The Last Moonborn Wolf

She is the Reason I Came

Mason’s POV

A king does not waste time on weak packs, and the Silverline Pack is exactly that: weak, loud, and desperate to appear stronger than they are, but I still come because whispers travel fast and gossip never stops, and there are things even kings do not ignore when the North begins to speak of Alphas misusing their powers.

I heard about the wolf-less girl. A female who has never shifted. Someone who does not belong in our world but breathes as if she is meant to be here. I do not believe in coincidence, and I do not believe in useless rumors, because in my world, everything is not black and white. There is a reason for everything I do.

When my army crosses into Silverline territory, I feel it immediately. The shift in the air, the fear of the pack before we even reach their gates, because packs always know when something stronger has arrived. They know when danger is coming, and they can smell and feel it. Everyone fears me. I am used to that sensation when I enter the territories of packs, which makes me angry.

Alpha Carter meets me at the border, standing too straight for a man who is already sweating, and from whom I can smell fear, and I look at him without respect, without interest, because Alphas like him are always the same. They rule through fear inside their own walls and call it strength.

“King Whitlock,” he says, forcing his voice not to shake, “you are trespassing on Silverline land.”

I do not answer him at first. My eyes move past him. Past his warriors. Past the pack that stands ready but already broken by the fear they feel for my army and me. Then I feel it again.

A pull toward someone. The same pull that brought me here in the first place.

My gaze stops on the girl kneeling in the courtyard, with blood streaming from her skin. There is pain written on her face, pain that has been written there for a very long time. She is supposed to be wolfless, but she does not feel empty.

That is the first thing that confuses me, because I expect emptiness from a girl they call useless, a girl they say has no wolf, a girl they treat like she is less than nothing, but what I feel is not emptiness at all. It is something buried, something sealed, and watching from deep inside her.

Alpha Carter speaks again, trying to pull my attention back to him as if he matters.

“We can offer tribute, my King,” he says quickly. “Anything you want. Just leave my pack in peace.”

Tribute.

The word is almost amusing. I did not come here for gifts. I came for answers.

My eyes return to the girl again before I can stop them. Harper Cole, according to my spies, is wolfless and useless to her pack. I look at her bruised and bleeding body, kneeling as she has already accepted a fate, and the fear in her eyes when she looks at me makes me think she believes I am here to harm her. I have learned long ago that appearances are the easiest lies in this world. She is not as weak as she pretends to be.

Alpha Carter follows my gaze. He steps closer to her, grabbing her like she is nothing more than property. I can see the pain on her face, and I do not like what I see. Anger flows through me. They say a pack is only as strong as its weakest link. To me, the girl is not their weakest link. Their cowardly Alpha is. I can smell her. She smells like a hot summer’s day mixed with the scent of wildflowers. My wolf stirs beneath my control. Not fully awake, he is observing, and I can feel the anger inside him.

I step forward without thinking.

The pack’s stance changes as I walk toward the girl without a wolf. They are quiet, as if they are waiting for my next move. So far, I have not said a word and have ignored their Alpha. He looks uncertain as I walk closer to him and the girl they call Harper. He can feel my power, and he knows I am the dominant wolf here.

“You are touching something that is not yours.” My voice is dangerously calm.

Alpha Carter forces a laugh. I can smell his fear, although he is trying hard not to show it to his pack. He starts to explain. “She is nothing, my King. A failed wolf. A mistake…”

“No!” My wolf growls.

His voice sounds like thunder through the silence.

My eyes are still on her. I am still trying to place her. I am trying to figure out why I cannot feel her wolf, but I still feel a presence deep inside her. Nothing about her feels like a mistake. I feel a strength coming from her that I cannot explain. She is not only human. Something is hidden within her.

“She is a nothing or a nobody. You are playing with fire, Alpha Carter,” I say quietly.

“Hahaha, King, with all due respect, she is just a wolfless human,” Alpha Carter says.

My wolf is going crazy inside me, and I have to hold him back. He is furious.

“Hunter, calm down,” I have to shout at him inside me.

“Mate! They are hurting my mate!” Hunter growls.

“I told you we will never have a mate again. Did you not learn your lesson the last time?” I ask.

Hunter does not want to listen, and for the first time since I entered the territory, I know why I came here. I know what pulled me here. It was the bond I felt with this creature. She may be human now, but she is stronger than we think. I can feel her power, and I know whatever is inside her, not even I can control. She has the spirit of an ancient.

I look at Alpha Carter and growl. “She is the reason I came.”