hush before dawn. No—this silence felt wrong. It felt alert, like the trees were holding their breath and the shadows were waiting for something to move, something to break, something to bleed.

I should have turned back the moment I sensed it.

But fate has a sick sense of humor, and I’ve never been particularly good at listening to warnings—especially the kind whispered by the wind.

I had just finished my final patrol of the night, boots muddy and muscles sore, when the air shifted. It wasn’t a sound. It wasn’t a scent. It was something deeper, like pressure inside my bones. A pull—sharp, sudden, merciless.

My wolf jolted awake so violently my breath punched out of me.

Mate.

The word slammed into my skull, not spoken, not thought—known.

I froze. The moon overhead seemed to pulse, its light thickening, tilting the world on its axis. My lungs felt too tight, like I’d swallowed ice. My heart hammered against my ribs as if trying to break free.

“No,” I whispered to the empty trees. “Not now. Not like this.”

Because if the stories were true—

If fate was cruel enough to bind me to who I suspected—

my life wasn’t going to end quietly.

The silence deepened. Something moved beyond the treeline. Not a deer. Not a wolf on patrol. The energy was different—dense, heavy, ancient. My skin prickled as footsteps approached, slow and deliberate, crushing leaves that suddenly sounded too loud.

My wolf’s ears perked.

Her heartbeat matched mine.

She whispered it again:

Mate…

I took a step back.

Then he stepped out of the shadows.

Kael Draven.

And the world cracked.

He was taller than I remembered—broad shoulders wrapped in black tactical gear, dark hair tousled as if the wind was afraid to touch him. His face looked carved from cold stone, all sharp angles and shadows. But his eyes… gods, his eyes.

Silver.

Unnatural.

Burning like lightning trapped in a storm.

The cursed Alpha.

The monster of the northern exile.

My mate.

My mouth went dry. Every instinct screamed to run, but my legs refused. I felt the bond snap between us—a tether of raw pain and electricity, threading from my ribs to his.

Kael inhaled sharply.

He knew.

He felt it too.

I expected him to roar, or grab me, or lose control like the rumors said he always did.

But he didn’t.

He just stood there, breathing hard, staring at me like he’d waited centuries for this moment and had no idea what to do now that it was here.

“Say something,” I whispered. My voice sounded too fragile, like it wasn’t mine.

His lips parted, but for a long, agonizing second no sound came out. His jaw clenched. His hands curled into fists.

Then, in a voice roughened by darkness and things unspoken, he breathed:

“Mine.”

The word hit me like a physical strike. My knees nearly buckled. My wolf howled so loud inside me it hurt.

I shook my head desperately. “No. No, this can’t—this isn’t—”

Kael took a single step forward.

I stumbled back.

“Don’t,” I warned. “Don’t come closer.”

His eyes flickered with something dangerous, something almost broken. “You feel it,” he said quietly. “Stop pretending you don’t.”

I did feel it. It was ripping me apart.

The stories of Kael Draven weren’t bedtime tales—they were nightmares. The exile. The bodies. The curse that supposedly infected his bloodline. The darkness he brought back with him that made even the Elders flinch.

He was the last wolf on earth I could be mated to.

“I don’t want this,” I whispered.

He flinched as if I’d struck him.

For a moment, he looked… human. Hurt. But the expression was gone before I could be sure I really saw it.

“You don’t have a choice,” Kael said, voice low. “Neither do I.”

A cold gust swept through the clearing. The moon shifted behind a cloud. Kael dragged a hand through his hair, breathing hard like he was fighting an invisible force.

“Go,” he rasped. “Before I lose the little control I have left.”

That terrified me more than anything.

I turned and ran.

Branches snapped under my feet. The forest blurred. My lungs burned, but I didn’t stop until the cabins came into view. I slammed my door shut and pressed my back against it, shaking.

My wolf whimpered. Mate… go back… mate…

“Shut up,” I whispered harshly. “You don’t know what he is.”

But the truth was, I did.

Kael Draven wasn’t just an Alpha.

He was the cursed heir of a dying bloodline.

He was fate’s cruelty wrapped in flesh.

He was everything the Moon Goddess should have protected me from.

So why did she bind my soul to his?

Why did my heart ache like it recognized him?

