KADEN'S POV
"Send the text exactly as I wrote it."
My father's command wasn't a request. It never was.
I stared at my phone, at the message he'd dictated: *Happy birthday, Sera. Tonight changes everything. See you at the ceremony. —K*
"Why?" I asked, even though questioning Alpha Dominic Blackwood was dangerous. "What does Sera have to do with anything?"
His amber eyes—identical to mine—turned cold. "Because I said so. Send it. Now."
My finger hovered over the send button. Something felt wrong about this. Sera Nightshade was nobody—the wolfless girl, the family embarrassment, invisible. I hadn't spoken to her in years. Hadn't even thought about her except to feel vaguely sorry she existed.
Why would my father care about her eighteenth birthday?
"Kaden." His voice dropped to the Alpha tone that made my wolf whimper and submit. "Tonight's ceremony isn't just about your engagement. There are traditions older than both of us. Ancient laws that protect pack bloodlines. Now send the damn text before I lose my patience."
I hit send before my brain could catch up.
The message delivered. Somewhere in the pack, Sera was reading those words and probably freaking out. Good. Maybe she'd actually show up on time for once instead of skulking in late like she always did.
My father smiled, satisfied. "Good boy. Tonight, you become a man worthy of leading this pack. Everything I've taught you, everything you've endured—it all leads to this moment."
He left my room, and I finally let myself breathe.
Everything he'd taught me. Right.
I touched my ribs automatically, feeling the old break that never quite healed right. I was eight when I cried in front of him after some kids pushed me off the playground equipment. He'd dragged me to the training grounds and made me fight three older boys at once.
"Alphas don't cry," he'd said, watching me get beaten bloody. "Alphas don't show weakness. The moment you do, someone will use it to destroy you. Pain is a teacher, boy. Learn the lesson."
I learned. I stopped crying. Stopped showing fear. Stopped being soft.
By the time I was twelve, I was the strongest fighter in youth training. The other kids respected me—or feared me. Same thing, really.
And the weak ones? The ones who cried or couldn't keep up? I made sure they knew they didn't belong. It was mercy, really. Better I taught them than the world did it more cruelly later.
Sera had been one of those weak ones.
I remembered her bringing cookies to school once, so excited. They'd tasted fine, actually. But she'd looked so happy, so pathetically eager for approval, and my father's voice had echoed in my head: *Weakness is a disease. Cut it out before it spreads.*
So I'd spit the cookie out and called her broken.
The other kids followed my lead. They always did. Sera became the outcast, and I... I became the leader.
I didn't think about her much after that. She was just there, quiet and invisible, everything an Alpha taught me not to be.
My phone buzzed.
**Lyanna: Can't wait for tonight, baby! Finally everyone will know I'm yours forever! ❤️❤️❤️**
I smiled. Lyanna Nightshade was perfect—beautiful, confident, strong. The ideal Luna. My father approved, which meant everything was falling into place.
"Kaden!" My best friend Marcus banged on my door. "Training in five! You coming or are you too busy being engaged?"
I grabbed my jacket and headed out. Morning training was mandatory for all ranked wolves. The field was already packed with warriors running drills.
That's when I saw her.
Sera stood at the edge of the training grounds, talking quietly with Riley Cross. She wore old workout clothes that didn't fit right, her auburn hair pulled back messily. Small. Forgettable.
Except my wolf suddenly perked up, alert in a way he'd never been before.
*What?* I asked him silently.
My wolf didn't answer, just kept staring at Sera with intense focus.
"You good?" Marcus asked, following my gaze. "Oh. The Nightshade failure. Bet she doesn't even show tonight. Who wants to watch their perfect sister get engaged?"
"Yeah," I said, forcing myself to look away. "Whatever."
But my wolf wouldn't settle. He kept circling restlessly inside my mind, whining softly. I'd never felt him act like this.
Training was brutal. My father ran us through combat drills, and I won every match easily. This was what I was built for—fighting, leading, dominating.
"Excellent!" My father clapped my shoulder hard enough to bruise. "Tonight, after the ceremony, we'll discuss your official Alpha training. You're ready, son. Finally ready."
Pride swelled in my chest. After years of proving myself, of being exactly what he demanded, I'd earned this.
Everything was perfect.
So why did my wolf keep looking toward the edge of the field where Sera had been standing?
---
That evening, I dressed in my formal clothes for the ceremony. Black suit, the Blackwood family ring, everything that screamed "future Alpha."
Lyanna texted photos of her dress. Marcus sent jokes about me being "trapped forever." My father sent one message: *Remember—tonight changes everything. Don't fail me.*
I stared at that text, the same unease from this morning crawling back.
What did he mean? The engagement was already arranged. What else could happen?
I was heading downstairs when my father caught my arm.
"Before we go, you need to understand something." His grip was iron. "There's an ancient law—one the pack hasn't invoked in seventy years. Tonight, when the full moon rises, if an unmated wolf shifts for the first time..." He paused, his smile sharp. "They must be claimed immediately by the highest-ranking unmated male. To protect pack bloodlines. To ensure power stays controlled."
My stomach dropped. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying Sera Nightshade turns eighteen today. And if by some miracle she finally shifts tonight..." His eyes gleamed with something that looked like greed. "You're going to claim her before anyone else can. Before she even understands what's happening."
"What? No! I'm engaged to Lyanna—"
"A political arrangement that can be broken." He leaned closer. "Sera is a Nightshade. Old bloodline. Pure genetics. If she has a wolf, she's valuable. And more importantly—" His voice dropped to a whisper. "—my sources say she might be an Omega. Do you understand what that means? The power an Alpha-Omega pairing brings?"
Horror crawled through me. "You want me to force a mate bond with someone I barely know? With Sera?"
"I want you to secure our pack's future. You'll claim her, mark her, and bind her to this pack before she can run. Then, after she produces an heir, you can keep Lyanna on the side if you want. I don't care." He released my arm. "This is what Alphas do, Kaden. We take what we need, when we need it. No hesitation. No weakness."
I felt sick. "And if she doesn't shift?"
"Then nothing changes. But if she does..." He smiled coldly. "You follow orders. Understood?"
Every lesson he'd beaten into me said to obey. To be strong. To do what was necessary.
But something in my chest screamed that this was wrong.
"Understood?" he repeated, Alpha command bleeding into the words.
My wolf whimpered, and I heard my voice say, "Yes, sir."
We walked to the ceremony grounds, and I felt like I was walking toward something terrible.
The full moon was rising.
And somewhere in the pack, Sera Nightshade had no idea her entire life was about to explode.