The waterfall roared behind her like a living thing drowning out everything except the sobs that tore from Saraphine’s cheSt. She pressed her back against the slick stone wall of the hidden cavern her knees drawn up to her chin her pale arms wrapped around herself as though she might shatter into a thousand pieces if she let go.
Foolish she whispered to herself between ragged breaths.
So foolish to believe it would be different this time.
The mating ceremony had been set for sunset.
Saraphine had spent three days preparing three days of hope blooming in her chest like the first flowers of spring.
Caleum had chosen her.
He had looked into her silver gray eyes and spoken the words of intention before the entire pack.
For once for the first time in her 23 years someone had seen past her sister’s golden beauty and chosen the quiet Omega with the strange eyes.
And then Evangeline had smiled.
That smile.
Saraphine knew it better than she knew her own reflection.
The slight curve of lips the predatory gleam in those amber eyes that everyone else mistook for warmth.
Evangeline had worn that smile when she stole Saraphine’s first suitor at 16.
Again at 19 when a kind beta from the neighboring territory had shown interest and now at the ceremony that should have bound Saraphine to her fated mate Evangeline had worn it once more.
Sister Evangeline had purred stepping between Saraphine and Caleum with liquid grace.
Surely you understand some wolves are simply meant for greater things.
Saraphine had watched Caleum’s eyes glaze over watched his nostrils flare as he caught whatever intoxicating scent Evangeline was releasing watched him turn away from his intended mate as though Saraphine had never existed at all.
The pack had laughed.
Some had pitied.
Most had simply looked away embarrassed by the spectacle of the unwanted Omega being cast aside yet again.
So Saraphine had run.
She fled through the forest until her lungs burned until the sounds of celebration faded behind her until she found herself at the ancient waterfall that marked the boundary between pack territories.
The cavern behind the cascading water had always been her secret refuge the one place where no one ever thought to look for her.
Now as the evening light filtered through the curtain of water in fractured rainbows Saraphine finally let herself break.
Why the word escaped her like a wounded animal.
Why am I never enough?
She pressed her forehead to her knees her dark hair falling around her like a shroud.
The waterfall drowned out the world but it could not drown the voice in her head that whispered she would always be second always overlooked always the shadow to her sister’s blazing sun.
The scent reached her before the sound did.
Cedar and winter frost and something deeper something that made every nerve in her body sing with sudden awareness.
Saraphine’s head snapped up her silver eyes widening as a massive shadow moved through the waterfall.
A man emerged from the cascade water streaming from shoulders broad enough to block out the fading light.
He was impossibly tall his dark hair plastered to a face carved from granite and moonlight.
But it was his eyes that stole her breath deep gold burning like captured sunlight fixed on her with an intensity that made her wolf stir for the first time in years.
Who are you Saraphine breathed scrambling backward against the stone.
This is pack territory.
You cannot be here.
The stranger did not answer.
He stood frozen in the shallow pool at the cavern’s entrance his chest heaving as though he had been running for miles.
His golden gaze swept over her tear stained face her trembling form the ceremonial dress now soaked and ruined.
Something shifted in his expression something raw and fierce that made her heart stutter.
When he finally spoke his voice was low and rough carrying an authority that made her wolf want to bare its throat in submission.
Mate the single word echoed off the cavern walls and Saraphine felt her world tilt on its axis.
No the word left Saraphine’s lips before she could stop it sharp with disbelief.
No that cannot be.
She pressed herself harder against the stone wall her heart hammering so violently she was certain he could hear it.
The stranger this intruder remained motionless at the cavern’s entrance water still dripping from his jaw his golden eyes never leaving her face.
You feel it he said it was not a question.
His voice rolled through the space between them like distant thunder.
The pull the recognition your wolf knows.
Saraphine shook her head violently.
But even as she denied it something deep within her stirred her wolf the quiet dormant creature that had barely surfaced since she presented as an omega at 13 was suddenly awake alert straining toward this stranger with desperate hunger.
I do not know you she managed.
And I have already been claimed tonight.
Or did you not notice the ceremonial dress?
The stranger’s jaw tightened.
You wear the dress yet you weep alone behind a waterfall.
You have been claimed by no one.
The accuracy of his observation cut deeper than any blade.
