Chapter 1: Secrets in the Mist
Luna pressed her back against the rough bark of an ancient pine, her heart thundering against her ribs. The waterfall's roar couldn't drown out the sound of heavy footfalls approaching through the forest. They were getting closer.Three distinct scents carried on the midnight breeze – sage and cedar, winter frost and leather, wild honey and smoke. The Alpha triad of the Silver Peak pack. Even a mile away, their combined power rolled through the forest like thunder before a storm.She shouldn't have come this close to their territory. But the full moon's pull was strong tonight, and the legendary falls that marked the heart of their land called to something ancient in her blood. The same blood that made her both blessed and cursed – a hybrid the likes of which the supernatural world had never seen."I caught her scent again," a deep voice rumbled nearby, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. Kade. The largest of the three Alphas, his massive frame and tribal tattoos made him look like a warrior god stepped out of legend.Luna held her breath, drawing on her fairy glamour to fade further into the shadows. The witch half of her nature helped stabilize the magic, while her vampire blood kept her heart rate slow and silent. But it was the lycan in her that made her want to step into the clearing, to finally face what fate had been pushing her toward for months."She's close." This voice was slightly smoother, but no less commanding. Ash. The strategist of the three, whose ice-blue eyes seemed to pierce through every defense she'd ever built."Playing games again, little wolf?" The third voice, belonging to River, held a dangerous sort of playfulness that made her magic spark beneath her skin. "We can do this dance as long as you like, but sooner or later, you'll have to face what you are. What we are."What we are. Luna closed her eyes, fighting back the pull of the mate bond that had been growing stronger with each passing moon. They didn't know what she was – a forbidden combination of four supernatural bloodlines, topped with a rare fairy blessing. A being that shouldn't exist.The sound of a branch snapping jerked her attention back to her surroundings. They were too close now. Through the dense canopy of pines, the cascade of Silver Falls painted the forest in sheets of liquid silver, its magic as ancient as the mountains themselves. The very magic that had drawn her here, again and again, despite the risk."I can feel your power," Kade growled, and Luna could sense him less than thirty feet away now. "It calls to us like nothing we've ever known.""Let us help you," Ash added, his voice softer but no less intense. "Whatever you're running from—""—we can protect you," River finished.Luna's fingers dug into the bark behind her. They didn't understand. They couldn't protect her from herself, from the chaos that followed her kind. The Council of Elders had made it clear what happened to hybrids – especially ones that dared to bond with powerful Alphas.But as their energy surrounded her, three distinct auras reaching for her own, Luna felt her resolve weakening. The fairy in her sang for their wild magic. The vampire craved their strength. The witch recognized their power. And the lycan... the lycan wanted to run home to its mates.A twig snapped beneath her boot, and the forest went deadly still."Got you," River whispered, far too close.Luna did the only thing she could do.She ran.Behind her, three powerful bodies shifted, the sound of bones reforming and fur sprouting filling the night air. The hunt was on. But this time, as she raced through the silver-dappled forest with three massive wolves on her trail, Luna wasn't sure if she was running from them – or toward her destiny.The moon hung full and heavy above Silver Falls, and somewhere in the ancient magic of this place, secrets were about to be revealed that would change their world forever.