The Alpha's forbidden firstborn

CHAPTER 2: THE SCENT

Elara was carrying fresh towels upstairs when she noticed how the entire castle seemed to change instantly. She stopped. Servants hurried through the corridors. Preparations had been going on since yesterday. Who could make the Blackfang Alpha prepare like this?

Then he stepped in. Elara couldn't explain why her heart suddenly stopped.

Tall. Handsome. Powerful. Impossibly composed.

He wore a perfectly tailored black suit beneath a long black fur ceremonial coat. His dark hair was neatly styled, his jaw sharp, his expression unreadable. Elara noticed something—he was a little uncomfortable, like he was looking for something with his nose.

Every female wolf was already admiring him. She learned his name.

Alpha Kael Draven.

A name that held power. One of the most powerful and respected Alpha Kings in the wolf clan. She immediately hurried upstairs to avoid being noticed and yelled at or even beaten.

---

The Blood Moon Pack's arrival at Blackfang was meant to be a formality. The two packs had existed in an uneasy truce for decades, their borders touching like two wolves circling each other—neither willing to strike first, but both ready to tear out the other's throat at the slightest provocation.

Alpha Viktor greeted them at the entrance, his smile as false as his promises.

As they walked inside, the scent hit Kael like a blade. It was barely there—honeysuckle and rain-soaked earth, something ancient and pure and utterly intoxicating. He managed to take the seat Viktor showed him. His wolf woke violently inside him.

Mate.

The word exploded through his consciousness like a thunderclap. His wolf surged forward with such force that Kael had to grip the arms of the chair to keep from shifting on the spot. A low, possessive growl rumbled from his chest, drawing startled glances from both his pack members and Viktor's.

"Is something wrong, Alpha Kael?" Viktor asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Kael forced himself to breathe, to regain control. His wolf was howling in his mind, desperate to follow the scent.

"The air in here is stale," Kael managed to say, his voice rougher than usual.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Viktor said. "Perhaps the road—"

"I know what the road smells like."

He tried standing to look for where the scent was coming from. The scent became stronger. His gaze swept the hall and landed on a girl walking in holding a tray.

Mine.

His wolf screamed in his mind.

"There," Kael said, pointing toward her.

She froze. Her whole body went rigid with the particular terror of being seen.

"That's nothing," Viktor said quickly. "Pack property. Not worth your attention, Alpha."

That statement angered Kael and his wolf.

---

Elara felt every eye in the hall shift to her at once. She was terrified. She never wanted to be noticed. Anytime she was noticed or remembered, it earned her a beating. She did the one thing she knew how to do under that kind of attention: made herself smaller, dropped her gaze to the stone floor, waiting for whatever came next.

She had learned not to expect anything good.

She was waiting for a slap to come. Her hands started shaking. The tray dropped. Out of fear, she immediately fell to her knees.

Kael was fighting control with his wolf. He was so heartbroken seeing her so frightened. He had waited years for her. Prayed to the Moon Goddess every day. Now he found her in such a broken state. He wanted to rip off Viktor's head for doing this to her.

What had his mate been passing through?