“You’ve dragged this pack’s name through the mud, Killian.”
Alpha Gallagie’s roar echoed through the great hall.
“I gave you the right to choose your own luna, yet you rejected her on the very day of your wedding. Do you think this pack exists for your amusement? Look outside these walls. All of Amberbridge is laughing at your stupidity.”
Killian stood in silence before the fury of the Alpha of the Glass Fire Pack.
The scandal surrounding Monica’s rejection had damaged more than gossip. It had weakened the prestige of their entire bloodline.
Even so, Killian held to the vow he had made long ago.
When he finally accepted a luna, it would be a woman he truly wanted beside him, not someone taken out of duty or necessity as Monica had been.
“Monica was never worthy of standing beside me, Father,” Killian said evenly. “I know exactly what kind of woman she is.”
To him, Monica was nothing more than an opportunist with a polished image.
He knew she was involved with Daniel, one of the richest men at the university, despite already receiving a generous scholarship. In Killian’s eyes, it proved greed and weak character.
“Is that what this is about?” Alpha Gallagie shot back. “Because you think she is beneath you?”
He stepped closer, voice sharpened like steel.
“Or did she reject you in private, and you cast her aside first to save your pride?”
Killian’s jaw tightened.
“Rumors say one thing louder than the rest,” the Alpha continued. “You failed to conquer her, Killian.”
With that, he turned and strode away, leaving Killian alone in the heavy silence.
The accusation lingered.
Failed to conquer Monica?
The thought irritated him more than it should have.
Why would he care?
She had only been a convenient choice. A suitable woman selected to satisfy an ancient requirement and prevent calamity on the thousandth anniversary of his grandfather’s death, the former Alpha.
Killian would never admit that no woman had ever truly moved him.
None had met the impossible standards he carried.
On paper, Monica had seemed nearly flawless. Beautiful. Intelligent. Polite. Academically spotless.
Then there was Daniel.
The fact that Monica willingly belonged to a man like him filled Killian with contempt he could not fully explain.
Needing distance from his father’s anger, Killian headed for the outer border of pack territory.
The omega guards were stationed near the river that cut through the forest. It served as both natural defense and territorial line for the Glass Fire Pack.
Beyond the water stretched forbidden land.
A cursed forest.
Anyone who traveled too deeply into it had never returned. No pack had managed to claim it.
“Where is everyone?” Killian asked when he found only Zayn waiting there.
“Shift rotation,” Zayn replied. “I’m first watch this morning. I can summon the others if needed.”
Killian gave a distracted nod. Between university demands and pack obligations, he rarely kept track of changing patrol schedules.
Then both men froze.
Crunch.
Something had stepped on dry branches somewhere inside the trees.
Killian’s senses sharpened instantly. Zayn stiffened beside him.
Then silence.
“What was that?” Killian growled. “We lost it.”
“We need backup.”
Zayn immediately sent a mindlink call through the pack.
Within minutes, omegas and warriors flooded the riverbank.
“What is happening here?”
Alpha Gallagie’s commanding voice silenced them all.
Heads bowed as he approached.
“There’s movement inside the forest,” Killian said.
“Impossible,” the Alpha replied. “If anything valuable lived there, we would have claimed that land generations ago.”
He extended his hand.
“Bring me a pole. I’m crossing.”
Killian frowned. His father meant to inspect the opposite bank, not enter the deepest cursed zone.
“Father, I don’t agree with this risk.”
No one else dared support him.
A narrow boat and long pole were brought forward. Alpha Gallagie crossed first, reaching the far bank without harm.
Several warriors followed.
Then the cracking sound returned, louder this time.
“That pattern is human footsteps,” Zayn said, pointing toward the trees.
“Move!” Alpha Gallagie ordered.
At once, warriors shifted into wolves and charged forward.
“There’s no one here,” Killian said through the mindlink as he ran. “This feels like a trap.”
“No,” Alpha Gallagie answered while racing ahead in wolf form. “Follow the scent. It belongs to one of our own. A rogue.”
The hunters spread wide and caught the trail of a powerful black wolf.
Then Zayn yelped in pain.
“Damn it. Silver needle.”
He shifted back to human form, clutching his paw.
“There will be more,” Killian warned.
He ordered one slower warrior to remain behind and help him.
Ahead, Killian saw his father stumble.
Blood streaked the Alpha’s paws and legs, yet he kept pushing forward.
In that instant, Killian’s old beliefs shattered.
The forest was not cursed by magic.
It was defended.
Someone had planted silver needles across the ground like traps, weakening every werewolf who entered. That was why previous expeditions had vanished.
“Eliminate the rogue,” Alpha Gallagie growled through pain. “Claim this land.”
“Father!”
Killian reached him and stared in shock.
The skin of the Alpha’s feet had been torn raw. Blood soaked his fur and legs.
“I don’t have long,” Gallagie said through clenched teeth. “Go. Take the forest.”
“Get the Alpha back to the pack house now!” Killian barked to the nearest warriors.
Once they obeyed, Killian lunged forward again, chasing the black wolf deeper into the trees.
The rogue was fast.
Stronger than expected.
Smarter than any rogue he had hunted before.
“Where did it go?” one warrior asked through the link.
“We lost the trail.”
Killian swore under his breath.
Then he saw it.
A weathered hut stood alone in the center of the forest.
Could the rogue be hiding there?
Or perhaps some desperate human had been surviving illegally inside forbidden territory.
“Surround the hut,” Killian ordered.
Warriors moved into position.
No clear scent trail led inside.
Killian strode forward and kicked the side door open. Wood splintered inward.
From inside came a faint voice.
Barely audible.
Killian frowned.
Then the scent hit him.
Familiar.
Impossible.
“The rogue belongs here,” he murmured. “And that scent…”
“Should we move in?” a warrior asked.
A strand of hair slipped over the girl’s shoulder.
Killian’s eyes widened.
“Monica?”
A young woman sat at a study desk with her back to him.
A laptop glowed in front of her, displaying next semester’s coursework through a portable internet modem beside it.
She turned.
All color drained from her face.
“Daddy!” she screamed hoarsely. “There’s a wolf in here!”
Her breathing sounded ragged.
“Help! Somebody help me!”
