Chapter One
The Night I Was Broken
Saphira's POV
It's been five years since I lost my family. Five long, brutal years since the pack war tore everything I loved away from me. since the screams faded into silence, leaving me standing in the wreckage with no one left to call mine.
I became nothing more than a shadow clinging to a pack that never truly wanted me.
Five years of silence. of swallowing grief, of carrying scars no one cared to see.
Tonight was supposed to be different.
was supposed to be the night that healed me. that gave all of my suffering meaning. , I was meant to stand beside my mate, Alpha Zade, and finally be acknowledged as his Luna. That fragile, desperate hope was the thread I had clung to through every lonely night,
And then it snapped.
"I can't."
Two words. Cold. Final. Shattering.
I blinked, thinking I'd misheard. "What do you mean?" My voice cracked, too thin, too fragile. "You're my mate.
His eyes hardened, colder than the steel in his tone. "You have nothing to offer me, Saphira. Nothing."
My stomach twisted. "Nothing…?"
"You're weak," he continued, unflinching. "You have no family, no power, no standing. You'll drag me down, and I won't have it. I deserve a Luna who can strengthen this pack, not one who barely belongs to it."
My heart lurched, the mate bond pulling tight, cutting into me like a blade. "But… fate chose us," I whispered, desperate. "The Moon Goddess"
His lips curled in a cruel mockery of a smile. "Then the Goddess made a mistake."
The words struck harder than claws, ripping through me until I could barely breathe.
"You'll never be enough to stand beside me as my Luna," Zade finished, his tone final, as though he was delivering a death sentence.
The words cut deeper than claws. They shredded through my chest, tore through my wolf, and gutted the fragile pieces of hope I had been clutching all these years. The mate bond snapped with a violent, searing pain that stole my breath. My knees buckled under the weight of it.
Inside me, my wolf howled,broken, bleeding, betrayed.
I stood there, hollow, as the world around me carried on as if my universe hadn't just collapsed. The celebration began. Wolves howled in joy. Mates found each other, and bonds were sealed. Cheers and laughter swelled through the packhouse like a tide of mockery.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't stay.
So I ran.
The cold night air clawed at my lungs as I fled the packhouse. My legs carried me blindly, roots and branches tearing at me, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. The further I ran, the more the suffocating weight of rejection pressed down on me until it felt like my ribs would crack under the force.
Tears blurred my vision, but I didn't care. My wolf whimpered and growled inside me, grief and rage colliding in a storm. My mind screamed with questions that had no answers.
Why wasn't I enough?
"Moon Goddess why me ?"
Why did fate hate me so much?
Why did I lose everything,my family, my future, my mate?
I didn't know how long I ran. Minutes. Hours. The forest blurred into a dark smear around me. My body ached, my chest burned, and yet my feet refused to stop until finally… the air changed.
Heavier. Charged. Alive with dominance.
The hair on the back of my neck rose. My wolf went still, ears pinned back, uneasy.
I looked around. I didn't recognize the trees anymore. Panic fluttered in my chest as realization struck. I had crossed the border.
I was trespassing.
Every wolf knew the risk. Alphas were territorial, protective, and ruthless with intruders. And I was alone, vulnerable, rejected. If I was caught, I'd have no defence.
But then I saw it.
Through the trees, a glow shimmered. Faint but steady. Lanterns burning.
Drawn like a moth to flame, I stumbled toward it, unable to turn back. I couldn't return to my pack not after tonight. Not after Zade.
The trees thinned, and my breath caught.
Before me rose a mansion larger than any packhouse I'd ever seen, its dark walls looming against the night sky. Its garden stretched wide, blooming even in the darkness. Lanterns glowed along the paths, throwing golden light across beds of roses and wildflowers.
And there, in the heart of the garden, he sat.
A man.
No,an Alpha. I felt it instantly. Power radiated from him in quiet, suffocating waves. Even at rest, seated in a garden chair as though he owned not just this house but the night itself, his presence pressed down on me, demanding acknowledgement.
Tall. Broad. His posture was relaxed but predatory, like a wolf at rest who could tear you apart in the next breath.
My heart slammed in my chest. I froze.
As if sensing me, his head lifted. His gaze found mine.
The world stilled.