Why did my body still tremble where his gaze had touched it?

I slid down the door until I hit the floor, burying my face in my hands.

Because deep down, beneath my fear—

beneath my logic—

beneath every rightful instinct to run—

something inside me whispered a truth I wasn’t ready to face:

The bond had already chosen.

And Kael Draven was going to destroy my life—or save it—whether I wanted him to or not.

I didn’t sleep.

Not because I didn’t try, but because every time I closed my eyes, I saw his—those metallic, unnatural silver eyes burning into mine like they held the whole truth of my future. I lay awake until dawn, heart racing, sheets tangled around my legs, my wolf pacing inside me like a caged thing.

Mate… find him… mate…

“No,” I muttered, pressing my palms to my temples. “You don’t get to want him.”

She growled at me—low, warning, offended.

She didn’t understand fear the way humans did. Wolves feel the bond differently: primal, instinctive, unquestioning. She wanted him simply because he was ours.

I feared him because he was Kael Draven.

When the sun rose, I dragged myself out of bed and splashed cold water on my face. My eyes were red. My nerves were shot. I looked like someone who’d seen a ghost, and in a way, I had.

A living ghost.

A cursed heir.

A monster shaped by exile.

I tried to steady my breathing as I walked to the training grounds. But even the morning air felt wrong. Too heavy. Too still. Wolves trained in tense silence. Conversations were hushed. Heads kept turning toward the Alpha’s cabin—the one Kael had taken the moment he returned.

Everyone was waiting for something to happen.

Something always happened when Kael was around.

“Lira.”

I turned. Elder Meryl, her grey braid tight and her eyes sharper than knives, waved me over. Her face was unreadable.

“You look exhausted.”

“Not enough sleep,” I said.

Her gaze narrowed in a way that made my skin crawl. “Or too much thinking.”

I swallowed, offering a weak attempt at a smile. “Same difference.”

She didn’t smile back.

Instead she leaned in, her voice dropping low. “Has he approached you?”

My blood turned to ice.

I forced my expression to stay neutral. “Who?”

“You know who.” Her eyes bored into mine. “Kael.”

My pulse stuttered violently. “Why are you asking?”

“Because there is something you need to understand.” She exhaled, the sound heavy. “Kael did not return simply because he was ready. He returned because the curse is worsening.”

My stomach twisted. “What curse?”

Her expression softened with something almost like pity. And somehow, that terrified me more than any threat.

“His blood rejects every bond,” she whispered. “Every wolf he grows close to—every wolf he loves—dies.”

I felt the world tilt.

“Loved ones,” she continued quietly. “Packmates. Friends. His mentor in the north. Anyone fate ties him to… the curse tears them from him.” She held my gaze, unflinching. “And the stronger the bond, the faster the death.”

A chill ripped through my chest. My wolf whimpered uneasily.

“That’s why he left,” Meryl said. “To protect us. To protect you.”

I blinked. “Me?”

Her jaw tightened. “Lira, Kael asked about you the moment he arrived.”

My heart lurched. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” She paused. “But I know fear when I see it. And he was terrified.”

Kael. Terrified.

The idea didn’t fit. He moved like someone who feared nothing—not death, not exile, not darkness. But last night, when he’d whispered mine, there had been something in his voice I couldn’t forget.

A crack.

A wound.

A plea.

“He fears losing control,” Meryl said. “But the truth is… he fears losing you.”

“I’m not his—” I started, then choked on the word.

Mate.

I couldn’t say it.

If I said it, it would become real.

Meryl watched me closely. She saw the truth in my silence. Her breath caught. “Dear Goddess… it’s you.”

I stepped back. “Don’t—”

“It’s you,” she repeated, horror flooding her face. “The bond chose you.”

“No.” My voice shook. “I don’t want this. I can’t—”

“You must reject him.” Her hand grasped my arm, urgent, trembling. “Lira, if the curse doesn’t kill him, it will kill you.”

My chest tightened so sharply I had to force myself to breathe.

Reject him.

Walk away from the bond.

Cut the tether, sever the moon’s choice.

I opened my mouth to respond—but the air shifted again.

Not like last night.

Not painful.

Not cold.

Warm.

Pulling.

Drawing.

