MY ROGUE MATE IS THE ALPHA'S LORD

Chapter One — The Rogue in the Forest

The night my wolf awakened, someone tried to kill me.

I didn’t know which part frightened me more.

For seventeen years, I’d waited for this moment — the day my wolf would finally rise. I’d imagined it beneath silver moonlight, surrounded by family and pack, during one of the joyful ceremonies held for newly awakened wolves.

Instead? I was running for my life through the forbidden forest — blood on my sleeve and a voice screaming inside my head.

Run, Liana. Don’t look back.

I didn’t.

Behind me, branches snapped. Heavy. Fast. Someone was tracking me.

My lungs burned. Thorns tore at my dress. I had no destination — only one certainty: I could never go back to the pack.

Not after what I’d heard.

Moments ago, pressed against the council chamber doors, I’d listened to my own father speak in a voice cold and unfamiliar:

“If she finds out what happened twelve years ago… we’re all finished.”

And another voice — smooth, dangerous — had answered:

“Then make sure she never finds out.”

That was when they’d seen me. I’d run before they could speak another word.

Now the darkness was swallowing me whole. My foot caught on a root — and I fell hard. Pain flared sharp and hot up my ankle.

“Please…” The word broke barely above a whisper.

Footsteps. Closer. Closer.

Then — silence.

I froze. Had they stopped? Slowly, trembling, I turned.

Two pale eyes burned from the shadows.

I screamed.

A wolf stepped into the moonlight. Huge. Black as midnight itself. And its eyes… they glowed unnatural silver. My breath locked in my chest. This was no ordinary beast.

Then — warmth. A strange, soft heat spreading through my chest, pushing aside the pain. My still-sleeping wolf suddenly snapped awake. Every fibre of my being hummed.

Mate.

My heart stopped. “What?”

The wolf took one step.

MATE!

“No.” I scrambled backward.

The creature paused. As if respecting my fear.

Then — bones cracked. Fur receded. Light swirled — and a man stood where the beast had been.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in dark leathers that seemed to drink the moonlight. Dark hair fell across a forehead carved with quiet strength; a thin, wicked scar sliced along his jaw. But it was his eyes that held me frozen — silver. The exact same silver.

He stared as though seeing a ghost. “Who are you?”

I couldn’t answer. His gaze dropped suddenly to my neck. All colour drained from his face. Fear. Real, raw terror.

“Where did you get that mark?”

My hand flew instinctively to my skin. “What mark?”

He moved forward. I stepped back.

“Don’t.”

He stopped. Instantly. Sharp control. That surprised me — he could have closed the distance in a heartbeat. Instead… he waited.

“Your name.”

“Liana.”

His eyes narrowed. “Liana what?”

“Vale.”

The world seemed to tilt. His face went utterly still.

“Liana Vale.” Not a question.

I nodded.

He looked into the trees, then back at me — shaken. “No. You… you cannot be her.”

“Her? Who?”

Silence stretched — heavy and charged. My wolf whimpered, straining toward him despite everything.

“Are you… my mate?” I forced out.

His jaw tightened. Once. Twice. Then — quiet as a death sentence:

“Yes.”

For one heartbeat, joy flared bright and blinding. The Moon Goddess hadn’t forgotten me. I had a mate.

Then —

“And that is exactly why you must stay away from me.”

My hope shattered. “What?”

“You heard me. Anyone connected to me becomes a target. And you — Liana Vale — are already hunted.”

“Hunted? By who?”

He held my gaze steady. “Darius. Darius Blackthorn.”

The name hit me like a physical blow.

Darius Blackthorn. The vanished Alpha Lord. The one accused of betraying the entire wolf kingdom. The rogue whose name parents whispered to frighten children. The man my father had once called the most dangerous wolf ever born.

I took another step back. “You’re him.”

He didn’t deny it.

“Then tell me — who is hunting me? And why?”

Before he could speak — a howl tore through the trees. Long. Deep. Close.

Darius’s head snapped toward the sound. Every muscle coiled tight. “How many know you left tonight? How many hunt you?”

“I — I don’t —”

“Then understand this, Liana — you aren’t being rescued. You are being erased.”

Crunch of boots. Multiple footsteps emerging from the dark. My pack warriors.

Relief surged — until Darius caught my wrist, firm but not painful, and pulled me behind his frame like a living wall.

“Those are my people,” I whispered.

“Look at their faces, Liana.”

I did. And my blood turned to ice.

At their head — Elder Ronan. My father’s oldest, most trusted friend. The man who’d taught me history. Who’d brought me sweets as a child.

He stepped into the clearing. Saw me. And his smile faded into something cold and terrible.

“There she is,” Ronan said — no warmth. Just triumph.

Darius stepped forward, shielding me completely. “Ronan.”

The Elder paled. His hands shook as they rose — signalling the warriors to halt. He stared at Darius as though seeing a ghost. Then, barely audible — awed and terrified — he breathed:

“Alpha Lord.”

The world tilted again. Not rogue. Not traitor. Alpha Lord. Ronan knew him. And feared him.

“You know each other?” My voice trembled.

Neither answered. Ronan’s gaze slid past Darius — straight to my neck. The mark I’d never questioned. The one I’d always thought was just… me.

“Your father was right,” Ronan whispered. “She has awakened. The girl carries the bloodline.”

Darius went rigid. He turned slowly toward me — silver eyes wide, shaken in a way I hadn’t yet seen.

“What bloodline?” I demanded. “Tell me!”

Darius