Fated
Amber's body was taut, muscles slick with sweat as she finished her last sequence of strikes. Her face was a mask of ferocity, her eyes hard with determination. She moved with precise control, but inwardly, she bristled.
This was Adonis' idea—her brother, her Beta—insisting she put on these public displays of dominance for the lesser Alphas who gathered from across the region. A chance to remind them that Starfire's leadership was unshakable. To Amber, it felt ridiculous, as though she were some spectacle for weaklings to admire or covet.
Still, she tolerated it. She had turned twenty-one only weeks ago, and she knew her first heat would not be far off. Some whispered that it would make her vulnerable. Amber knew better. If any male thought he could claim her while her instincts burned, let him try. She would rip him apart before his teeth ever grazed her skin.
The thought made her sneer. A ripple of killing intent rolled off her, and she had nearly forgotten about the challenger before her until he whimpered, collapsing to his knees, forehead pressed to the ground in surrender.
Amber blinked, surprised at how quickly he had broken, then composed herself. Straightening, she turned without a word and strode back to her seat.
Adonis stifled a laugh, though it still rumbled in his chest. "Don't giggle, Adonis," Amber said calmly, flashing a smile that didn't soften the warning in her tone. "It isn't becoming of a Beta."
The smile disappeared from her brother's lips. He swallowed hard, reminded—as all wolves were—that Amber's authority was not to be tested lightly. Even their parents, the fiercest Alphas he had ever known, sometimes hesitated before crossing her.
He shook his head, almost fondly. His sister was terrifying, yes, but she was his Alpha, and his pride swelled with that fact.
---
Far on the edge of the crowd, a man watched her with narrowed eyes.
Marco.
Whitehaven Fortress had always been little more than a name to him, a stronghold whispered about during the years of bloodshed. He had never cared to see it, never cared for anything beyond his lands and his pack. Yet now he stood within its heart, surrounded by enemy banners and enemy wolves.
It should have disgusted him. Instead, he felt… a strange pull.
The fortress was magnificent, carved into cliffs that seemed to defy the sea itself. But Marco barely registered the stonework, the banners, or the roar of the crowd. His gaze was locked on Amber WhiteClaw.
The wolf inside him surged violently. His chest tightened. His blood roared in his ears.
The scent hit him next—rich, wild, intoxicating. It wrapped around his senses, dragged him forward before he even realized he had moved. His steps faltered, but he forced himself to keep walking as if nothing had happened.
Jess noticed. His sister always noticed. "What is it?" she whispered sharply.
Marco lied through clenched teeth. "Nothing."
But it was everything. He knew what this was. He had dreaded it, prayed against it, yet here it was all the same. His mate.
Amber WhiteClaw.
The woman who had destroyed his people, who had killed his parents, who bore the blood of every life lost in his pack. The woman he had sworn to punish until she broke.
And the woman fated to him by the bond of the moon itself.
---
On the dais, Amber shifted suddenly. A shiver ran down her spine, prickling the hairs at the back of her neck. Her wolf stirred violently, her instincts sharpening, demanding she see.
Her eyes burned, irises deepening into luminous gold. Her pupils widened as though her human sight was no longer enough. Her nostrils flared, pulling in the scents of the crowd until one note struck her so hard she nearly staggered.
Amber froze. Her breath hitched. Her pulse thundered.
Adonis caught the change instantly, tension rolling through him. He looked to Cris, his mate, but neither spoke. They knew the signs.
Amber's lips parted, and a low sound slipped out—half growl, half purr. "My soulmate…"
The resonance of her call reverberated across the courtyard like an invisible wave. Every male wolf within a hundred meters stiffened, their bodies trembling, their instincts clawing to respond. They had no choice but to resist, their souls locking them down. The call wasn't meant for them.
Amber's eyes scanned the crowd hungrily, desperately, but no one stepped forward. No one claimed her.
And on the edge of the square, Marco trembled, fists clenched so tightly his claws bit into his palms. The urge to answer nearly tore him apart. His wolf howled inside him, straining against the leash he held tight around its throat.
Jess' hand gripped his arm. "Brother. Can you hold?"
Marco gave the faintest squeeze in answer. His throat was raw with the words he refused to speak.
Not even his soulmate would divert him from revenge.
Not Amber.
Never Amber.
---
The moment dragged until Amber let the resonance fade. The gathered wolves exhaled in relief, the oppressive weight lifting. She sank back into her chair, frustration twisting her features.
"He did not respond," she muttered. "But he did not reject me either. What does it mean?"
Adonis scanned the crowd grimly. "It means he's strong. Strong enough to resist the bond. That alone makes him dangerous."
Amber's jaw tightened. "Maybe he'll reject me in the coming days."
Her brother shook his head. "Rejection is no small thing. To sever a bond like this… is to kill part of yourself."
Amber leaned back, forcing a mask of indifference, though her heart still pounded. "If he doesn't want me, then I don't want him."
Adonis didn't argue, but he knew it wasn't that simple.
And somewhere in the dispersing crowd, Marco and his wolves slipped away. Each step he took made the bond's pull weaken, made Amber's wolf quiet.
But not gone. Never gone.
The hunt had only just begun.