The chains around Ava Carter’s wrists had already frozen to her skin by the time they reached the top of Blackwood Mountain.
Snow whipped across the cliffs so hard it felt like tiny blades carving into her face.
The wind screamed through the jagged rocks, drowning out everything except the pounding terror inside her chest.
Behind her, heavy boots crushed through the snow.
Keep walking.
Mason Carter’s voice came cold and sharp through the storm.
Ava stumbled barefoot over a patch of ice and nearly fell off the narrow trail.
The mountain dropped into darkness beside her, a deadly cliff buried beneath blowing snow.
She caught herself at the last second.
Her thin white dress snapped violently in the wind.
It was supposed to look ceremonial.
Pure.
Sacred.
Instead, it looked like a burial shroud.
Please…
Mason…
Her voice barely existed anymore.
Her lips were blue.
Her body shook uncontrollably.
Mason grabbed her arm and yanked her forward hard enough to bruise.
Save your breath.
We’re almost there.
Ava looked up through the storm and saw it.
The Frost Altar.
A giant slab of black stone rising from the center of the mountain plateau like a tombstone for the damned.
Fear hollowed out her stomach.
Every child in Stone Ridge Pack grew up hearing stories about this place.
Wolves disappeared here.
Hunters vanished here.
Some said spirits lived in the mountain.
Others whispered about the monster.
The Alpha King.
Roman Blackwood.
The beast who ruled the northern territories.
The wolf savage who ripped enemies apart with his bare teeth.
Ava had spent years praying the stories were fake.
Tonight, she was about to find out.
Mason shoved her toward the altar.
The pack is starving, he muttered.
The storms won’t stop.
The elk are gone.
The river froze early.
His jaw tightened as he pulled heavy zip ties from his coat pocket.
The mountain demands payment.
Ava stared at him in disbelief.
You’re really doing this.
Mason didn’t answer immediately.
For one brief second, something flickered in his eyes.
Guilt.
Then it vanished.
You have no wolf, Ava.
You never shifted.
You contribute nothing to this pack except another mouth to feed.
The words hit harder than the wind.
Ava swallowed painfully.
For years she had cleaned their floors, cooked their food, washed blood from hunting clothes while everyone else treated her like dirt beneath their boots.
And still it had never been enough.
You raised me after my parents died, she whispered.
You promised my father you’d protect me.
Mason tightened the zip ties around her wrists until pain shot up her arms.
Your father made weak choices.
That’s why he ended up dead.
Ava froze.
What?
But Mason stepped back before she could speak again.
Snow blew between them like a curtain.
Goodbye, Ava.
Then he turned and disappeared into the storm with the rest of the men.
Leaving her alone.
The silence that followed felt worse than the wind.
Ava tried pulling against the restraints, but the plastic only cut deeper into her skin.
Her fingers were already numb.
She could barely feel her legs.
She tilted her head toward the dark sky.
This was how it ended.
Not with a fight.
Not with justice.
Just cold.
Tears froze against her cheeks.
She thought about her mother’s laugh.
Her father teaching her how to braid rope beside the fire.
The warmth of their cabin before the crash took them both.
Or at least that was the story she had always been told.
A violent shiver ripped through her body.
Her vision blurred.
The cold was becoming something dangerous now.
Heavy.
Sleepy.
People froze to death this way.
First came pain.
Then came peace.
Then came nothing.
Ava’s head sagged forward.
Maybe dying wouldn’t be so bad.
Then something moved in the storm.
Crunch.
A heavy footstep.
Ava’s eyes snapped open.
Another step.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Not human.
Fear surged through her weak body.
A massive shadow emerged through the blowing snow.
Seven feet tall.
Broad shoulders wrapped in black tactical gear.
A predator moving with terrifying calm.
Ava’s heart nearly stopped.
The stories were true.
The figure stepped closer until moonlight cut across his face.
And suddenly the monster became something worse.
A man.
A devastatingly beautiful man.
Dark hair dusted with snow.
Sharp cheekbones.
Cold brutal features carved like stone.
But his eyes were inhuman.
Electric blue.
They glowed in the darkness like wildfire beneath ice.
