Chapter 1

• Alina's POV
• The dungeon was dark and damp, heavy with the stench of blood and despair.
• I curled in a cold corner, my white dress smeared with mud, my hands tied roughly behind my back. The rope cut into my wrists until they burned.
• I regretted everything. I had only been traveling through the southern tribes, as I did every year, treating patients.
• Until I reached the border between the South and the North, the Westwood tribe, the last stop of this journey.
• Who would have thought that I would be caught up in the power struggle of the Northern wolf king and be taken as a traitor?
• “Hey, look at this, Omega, she’s a pretty one.” A guard with a face like stone kicked my shin, his eyes crawling over me like a snake.
• My heart sank.
• Exile. To become a Rogue, mind gone, body rotting. Worse than death.
• Fear wrapped around my throat, and I shook my head desperately.
• “I’m not a traitor! I… I’m a healer!” My voice cracked, weak, unconvincing.
• I dared not admit I came from the South.
• With the tension between North and South, that would turn me from an unknown traitor into a bargaining chip, endangering my tribe, endangering Killian.
• “Every traitor says the same thing!” the guard spat. “I know all the healers in the North. I’ve never seen your face!”
• My defense crumbled, and despair flooded me.
• Just then, heavy footsteps approached from outside the dungeon, carrying a weight that silenced the guards.
• The guards, who had been laughing moments ago, immediately fell silent and bowed their heads.
• A tall figure appeared at the dungeon door, blocking the only light and casting a huge shadow over me.
• He wore black leather armor, broad shoulders tapering to a lean waist, strong legs in dark trousers, dusty boots at his feet.
• Under short black hair was a face carved like stone, sharp lines, and a jawline clean enough to cut.
• His deep gray eyes, cold as the North’s ice, scanned the prisoners and finally stopped on me.
• He was the new Alpha of all the tribes in the North, Dominic.
• "Has Ares been caught?" he asked, his voice low and rough.
• "Report, Alpha, not yet," the guard captain replied nervously.
• Dominic’s gaze never left me, cutting into my skin like a blade.
• Summoning all my courage, I met his eyes and shouted, "I’m not a traitor! I’m a healer!"
• He finally moved.
• Step by step, he came closer.
• The world fell silent. I heard nothing but his boots on stone and my pounding heartbeat.
• A strong, unfamiliar scent filled my nose, like pine after rain, mixed with cold wind and a heavy, commanding male presence.
• My wolf in me stirred wildly, not in fear but in a primal, uncontrollable pull.
• He stopped in front of me and bent down.
• A gloved hand gripped my chin, forcing me to look up. The chill of his fingertips and the heat of his palm sent a jolt racing through me, flooding my body.
• Oh my god.
• My mind went blank. My heart beat so fast it felt like it would burst.
• The fear and unease melted away, replaced by a strange, soul-deep comfort.
• I looked into his eyes, so close, and for a moment, the ice cracked. I wanted to drown in them.
• I wanted to be closer, to let him hold me, mark me, and be with him.
• Moon Goddess, please… let this not be real.
• This ruthless Alpha of the North. The enemy of the South. The man I had always tried to avoid.
• He was my mate. My destined mate.
• It had to be the Moon Goddess’s cruelest joke.
• I already had Killian. We had grown up together. He wasn’t my fated mate, but we were engaged, and more than that, I loved him.
• Shock flickered in Dominic’s gray eyes, and his grip on my chin tightened without thought. He felt it too.
• “Release her,” he commanded, his Alpha voice leaving no room for refusal.
• The guards immediately fumbled to untie the ropes from my wrists.
• “Take her to clean up, and bring her to my room,” Dominic ordered, his eyes never leaving mine. Then he turned and walked away, as if I were nothing more than a prize he had claimed.
• Two silent maids led me out of the dungeon. They bathed me, dressed me in a silk nightgown, and brought me to his chamber.
• I felt like a puppet throughout the whole process, letting them manipulate me. Then I was led into Dominic's room.
• The room was large, yet empty, filled with his pheromones that made me uneasy.
• There was a huge, thick fur rug on the floor, swords and axes hung on the walls. In the center of the room was a bed so large it was astonishing.
• I paced restlessly in the room, trying to figure out how to escape.
• But outside stood armed guards, and in the distance I heard the shouts of traitor hunters.
• There was nowhere to run.
• At last, I sat on the edge of the bed, heart pounding, waiting for my fated mate, my most dangerous enemy, to return and decide my fate.