Maethys has spent her life hidden in the woods, raised to survive but never told what she was truly surviving from. When her grandmother is killed and enemies chase her through the forest, Maethys crosses into forbidden pack territory and collapses at the feet of Alpha Valik—a powerful, dangerous leader with every reason to see her as a threat. Instead, fate marks her as his mate. Valik should be her protection. His pack should be her refuge. But safety is fragile when Maethys arrives carrying secrets even she doesn’t understand. Strange enemies move in the shadows. Unknown forces hunt her across borders. And every attack seems to circle closer to one impossible question: What is buried inside her blood? As Valik fights to protect the mate he never expected, Maethys is forced to face a terrifying truth—being sheltered may not be enough. Not when the danger hunting her knows more about her past than she does. Not when something inside her is beginning to wake. And not when survival may require her to become the very thing everyone fears. The Alpha may be feared among wolves, but wolves are not the only power in this world. And if Valik’s strength is not enough to save her… Maethys may have to wake the power buried inside herself.