Chapter One
THE NIGHT I DIED
The forest was burning.
Not with fire.
With blood.
Mine.
I stumbled through the darkness, one hand pressed against the wound beneath my ribs while the other clawed at the rough bark of a tree to keep myself upright.
Every breath tore through my chest.
I could barely feel my legs anymore.
Behind me, something moved.
A branch snapped.
I froze.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
They were still coming.
I didn't know how long I'd been running.
Minutes.
An hour.
Maybe longer.
Time had stopped meaning anything the moment the first blade entered my side.
The white dress I'd worn for my mating ceremony was no longer white.
It clung to my body, soaked in blood and torn almost beyond recognition.
My blood.
Their blood.
I couldn't tell anymore.
Three hours ago, I had stood before the entire Shadowcrest Pack believing I was about to become Luna.
I had imagined Kael's hand around mine.
I had imagined the Moon Goddess blessing our bond.
I had imagined spending the rest of my life beside the man I'd loved since I was a girl.
Instead, Kael had looked into my eyes and rejected me.
In front of everyone.
I, Kael Draven, reject you as my mate.
The words still echoed inside my head.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
No.
I couldn't think about that now.
I had to survive.
My wolf whimpered inside me, weak and frightened.
Elara... run.
"I'm trying," I whispered.
My voice sounded broken.
Another sound came from behind me.
Closer this time.
I forced myself forward.
One step.
Then another.
My vision blurred.
The trees around me twisted into shadows.
I was losing too much blood.
I knew it.
My wolf knew it.
And whoever was hunting me knew it too.
I emerged from the trees and nearly collapsed.
A clearing.
Moonlight spilled across the grass.
For one foolish second, hope filled my chest.
Then I saw him.
Kael.
He stood several feet away.
Tall.
Still.
His black shirt was stained with blood, and his silver eyes looked colder than the night surrounding us.
My heart broke all over again.
"Kael."
His name left my lips like a prayer.
He didn't move.
I took a shaky step toward him.
"You came."
He stared at me.
I waited for him to run to me.
To catch me.
To ask who had done this.
To finally tell me that the rejection had been a mistake.
Anything.
Instead, his expression remained unreadable.
"Kael," I whispered again. "Please."
My knees buckled.
I fell forward.
He caught me.
For one beautiful, impossible second, I was in his arms.
I could smell him.
Pine.
Smoke.
Home.
My fingers curled weakly into his shirt.
"You came for me."
His arms tightened around me.
I felt something warm against my cheek.
His tears.
My heart shattered.
"Kael..."
His lips touched my hair.
Then he whispered the words that would haunt me until my final breath.
"Elara Vale is dead."
I stopped breathing.
"What?"
He pulled away.
I stared into his eyes.
There was pain there.
So much pain.
But beneath it was something else.
Fear.
"Kael, what are you saying?"
His jaw tightened.
"You need to disappear."
"I don't understand."
"You can't go back."
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
A howl tore through the forest.
Kael's eyes changed.
His wolf surfaced.
He looked over my shoulder.
I followed his gaze.
Figures stepped out from between the trees.
One.
Two.
Five.
Then more.
They surrounded the clearing.
My blood ran cold.
Kael pushed me behind him.
For the first time that night, I thought—
He's going to protect me.
Then one of the figures laughed.
And Kael stepped away from me.
"Kael?"
He didn't look back.
"Forgive me."
The world went silent.
Something struck me from behind.
Pain exploded through my skull.
I fell.
The last thing I saw was Kael standing beneath the moonlight.
Watching me.
Not moving.
Not saving me.
And then everything went black.
