CHAPTER 3
951 Words
Several miles away, Rowan Hawthorne slowed his motorcycle as the road dissolved into a narrow dirt path.
The engine rumbled beneath him before he finally killed it.
Rowan removed his helmet and ran a hand through his dark hair, glancing toward the dense woodland ahead. Blackridge territory.
He had spent weeks tracking rumors about a powerful Alpha female who ruled these mountains.
The woman who would be able to help him find his mother. Lyra Vale.
Rowan swung his leg off the motorcycle and studied the towering trees.
He had never met her. His mother
Not once in his twenty-six years of life.
Growing up, his father had always spoken of her carefully. Respectfully.
“She belonged to another world,” Elias Hawthorne would say.
“She couldn’t stay.”
Rowan never fully understood what that meant.
But he had always known one thing.
He wasn’t normal.
His entire childhood had been filled with strange instincts.
Heightened senses.
Unexplainable strength.
And the dreams.
God, the dreams.
Running through forests beneath the moon.
Hunting.
Howling.
At first he thought he was losing his mind.
Until the night his father finally told him the truth.
Your mother was a werewolf.
Rowan remembered staring at his father in silence for nearly a full minute before laughing.
Then Elias had shown him the claw scars across his chest.
After that… Rowan stopped laughing.
Now he stood here.
On the border of the only place that might explain what he truly was.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
“Well,” he muttered.
“No turning back now.”
He stepped into the forest.
The moment Rowan crossed the invisible line marking the edge of pack territory—
Every wolf within two miles felt it.
Lyra’s head snapped up.
Her wolf surged forward instantly.
“There.”
Marcus followed her gaze.
“You’re sure?”
Lyra didn’t answer.
She was already moving.
Within seconds she shifted into her wolf form.
Silver fur rippled across her body as bones rearranged and muscles stretched.
The transformation was fluid.
Effortless.
The Alpha wolf that emerged was massive and powerful, her silver coat gleaming beneath the rising sunlight.
Marcus cursed softly.
“Well… guess that answers that.”
He shifted as well.
Other wolves nearby quickly followed.
The pack burst into motion.
Rowan didn’t notice them at first.
He was too busy studying the forest.
The deeper he walked, the stronger the strange energy around him became.
His senses sharpened.
Sounds became clearer.
Smells more distinct.
His pulse quickened.
Something inside him was waking up.
Then the wind shifted.
Rowan froze.
The scent hit him like lightning.
Wolf.
Not just one.
Many.
His instincts screamed at him.
Danger.
He turned slowly.
The forest had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Then a low growl echoed through the trees.
Rowan’s heart slammed against his ribs.
“Well,” he muttered under his breath.
“This can’t be good.”
Another growl answered.
Closer this time.
Branches rustled.
Leaves shifted.
And then they appeared.
Wolves.
Large.
Muscular.
Their eyes glowed faintly as they emerged from the forest surrounding him.
Rowan counted at least eight.
Maybe more.
They moved like a coordinated unit, circling him with quiet precision.
Rowan raised both hands slowly.
“Okay,” he said calmly.
“Let’s all relax for a second.”
None of the wolves looked particularly relaxed.
One of them—an enormous grey wolf—stepped forward.
Marcus.
His growl was deep enough to vibrate through Rowan’s chest.
Rowan swallowed.
“Right,” he murmured.
“Definitely not relaxed.”
Then the air shifted again.
The wolves parted instantly.
Rowan looked up.
And saw her.
The Alpha
The silver wolf stepped forward.
The other wolves instantly lowered their heads, giving their Alpha space.Her silver coat shimmered faintly in the sunlight.
She studied him with calm authority.
Rowan felt it immediately.
Power.
Rowan’s pulse quickened.
Even without understanding werewolf hierarchy, he could feel the power radiating from her.
The wolf circled him once.
Slow.
Careful.
Assessing.
The scent rolling off this stranger confused her wolf.
Human.
But beneath that…
Wolf.
Weak.
Dormant.
Impossible.
Marcus stepped closer to her.
Alpha, his mind-linked voice rumbled. What is he?
Lyra didn’t answer immediately. Marcus shifted back to his human form first behind the trees.
Her wolf stepped closer to Rowan.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t run.
Interesting.
Then she moved several steps back.
Her massive form shimmered as bones cracked and shifted.
Rowan blinked in shock as the enormous wolf transformed.
Silver fur withdrew.
Limbs reshaped.
Within seconds a tall woman stood in the clearing.
Marcus immediately pulled off his jacket and tossed it toward her without looking.
Lyra caught it effortlessly and wrapped it around herself before stepping forward.
Rowan raised his eyebrows slightly.
“Well,” he muttered.
“That was definitely new.”
Lyra ignored the comment as she slipped into a pair of training pants one of the pack members handed her.
Only then did she lift her gaze to him.
“Who are you,” she asked calmly, “and why are you trespassing on my territory?”
Rowan studied her carefully.
So this was the Alpha.
He took a slow breath.
“My name is Rowan Hawthorne.”
Lyra’s expression remained unreadable.
“And?”
Rowan hesitated only a moment before continuing.
“I’m looking for someone.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“And who might that be?”
Rowan’s jaw tightened.
“Selene Nightfang.”
Every wolf in the clearing stiffened.
Lyra’s gaze sharpened dangerously.
“You’re either very brave,” she said slowly…
“Or very stupid.”
Rowan held her gaze.
“Neither.”
A faint challenge sparked in his eyes.
“I’m her son.”
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