I turned slowly.

Kael stood on the edge of the training grounds, watching me.

He looked worse than I did—like he hadn’t slept in years. His hair was messy, his jaw shadowed with stubble, his clothes rumpled. But it was his expression that froze me.

Not anger.

Not threat.

Not hunger.

Pain.

Deep, quiet, and raw.

He lifted a hand slightly, almost as if reaching for me before stopping himself. His voice was hoarse, barely audible across the field.

“Lira.”

The sound of my name in his mouth did something devastating to me.

Elder Meryl stiffened. “Get away from him.”

Kael’s eyes flicked to her, glowing faintly. “This is none of your business.”

“If you care for her,” Meryl hissed, “you’ll leave her alone.”

A muscle jumped in Kael’s jaw. His voice was a low, dangerous growl. “If I leave her alone, she dies.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

“What do you mean?” I whispered.

His gaze snapped to mine, and the bond sparked between us like a live wire.

Kael took one slow step closer. Then another.

“When the bond awakened last night,” he said, “the curse awakened too.”

My heart stopped.

“So if you stay near me…” I forced out, “I die?”

His throat bobbed. He looked away, pain flickering across his face.

“It’s more complicated than that,” he murmured.

“How?” My voice cracked. “Explain it.”

“I can’t.”

“Kael—”

“I SAID I CAN’T.” His voice boomed like thunder.

Wolves around us flinched. Some dropped to their knees under the weight of his Alpha aura.

I should have backed away.

I should have feared him.

But instead, I stepped forward.

“Tell me the truth,” I said quietly. “I deserve that much.”

He met my eyes, and something inside him broke open. His voice was almost silent when he spoke again.

“The curse doesn’t kill my mate,” he said. “It kills me.”

My breath caught.

He looked at me the way someone looks at the moon one last time before they die.

“And if I lose control,” he whispered, “if I let the curse take me… I become the thing everyone already fears.”

My wolf whimpered, pressing against my ribs.

Kael took a shaky breath.

“That’s why I should stay away from you,” he murmured. “But I can’t.”

The bond tightened, hot and desperate.

“And neither,” he whispered, “can you.”

I should have run.

Every instinct I had—every shred of common sense, every lesson drilled into me since childhood—told me to step away from Kael Draven and never look back. But fate doesn’t care about instincts or sense. Fate binds without asking permission.

And the bond between us was tightening by the hour.

By midday, every wolf in the pack had heard whispers. I could feel the stares digging into my spine as I walked through the grounds. Some were curious. Some fearful. A few pitying.

They all knew.

Or thought they did.

They knew Kael was cursed. They knew he was dangerous. They knew he should never have a mate. And now they thought I was the one doomed to tie my soul to a monster.

I tried to breathe through the pressure, but my wolf was restless—shifting beneath my skin, pushing at the edges of my control. Every flicker of Kael’s scent across the wind made her push harder, clawing, whining, wanting.

Mate… mate… mate…

“No,” I whispered under my breath. “Not now. You’ll get us killed.”

She growled softly, unhappy but quieting. For now.

I made it halfway across the clearing before Alpha Rowan’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

“Lira.”

I stopped, pulse jumping.

Alpha Rowan stood outside the strategy cabin, arms crossed, expression carved from stone. He was a massive wolf—broad, scarred, and radiating authority with every breath. His hair, dark streaked with silver, blew in the wind. His eyes, sharp and calculating, pinned me in place.

“Inside. Now.”

No room for refusal.

The cabin door shut behind me with a heavy thud. Rowan stood at the table covered in maps and patrol markers. But he wasn’t looking at the maps—he was looking at me.

“You saw him last night,” he said flatly.

There was no point lying. “Yes.”

His jaw clenched. “And you felt the bond awaken.”

My breath caught. “How did you—”

“I felt it,” he cut in. “Every Alpha in the territory did. Bonds between high-ranking wolves echo through the pack.”

I swallowed hard. “I didn’t ask for this.”

“No one does,” Rowan said. “That’s the point.”

He stepped around the table slowly, like he was circling something dangerous—and maybe he was. Maybe the danger was me now. Or the bond inside me.

“Kael’s blood carries something old,” Rowan said. “Something cruel. Something no healer or Elder has been able to purge.”

