KIERAN'S POV
She was dying in my arms again.
Blood soaked through her white dress. Her silver hair spread across the ground like moonlight. Those violet eyes—so full of life moments ago—were fading.
"Kieran," she whispered, her hand touching my face. "Don't let revenge destroy you."
"No!" I held her tighter, my wolf roaring inside me. "Stay with me. Please."
She smiled sadly. "I'll return when you're ready to choose love over revenge."
Then she was gone.
I woke up screaming.
My hands clawed at empty sheets. Sweat poured down my face. My wolf howled with grief that felt as fresh as the day she died.
Twenty years. The same dream every single night for twenty years.
I sat up, breathing hard. My bedroom in the Shadowfen exile lands was dark and cold. Just like my life had been since I lost her.
Since I killed everyone responsible and got myself banished forever.
My wolf whimpered. *She promised she'd return.*
"It was just words," I said out loud to the empty room. "Dead mates don't come back."
But even as I said it, something felt different tonight.
The air crackled with energy. My skin tingled. Magic hummed through the atmosphere like electricity before a storm.
I stood and walked to the window. The Shadowfen stretched out below—a wasteland where rogues and exiles lived. My kingdom of outcasts.
I'd been the most powerful Alpha alive once. Ruled the largest pack in the north. Had everything.
Then jealous wolves murdered my mate because they wanted power. Because they thought killing an Omega would make me weak.
They were wrong.
I slaughtered every single one of them. Painted the pack house walls with their blood. My grief-rage was so strong, I couldn't stop myself.
The council banished me. Called me a monster. Cursed me to live in exile until I found my true mate again.
But my mate was dead.
So I'd been alone ever since. Waiting. Dreaming. Slowly going insane.
Tonight felt different though. The magic in the air was thick, almost visible.
Something big had happened. Something that shook the supernatural world.
My door slammed open.
Thorne, my second-in-command, stood there breathing hard. His eyes were wild with excitement.
"Did you feel that?" he demanded.
"Feel what?"
"The power surge. About ten minutes ago. Something massive just happened—a triple rejection ceremony." Thorne grabbed my shoulders. "Kieran, the Mating Hunt registration closes in two hours. You need to go."
I pulled away from him. "I've avoided the Hunt for twenty years. Why would I go now?"
"Because something's calling you!" Thorne practically shook me. "I can see it in your eyes. You felt the magic too. What if this is it? What if she really kept her promise?"
I looked down at my chest, at the place where the mate bond used to glow.
Nothing. Just dead space.
"Dead mates don't come back, Thorne," I said quietly.
"Maybe not," he admitted. "But what if her soul did? What if she was reborn? The Hunt is anonymous—masks hide identity. You find mates through scent alone. If she's back, you'll know. You'll recognize her."
I remembered her scent. Pine and wildflowers. Clean rain and something sweet I could never name.
I'd know it anywhere. Even after twenty years.
My wolf stirred. *What if he's right? What if we have another chance?*
"This is crazy," I muttered.
"You've been having the same dream for two decades," Thorne pointed out. "You wake up screaming her name every single night. What's crazy is NOT trying." He stepped closer. "Twenty years, Kieran. Twenty years of being alone. Don't you want to know if there's hope?"
Hope. Such a dangerous word.
Hope had destroyed me once before. Made me weak. Made me careless.
But the dream echoed in my mind. Her final words.
*"I'll return when you're ready to choose love over revenge."*
Was I ready? Had I changed enough?
I didn't know. But maybe the Hunt would give me answers.
"Where's the registration?" I heard myself ask.
Thorne grinned. "The Wildwood neutral grounds. I already have your mask ready."
Twenty minutes later, we were running through the forest toward the Wildwood.
I wore simple dark clothes. Thorne carried a black mask for me.
Other wolves headed the same direction—all hopeful, all searching for mates.
I hadn't been around this many pack wolves in years. They gave me wide space when they recognized my power. Some whispered and pointed.
The exiled Alpha King. The monster who killed his own pack.
Let them talk. I didn't care.
We reached the registration clearing. A witch stood behind a table, taking names and collecting entrance fees.
She looked up as I approached, and her eyes widened with recognition. "You're—"
"Anonymous," I cut her off. "That's the point of the Hunt."
She nodded quickly, fear in her eyes. "Of course. Name for registration?"
"Nightbane." I gave only my last name.
She wrote it down with shaking hands. "The Hunt begins in three days at moonrise. Enter the Wildwood wearing your mask. Follow your instincts. Find your mate." She paused. "The rules are sacred. No unmasking until the claiming ceremony. No violence on the Hunt grounds. Trust fate."
I took the black mask from Thorne and stared at it.
A simple piece of black leather that would hide my identity. That would let me search for her without the weight of my past.
"You're doing the right thing," Thorne said quietly.
Was I? Or was I just setting myself up for more pain?
The witch cleared her throat. "Will you be participating, sir?"
I looked at the mask one more time.
Twenty years of dreams. Twenty years of waiting. Twenty years of wondering if she'd really return.
Maybe this was foolish. Maybe I'd walk into that forest and find nothing.
But what if I didn't try? What if she was really out there, and I missed my chance because I was too afraid?
My wolf made the decision for me. *Yes. We go.*
"I'll participate," I told the witch.
She nodded and stamped my registration paper. "Good luck finding your mate."
I took the paper and walked away from the table.
Thorne fell into step beside me. "Three days. You can do this."
Three days until the Hunt began.
Three days to prepare myself for either hope or heartbreak.
Three days to see if dead mates really could return.
I looked up at the moon rising above the trees. Somewhere out there, wolves were preparing for the Hunt. Hoping to find their mates. Believing in fate.
I used to believe in fate too. Before it took everything from me.
"Kieran," Thorne said. "Whatever happens in three days, you won't be alone. I'll be here."
I nodded, grateful for his loyalty even if I couldn't say the words.
We started the long walk back to Shadowfen.
The night air was cool and crisp. Magic still hummed in the atmosphere from whatever had happened earlier.
That triple rejection Thorne mentioned. Someone out there had rejected three mates in one night.
Someone brave or desperate or both.
I wondered what kind of wolf could do that. What kind of strength it took to walk away from not one, but three bonds.
My wolf stirred with something that might have been respect.
We reached the edge of Shadowfen territory. Home. My exile prison for the last twenty years.
"Get some rest," Thorne advised. "You'll need your strength for the Hunt."
I nodded and headed toward my quarters.
But I knew I wouldn't sleep. Not tonight.
Tonight I'd lie awake and wonder if three days from now, my whole world would change.
If somewhere in that forest, a soul I'd lost would find me again.
If love could really be stronger than death.
And if I was finally ready to choose it over revenge.
The dream echoed in my mind as I closed my door.
Silver hair. Violet eyes. A promise whispered with her last breath.
*"I'll return when you're ready."*
Three days until I found out if she'd kept that promise.
Three days until everything either began again or ended forever.
I touched my chest where the mate bond used to live.
Still nothing.
But for the first time in twenty years, I let myself hope.
Just a little.
Just enough.