Roman Blackwood.
The Alpha King.
He stopped in front of her.
For a long moment he said nothing.
His gaze lowered slowly to the restraints cutting into her wrists.
A dangerous growl rumbled from his chest.
Cowards.
The single word vibrated through the mountain.
Ava trembled harder.
This was it.
The end.
Roman crouched in front of her.
Heat rolled off his body in waves, shocking against the freezing air.
He smelled like cedarwood, smoke, and winter rain.
Ava couldn’t breathe.
Roman reached out slowly.
She flinched.
But instead of hurting her, his fingers slid beneath her chin with startling gentleness.
He tilted her face upward.
Who did this to you?
His voice was rough.
Controlled.
Ava swallowed.
Mason…
Stone Ridge Pack…
Something dark flashed in Roman’s glowing eyes.
Then he leaned closer.
Too close.
His nose brushed the side of her throat as he inhaled deeply.
And suddenly his entire body went still.
Ava felt it instantly.
The mountain itself seemed to stop breathing.
Roman inhaled again.
Longer this time.
His pupils expanded.
Impossible, he whispered.
Ava stared at him weakly.
What?
His gaze snapped to hers with terrifying intensity.
Mate.
The word slammed into her chest.
No.
That couldn’t be right.
Mates were legends.
Sacred bonds.
Fate.
Not for broken girls with no wolf.
Roman rose to his full height in one smooth motion.
Rage exploded off him so violently the snow around his boots shook loose.
They left my mate here to die.
Ava barely had time to process the words before Roman pulled a black steel knife from his boot.
Fear spiked through her.
But instead of attacking her, he sliced through the restraints instantly.
Blood rushed painfully back into her hands.
Ava collapsed forward.
Roman caught her before she hit the ground.
The strength in his arms shocked her.
He held her against his chest like she weighed nothing.
You’re freezing.
His voice sounded different now.
Possessive.
Dangerously protective.
Ava’s teeth chattered violently.
Aren’t…
Aren’t you going to kill me?
Roman looked down at her.
The savage fury in his face softened just enough to make her heart ache.
No, little wolf.
His thumb brushed frozen tears from her cheek.
But the men who hurt you?
His glowing eyes darkened into something lethal.
They should start praying.
Ava’s vision blurred again.
Her body was shutting down.
She barely noticed when Roman started carrying her through the storm.
But somewhere deep inside her chest, beneath years of silence and emptiness, something moved.
A pulse.
A growl.
A sleeping creature waking up.
Roman must have felt it too because his entire body went rigid.
He looked down at her with stunned disbelief.
Then the Alpha King tightened his hold on her and began running through the mountain faster than any human should have been able to move.
Behind them, far down the cliffs of Blackwood Mountain, a lone wolf howl shattered the night.
And for the first time in seventeen years…
Ava’s eyes flashed violet.
Ava woke to warmth.
Not the weak heat of a dying fire back at Stone Ridge.
Real warmth.
Heavy blankets wrapped around her body.
A fire crackled nearby.
The air smelled like cedarwood and smoke instead of blood and mildew.
For one peaceful second, she forgot the mountain.
Then memory slammed into her.
The altar.
Mason.
Roman Blackwood.
Ava shot upright in bed so fast her vision spun.
She wasn’t in Stone Ridge anymore.
The room surrounding her looked like something from another world.
Dark stone walls rose toward vaulted ceilings lined with iron beams.
Massive windows overlooked endless snow covered forests stretching beneath a silver dawn sky.
A fire roared in a stone fireplace larger than her old bedroom.
Panic climbed into her throat.
Where am I?
Blackwood Hall.
The voice came from the shadows.
Ava turned sharply.
Roman stepped into the firelight.
Without the storm around him, he looked even more dangerous.
Broad shoulders filled the doorway.
His black thermal shirt clung tightly to powerful muscle.
The glowing blue eyes remained locked on her with predatory focus.
But underneath all that danger was exhaustion.
Like he hadn’t slept since carrying her off the mountain.
You’re safe here, Roman said quietly.
Safe.
The word felt foreign.
Ava pulled the blanket tighter around herself.
