The Alpha beneath my shadow

Chapter One — The Girl in the Woods The moon was red the night Elena saw the wolf. It hung above the trees, huge and strangely bright, turning the forest into a place that looked nothing like the one she knew during the day. Elena stood at the edge of the woods, hugging herself against the cold. She knew she shouldn't be there. Her father had warned her countless times never to enter the forest after dark. He never explained why. Whenever Elena asked, he would simply say, "There's nothing in there you need to see." Tonight, however, something felt different. She had been sitting by her bedroom window when she heard the howl. It was unlike anything she had heard before. Deep. Lonely. Almost as if someone was calling for her. Before she knew what she was doing, Elena had left the house and found herself standing at the edge of the forest. She looked back. The lights from her father's house were still visible in the distance. "I'll only be gone for a minute," she whispered to herself. She stepped between the trees. Immediately, the familiar sounds of the village disappeared. The forest was quiet. Too quiet. Elena walked slowly, listening to every sound around her. Leaves rustled beneath her shoes. A branch snapped somewhere in the darkness. She stopped. "Hello?" There was no answer. She almost turned around. Then she heard another howl. This time, it was much closer. Elena's heart jumped. She slowly turned toward the sound. Two golden eyes were staring at her from between the trees. She couldn't move. A large black wolf stepped into the moonlight. Elena had never seen anything like it. It was enormous. Its fur was completely black, and its golden eyes seemed to glow beneath the red moon. Every sensible part of her told her to run. But strangely, she wasn't afraid. She couldn't explain it. There was something about the wolf that made her feel as though she had seen it before. The wolf stared at her. Elena stared back. "Are you lost?" she whispered. She almost laughed at herself. Why was she talking to a wolf? The animal took a slow step toward her. Elena's breath caught. Then it took another. She should have moved. Instead, she stayed where she was. "Who are you?" The wolf stopped. For a moment, they simply watched each other. Then pain suddenly shot through Elena's wrist. She gasped and grabbed her arm. "What the—?" A strange silver light was spreading across her skin. She pulled back her sleeve. A crescent-shaped mark had appeared on her wrist. Elena stared at it. Her stomach tightened. She had never seen the mark before. "What is this?" The wolf growled. Elena looked up. Something about the animal's expression had changed. It wasn't anger. It looked almost shocked. As if the wolf recognized her. Elena took a cautious step backward. The wolf moved forward. "Please don't." It stopped. For a strange moment, Elena felt as though it understood her. Then a howl echoed from somewhere deeper in the forest. The wolf immediately turned its head. Its entire body became tense. It looked back at Elena. Their eyes met one last time. Then it disappeared between the trees. "Wait!" Elena took a step after it. But the wolf was already gone. She stood there alone. Her heart was still racing. She looked at the mark on her wrist. Nothing about tonight made sense. She decided she had had enough. Whatever that wolf was, she didn't want to find out. Elena hurried back through the forest. By the time she reached the house, she was almost running. She pushed the door open. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table. He looked up. The moment he saw her, his expression changed. "Elena." She stopped. He stared at her clothes, then at the dirt on her shoes. "Where have you been?" Elena hesitated. She knew she couldn't lie to him. "The forest." Her father's face went pale. "You went into the forest?" "Yes." "At this hour?" Elena frowned. "I heard something." Her father stood quickly. "What did you hear?" "A howl." He went completely still. Elena noticed immediately. "Why are you acting like that?" "Did you see anything?" She looked down at her wrist. Her father followed her gaze. The moment he saw the silver crescent, all the color disappeared from his face. He grabbed her wrist. "Where did you get this?" Elena pulled away. "A wolf." His eyes widened. "What wolf?" "A black wolf. It had golden eyes." Her father took a step backward. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then, almost under his breath, he said, "Kael." Elena frowned. "Who is Kael?" Her father immediately looked away. "Nobody." "You just said a name." "I said nothing." "Father, you know what happened." He turned toward her. His expression was more frightened than angry. "Elena, listen to me. Whatever you saw tonight, forget about it." "How can I forget when this appeared on my wrist?" She held up the mark. Her father's eyes remained fixed on it. "You must never go back into that forest." "Why?" "Because it's dangerous." "That's not an answer." "It's the only answer you're getting." Elena stared at him. Her father had always been protective, but this was different. He looked terrified. "Who is Kael?" she asked again. Her father didn't respond. Instead, he walked toward the window and pulled the curtains shut. "Go upstairs." "But—" "Elena." His voice was firm. "Please." She had never heard him sound so desperate. Elena reluctantly turned and walked upstairs. But she didn't sleep. She sat beside her bedroom window and stared at the dark forest. She couldn't stop thinking about the wolf. Those golden eyes. The way it had looked at her. And the strange feeling she had experienced when the silver mark appeared. She touched her wrist. The mark was still there. Somewhere beyond those trees, she felt certain the wolf was still out there. She didn't know who Kael was. She didn't know what the mark meant. And she certainly didn't know why her father seemed terrified of both. But she was determined to find out. Far away, on the other side of the forest, the wolf had returned to his territory. He stepped into a clearing and stopped. A few seconds later, his body shifted. Bones cracked. Black fur disappeared. The wolf became a man. Kael stood beneath the red moon, breathing heavily. He couldn't stop thinking about the girl. Elena. He didn't know her name yet. But his wolf knew exactly who she was. His mate. The realization should have made him happy. Instead, it frightened him. Because Kael knew something Elena didn't. The silver crescent wasn't an ordinary mark. And if the wrong people saw it, they would come looking for her. One of his warriors approached. "Alpha." Kael turned. "We found traces of strangers near the northern border." "Forget them." The warrior looked surprised. Kael rarely ignored a threat. "Alpha?" Kael looked back toward the forest. "Find out who the girl is." "The girl?" Kael's expression hardened. "The one who was in the woods tonight." The warrior bowed. "Yes, Alpha." Kael remained where he was. He had spent years protecting his territory from enemies. He had never expected his greatest problem to be the woman his wolf had chosen. And somehow, he already knew one thing. Elena was not an ordinary girl. Her secret was connected to his past. And before long, both of them would discover that the night they met was not an accident. It was the beginning of something that could change the entire Northern Territories.