Chapter 1

Prologue

The moon hung low in the velvet sky, casting silver streaks over the dense forest. A lone figure darted between the towering trees, her breath ragged, her heart pounding like a drum. Lillian had never imagined her life would spiral into this—running for her life, hunted by the very man who had once sworn to protect her.

Her bare feet scraped against the rough earth, the sting of twigs and stones barely registering through the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Behind her, the growls of pursuing wolves grew louder, their snarls vibrating through the night air. She could almost feel Donovan’s rage, his betrayal still fresh like an open wound.

"You were never meant to be mine," his voice echoed in her mind, laced with venom.

A sharp pain shot through her side as she stumbled, her legs threatening to give out. She couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when she had finally found the truth—about herself, about the bond she had been forced into, about the lies that had shackled her for years.

Then, like a beacon in the dark, a new scent cut through the chaos—rich, commanding, powerful.

Sebastian Blackwood.

The Lycan Alpha who had unknowingly become her only hope.

Lillian didn’t know if she could trust him. But as the shadows of her pursuers closed in, she had no choice.

She ran toward the unknown.

Toward fate.

Toward him.

And the moment she crossed into his territory, the world as she knew it would shatter—for better or worse.