Chapter 1
1175 Words
In the village of Moonridge, people learned early that some names were better left unspoken. The name Veyne was one of them. It had once belonged to a family powerful enough to make an entire pack bow; now, only one person carried it. Elara Veyne.
She stood at the edge of the forest with blood dripping from her palms, but that wasn't what bothered her. She was staring at the wolf lying motionless between the trees
It had been dead for less than an hour.
Elara crouched beside it and carefully touched its fur.
The moment her fingers made contact, a sharp pain shot through her head.
She pulled back.
A flash of silver, a burning palace, a woman screaming. Then darkness. Elara gasped and stumbled backward.
The vision disappeared.
Again. She had been seeing things like that for years.
Never enough to understand, always enough to leave her with the same feeling.
Something was wrong.
Elara! She quickly stood.
Mira came running through the trees, her face pale.
There you are! Elara looked at her.
What happened?
Mira stopped when she saw the dead wolf.
Her expression changed.
Is that....... Yes.
Mira took a step closer, then stopped.
Who killed it?
I don't know.
You found it like this? Elara nodded.
Mira's gaze moved to the blood on Elara's hand.
Are you hurt? No.
Then why are you bleeding? Elara looked down.
The cut had already begun to close. She curled her fingers into a fist.
I must have scratched myself on a branch.
Mira stared at her. Elara! What?
You're a terrible liar.
A small smile touched Elara's lips.
Then stop asking questions you already know I won't answer. Mira sighed, " You're impossible.
So I've been told.
The smile disappeared from Elara's face as she looked back at the dead wolf. Its throat had been torn open, not by an ordinary wolf.
The wound was too clean, too precise.
Mira followed her gaze. Let's go.
Why? Because the Alpha King is arriving before sunset.
Elara turned to her. What does that have to do with this? Everything.
Mira lowered her voice.
The warriors found three dead rogues near the northern border this morning. Now this wolf is dead inside our territory. The Alpha has doubled the patrols.
Elara looked toward the distant mountains.
Why would the Alpha King care about rogues near Moonridge?
Mira gave her a strange look.
You really don't know anything about him, do you?
Lucien Blackthorn is not the kind of man who travels anywhere without a reason.
Elara said nothing.
She had heard the name before.
Everyone had.
Lucien Blackthorn was the Alpha King of the Blackthorn Empire. The most powerful Alpha in the supernatural world. His pack controlled more territory than any other.
His family had ruled for generations.
His father had been murdered eight years ago.
So had his mother.
The official story was that a rogue attack had killed them.
But there had always been rumors.
Rumors about an ancient bloodline.
Rumors about betrayal.
Rumors about the Veyne family.
Elara had heard those rumors only once.
Her father had forbidden anyone from mentioning them again.
Come on, Mira said.
Elara took one last look at the dead wolf.
Something about it felt familiar.
Not the wolf itself.
The scent.
A faint, bitter scent clung to its fur.
Smoke.
And something else.
Something she had smelled before.
She couldn't remember where.
By the time Elara returned to the village, the entire place had changed; warriors lined the street, the gates were heavily guarded, and every window facing the main road had been opened.
People gathered outside their homes, whispering excitedly about the alpha king's arrival.
Elara kept her head down as she walked beside Mira.
That's her! The whisper came from behind them
Mira's expression immediately hardened.
Don't! Elara continued walking.
Another voice followed.
That's the alpha's daughter?
No, that's the useless one, twenty years old and still without a wolf, maybe the moon goddess rejected her, too.
Mira stopped, and Elara caught her hand.
Don't.
Mira stared at her. You always say that
Because they always talk.
Elara had become accustomed to whispers.
She had been born into a family that everyone feared, yet she had grown up being treated as if she were nothing.
Her father never spoke about her mother, never explained why she had no memories of her, never explained why no one in the pack was allowed to mention the night she died.
And whenever Elara asked questions, the answers were always the same. "Your mother is dead; leave the past alone".
But the past had never left Elara alone; it followed her in dreams, in flashes of silver light, and in the strange visions that came whenever she touched a certain object. And sometimes,s when she looked at the scar beneath her collarbone, she felt as though something was waking up.
Elara! She looked at Mira, what?
" You're bleeding again, Elara glanced down; a thin line of blood had appeared beneath her collarbone.
Her hand immediately covered it.
Mira frowned. What is that? nothing
Elara......
A horn sounded from the village entrance, and the crowd fell silent.
Mira turned towards the road
He's here.
Elara looked in the same direction
A convoy of black vehicles enters through the gates
Warriors surrounded them, and the villagers began to bow. Elara remained still; she didn't know why, but the moment the first vehicle crossed the village boundary, the scar beneath her collarbone began to burn.
Pain shot through her body, and she pressed her hands against it. Then, the final vehicle stopped.
The door opened, and a man stepped down
Lucien Blackthorn.
Elara had never seen him before, yet the moment their eyes met across the crowded street, something inside her recognized him.
The world seemed to go silent, and Lucien froze, his eyes narrowed, for one brief moment, his expression changed.
not surprise, not curiosity, fear.
Elara's heart began to pound
A strange warmth spread through her chest
Then a voice whispered inside her mind, "mate"
Elara's breath caught. Across the street, Lucien's face went cold
His gaze went to the hand pressed against her collarbone
The scar, something flickered in his eye
recognition then hatred
Elara took one uncertain step forward
Lucien's jaw tightened
no!
The word was quiet, but she heard it
A man standing beside him leaned closer and whispered something in his ear
Lucien's gaze remained fixed on Elara, and his expression became harder
For the first time, Elara felt the bond between them pull painfully at her chest
She didn't understand; she didn't know why he was looking at her as if she were an enemy.
She only knew one thing: the man standing across from her was her mate, and he also hated her.
Behind Elara, the alpha of the moonridge stepped forward.
Your Majesty, he greeted. Lucien didn't look away from Elara.
Alpha Veyne
Her father's face went pale. Elara noticed, and for the first time in her life, she wondered why.
- Writer
