Chapter 2 Chapter 2

I didn't sleep well. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those glowing symbols on my skin. Every time I drifted off, I dreamed of the woman in red robes and the man with silver eyes.

Now it's morning. My eighteenth birthday.

I lie on my mattress, staring at the small window above. Sunlight streams through, and I can hear birds singing. It's a beautiful day, which feels wrong somehow. How can the world be so pretty when I'm so scared?

My arms are normal now. No glowing symbols. No strange marks. Maybe I imagined it all. Maybe the stress of yesterday made me see things.

But deep down, I know it was real.

Someone knocks on my door. I sit up quickly, pulling my blanket around me.

"Aria? It's me," Luna's voice calls.

I relax and open the door. Luna stands there with a bright smile, holding a small chocolate cupcake with a single candle stuck in it.

"Happy birthday!" she says, lighting the candle with a match. "Make a wish."

I smile despite my fear. Luna always knows how to make things better. I close my eyes and wish for the only thing I've ever wanted: to be accepted. To belong somewhere. To not be afraid anymore.

I blow out the candle.

"What did you wish for?" Luna asks.

"If I tell you, it won't come true."

She rolls her eyes playfully. "Fine, keep your secrets. Come on, eat the cupcake. Mrs. Peterson helped me make it last night."

The cupcake is delicious—chocolate with vanilla frosting. Luna sits on my mattress while I eat, chattering about the pack's plans for today. Apparently, there's a special dinner tonight because the Alpha's son is visiting from another pack.

"Wait," I say. "The Alpha King is coming here?"

Luna nods. "Not just any visit. He's doing his rounds of all the packs in the region. It's a big deal. Everyone's nervous."

The Alpha King. Dante Blackwood. Every wolf knows his name. He's the most powerful Alpha in the country, ruling over all packs with absolute authority. He's also known for being ruthless. They say he's killed rogues with his bare hands, that he shows no mercy to anyone who breaks pack law.

"Why would he come here?" I ask.

Luna shrugs. "Checking on us, I guess. Making sure Alpha Gregor is running things properly. Oh, and there's a rumor he's looking for someone."

"Looking for who?"

"No one knows. But some wolves say he's been visiting packs and... taking certain wolves away." Luna lowers her voice. "Blood moon children."

My heart stops. "What?"

"You know, wolves born under a blood moon. Like you." Luna looks at me with concern. "There's a story that the Alpha King hunts them. Kills them. Something about a prophecy."

The cupcake suddenly tastes like ash in my mouth. I put it down, my appetite gone.

"Hey, it's probably just a stupid rumor," Luna says quickly, seeing my expression. "Don't worry about it."

But I am worried. I'm terrified. What if the Alpha King is coming here for me? What if my father already told him about me?

"I need to go help with breakfast," I say, standing up. I need to keep busy or I'll go crazy with fear.

"Okay. I'll see you later." Luna hugs me. "Try to enjoy your birthday, alright?"

She leaves, and I get dressed quickly. I check my arms again—still no symbols. Maybe they're gone for good. Maybe I imagined them.

I go upstairs to the kitchen. The entire pack house is buzzing with activity. Everyone is cleaning, cooking, preparing for the Alpha King's arrival tonight. Mrs. Peterson is barking orders at everyone, her face red from stress.

"Aria! Finally!" she shouts when she sees me. "I need you to prepare the vegetables. We're making a feast."

I get to work, chopping carrots, potatoes, and onions. Other pack members work around me, but no one speaks to me. They never do. I'm used to the silence.

Hours pass. The food preparation is intense. We're making roasted meats, fresh bread, pies, and dozens of side dishes. The smell is amazing, but my stomach is too twisted with nerves to feel hungry.

Around noon, Mrs. Peterson sends me to clean the main dining hall. I grab cleaning supplies and head there. The hall is huge, with long wooden tables and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I start wiping down the tables, making sure everything is spotless.

"Well, well. Look who's still here."

I turn and see Derek, one of the pack warriors. He's twenty-two, tall and muscular, with a mean smile that makes my skin crawl. He's always been cruel to me.

"I'm just cleaning," I say quietly, trying to avoid trouble.

