The moon hung like a pale sentinel over the dense forest of Silver Crest, casting long shadows across the ancient pine trees. Whispers of wind carried the scent of wilderness, of secrets yet untold, of a love that would challenge everything the pack had ever known.
Aria Silverwind stood at the edge of the clearing, her silver-streaked dark hair catching the moonlight. She was different from the other wolves in the Silver Crest pack - more introspective, more solitary. At twenty-five, she had already been passed over multiple times during the traditional pack matchings, her independent spirit and fierce intelligence marking her as an outsider.
Dominic Blackthorn, the pack's alpha, watched her from across the clearing. Tall, muscular, with eyes the color of storm-tossed seas, he represented everything traditional about their werewolf society. Strength, dominance, unquestioned leadership. And yet, something about Aria challenged everything he thought he knew about strength and leadership.
Their first encounter was anything but romantic.