“The curse,” I whispered.

He nodded once. “The moment Kael’s emotions crack, the curse breaks through. Rage… grief… even love.” His expression hardened. “Especially love.”

My stomach twisted.

“Alpha,” I said quietly, “what happens if the curse takes him?”

Rowan didn’t sugarcoat. He never had.

“He loses himself. The wolf devours the man.” His voice dropped lower. “And once that happens, there is no bringing him back.”

I felt a coldness spread through my chest.

“Kael should never have returned,” Rowan said. “But he insisted. He said there was unfinished business here.” He paused. “Now I know what he meant.”

I forced my voice steady. “Alpha, I didn’t want this bond. I’m not seeking it.”

“I know,” Rowan said softly. “And that’s why I’m giving you a chance to walk away before it’s too late.”

My heart stuttered. “You want me to reject him.”

“I need you to reject him,” Rowan corrected. “For the safety of this pack. For your own life.”

I didn’t answer.

I couldn’t.

He stepped closer. His voice lowered. “Lira… he will break you.”

Something hot flashed through me—anger, fierce and fast.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know Kael,” Rowan said tightly. “Better than you do. Better than anyone does. I know what he became in the north. I know what he did to survive it.”

I swallowed. “He’s not evil.”

“No,” Rowan said after a long pause. “But the thing inside him is.”

Silence fell between us. Thick. Heavy. Suffocating.

Then Rowan’s voice softened unexpectedly.

“Do you feel the bond pulling you even now?” he asked.

I hesitated—then nodded.

“It will only grow stronger,” he said. “The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to sever.”

I felt the truth of that. The pull in my chest was no longer a whisper—it was a constant, aching pressure. A thread tightening with every breath.

“Reject him before your soul knots with his,” Rowan said. “Before the curse recognizes you as its target.”

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.

“I’ll call a rejection ceremony,” Rowan continued. “We’ll sever the bond cleanly. Safely.”

My stomach dropped. “Tonight?”

“Yes.”

My wolf snarled inside me—loud, fierce, panicked.

NO. MATE. NO.

I grit my teeth as pain stabbed down my spine. She pushed violently, like she wanted to tear free.

Rowan noticed. His expression darkened. “The bond is already strong.”

My breath came fast. Shallow. “I just… I just need time.”

“You don’t have time,” he said. “Kael is losing control. Last night, his aura nearly crushed half the pack.”

Because he felt the bond.

Because he felt me.

My voice was barely a whisper. “And if I refuse to reject him?”

Rowan’s eyes hardened.

“Then I’ll do it for you.”

A shiver ran through me. “You can’t—”

“I can,” he said coldly. “And I will. If it protects this pack.”

A knock rattled the door.

Rowan cursed under his breath.

“Enter.”

The door creaked open—and Kael stepped inside.

He filled the doorway like a storm. His presence swallowed the room. His eyes locked onto mine immediately, relief and fury flaring in equal measure.

Rowan tensed. “This is a private—”

“It concerns me,” Kael growled, cutting him off without looking away from me. “Everything concerning her concerns me.”

The bond snapped between us, sharp and bright.

Kael took a step toward me.

Rowan blocked him, voice like steel. “The girl is under my protection.”

Kael’s eyes went lethal. “She is not a girl. And she is not yours to command.”

“She is pack,” Rowan shot back.

“She is mine,” Kael said quietly—and the room vibrated with the power behind the word.

My breath hitched.

Rowan snarled. “You will not claim her.”

Kael’s aura flared, silver light cracking across the walls. “Try to stop me.”

The air trembled.

My wolf surged.

And I realized something with terrifying clarity:

Rejecting Kael might save me.

But it might kill him.

And choosing him might destroy us both.

I stepped between them before either could strike.

“Enough,” I whispered.

Rowan stiffened. Kael froze entirely.

My voice shook. “No rejection. Not tonight.”

Kael’s eyes darkened with something fierce and dangerous—hope.

Rowan exhaled sharply. “Lira—”

“I said no.”

Silence fell.

Kael’s gaze locked on mine—violent, tender, terrified.

The bond hummed between us.

Rowan’s voice, low and resigned, broke the tension:

“Then Goddess help us all.”