Saraphine’s chin lifted a spark of defiance flickering through her grief.
What happens in my pack is none of your concern.
You are trespassing on sovereign territory.
If our alpha discovers you here your alpha the stranger interrupted a dangerous edge entering his tone would do well to explain why I have found my mate crying in a hidden cave wearing another male’s ceremonial colors.
My mate there it was again.
The words sent a shiver racing down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold.
Who are you Saraphine whispered.
The stranger stepped forward and the last rays of evening light caught his features fully for the first time.
High cheekbones a strong nose lips that looked carved from determination itself a thin scar traced from his left temple to his jaw the mark of someone who had known battle.
But it was the way he carried himself that made her breath catch.
This was not merely a warrior.
This was someone accustomed to command.
My name is Kalin Voss he said quietly.
Alpha King of the Northern Realm.
The cavern seemed to contract around her Saraphine’s vision swam.
The Northern Realm the vast territory that stretched from the frozen mountains to the shadow forests encompassing twelve packs under a single rule.
The Alpha King whose name was spoken in whispers whose power was said to rival the ancient wolves of legend.
That cannot be she breathed.
The Alpha King is a myth a story told to frighten pups into obedience.
Something almost like amusement flickered across his hard features.
I assure you little Omega I am very real.
He took another step forward close enough now that she could feel the heat radiating from his massive frame and very much standing before my mate.
Saraphine’s wolf whimpered inside her chest not in fear but in recognition in longing.
The sensation was so foreign so overwhelming that tears pricked her eyes again.
I am no one a worthless omega from a small pack.
My own intended chose my sister over me not three hours paSt. You cannot possibly tell me his name the quiet fury in those three words silenced her.
Kalin’s eyes had darkened to molten amber and the air around him seemed to vibrate with barely contained power.
Tell me the name of the male who dared reject what is mine.
I am not yours Saraphine protested weakly.
But even as she spoke her wolf howled in disagreement.
I do not even know you.
Kalin closed the remaining distance between them in a single stride.
He did not touch her something held him back some thread of restraint that seemed to cost him dearly.
But he lowered himself until his face was level with hers until she could see the flecks of bronze in those striking eyes.
Your eyes he murmured and his voice had lost its sharp edge becoming something almost reverent.
They called them cursed did they not?
Different.
Wrong.
Saraphine flinched.
Her silver gray eyes the mark that had set her apart since birth that had made the pack whisper of ill omens and tainted blood.
I have searched three hundred years for eyes like yours Kalin said softly.
Eyes that match the prophecy eyes that mark the true Luna of the Northern Realm.
Before Saraphine could process his words a howl split the night close hunting furious.
Then another and another.
Kalin’s head snapped toward the waterfall his body shifting to place himself between her and the entrance.
They are coming for you he said flatly.
My pack Saraphine realized with growing dread.
They must have noticed I fled.
My father will not touch you.
The Alpha King’s voice had turned to steel.
Not while I draw a breath.
He turned back to her and in his eyes she saw something that made her heart clench not possession or demand but a question a choice.
Come with me Kalin said.
Let me take you somewhere safe somewhere you will never be made to feel worthless again.
The howls were growing closer Saraphine could hear voices now her father’s thunderous roar Evangeline’s sharp commands the baying of wolves who had never once defended her.
She looked at the stranger before her this alpha king who spoke of prophecy and called her his mate and knew she stood at the edge of an abyss.
Why should I trust you she whispered.
Kalin extended his hand palm up in the ancient gesture of offering because I will spend every moment proving that you should.
Outside shadows moved through the trees.
Her old life waited to drag her back into its suffocating embrace.
Saraphine placed her trembling hand in his.
The moment their fingers touched heat flooded through Saraphine’s veins like liquid fire.
She gasped her knees buckling and would have fallen if Kalin had not caught her against his cheSt. The bond he murmured against her hair.
It recognizes what your mind has not yet accepted.
Before she could respond he swept her into his arms as though she weighed nothing at all.
Hold your breath.
What?
They plunged through the waterfall.
The cold hit her like a physical blow stealing whatever breath she had managed to hold.
But Kalin’s arms remained steady around her his body shielding her from the worst of the cascade’s force.