"On your birthday too. How sad." He walks closer, and I step back. "You know, I voted to kick you out. I told the Alpha you're dangerous. A freak."

"I'm not dangerous."

"You killed your own mother. That sounds dangerous to me." He's right in front of me now, towering over me. "You should've been thrown out years ago."

"Leave me alone, Derek."

"Or what? You'll cry to your daddy?" He laughs. "Oh wait, your daddy hates you too."

Anger flares in my chest, hot and sudden. My hands shake, and for a second, I want to hit him. I want to make him hurt the way he's hurt me with his words for years.

But I don't. I never do. Because I'm weak. Because I'm wolfless. Because I can't fight back.

Derek sees my anger and laughs harder. "That's what I thought. You're nothing."

He walks away, still laughing. I stand there, breathing hard, my hands clenched into fists. Tears burn my eyes, but I won't cry. Not here. Not where people can see.

I finish cleaning and return to the kitchen. The afternoon passes in a blur of work. By the time evening comes, I'm exhausted. Mrs. Peterson sends me to my room to "stay out of the way" during the Alpha King's visit.

I'm relieved. I don't want to be anywhere near the Alpha King if the rumors about him hunting blood moon children are true.

In my room, I wash my face and change into my only clean dress—a simple blue one that Luna gave me last year. I sit on my mattress, listening to the sounds above. Footsteps. Voices. The pack gathering for dinner.

Then I hear it. A car arriving. The engine rumbles, powerful and intimidating. The Alpha King is here.

My heart pounds. I should stay in my room. I should hide. But something pulls me toward the window. I climb onto my wooden box and peer through the small window at ground level.

A black car parks in front of the pack house. The door opens, and a man steps out.

My breath catches.

He's tall—taller than anyone I've ever seen. His black hair is slightly long, falling into his eyes. Even from here, I can see he's muscular, moving with a predator's grace. He wears all black, and power radiates from him like heat from a fire.

Then he turns his head, scanning the pack house, and I see his eyes.

Silver. Cold. Deadly.

Something inside me lurches. My chest tightens. The birthmark on my shoulder blade suddenly burns, hot and painful.

What's happening?

The Alpha King's head snaps toward my window. His silver eyes lock onto mine through the small opening.

Everything stops.

The air. My breathing. Time itself.

I can't look away. Those silver eyes pin me in place, and I feel something snap inside my chest. A connection, sudden and overwhelming. It's like a rope tying me to him, pulling tight.

No. It can't be.

The burning on my shoulder blade intensifies. My skin feels like it's on fire.

Mate. The word echoes in my mind, but I don't have a wolf. I shouldn't be able to feel a mate bond. But it's there, undeniable and terrifying.

The Alpha King's eyes narrow. His expression shifts from neutral to pure rage.

Then he starts walking toward the pack house. Toward me.

I stumble back from the window, my heart hammering. This can't be happening. The Alpha King can't be my mate. He hunts blood moon children. He'll kill me.

I need to run. I need to hide.

But before I can move, my door slams open. My father stands there, his face twisted with fury.

"You," he hisses. "He's here for you."

"I don't—"

"The Alpha King felt the bond. He knows." My father grabs my arm roughly, dragging me out of my room. "Do you know what this means? You've cursed our pack again!"

He pulls me through the house. I try to resist, but he's too strong. Pack members stare as we pass, their faces shocked and fearful.

We reach the dining hall. Everyone is there, frozen in place. And standing in the center of the room is the Alpha King.

Up close, he's even more terrifying. He's huge, radiating power that makes everyone in the room submit instinctively. His silver eyes are fixed on me, burning with hatred so intense I feel it like a physical force.

My father throws me forward. I stumble and fall to my knees in front of the Alpha King.

"This is her," my father says. "My cursed daughter. I didn't know—I swear I didn't know she was your mate."

The Alpha King doesn't acknowledge my father. He stares down at me, and slowly, he reaches down and grabs my throat. Not enough to choke me, but enough to lift me to my feet.

His touch burns. The mate bond flares, screaming at me that this is wrong, that mates shouldn't hurt each other.

