THE ALPHA'S FORBIDDEN MATE

The forest was screaming. Seraphina Vale ran. Branches clawed at her bare arms as she tore through the darkness, her lungs burning with every desperate breath. The cold night air sliced through the thin fabric of her dress, but she barely felt it anymore. Something was chasing her. Something that didn't belong in the human world. She could hear it behind her. The heavy thud of paws against the earth. One. Two. Three. Closer. Seraphina stumbled over a root and crashed to her knees. A sharp cry escaped her lips. Pain shot through her palms as tiny stones and broken twigs cut into her skin. For one terrifying second, she couldn't breathe. Then she heard it. A low growl. Not far behind her. Seraphina slowly turned. Nothing. Only darkness. Tall trees stood like silent giants around her, their branches twisting beneath the pale light of the moon. "Please..." Her voice trembled. She didn't know who she was begging. The Moon Goddess? Her dead mother? Anyone who might be listening? She pushed herself upright. Then the howl came. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard. Deep. Powerful. Almost human. The sound rolled through the forest, shaking something inside her chest. Seraphina froze. Every wolf in the forest answered. One after another, howls erupted from the darkness. Her heart stopped. She had grown up around werewolves. She knew what wolves sounded like. But this was different. Every wolf sounded afraid. A twig snapped behind her. Seraphina spun around. Two golden eyes stared at her from between the trees. She couldn't move. The creature stepped forward. Moonlight spilled over its enormous body. Black fur. Massive shoulders. Long claws. And eyes so dark they almost looked silver beneath the moon. Seraphina's blood turned to ice. An Alpha. Not just any Alpha. She could feel his power from where she stood. It pressed against her skin like an invisible weight, making her wolf—if she even had one—want to run. But her legs refused to move. The wolf stared at her. Seraphina stared back. Something strange happened. The forest became completely silent. No insects. No wind. No distant wolves. Nothing. Then something inside her chest cracked open. A warmth spread through her body. Her heartbeat changed. Once. Twice. Then— THUMP. The black wolf's head snapped upward. His nostrils flared. He took one slow step toward her. Seraphina stepped backward. "No." Another step. "No..." She didn't know why she was afraid. She only knew that every instinct inside her screamed that she should run. The wolf stopped. His eyes locked onto hers. And suddenly, Seraphina heard a voice. Not from the forest. Not from the wolf. From somewhere inside her own mind. A single word. Mate. Seraphina's breath caught. "What?" The black wolf growled. The sound vibrated through her bones. Then his body began to change. Bones cracked. Fur disappeared. The enormous wolf rose onto two legs, his body twisting beneath the moonlight. Seraphina stumbled backward. A man stood where the wolf had been. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Terrifying. His black hair fell messily across his forehead, and his skin was marked with scars that disappeared beneath the waistband of his dark trousers. But it was his eyes that frightened her most. They were the same eyes. Silver. Cold. Unforgiving. He looked at her as though she were something he had spent years searching for. Then his gaze dropped to her wrist. Seraphina instinctively covered it. Too late. His expression changed. Recognition flashed across his face. Not surprise. Not confusion. Recognition. "You." The single word was filled with something she couldn't understand. Hatred. Seraphina swallowed. "Who are you?" The man took another step forward. She backed away. "Stay back." He ignored her. "What is your name?" "Seraphina." His jaw tightened. "Seraphina what?" "Vale." The moment she said it, something changed in his face. The coldness became something darker. Something dangerous. His hands curled into fists. "Vale?" She nodded slowly. "Yes." He stared at her wrist again. Seraphina followed his gaze. A strange silver mark had appeared on her skin. She had never seen it before. It looked like a crescent moon surrounded by three thin lines. "What is that?" she whispered. The man's expression hardened. "You don't know?" She shook her head. He looked at her for several seconds. Then he laughed. There was no humor in it. It was a quiet, bitter sound. "You were never supposed to survive." Seraphina's stomach dropped. "What?" He stepped closer. She could feel his power now. It was suffocating. "Who are you?" His eyes remained fixed on hers. "Kael Draven." The name meant nothing to her. But the fear that suddenly swept through her body told her that it should. Kael Draven. Somewhere deep inside her memories, she'd heard that name. Whispers. Stories. Warnings. The Black Wolf. The Alpha who had conquered three territories before his twenty-fifth birthday. The Alpha whose enemies disappeared without a trace. The man mothers used to frighten their children into obedience. Seraphina's lips parted. "You're..." "The Alpha of Nightfang." Her voice barely escaped. Kael said nothing. He didn't need to. She knew. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to submit. But she refused. She lifted her chin. "What do you want from me?" His eyes narrowed. "I want the truth." "About what?" "Your family." Seraphina's heart stumbled. "My family is dead." "Is that what they told you?" She frowned. "What are you talking about?" Kael moved closer. He was only a few feet away now. "You've been lied to your entire life." A cold shiver ran down her spine. "By who?" He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached toward her wrist. Seraphina flinched away. His hand stopped in midair. For the first time, she saw something unexpected in his eyes. Pain. It disappeared almost instantly. "That mark," he said quietly. "Where did you get it?" "I don't know." "You're lying." "I'm not!" Her voice cracked. "I woke up with it." Kael stared at her. Then his wolf spoke through the bond. She's ours. Kael's expression darkened. She's a Vale. She's our mate. She's our enemy. For the first time in years, Kael didn't know which voice to obey. Seraphina suddenly gasped. A blinding pain exploded behind her eyes. She grabbed her head. Images flashed through her mind. Fire. Blood. A woman screaming. A silver wolf. A baby crying. And a voice whispering through the flames. Run, little moon. Seraphina screamed. Kael caught her before she hit the ground. The moment his arms wrapped around her, another vision struck. A woman stood before a burning house, tears streaming down her face. She was holding a baby. Seraphina. The woman looked directly at her. Then she whispered: "Never let the Alpha find you." Seraphina's eyes flew open. She stared up at Kael in horror. He was staring down at her. And he looked just as shaken. Because he had seen something too. The silver mark on Seraphina's wrist was glowing. Brighter. Until the entire forest was illuminated by its strange light. Every wolf nearby dropped to the ground. Kael slowly released her. His face had gone pale. "What are you?" he whispered. Seraphina couldn't answer. She didn't know. But deep inside her, something ancient had finally awakened. And it was laughing. Then the forest thundered with howls. Hundreds of them. Kael looked toward the trees. His expression changed instantly. "They found you." "Who?" He looked back at her. "The ones who have been looking for you since the night you were born." Seraphina's blood ran cold. Kael grabbed her hand. "Run." "For what?" He looked into her eyes. "For your life." And somewhere beyond the trees, something howled back. Something that sounded almost human. Something that had been waiting for her. For twenty years.