The moon hung high over the Blackwood Mountains, casting its silver glow over the dense, sprawling forest. The wind carried the scent of damp earth and pine, rustling through the trees like a whispered warning. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled—a long, mournful sound that sent a shiver through the night.
Ronan Volkhar stood at the edge of a towering cliff, his sharp, golden eyes fixed on the world below. His breath misted in the cold air, his muscles taut with frustration.
He could still smell her.
The scent of his mate—sweet, warm, unmistakably human—clung to him like a curse.
His jaw clenched. This wasn't supposed to happen. His mate was supposed to be a wolf, a strong she-wolf worthy of an Alpha. Not some fragile, clueless human.
The Moon Goddess had played a cruel trick on him.
Behind him, footsteps crunched over the rocky ground. A presence loomed at his back before stopping a few feet away.
"Alpha," came the deep voice of Viktor, his Beta. "The Elders are waiting. The council wants a decision."
Ronan exhaled slowly, his hands balling into fists. "There is no decision to make."
"The pack will not understand," Viktor warned. "They are already uneasy. A human mate is a weakness, Ronan. They will see it as a sign that you have lost the Moon's favor."
Ronan let out a low growl. He didn't need Viktor to tell him that. He had spent the last two weeks trying to convince himself that this was some mistake, some illusion the Goddess had conjured to test him.
But the bond was real.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. Her dark curls, the defiance burning in her eyes, the way she had shivered when he passed by her in the marketplace. He hadn't even touched her, but his wolf had known.
Mine.
The word had thundered through his skull like a command.
And now, he was left with only two choices.
Take her.
Or lose everything.
The Council would never accept a human Luna. The rival packs were already watching, waiting for a moment of weakness. If they caught even the slightest scent of hesitation, they would move against him. The vampires, too, were stirring in the east, their hunger growing bolder with each passing night.
War was coming.
Ronan needed his mate.
Even if he despised what she was.
Even if she would hate him for what he was about to do.
His lips curled in frustration as he turned to Viktor. "Get the hunters ready. We leave before dawn."
Viktor hesitated. "You're sure?"
Ronan's golden eyes burned with resolve. "I will not let fate decide my future. I will take what is mine."
---
Elena Moreau had always known the world was cruel.
But she had never expected it to come for her like this.
She had spent her life in the quiet, human town of Ravenshade, a place untouched by the horrors lurking in the deep woods beyond. The stories of werewolves, vampires, and ancient curses were nothing more than myths whispered by old women and drunken hunters.
At least, that's what she had believed.
Until the night they came for her.
Elena had barely been asleep when the sound of shattering glass tore through the silence.
She jolted awake, her heart hammering in her chest. The room was dark, but the air felt wrong—heavy, charged with something unnatural.
Then came the voices.
Low. Rough. Predatory.
She barely had time to move before the door to her bedroom burst open.
A shadowed figure loomed in the doorway—tall, broad, his glowing amber eyes inhuman.
Elena screamed.
A hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her cry. She thrashed, kicking wildly, but it was like fighting against stone. Her attacker barely flinched, his grip unyielding.
"Stop fighting," a voice growled in her ear. Deep. Commanding. "You belong to the Alpha now."
The Alpha?
She had no time to process the words before rough hands dragged her from her bed.
Terror clawed at her chest as she fought against them, but the moment she tried to scream again, something pierced her neck. A sharp, stinging sensation shot through her veins, and the world tilted violently.
Her vision blurred. Her limbs grew heavy.
A drug.
They had drugged her.
The last thing she saw before the darkness swallowed her whole was the flash of golden eyes watching her from the doorway.
And then, nothing.
---
Pain.
It was the first thing Elena felt when she woke up.
A dull, aching pain in her wrists, in her ankles, in her neck.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and she blinked against the harsh light streaming through a window. Her body ached, as if she had been running for miles.
Where was she?
She struggled to sit up, but her wrists wouldn't move. Chains. Cold iron shackled her to a massive, wooden bed.
Panic flooded her veins.
She yanked against the restraints, her breath coming in sharp gasps. No, no, no. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening.
The scent of cedar, smoke, and something primal filled the air.
A presence.
She stilled.
Slowly, she turned her head—
And met the golden gaze of the man watching her.
He was seated in a dark leather chair by the fireplace, his body a predator's stillness. His black shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing a strong, scarred chest, his sleeves rolled up to expose powerful forearms.
But it was his eyes that held her.
Sharp. Piercing. Hungry.
He didn't speak right away. He simply watched her, as if he was waiting to see how she would react.
Elena's pulse pounded in her ears. "Who are you?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.
The man leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Ronan Volkhar," he said.
His name sent a shiver through her.
She knew that name.
Everyone in Ravenshade did.
The Alpha of Blackwood.
A man whispered about in hushed tones. A monster. A killer.
Fear coiled in her stomach. "You— you kidnapped me."
His lips curled slightly, not quite a smile. "I took what was mine."
Elena's stomach twisted. "I am not yours," she spat, yanking at the chains. "You have no right—"
Ronan's expression darkened. In a blur of motion, he was on her, his hands braced against the bed, caging her in.
The air thickened, his presence swallowing the room.
"You belong to me now," he murmured, his voice dangerously soft.
Elena's breath caught in her throat.
She would never belong to him.
But as his golden eyes burned into hers, as the weight of something ancient and unbreakable settled over her, she felt it—
A bond. A pull she couldn't explain.
Something far worse than fear.
Something she did not want to understand.