"You," he says, his voice deep and cold, "are coming with me."

"Please," I whisper. "I don't understand—"

"You're a blood moon child." His grip tightens slightly. "And I'm going to make sure you never become the monster prophecy says you will be."

"I'm not a monster!"

"Not yet." His silver eyes flash red for a second. "But you will be. They all do. That's why I kill every single one before they can destroy everything."

Terror floods through me. "You're going to kill me?"

"Eventually." He releases my throat and grabs my arm instead. "But first, I need to make sure there aren't others like you hiding in this pack."

He starts dragging me toward the door. I look back desperately at Luna, at Mrs. Peterson, at anyone who might help. But everyone looks away. Even Luna's eyes are filled with tears, but she doesn't move.

No one will save me.

The Alpha King pulls me outside to his car. He opens the back door and pushes me inside. I land hard on the leather seat. He gets in the driver's side and starts the engine.

As we drive away from the pack house, away from the only home I've ever known, I realize this is it. My eighteenth birthday, and I'm going to die.

The Alpha King doesn't speak during the drive. He just grips the steering wheel tightly, his jaw clenched.

The mate bond pulls between us, painful and confusing. How can my mate want to kill me?

After an hour of silence, I finally find my voice. "Why do you hate blood moon children so much?"

His hands tighten on the wheel. "That's none of your concern."

"You're going to kill me. I think I deserve to know why."

He's quiet for so long I think he won't answer. Then: "A blood moon child killed my entire family. My parents. My little sister. I watched her slaughter them with powers she couldn't control. She went insane from the curse."

My heart breaks for him despite my fear. "I'm sorry that happened. But I'm not her. I won't—"

"They all say that." He cuts me off. "They all promise they're different. And then they lose control and destroy everything. I won't let that happen again."

"So you kill innocent people?"

"I kill threats before they become monsters." His silver eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. "And you're the biggest threat I've ever encountered."

"How do you know?"

"Because the mate bond wouldn't form unless you were powerful. Fate is cruel like that." Bitterness fills his voice. "Giving me a mate I have to kill."

Silence falls again. I stare out the window at the dark forest passing by. We drive for hours until finally, a massive fortress appears in the distance. It's built into a mountain, all stone and iron, looking more like a prison than a home.

The Alpha King's fortress.

We drive through heavy gates and into an underground garage. He parks and gets out, coming around to my door. When he opens it, I don't move.

"Get out," he orders.

"What if I refuse?"

"Then I'll drag you out."

I believe him. Slowly, I step out of the car. My legs shake with fear and exhaustion.

He grabs my arm again and leads me through stone corridors. Guards bow as we pass, but they eye me with suspicion and fear. We go down several flights of stairs, deeper into the fortress.

Finally, we stop at a heavy metal door. He opens it, revealing a small cell. The walls shimmer slightly—silver. Silver weakens werewolves.

"No," I whisper, backing away.

He pushes me inside. I stumble and fall. Before I can get up, he's closing the door.

"Please!" I run to the door, grabbing the bars. The silver burns my hands, but I don't let go. "Please don't do this!"

"You'll stay here until I decide what to do with you." His face is emotionless. "Don't bother screaming. These cells are soundproof."

"I'm your mate!"

"A mistake of fate." He turns to walk away.

"Dante!" I scream his name without thinking.

He freezes. Slowly, he turns back. "Don't call me that."

"It's your name, isn't it?"

"You have no right to use it."

"I have every right! We're mates!"

His eyes flash red again. "We are nothing. You're a prisoner. A curse. And soon, you'll be dead."

He walks away, leaving me alone in the silver cell. The door clangs shut somewhere above, and I'm left in silence.

I sink to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest. The silver walls make me feel weak and sick. The mate bond aches in my chest, confused and hurt.

This is my eighteenth birthday. I found my mate, and he wants me dead.

I don't cry. I'm too shocked for tears.

Instead, I look at my arms. And there they are—the glowing symbols. They cover my skin, pulsing with violet light. Brighter than before. More of them.

Whatever is happening to me, it's getting stronger.

And I have a feeling these symbols are the reason the Alpha King is so afraid of me