When they emerged on the other side the forest stretched before them in shades of silver and shadow.
There a voice rang out through the trees Evangeline’s voice sharp with triumph.
I see them.
Kalin set Saraphine on her feet but kept one hand firmly clasped around hers.
Can you run?
I yes I think so.
Then run.
They tore through the underbrush together branches whipping at Saraphine’s face and arMs. Behind them the sounds of pursuit grew snarls and howls and the heavy thud of paws on forest floor.
Her pack was hunting her.
The realization should have terrified her but with Kalin’s hand wrapped around hers with his steady presence beside her she felt something she had not felt in years.
Alive.
They burst into a moonlit clearing and Saraphine stumbled to a halt her lungs burning.
At the far edge of the open ground a dozen wolves waited in perfect formation massive creatures with coats of midnight black and winter white their eyes gleaming with intelligence that marked them as shifters.
My guard Kalin said.
They will escort us to the border.
Saraphine her father’s roar.
Alpha Hendrik Ashford emerged from the treeline in human form his face twisted with rage.
Behind him came Evangeline still beautiful despite the exertion of the chase and Caleum the male who was supposed to be Saraphine’s mate now watching the scene with glazed confusion.
You dare Hendrik snarled his eyes fixed on Kalin.
You dare touch my daughter.
Your daughter Kalin replied his voice dangerously soft.
Whom you allowed to be humiliated before her entire pack.
Your daughter whom you raised to believe she was worthless.
Your daughter who is my fated mate.
The clearing went silent.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Impossible Evangeline breathed and for the first time fear flickered in her amber eyes.
She cannot be mate to you.
You are the Alpha King.
I am Kalin’s golden gaze swept over Evangeline with cold dismissal.
And you are the sister who has stolen from her time and again.
Yes I can smell it on you the artificial pheromones the manipulation.
Did you think such tricks would work on me?
Evangeline’s face drained of color.
I do not know what you silence.
The single word carried the weight of absolute authority.
Evangeline’s mouth snapped shut against her will her eyes widening in shock.
Beside her Caleum shook his head as though emerging from a fog confusion and dawning horror spreading across his features.
Saraphine Caleum whispered looking at her as though seeing her for the first time.
What happened?
Why am I?
You were manipulated Kalin said flatly.
Your intended has been using forbidden arts to cloud the minds of males.
This one is not the first she has stolen from your sister.
That is a lie Hendrik bellowed stepping forward.
Evangeline would never.
Would she not?
Kalin’s voice dropped to something almost gentle as he looked at Saraphine.
How many times little one?
How many males has she taken from you?
Saraphine’s throat tightened.
The years of pain of watching potential mates turn away from her mid sentence as soon as Evangeline entered the room of being told she was not trying hard enough that something must be wrong with her.
Three she whispered.
Three before Caleum.
A low growl rumbled from Kalin’s cheSt. Three.
And your pack did nothing.
Your father did nothing.
She lies Evangeline screamed her composure finally cracking.
She has always been jealous of me.
This is her revenge seducing the Alpha King with her pathetic tears.
Enough.
Kalin raised one hand and the wolves of his guard rose as one.
Saraphine is leaving with me.
This is not a negotiation.
This is not a requeSt. Any attempt to stop us will be considered an act of war against the Northern Realm.
The blood drained from Hendrik’s face.
War with the Northern Realm would mean annihilation.
Everyone present knew it.
You cannot simply take her Evangeline hissed desperation making her reckless.
She belongs to this pack.
Kalin turned to Saraphine and his hard features softened almost imperceptibly.
Do you wish to stay?
Saraphine looked at her father who had never once defended her at Evangeline whose beautiful face was twisted with hatred at Caleum who still seemed lost in confusion.
No she said quietly.
There is nothing for me here.
Then we go.
Kalin swept her into his arms once more and before anyone could move he was running faster than any wolf she had ever seen his guard flanking them in perfect formation.
The last thing Saraphine heard was Evangeline’s scream of fury echoing through the trees like the cry of a wounded beaSt. This is not over sister.
Do you hear me?
This is not over.
But the wind swallowed the words and Saraphine closed her eyes pressing her face against Kalin’s chest as he carried her toward a future she could not yet imagine.
