The night I met Alpha Kael, I was supposed to die.
I just didn't know it yet.
The forest was unusually quiet.
No crickets.
No distant howls.
Not even the rustling of leaves.
I tightened my grip around the basket in my hands and hurried along the narrow path leading back to the Shadow Moon Pack.
I shouldn't have been outside this late.
Everyone knew that.
Especially on a full-moon night.
But I had no choice.
The pack's healer had sent me into the forest for moonroot, and I had been stupid enough to take longer than I should have.
A cold wind brushed against my skin.
I stopped.
Something was watching me.
My heart began to pound.
I slowly turned around.
Nothing.
Just trees.
"Get a grip, Ella," I whispered.
I turned back toward the path.
Then I heard it.
A growl.
Low.
Deep.
Close.
I froze.
My wolf stirred beneath my skin.
Run.
I didn't argue.
I dropped the basket and sprinted.
Branches scratched my arms as I pushed through the darkness. My breathing became uneven, but I didn't stop.
The growl came again.
Closer.
Much closer.
I could hear footsteps behind me.
Something was chasing me.
I ran faster.
Then
A hand grabbed my wrist.
I screamed.
Before I could turn around, I was pulled backward and slammed against a tree.
My heart nearly stopped.
A man stood in front of me.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dressed in black.
Moonlight fell across his face.
I knew that face.
Everyone did.
Alpha Kael.
The most feared Alpha in the Northern Territories.
His eyes locked onto mine.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
He simply stared.
Like he'd seen a ghost.
Then his expression changed.
Shock.
Recognition.
Something darker.
"Where did you get that mark?"
I looked down.
A strange silver symbol had appeared on my wrist.
"I don't know."
Kael stepped closer.
My instincts screamed at me to run, but my body refused to move.
His eyes never left the mark.
"Who gave it to you?"
"No one."
His jaw tightened.
"What's your name?"
"Ella."
The moment I said it, something inside him snapped.
He grabbed my wrist again.
"Your full name."
"Ella Vale."
His face went completely still.
Then he whispered something I could barely hear.
"Impossible."
"What?"
He looked at me again.
This time, there was something frightening in his eyes.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Fear.
"You were supposed to be dead."
My stomach dropped.
"What are you talking about?"
Kael didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward the dark forest behind me.
His entire body tensed.
Then he stepped in front of me, shielding me from whatever was coming.
I heard several wolves approaching.
Not one.
Not two.
At least a dozen.
Kael's voice became cold.
"Stay behind me."
"Why?"
He looked over his shoulder.
"Because they're not here for me."
The wolves emerged from the darkness.
They weren't wearing the colors of any known pack.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
One of the strangers stepped forward.
"The girl."
Kael's hand curled into a fist.
"Leave."
The stranger laughed.
"Hand her over, Alpha."
Kael moved closer to me.
"No."
The stranger smiled.
"You don't understand. If she lives, the prophecy comes true."
My blood ran cold.
Prophecy?
What prophecy?
I looked at Kael.
He was staring at the strangers like he already knew exactly what they meant.
Then the stranger said the words that changed everything.
"Tell her who her father was."
Kael went silent.
I felt the ground disappear beneath my feet.
"My father?"
Nobody had ever told me anything about my parents.
I had grown up believing they were dead.
But Kael knew.
He knew something.
I stepped toward him.
"Alpha Kael..."
He didn't look at me.
"Not here."
"Tell me."
His eyes finally met mine.
And what I saw there terrified me more than the wolves surrounding us.
Regret.
"Your father wasn't a human."
I stared at him.
"What?"
Kael took a slow breath.
"Your father was the last King of the wolves."
The forest fell silent.
And suddenly, I understood why the most powerful Alpha in the North had been searching for me.
He hadn't found his mate.
He had found his greatest secret.
And judging by the look in his eyes
He had no intention of letting me go.