The air inside Alpha Drake's office was thick with restrained fury, the kind that made even the walls feel suffocating. He paced relentlessly, his boots striking the polished floor in sharp, echoing beats, each step carrying the weight of his anger. His jaw was tight, his expression dark, and the tension in his shoulders spoke of a man pushed far beyond patience.
"How," he began, his voice low but venomous, "did I end up with her as my mate?"
The word her rolled off his tongue like something bitter.
He dragged a hand through his hair, exhaling harshly before continuing, "Out of every possible she-wolf in this pack—strong, beautiful, worthy—I get saddled with that? A weak, pathetic liability." His lips curled in open disgust. "I would rather choose Melinda as my Luna than be bound to something like that."
Leaning against the far wall, Beta Lucas watched him quietly, his expression unreadable but his mind already working through the implications. Unlike Drake, he wasn't driven by emotion. He was driven by results.
"You know what that means," Lucas said after a moment, his tone calm and measured. "If you want to crown a chosen mate as Luna… your true mate has to be dead."
The words hung in the air, heavy but not shocking.
Drake stopped pacing.
Slowly, he turned, and the anger in his eyes shifted into something colder—something far more dangerous.
"Then we get rid of her."
There was no hesitation. No guilt, Just decision.
Lucas straightened slightly, nodding once as if the outcome had always been inevitable. "And the pack?" he asked. "They'll ask questions."
Drake waved a dismissive hand, already uninterested in the details. "I'll handle the pack. You just make sure she's dealt with."
A brief pause.
Then, "Yes, Alpha."
Lucas expected many things when he stepped out of the office, resistance, fear, maybe even tears, what he didn't expect…
Was emptiness.
The area where she was supposed to be was completely deserted. No scent trail strong enough to follow immediately, no guards in sight, no sign of struggle. It was as if she had vanished into thin air, for a moment, confusion flickered across his face, then urgency took over.
He turned and rushed back.
"Drake!"
He didn't bother knocking this time. The door swung open—
—and Lucas stopped abruptly, his expression tightening.
Drake stood behind his desk,calmly buttoning his shirt, irritation flashing across his face at the interruption. Melinda stood nearby, completely unbothered, smoothing down her dress with slow, deliberate movements, her lips curved in quiet amusement.
Lucas averted his gaze. "The girl is gone."
The shift in the room was immediate.
Drake's irritation hardened into something darker. "What do you mean gone?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous edge.
"She's not where she was kept," Lucas replied quickly. "No guards. No trace. She disappeared."
For a split second, silence fell.
Then Drake slammed his hand against the desk, the sound echoing like a gunshot.
"You had one job," he growled, his eyes blazing. "One simple job, Lucas—and you failed it."
Lucas didn't flinch, but his jaw tightened slightly.
Drake exhaled sharply, forcing his temper back under control. When he spoke again, his voice was colder, more calculated.
"Get some men. Now. She couldn't have gone far." His lips twisted with certainty. "She's weak. She won't last long."
Lucas nodded. "Yes, Alpha."
But as he turned to leave, something about the situation didn't sit right, because weak girls didn't just disappear.
A few hours earlier
The forest had been quiet—too quiet.
"Why are you here?"
The patrol guard's voice cut sharply through the stillness as he yanked the girl up from where she had been crouching behind a cluster of bushes. Leaves clung to her worn clothes, and strands of her hair fell messily across her face, but her expression remained strangely calm.
"I'm not going to the mating ceremony," she said.
No trembling,No pleading, just quiet refusal.
The guard frowned, clearly unimpressed. "That's not your choice."
The mating ceremony was sacred—an event no unmated wolf dared to miss. It was where destinies were revealed, where bonds were formed, where Alphas found their Lunas.
Everyone showed up.
Everyone except her.
"I'm not going," she repeated, her tone unchanged.
The guard didn't argue further. Instead, he grabbed her arm and began dragging her toward the ceremony grounds.
"Let go of me!" she snapped, struggling now, but it made no difference. His grip was firm, unyielding.
Within minutes, they reached the back entrance of the gathering.
And the moment she stepped inside, everything shifted.
From his place at the front, where boredom had long since dulled his expression, Alpha Drake suddenly went still.
His body locked, his senses sharpened, and then his eyes found her.
Time seemed to slow, stretching into something almost unreal. The noise of the crowd faded into the background as a single, undeniable truth roared through him.
"Mine."
The word wasn't loud, but it carried. It echoed. It settled into every corner of the clearing.
Gasps rippled through the crowd almost instantly, shock spreading like wildfire. Disbelief followed closely behind.
Out of everyone…
Her?
The girl they mocked. The one they overlooked. The one dressed in clothes that barely held together, standing there like she didn't belong in the same world as them.
Drake was already moving toward her before anyone could react.
"Follow me," he said once he reached her, his tone leaving no room for disobedience.
For a moment, something flickered in her eyes. Resistance.
She didn't want to obey him. That much was clear.
But the bond—the invisible, unbreakable force between mates—tightened around her, pulling her forward despite everything inside her screaming to run.
And so…
She followed.
Now, hours later, she was doing exactly what her instincts had told her from the very beginning, Running.
Her breath came in ragged bursts as she pushed through the forest, branches clawing at her skin, roots threatening to trip her with every step. Pain pulsed through her body, her strength draining faster than she could afford, but she refused to stop.
Because behind her, they were coming. She could hear them.
The pounding of paws against earth. The low growls carried by the wind. The unmistakable presence of wolves in pursuit.
Drake.
They were faster in their wolf forms.
Stronger.
Closer
Her heart hammered violently against her chest as panic threatened to rise, but she forced it down. Panic would slow her. Panic would kill her.
Not yet.
She bit down hard on her lip, grounding herself. She can't shift. No one knew she could, and if they found out…
Everything would change.
Her vision blurred slightly as exhaustion crept in, her legs weakening beneath her weight. Just when it felt like her body might finally give out—
She crossed it.
The border, another pack's territory. Relief surged through her chest, but it didn't last. They didn't stop, they followed her.
Fear tightened its grip as she stumbled forward, her pace faltering—
"Who are you?"
The voice came out of nowhere, sharp and commanding, slicing through the chaos in her mind.She froze instantly. A figure stepped out from the shadows ahead, his presence overwhelming, his gaze dark and assessing as it swept over her.
Danger. Pure, undeniable danger. He moved closer, his posture tense, ready to strike if necessary.
"Stop."
Another voice followed, calmer but no less powerful.
And then the forest shifted again. Drake and his men emerged behind her, shifting back into their human forms, their presence just as suffocating as before. For a moment, no one moved.
Then Drake stepped forward, his voice ringing with possession.
"She's mine."
But before he could reach her, the stranger's expression hardened. His eyes locked onto hers, something unreadable flashing within them.
"No," he said, his voice low and absolute.
The tension snapped.
"She's mine."