FATED TO THE ROGUE ALPHA

The forest is too quiet. I press my face against the cool window of the armored SUV, watching the dark trees blur past as we speed toward my engagement ceremony. Something feels wrong, but I can't put my finger on what. The usual sounds of the night—owls hooting, leaves rustling—are absent, replaced by an eerie silence that makes my wolf restless beneath my skin. "Aria, sit back properly," my father's stern voice cuts through my thoughts. Beta Derek Blackwood doesn't tolerate slouching, especially not when we're traveling to meet my future husband. "Alpha Marcus expects a lady, not a wild child pressed against windows." I straighten in my seat, smoothing down the blue dress he insisted I wear. It's modest, conservative—everything I'm supposed to be. Everything I hate being. "Yes, Father." But my wolf won't settle. She's pacing, whining, like she knows something I don't. I've learned to trust her instincts over the years, even when they contradict what everyone expects of me. The convoy consists of three vehicles—our SUV in the middle, with guards from the Silver Moon Pack flanking us front and back. It should be enough protection for the short journey to Iron Claw territory, but the wrongness in the air is making my skin crawl. "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" my father asks, his stern expression softening slightly. Despite his rigid ways, I know he loves me. He's just never known how to show it properly since Mom died. "A little," I admit, which is a massive understatement. I'm terrified. Not of marriage itself, but of marrying Alpha Marcus Steele. The few times I've met him, something in his eyes made my wolf recoil. He looks at me like I'm a prize to be won, not a person to be loved. But this marriage will strengthen both our packs. It's my duty, my father reminds me constantly. Personal feelings don't matter when the good of the pack is at stake. The lead vehicle's brake lights suddenly flare red in the darkness ahead of us. Our driver slams on the brakes, sending me lurching forward against my seatbelt. "What the hell—" my father starts, but his words are cut off by a bone-chilling howl that seems to come from everywhere at once. My blood turns to ice. I know that sound. Rogues. The night explodes into chaos. Dark shapes pour out of the forest on both sides of the road—wolves with matted fur and wild eyes, moving with the desperate hunger of outcasts. They slam into our convoy with brutal force, claws and fangs gleaming in the headlights. "Stay down!" my father roars, shifting partially into his wolf form. His canines extend and his eyes flash gold as his protective instincts kick into overdrive. But even as a Beta, he's outnumbered twenty to one. Our guards pour out of the vehicles, shifting into their wolf forms to meet the attack. The sounds of snarling, howling, and snapping bones fill the air. Through the chaos, I catch glimpses of the battle—our silver and white wolves desperately fighting against the mass of rogues. A massive brown rogue slams into our SUV, spider-webbing the windshield. His yellow eyes lock onto mine through the glass, and his lips pull back in a feral grin that promises violence. "Aria, get out and run!" my father shouts, grabbing a silver knife from the glove compartment. "Head for the forest—find somewhere to hide!" "I'm not leaving you!" I shout back, but he's already out of the vehicle, shifting fully into his massive gray wolf. He launches himself at the rogue on our windshield, and they go down in a writhing mass of fur and fury. But there are too many of them. For every rogue our guards take down, two more appear. This isn't a random attack—it's coordinated, planned. Someone wants us dead. Or they want me. A claw rakes across the passenger window, leaving deep gouges in the bulletproof glass. I scramble toward the driver's side, but another rogue appears there, his human form covered in scars and blood. He's grinning at me with broken teeth. "There she is," he growls, his voice rough from years of living wild. "The pretty little Beta's daughter. You're going to fetch a fine price." Price? They're not here to kill me—they want to take me. Sell me. The realization hits me like a physical blow. Female wolves, especially unmated ones from strong bloodlines, are valuable commodities in the supernatural black market. The scarred rogue punches through the driver's side window, safety glass exploding inward. I throw myself toward the back of the SUV, my heart hammering against my ribs. My wolf is screaming at me to shift, to fight, but I've never been in real combat before. I'm trained, but this isn't training. This is life or death. The rogue's hand closes around my ankle, his claws digging into my skin through my stockings. I scream and kick, catching him in the face with my heel. He snarls and tightens his grip, beginning to drag me out of the vehicle. That's when I see him. A shadow detaches