Why did you save me?
Roman’s jaw flexed.
Because you’re mine.
Heat flooded her face instantly.
No one had ever looked at her the way Roman did.
Not with pity.
Not with disgust.
With hunger.
With reverence.
Ava looked away first.
You don’t even know me.
My wolf knows enough.
The room went still.
Before Ava could answer, the bedroom door opened.
An older man in glasses entered carrying a tablet and medical supplies.
Roman barely looked away from her.
Tell her.
The doctor nodded nervously.
Miss Carter, I’m Dr.
Hayes.
I ran tests on your blood while you were unconscious.
Ava frowned.
Blood tests?
The doctor hesitated.
You are not wolfless.
The sentence hit like a lightning strike.
Ava stared at him.
What?
Roman crossed his arms tightly.
Someone poisoned you.
Silence.
Ava blinked slowly.
No.
Dr.
Hayes stepped closer carefully.
For years, someone has been feeding you silver nitrate in controlled doses.
Enough to suppress your wolf completely without killing you.
Ava’s heartbeat turned uneven.
Silver nitrate was illegal.
Cruel.
Used to weaken rogue wolves during interrogations.
But administered slowly over years…
It could bury a wolf alive inside its own body.
Ava felt sick.
That’s impossible.
Roman’s eyes burned.
Only pack leadership has access to restricted silver compounds.
Mason.
The name echoed through her head like thunder.
Memories suddenly twisted into something horrifying.
The daily vitamins Mason forced her to take.
The injections after every fever.
The dizziness.
The weakness.
The endless exhaustion.
Her entire life had been engineered.
Why?
Ava whispered.
Why would he do that to me?
Roman looked toward the fire.
Because your wolf scared him.
Before Ava could ask what that meant, pain suddenly exploded through her chest.
She gasped.
A violent pressure clawed beneath her ribs.
Her eyes widened in terror.
Roman moved instantly.
Easy.
Ava doubled over as heat surged through her veins like wildfire.
Something inside her was waking up.
It scratched violently against her bones.
A growl escaped her throat.
Not human.
Roman’s expression darkened with awe.
Your wolf is fighting the poison.
Ava gripped the sheets as another wave hit her harder.
Images flashed through her mind.
Snow.
Blood.
Violet eyes.
Then a woman’s scream.
Ava jerked violently.
I saw something.
Roman exchanged a quick glance with Dr.
Hayes.
What did you see?
Ava struggled to breathe.
A woman running through snow carrying a child.
Gunshots.
Blood on white fur.
Roman went completely still.
Dr.
Hayes slowly lowered his tablet.
Alpha…
Roman looked back at Ava with new intensity.
Your memories are returning.
Ava’s pulse pounded painfully.
What memories?
Roman stepped closer.
What do you know about your parents?
The question caught her off guard.
They died in a car accident when I was five.
Roman’s expression hardened.
No they didn’t.
The room seemed to tilt.
Ava stared at him.
Roman pulled a worn file from the bedside table and handed it to her.
Inside were old photographs.
Documents.
Newspaper clippings.
Ava’s hands trembled.
One photo showed a smiling couple standing outside the Stone Ridge lodge.
Her mother.
Her father.
But beneath the image were names she had never heard before.
Alpha Nathan Carter.
Luna Evelyn Carter.
Ava’s breath caught.
Alpha?
Roman nodded slowly.
Your father wasn’t a beta.
He was the true Alpha of Stone Ridge.
Ava felt the blood drain from her face.
No…
Twenty years ago, Roman continued, Stone Ridge suffered a violent coup.
Your father and mother were murdered.
Officially, it was blamed on rogues during a winter attack.
Ava looked up slowly.
But it wasn’t rogues.
Roman’s voice turned cold.
It was Mason.
The world shattered.
Ava stumbled out of bed.
No.
No, you’re lying.
But deep down…
She already knew.
Every missing memory.
Every strange look from older pack members.
Every time Mason watched her with hatred burning behind fake concern.
He killed them.
Roman stepped forward carefully.
Mason couldn’t kill you too because some members of the pack knew the Carter bloodline had a daughter.
