Fated to the Dread Alpha

The Prophecy Stirs

Lizzy's POV

Very slowly, Kai turned to look at me. All the humor was gone from his face, replaced by something deeper. Warmer. Painful.

“Lizzy,” he said softly.

Heat rushed up my neck. “I didn’t mean— I mean, I did. You’re… easy to be around. You feel… familiar. Like home. But I know how this works. I know I’m fated to him and you’re—”

He moved before I could finish.

One second he was sitting, and the next he was in front of me, closer than he’d ever been. His hand lifted like he meant to touch my face, then stopped halfway.

My breath caught.

His eyes dropped to my mouth.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Maybe,” he said, voice rough, “in another life, I would have been.”

“Been… what?” My voice came out barely there.

“Yours,” he said simply.

The world narrowed to the space between us. To the heat of his body, the soft gust of his breath. His hand hovered just near my cheek, fingers trembling.

If he kissed me, something would break. I knew that. The bond in my chest, frayed as it was, tugged painfully in Varek’s direction. But Kai…

He leaned in, just a fraction.

Then his eyes went distant.

He flinched like something struck him.

“Kai?” I asked.

He swore under his breath and stepped back, pressing his fingers to his temple.

“Mindlink?” I guessed.

“Yeah,” he said tightly. “We have to go. Now.”

The moment shattered.

Cold air rushed back between us, carrying all the awkwardness and unsaid things with it.

“Right,” I said, heart hammering. “Of course. Sure. Emergency. Totally fine. Great timing, whoever that was.”

“One of the scouts,” he said, already shoving food back into the pack. “We’re needed back at the keep.”

“What happened?” I asked.

He hesitated. “I’ll let Varek explain. It’s… not my news to give.”

That hurt more than it should have.

We packed in silence.

The climb down was faster, but it felt longer. My legs shook from fatigue, my brain buzzing with what almost happened on that ledge.

Kai walked ahead of me for the first part, then slowed until we were side by side.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“For what?”

“For almost kissing you,” he said bluntly.

I winced. “You don’t have to—”

“I care about you, Lizzy,” he cut in. “More than I probably should. But you are not just some girl in my pack. You are the future Luna of the Veiled Dominion. Varek’s mate. My Alpha’s mate.”

The words stung.

“Maybe in another life,” he said again, softer. “Maybe then I could be selfish. But not in this one.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “I didn’t mean to make things weird.”

“You didn’t,” he said. “Our timing did.”

We walked in silence for a while, the path winding down.

“I don’t regret what you said, by the way,” he added. “About wishing the Goddess picked someone like me.”

I risked a glance at him.

He smiled, a little sad. “It’s nice to be wanted. Even in theory.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I kept walking, the ache in my chest settling into something dull and confused.

The keep loomed larger as we descended. Something about it felt… different. The air buzzed with tension. More guards than usual lined the outer walls, their stances rigid, eyes fixed outward.

My stomach tightened.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Kai didn’t answer immediately.

We crossed into the main courtyard.

They were waiting.

Varek stood near the center, arms folded, surrounded by a cluster of warriors. His presence hit me first—sharp, electric, filling the space like pressure before storm. His hair was slightly disheveled, as if he’d been running his hands through it. His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle flickered near his ear.

Alaric stood beside him. The Dread Alpha looked… calm. Which was somehow worse. His eyes were dark and unreadable, his aura wrapping around the courtyard like smoke.

Behind them, I spotted Holly near a pile of packs and supplies, fingers twisting in her apron. A woman in healer’s robes stood beside her, checking vials and bandages with quick, efficient motions.

Every head turned as Kai and I walked into the open.

“Oh,” I said. “Cool. This isn’t ominous at all.”

Kai exhaled, low. “Welcome to the next phase.”

Varek’s gaze locked on me.

For three days he had barely met my eyes.

Now, the full weight of his attention hit me all at once.

It stole my breath.

He scanned me quickly—my face, my posture, my hands—as if checking for damage. When his gaze snagged on a small scrape on my palm, his nostrils flared the slightest bit.

Alaric broke the silence.

“Elizabeth,” he said. “You took your time.”

I bristled automatically. “Sorry. I wasn’t aware I was on a timer.”

“You are,” he said. “We all are.”

Varek’s voice cut in, lower, controlled. “We leave in an hour.”

I blinked. “We… what?”

Holly stepped forward tentatively. “We’re packing for a field camp, my lady. Outside the keep, closer to the old Rites grounds. Less distraction. More space.”

My heart kicked against my ribs.

I looked between Alaric and Varek. “Why?”

Alaric’s gaze sharpened. “Because the Rites have been moved forward.”

The ground seemed to tilt under my feet.

“How far forward?” I asked, throat dry.

“Three days,” Varek said.

Three days.

Not weeks. Not months.

Three days until I was thrown into some ancient trial meant for Lycans raised for this life. Three days until I had to stand as Luna or die trying. Three days until—

“Why?” I forced out. “What changed?”

Alaric’s expression didn’t shift, but something about the air around him grew colder.

