Selara's lungs burned as she stumbled through the forest, every breath a dagger in her chest. The snow clung to her boots, dragging her down, but fear kept her running. She could still feel him the Alpha his presence like a claw hooked into her ribs. No matter how far she fled, the bond tugged. A cruel tether, yanking at her heart.
Mate.
The word echoed like a curse.
She pressed her palm against her chest, as if she could rip the bond out. But the heat there pulsed stronger, like an ember buried deep under her ribs. A bond like this was not chosen. It was fated. And it was the one fate she had sworn never to allow.
The Bloodfang Alpha was everything her bloodline had warned her against. Cruel. Unyielding. Born to slaughter Moonveil wolves until none remained. And yet fate, in its wicked humor, had tied her to him.
Why me?
She tripped on a root and went sprawling into the snow, biting back a cry. When she pushed herself up, her hands came away slick with blood. Not hers. His. A smear from where her dagger had cut into him. The sight rattled her more than it should have.
Some part of her wanted to turn back, to make sure the wound wasn't fatal. She clenched her teeth against the thought. He was the enemy. If she was smart, she would pray her strike had been deeper.
But her wolf stirred uneasily, whining in the back of her mind. The bond wouldn't let her lie to herself: she didn't want him dead. Not yet.
Selara shoved herself to her feet and kept running.
Back in the Bloodfang fortress, Kaelen paced the stone hall like a caged beast. His shoulder burned where her blade had cut him, but he ignored it. Pain was nothing. The betrayal was worse.
Selara Veyne. The last Moonveil. His mate.
The word twisted his gut. Mates were sacred. Unbreakable. A gift from the Moon Goddess herself. But to be bound to a Moonveil witch? To the bloodline that had poisoned his father's reign and nearly destroyed his pack?
Unthinkable.
Unacceptable.
And yet, undeniable.
Rynar stood at the far end of the hall, arms crossed, watching him. "She marked you," he said finally, his voice low. "Her scent is all over you. The wolves know."
Kaelen's head snapped up, his eyes burning silver. "And if they speak of it?"
Rynar didn't flinch. "Then you'll have a rebellion before the moon wanes. You know what they'll say an Alpha who binds himself to cursed blood can't be trusted to lead."
Kaelen's hand clenched into a fist. He wanted to deny it. To silence even the whisper of rebellion with blood. But he knew Rynar was right. His wolves were loyal, yes but loyalty frayed quickly when fear took root.
"She's dangerous, Kaelen," Rynar pressed. "Kill her. Before the pack learns more."
The words struck deep. Kaelen had killed countless wolves before, many with less reason. He should have agreed. It was the only logical choice.
But when he remembered her eyes in the snow wide, defiant, threaded with fear his chest tightened with something he could not name. He remembered the way her wolf had recoiled, not in hatred, but in recognition.
Mate.
Kaelen turned away, his voice hard. "Find her. Bring her to me alive."
Rynar's silence was heavy. "Alive?"
Kaelen's glare silenced further questions. He could not explain it. Not to Rynar, not to anyone. Not even to himself.
Selara reached the edge of the forest by dawn, her legs trembling, her body near collapse. A river cut through the snow ahead, black water rushing under ice. She dropped to her knees at the bank, plunging her hands into the freezing current to wash away the blood.
Her reflection wavered on the surface pale skin, tangled dark hair, eyes that burned a strange violet when the bond stirred. She hated those eyes. They marked her. Branded her as Moonveil, cursed her to a life of running.
Her mother's voice echoed in her memory: The Alpha's heart will be your undoing, Selara. Never let it claim you.
And yet, it already had.
She pressed her wet hands to her face, fighting the sob rising in her throat. She couldn't afford weakness. If the Alpha found her again and she knew he would she had to be ready.
A rustle behind her snapped her head up. She froze.
At first, she thought it was the Alpha's wolves. But when the figure stepped from the trees, her heart lurched for an entirely different reason.
"Eris?"
The woman standing there was her mirror. Same violet eyes, same sharp features, but colder, harder. Her twin. The twin she had buried in her memory years ago, convinced she had died in the Bloodfang purge.
But she was alive.
And smiling.
"Well, well," Eris drawled, stepping closer. "Little sister. You've made quite the mess."
Selara stumbled back, shaking her head. "No. You… you're dead."
"Dead?" Eris's smile sharpened. "No, Selara. Just clever enough to survive. Clever enough to choose the winning side."
Selara's stomach dropped. "You you're with them. With the Bloodfangs."
"Not with them," Eris corrected. Her eyes gleamed. "Against them. And now, against you."
Selara's wolf howled in protest, but her body wouldn't move. She couldn't reconcile it the sister she had mourned standing before her, alive, and speaking like an enemy.
Eris's hand flicked, and steel glinted in the dawn. A dagger, identical to the one Selara carried. Moonveil steel. Forged only for their bloodline.
"I can't let you have him," Eris said, her voice chilling. "The Alpha. The bond. That was meant for me."
Selara's blood turned to ice. "You… knew?"
"Oh, sister." Eris's smile twisted. "I've known since the beginning. And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure fate is corrected."
She lunged.
Selara discovers her twin sister, Eris, is alive and not only alive, but plotting to take the Alpha and the bond for herself. Selara is caught between her wolf, the bond, and a sister who has become her rival.