If you vanished suddenly, questions would start.
So he buried you alive instead.
Ava’s knees nearly buckled.
He stole your inheritance.
Poisoned your wolf.
Turned you into a servant inside your own pack.
Tears burned down her face.
All those years.
Every humiliation.
Every beating.
Every hungry night.
It had all been deliberate.
Roman reached for her carefully.
Ava…
But rage exploded through her before he could touch her.
A scream ripped from her throat.
The windows shattered instantly.
Glass exploded across the room.
Dr.
Hayes stumbled backward in shock.
Roman grabbed Ava before she collapsed.
Her eyes flashed bright violet.
The temperature dropped violently.
Snow swirled outside the broken windows as power rolled off her body in terrifying waves.
Roman stared at her with stunned disbelief.
Spirit blood.
The words barely left his mouth before alarms suddenly blared through Blackwood Hall.
Silas burst through the door carrying a rifle.
Alpha.
We have incoming vehicles approaching the east gate.
Roman turned deadly calm.
Who?
Silas swallowed.
Stone Ridge.
Ava froze.
Mason had come for her.
Roman’s wolf surfaced instantly beneath his skin.
Blue eyes glowing.
Teeth sharpening.
How many?
Three trucks.
Armed wolves.
Silas hesitated.
And Mason brought silver rounds.
Roman’s rage filled the room like a living thing.
He came to finish the job.
Fear crawled through Ava’s chest.
People would die because of her.
Again.
No.
She stepped away from Roman.
I have to go out there.
Roman looked at her like she’d lost her mind.
Absolutely not.
If I surrender, maybe he leaves your people alone.
Roman grabbed her wrist hard enough to stop her cold.
Listen carefully, little wolf.
His voice dropped dangerously low.
You are not a sacrifice anymore.
Ava’s breath shook.
You don’t understand what he’ll do.
Roman pulled her closer.
No.
You don’t understand.
His forehead pressed against hers.
The second I caught your scent on that mountain, you became mine to protect.
A deep growl vibrated through his chest.
And I will burn kingdoms before I let anyone hurt you again.
Ava’s heart nearly broke at the raw truth in his voice.
Then gunfire exploded outside.
The windows shook.
Silas cursed.
They breached the front gate.
Roman released Ava instantly.
Lock the hall down.
Silas nodded and ran.
Roman turned back toward Ava.
Stay here.
But Ava already felt it.
The wolf inside her was no longer sleeping.
It was furious.
Another explosion rocked the fortress.
Screams echoed downstairs.
Ava flinched.
Roman moved toward the door.
Then suddenly pain detonated through Ava’s spine.
She screamed.
Her body crashed to the floor.
Bones cracked violently.
Roman spun around instantly.
Ava!
Heat consumed her body from the inside out.
Her vision flooded with white light.
Every suppressed year.
Every ounce of buried rage.
Every stolen piece of herself exploded free all at once.
Her wolf was coming.
Roman dropped beside her.
Look at me.
Ava’s nails dug into the stone floor as claws burst through her fingertips.
It hurts!
Roman grabbed her face gently.
I know.
Her spine arched violently.
Power shook the entire room.
But you survive it.
Ava’s scream shifted into something animal.
Ancient.
Her eyes turned fully violet.
Roman’s expression changed.
Not fear.
Awe.
Outside, another gunshot thundered.
Mason’s voice echoed through the fortress courtyard.
Bring me the girl!
Ava’s wolf finally answered.
A roar erupted from her chest so powerful the walls trembled.
Then everything changed.
Fur exploded across her skin in blinding white waves.
Her body expanded.
Bones reformed.
Claws slammed against stone.
Seconds later, the girl Mason tried to sacrifice was gone.
In her place stood a massive white wolf with glowing violet eyes.
Roman stared at her like witnessing destiny itself.
Beautiful.
Ava looked down at herself in shock.
Strength surged through every inch of her body.
Not weakness.
Not fear.
Power.
Real power.
Then Roman slowly smiled.
And outside in the snowy courtyard below, Mason Carter realized the monster he feared most…
Was never Roman Blackwood.
It was the little girl he failed to kill.