“One of the Elders had a vision,” he said. “She saw a thread of fate snapped by delay. She saw you taken from us before the Rites could be completed. She saw ruin.”

A chill crawled down my spine. “Taken… by who?”

Varek answered. “Your former pack.”

I laughed.

I couldn’t help it. It burst out of me, sharp and disbelieving.

“Crescent Ridge? My old pack? You think they’re going to stroll into the Veiled Dominion, kidnap me from under your noses, and what, walk out whistling?”

No one else laughed.

The silence made my skin prickle.

“Are you serious?” I asked, looking from face to face. “You’re Lycans. You’re stronger. Faster. Older. This realm is warded to the teeth. How the hell are a bunch of wolves supposed to go up against you?”

Alaric stepped forward, his aura pressing against my skin like a heavy hand.

“Do not mistake numbers for insignificance,” he said. “You think this is about one pack. It is not. Word of you has spread beyond Crescent Ridge. You are proof of prophecy. Proof the bloodline still threads itself where it will. There are forces outside this realm that would rather see you dead than see that power consolidated here.”

My mouth went dry.

“What forces?” I whispered.

“Wolves,” Varek said. “Many of them. Alliances built in secret. Packs that resent Lycans for retreating to our own realm and leaving them to tear each other apart. Others who worship the old ways and believe the fated bond should never have crossed realms.”

“That still doesn’t explain how they’d get in,” I said, my voice climbing. “You said this place is sealed. Hidden. Veiled. Whatever word you used.”

Alaric’s jaw clenched.

“We have enemies,” he said, “who have been studying our barriers for a very long time. Enemies who may have discovered a crack.”

“And,” Varek added, his voice turning even colder, “they have a weapon.”

The word hung in the air like frost.

I swallowed. “What kind of weapon?”

“We do not yet know its exact form,” Alaric said. “Only that it was envisioned as something that can harm even Lycans. Something that can bind or siphon what makes us more than wolves.”

Panic fluttered in my chest.

Nyra pressed closer inside me, bristling.

“Which is why,” Alaric continued, “this cannot wait. Once the Rites are complete and the bond is fully anchored, it will be harder to sever you from us. Harder to use you against us. Harder to touch you at all.”

“Let me translate,” Kai said under his breath near my shoulder. “We’re rushing this because the universe hates us.”

I shot him a look.

He tried to smile. It didn’t quite land.

I turned back to Varek.

“You knew this?” I asked. “You knew and didn’t tell me?”

“I learned this morning,” he said. His eyes were flint. “We are adjusting now.”

“Adjusting,” I repeated. “That’s what you call giving me three days’ notice before I walk into some ritual that might kill me?”

His gaze flashed, something fierce breaking through. “Do you think I want this rushed? Do you think I enjoy knowing you are less prepared than I planned? I would have given you months. Years. But my father is right. Waiting invites disaster.”

I stared at him, chest tight.

“And the mating?” I asked quietly. “The Elder’s vision said if we’re not mated before… whatever happens, my old pack will take me?”

Varek’s throat worked. “Yes.”

“So I’m supposed to train, survive, and get married under a ticking clock,” I said. “Great. No pressure.”

Kai let out a low, strangled laugh that sounded very close to a choke.

Alaric’s gaze pinned me. “You are not a victim, Elizabeth. You are a Lycan. You are the daughter of Christine. You have more power than you know. These next three days will awaken it—or break you.”

Comforting.

“So who’s coming?” I asked, forcing my voice steady. “Besides the walking storm cloud and his charming father.”

Kai cleared his throat. “Me.”

Holly lifted her hand, hesitant. “I’ve been assigned to attend you. To help with camp duties.”

The healer stepped forward. “I am Thalia. I will ensure you remain breathing. Preferably with all limbs attached.”

“Well,” I said weakly, “that’s a reassuring introduction.”

Varek took a slow step toward me, his gaze never leaving mine.

“We leave in an hour,” he repeated, softer now. “Get what you need. Say whatever goodbyes you require. There will not be time later.”

I wanted to be angry. To shout. To tell him I wasn’t a blade to be sharpened and thrown.

Instead, what came out was, “And what about you?”

He frowned. “What about me?”

“You’ve been avoiding me for three days,” I said, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “Now you expect me to just follow you into the woods for some intense pre-death boot camp and pretend that doesn’t—”

“This is not about avoidance,” he cut in, jaw tight. “It is about control.”

“Feels the same from where I’m standing,” I shot back.

Hurt flickered in his eyes, there and gone.

“This is not the place,” Alaric said sharply, gaze flicking between us with clear impatience. “Sort out your mating turmoil in the forest. For now, move.”

Holly jumped at the tone and hurried back to the supplies.

Thalia began checking her satchel.

Kai brushed against my arm as he stepped past me to grab another pack.

“Hey,” he murmured, just for me. “Three days. We can do a lot in three days. You’re tougher than you think.”

I swallowed hard.

“Yeah,” I said, staring at Varek. “I guess we’re all about to find out.”