Chapter 1
Esperanza walked down the alley behind the neon-lit street like she had every right to be there. Her black coat moved with her, soft and sharp, like a second skin. She didn't belong in this part of town. This was werewolf territory,filthy, wild, cursed
She should've turned back.But she didn't.
Something had pulled her here. Not hunger. Not curiosity. It was something in her blood. A strange heat. A warning. A pull. She hated that she felt it.
Her boots splashed lightly through a shallow puddle, and the sound echoed in the silence. The alley was empty. But not quiet.
There was a pressure in the air. Like a storm was watching her.
Then she felt it. A presence. No maybe a force.
Heavy, Hot,Alpha. She looked up fast.
He was on the rooftop, standing like a shadow against the cloudy night sky. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, but his golden eyes glowed through the darkness.
Their eyes locked in.
Something clicked inside her chest.
He jumped down.
Boots slammed into the ground. Not a single wince from him. He stood just a few feet away—broad shoulders, dark clothes, that dangerous smirk like he already knew something she didn't.
"You're a long way from your coffin, sweetheart," he said, voice deep and raw.
Esperanza's lips curved.
"And you're exactly as cocky as they warned me."
Lucius.The Alpha's son. The next heir of the Bloodmoon Pack,The one she was told to avoid at all costs. She didn't move.Neither did he.
The silence between them was thick.
He looked her up and down, slowly, like he was assessing her… or undressing her in his mind.
She raised her chin. "You planning to stare all night, or are you going to bark?"
Lucius's smirk deepened. "Only if you purr first."
She felt the heat rise in her stomach, but she ignored it.
"I don't purr," she said, stepping closer.
"And I don't play nice with vampires."
"Then this should be fun. For a second, neither of them breathed.
She could hear his heartbeat. Fast, deep. Alive.
He could probably smell her blood. The kind he wasn't supposed to want.
But something was shifting in both of them.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"Why are you?"He tilted his head. "I live here."I wasn't talking about the town."
"Lucius took a step closer. She held her ground. They were close now. Too close.
You're brave," he said. "Or stupid."
"Same thing when you're bored."
"You shouldn't be here, Esperanza."
The way he said her name sent a chill down her back.
She hated that it felt good.
"And yet," she whispered, "here I am."
He reached for her. Just his hand—slow, curious. His fingers brushed a strand of her hair off her cheek. His skin was warm. She hated that too.
She slapped his hand away, quick.
He didn't flinch. Just smiled wider.
"Feisty."
"Dangerous," she corrected.
"Good," he said. "I like danger."
Her chest tightened. She could smell him now. Pine. Smoke. Heat.
His scent was wrong. Wrong for her
But it pulled her in anyway.
"You're not supposed to like me."
"I don't. Liar."
He chuckled. The sound was low and real. She almost smiled—almost.
And then Lucius!"
A voice snapped through the air.
Footsteps.Another wolf.
Lucius didn't turn his head. His eyes were still on her. She was already backing away.
"You should go," he said.
"I don't need orders from you.
"That's not an order, princess. That's a warning."
She paused. Something about his tone made her legs tense.
She turned and started walking, slow and smooth, her coat flowing behind her like smoke.
"We'll meet again," she said over her shoulder.
"I know."
The door slammed shut behind her as she walked back into the club she came from. Her heart was racing. Not from fear—from something worse. Something she couldn't admit.
She wanted to see him again.
And she hated herself for it
Esperanza slipped through the crowd, ignoring the pounding music and dancing bodies. The vampires here didn't care about wolves. They stayed out of their space, and wolves stayed out of theirs. That was the rule
But Lucius had broken that rule.
So had she.
She went to the back lounge, her pulse still pounding, and pulled out her phone.
One message.
Father: Where are you?
She didn't answer
She couldn't.
Not yet.
Back on the rooftop, Lucius watched her disappear into the shadows.
Her scent was still in the air. Sweet. Cold. Addicting
He hated it.
He hated the way she looked at him.
The way his wolf wanted her.
He ran a hand through his hair and turned as his cousin Remi stepped out of the dark.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" Remi asked.
Lucius didn't answer. Was that… a vampire?"
Lucius just stared at the street.
"Are you crazy?" Remi hissed. "If Alpha finds out"
"He won't," Lucius snapped.
"You're playing with fire."
Lucius finally looked at him. His eyes were darker now. Sharper.
"Maybe I like the burn."
Back at the mansion, Esperanza entered her father's office. He sat behind the desk, eyes like steel.
"You crossed into werewolf territory," he said without looking up.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. "I took a walk.
"You think I don't have eyes on you?
"Then why ask where I was?"
He stood. Tall. Cold. Full of power.
"Stay away from them.
"Or what?" she asked, too quiet.
"Or you'll become one of them."
She froze.
She wanted to laugh
Instead, she walked out without another word
But the weight of her father's warning stayed with her.
One of them.
One of his.
She closed her door behind her and sat on the edge of her bed.
Lucius's face came back to her.
That smirk. That voice.Those eyes.
And the way her heart stuttered when he looked at her like she was a secret he wasn't supposed to want.