Hating You, Loving You

"Run!" My father's voice tore through the air so loudly that it shook me to my bones. For one second, I stood frozen. Then another explosion echoed outside. The windows of our pack house rattled. Someone screamed. Not the scream of a frightened child. The scream of someone watching their whole world fall apart. "Blossom!" my father shouted again. "Take Lila and run!" I grabbed my little sister's hand before she could ask questions. She was only sixteen, shaking so badly that her fingers felt like ice in mine. "What is happening?" she cried. "I don't know." That was a lie. Deep down, I knew. Something terrible had been coming for weeks. The elders had been holding secret meetings. Warriors had doubled their patrols. My father barely slept anymore. He always smiled whenever Lila or I asked questions. "It will pass," he would say. It hadn't. The smell of smoke filled the hallway. Another crash came from downstairs. Our house was under attack. "Go through the back," Father ordered as he ran toward the front entrance. I pulled Lila after me. "No!" she cried. "We can't leave Dad." "We have to!" She fought me every step, tears running down her face. We reached the back door just as it burst open. Three warriors rushed inside. Their clothes carried another pack's scent. Black Ridge. My heart dropped. The stories were true. They had come. One of the warriors saw us. "There!" He charged. Before he reached us, another figure slammed into him so hard both men crashed through the wall. My father. His wolf burst free with a furious roar. The room exploded into chaos. Furniture splintered. Glass shattered beneath clawed feet. "Run!" he yelled again. This time, I listened. Lila and I ran into the cold night. The entire village was burning. Flames climbed rooftops. Smoke covered the moon. Warriors fought across every street. Children cried. Women called the names of husbands who never answered. It didn't feel real. This was my home. Only yesterday I had walked these same streets laughing with friends. Now everything I loved was turning into ash. Lila stumbled. I caught her before she hit the ground. "We have to keep moving." "But Dad..." "I know." I didn't know anything. I only knew we couldn't stop. A loud horn echoed through the village. The fighting slowly stopped. A voice carried across the square. "Bring Alpha Nathan Hart forward." My father. Lila looked at me. "They caught him." Without thinking, I pulled her toward the center of the village. We hid behind the remains of a broken stone wall. From there, we could see everything. My father stood on his knees. His hands were tied behind his back. Blood covered one side of his face. Yet he still held his head high. Around him stood dozens of Black Ridge warriors. Then the crowd parted. Someone stepped forward. Tall. Broad shoulders. Black clothes untouched by the battle. Dark hair. Cold gray eyes. He looked too calm while everyone else's world was ending. Alpha Demas Voss. I had heard stories about him. Young. Brilliant. Merciless. The Alpha who had united three powerful packs before turning thirty. People called him the Wolf King. Standing there, I understood why. He didn't need to shout. His silence made everyone else afraid. One of the council elders stepped beside him. "Alpha Nathan Hart," the elder announced. "You stand accused of betraying the Moon Council." Murmurs spread through the crowd. My chest tightened. "No," I whispered. My father laughed. Even bruised and bleeding, he laughed. "I betrayed no one." "You sold sacred information." "I did not." "You helped rogue wolves." "I never would." Every accusation was answered with the same calm strength. I wanted to run to him. Lila grabbed my arm. "Don't." Tears blurred my vision. Father's eyes searched the crowd. For one terrifying moment, they found me. He gave the smallest shake of his head. Stay hidden. Then he smiled. It broke my heart because I knew that smile. He was saying goodbye. The elder turned toward Demas. "As Supreme Alpha, the final judgment belongs to you." Everything became quiet. Even the fires seemed to hold their breath. Demas looked at my father for a long moment. His face revealed nothing. Finally he spoke. "Take him." My heart stopped. Just two words. No anger. No pity. Nothing. Warriors stepped forward. Lila buried her face against my shoulder. "They can't." I couldn't breathe. My father struggled once before becoming still again. "This isn't justice," he called loudly. "You're hunting the wrong wolf." The elder ignored him. "Remove the Hart family from leadership." Gasps filled the square. "Our lands are seized." More gasps. "Our titles are stripped." Everything. They were taking everything. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. Then something strange happened. Demas turned his head. Slowly. His gray eyes landed directly on me. Across the crowded square. Across the smoke and flames. He looked straight at me as though no one else existed. The moment our eyes met, something crashed into my chest. Pain. Heat. Need. Fear. My wolf, quiet only seconds before, suddenly pushed against my skin. Mine. The word wasn't mine. It came from somewhere deep inside me. My breathing became uneven. My heartbeat raced. What was happening? Demas stiffened. For the first time that night, emotion flashed across his face. Shock. His wolf had felt it too. Our eyes remained locked. Neither of us moved. The sounds around us disappeared. Only him. Only those impossible gray eyes. I had never seen him before tonight. Yet somehow... Part of me knew him. No. That couldn't be true. Then I understood. The stories. The legends every werewolf child grew up hearing. The mate bond. "No," I whispered. Not him. Anyone but him. The man who had destroyed my family could not be my mate. It was impossible. Demas took one step forward. Hope filled my chest before I could stop it. Maybe he would stop this. Maybe he knew my father was innocent. Maybe... A council warrior moved closer to him. I couldn't hear the first few words. Then the wind carried the rest. "The girl?" Demas didn't answer immediately. His eyes never left mine. Every part of me waited. Waited for him to prove I was wrong. Waited for him to save my father. Waited for my mate to choose me. Instead, he looked away. Just like that. As if I were no one. "As ordered," he said quietly. The warrior nodded. Behind me, Lila started crying. I couldn't. I was too numb. The bond inside me cracked. Not because the Moon Goddess had made a mistake. Because the man fate had chosen for me had turned his back before we had even spoken a single word.