Pearl had only ever experienced pain and cruelty in Pandara, her kingdom. The moment her father—the Alpha of the Orchard Pack—found out she wasn’t his true-born daughter, he turned everyone against her. Her mother tried to defend her but was labeled a traitor, and they extinguished that compassion by burning her at the stake. Left with nothing but ashes and one loyal friend, Pearl held onto a final hope: to escape across the dark rivers and snow-covered woods to Vartun—the land ruled by the feared Alpha King Ronan. A half-beast and half-legend, Ronan is cursed to devour every mate who dares to accept his mark. Only a wolf of Silvershade blood—a line thought to be extinct, can tame his beast and lift the curse. Pearl had no idea if she belonged to the Silvershade line, but honestly, it didn’t matter. Anything was better than the shackles of Pandara, even meeting death. So she ran, with only her friend aware of her plan. But just halfway through the dark Pandara woods, she heard the hunting horns, felt the pounding paws behind her, and the kingdom’s iron bells ringing out, which only sounded when someone tried to run away from the kingdom. Had her only friend betrayed her too? Would Pearl make it to the Vartun kingdom alive and be chosen to be the Mate of the Alpha King or would she die in the process?