Golden eyes glowed faintly in the lantern light, predatory yet unreadable. The air between us thickened, charged, tugging at something deep inside me I didn't understand. My wolf shivered, caught between terror and a fierce, aching pull.
.
"You shouldn't be here." His voice rolled through the night like thunder, smooth yet commanding.
I swallowed hard, lifting my chin. "I didn't exactly mean to wander onto your land."
"And yet here you are," he replied, gaze sharp, testing. "Either reckless or foolish. Which one are you?"
My throat tightened. "Maybe both." A bitter laugh slipped out. "What's one more mistake after tonight?"
His golden eyes narrowed, and I swore I saw a flicker of curiosity in them. "What happened tonight?"
The question cracked something in me. My throat tightened. Tears stung my eyes again. "My mate rejected me tonight."
Silence. He didn't move. Didn't speak. Just watched me with those golden eyes, as though he could see through my words, through my soul.
I should have left. I should have turned and begged forgiveness. But grief twisted into recklessness. I didn't want pity. I didn't want sympathy.
I wanted to forget.
And when his gaze darkened, when his chest rose with a slow, deliberate breath, I knew he felt it too. That pull. That fire. That hunger.
One step. Then another. My trembling hand brushed his chest. His heartbeat was steady beneath my palm, while mine raced like a storm. His scent enveloped me,cedar," smoke," wild earth,heavy and addictive.
His jaw tightened, but he didn't push me away. Instead, his hands caught my waist, strong, unyielding, pulling me closer until the heat of his body seared into me.
The world blurred. His mouth found mine,or maybe mine found his. A rough, demanding kiss that stole my breath. Fire ignited inside me, devouring grief, consuming despair, leaving only need.
A gasp tore from me when his hands slid lower, gripping my hips, dragging me against the hard length of him. Heat pooled low in my belly, fierce and undeniable. My wolf surged, clawing with desperate longing.
I should have stopped. I didn't.
Not when his mouth trailed down my neck. Not when his teeth grazed my skin. Not when his hands slid beneath my dress, rough palms scorching bare flesh.
My body arched into him, betraying me. Zade had never touched me like this. Never looked at me like this. This stranger devoured me as though I was the only thing in existence.
The garden blurred into shadow as he lifted me effortlessly, laying me across the cushioned chair. Lantern light flickered across his sharp jaw, across the hunger burning in his eyes.
"Are you sure?" His voice was rough, strained, as though he was giving me one last chance to escape.
"Yes." My answer broke out of me, shaky but certain. "Please."
Something snapped in him. His mouth crashed against mine. Fabric tore beneath his hands. My breath hitched as bare skin met cool night air as the heat of him pressed against me.
And then,he pushed inside.
A cry tore from my lips, pain and pleasure colliding as my body stretched around him. It was my first time. My virginity shattered beneath the weight of him, beneath the depth of his claim. Tears burned in my eyes.
He froze, breath ragged, muscles trembling with restraint. But I clung to him, nails digging into his shoulders, pulling him closer. "Don't stop," I whispered, desperate. "Please… don't stop."
A growl rumbled from his chest, vibrating through me. And then he moved.
Slow at first. Then harder. Deeper. Each thrust jolted through me, a mix of ache and ecstasy until pain blurred into fire. He filled me completely, claimed me utterly, his dominance overwhelming but intoxicating.
My cries mingled with his growls, the night heavy with the sound of us. My wolf keened, torn between despair and this dangerous, desperate hunger.
I surrendered. Arching, clinging, breaking beneath him. My body unravelled in a storm of pleasure, release tearing through me like lightning.
He didn't stop. He drove me higher, harder, until at last with a guttural growl he stiffened above me, spilling inside with a force that left no doubt—I was his.
If only for tonight.
Silence followed, raw and heavy. My chest heaved. My body trembled beneath him. For a moment, I let myself believe I wasn't broken. For a moment, I let myself feel wanted.
But then he pulled back. His eyes were shadowed now, unreadable.
"Leave." His voice was harsh, final. "Go back to your pack. Forget this happened."
Forget? As if I could forget the way my body still ached, the way my wolf still clawed toward him, the way his scent was now burned into me.
Shaking, I pulled my torn dress around me. My lips parted, but no words came. I didn't even know his name.
But as I stumbled back into the trees, one thought burned in me, fierce and undeniable.
This wasn't the end.