itself from the treeline—a wolf so large he makes our guards look like puppies. His fur is midnight black, and his eyes... God, his eyes are like silver fire in the darkness. He moves with liquid grace, power radiating from every line of his massive frame. For a moment, time seems suspended. The huge black wolf and I stare at each other across the chaos of the battle, and something electric passes between us. Something that makes my wolf sit up and take notice in a way she never has before. Then the moment shatters. The black wolf launches himself into the fray with devastating efficiency. He tears through the rogues like they're made of paper, his massive jaws closing around throats and snapping necks with clinical precision. But he's not fighting randomly—he's cutting a direct path toward our SUV. Toward me. The rogue holding my ankle suddenly releases me, backing away with his eyes wide. "s**t," he whispers. "It's him. It's Nightshade." Nightshade? I've heard that name whispered in scared voices around pack territory. Kane Nightshade, the rogue Alpha who disappeared five years ago after supposedly killing his own brother. They say he's more monster than man now, leading a pack of outcasts in the deepest parts of the forbidden forest. The black wolf—Kane—reaches our SUV just as three rogues converge on me from different angles. He doesn't even slow down. The first rogue dies with his throat torn out before he can react. The second gets body-slammed into a tree with enough force to snap his spine. The third tries to run. Kane's massive jaws close around the fleeing rogue's neck, and there's a wet cracking sound that makes my stomach turn. Then those burning silver eyes are focused on me again, and I can't breathe. Even in wolf form, he's the most magnificent and terrifying thing I've ever seen. Power radiates from him like heat from a forge, and every instinct I have is screaming contradictory messages. Run. Stay. Hide. Submit. Want. Oh God, why am I feeling want? Kane shifts back to human form, and I have to bite my lip to keep from gasping. He's tall, easily six-foot-four, with broad shoulders and a lean, muscled frame covered in intricate tattoos. His black hair is longer than current fashion, falling in waves to his shoulders, and his face... it's like something carved from granite, all sharp angles and harsh beauty. But it's his eyes that capture me. Silver like his wolf's, but with a depth of pain and rage that makes my heart ache for reasons I don't understand. He's also completely naked, which is normal after shifting but somehow feels different with him. Intimate. My cheeks burn as I try not to stare at his powerful body, but it's impossible. He's magnificent. "You're hurt," his voice is a low rumble that seems to vibrate through my bones. He's looking at my ankle where the rogue's claws broke skin. I can't speak. Can't think. The world has narrowed down to just him and the way he's looking at me—like I'm something precious and fragile that he wants to protect and devour at the same time. "I..." I start, but the words die in my throat when he takes a step closer. The scent hits me then—pine and leather and something wild and masculine that makes my wolf practically purr. It's intoxicating, addictive, and completely overwhelming. I've never reacted to anyone's scent like this before. Kane freezes mid-step, his nostrils flaring as he catches my scent in return. Those silver eyes go wide, then narrow with something that looks like shock and disbelief. "No," he breathes, and the word sounds like it's been torn from his soul. "Not you. Not now." I don't understand what he means, but before I can ask, my father's voice cuts through the moment like a blade. "Aria! Get away from him!" The spell breaks. Kane's expression shuts down, becoming cold and distant, and he takes several steps back from the SUV. Around us, the battle is winding down—the surviving rogues are retreating into the forest, leaving their dead behind. "You're safe now," Kane says, his voice carefully neutral. But his eyes... his eyes are still burning with whatever just passed between us. "Stay close to your guards on the rest of your journey. These roads aren't safe anymore." He starts to turn away, and panic flares in my chest. I don't understand what's happening to me, but I know with absolute certainty that I can't let him leave. Not yet. "Wait!" I call out, scrambling to climb out of the damaged SUV. "What's your name?" He pauses, looking back over his shoulder. For a moment, his carefully controlled mask slips, and I see something raw and hungry in his expression. "Kane," he says quietly. "And you should forget you ever met me, little wolf." Then he's gone, melting back into the shadows of the forest like he was never there at all. But the scent of pine and leather lingers in the air, and I know with absolute certainty that forgetting Kane Nightshade will be impossible. Even if my life depends on it.