Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

---

The words of Dr. Sophia echoed relentlessly in Evander’s mind, each syllable digging deeper into his soul like a thorn.

"It's possible that Zyana carries the Hunter’s curse... It runs in the Morenos' bloodline."

The nature of her voice was soft and even, but the revelation had been shocking to Evander nevertheless. Even the thought of it made him feel sick, and the bile crept up from his belly toward his throat as he recollected all she had said, all she had told them.

The Hunter’s curse. A generational curse, a twisted inheritance that passed from one Moreno to the next. It was a silent killer, a ticking bomb lodged deep in the brain, lying dormant until it awoke, driving its victim to kill werewolves without thought, without mercy. It was primal, instinctive. Unstoppable.

Evander walked up and down his office with fists clenched at his sides, lost in thoughts. Zyana… the woman who captivated his heart’s desires, the woman he was destined to have, his fated mate. She could be a killer, destined by her blood to slaughter his kind. To slaughter him.

The office felt suffocating for him at that moment. He just couldn’t breathe neither could he think straight.

He began to recollect his father's face on that dreadful day, twisted in agony and bleeding out in the dirt, surrounded by the hunters who had cut him down. All his people, slaughtered for sport, for entertainment and for the fun of it.

And Zyana’s father... Jack Moreno. The Hunter's leader was the same man who had taken everything from him. Evander felt sudden panic rishing in his chest. How could he have let himself fall for her? The daughter of a man who had caused him so much pain.

He couldn’t think clearly. The image of his father’s lifeless body and his mother withering into nothing. And now, the woman he was supposed to spend his life with, the woman whom the moon goddess blessed him with to make him feel complete, might be just like the rest of them, might just end up being like her father.

Evander’s heart pounded hard in his chest. Liam had always told him to be weary of Zyana even if she was his mate, but he never heeded. And she already knew too much about his life, about Raven's peak. He just couldn't take it anymore.

He stormed out, his feet moving on instinct, taking him back to the manor where Zyana was. The anger in his chest was boiling over.

Without a second thought, he barged in, slamming the door open with force, making the door split in two.

Zyana jumped, her wide eyes meeting his. She had never seen Evander so angry and at her for that matter. She knew something was not right immediately, but what had happened? Everything was fine yesterday.

“Evander?” Her voice was small, uncertain.

But he couldn’t hold back anymore. The fury had taken over.

“How could I be so stupid?” His growled at her, clearly disgusted by mere looking at her

“After everything I’ve been through because of your father, because of his hunters, because of YOUR bloodline, how could I even consider being with you?”

Zyana’s eyes filled with confusion and hurt, but she stood, her hands trembling slightly. “What are you talking about E, I don't understand why you're being so mean to me."

“Oh don't you dare fucking play dumb with me now Zyana!” he shouted, taking a step forward.

“Dr. Sophia said everything. Your bloodline, the curse—it’s inside you! You might as well have a dagger aimed at my heart already.”

She blinked, stunned, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to process his words. “Evander, listen to me—”

“No!” he cut her off, his voice sharp and cold.

“I don’t want to listen to you Zyana. I’ve been the fool all these while, letting my heart lead me when I should have known better from the daughter of a hunter. Your father slaughtered my kind. Your bloodline has been killing us for generations! And now you expect me to believe you’re different? That you won’t wake up one day with that curse inside you, driving you to finish what they started?”

Zyana’s eyes filled with tears, but she fought them back.

“Dr. Sophia said it was only a possibility. It’s not definite that I have the curse. We don’t know for sure. Evander please...”

Evander laughed, a bitter, broken sound that echoed through the room.

“A possibility?” he spat, his eyes burning with pain.

“And what happens when that possibility becomes reality? When I wake up one morning and find you standing over me with blood on your hands? How can I trust you, Zyana? How can I ever trust someone whose very blood calls for my death?”

Zyana stepped forward, her hands outstretched as if to touch him, to plead with him.

“Evander, please… I’m not like my father, I'm not my bloodline. You know me. You know I would never hurt you.”

He recoiled instantlyfrom her touch and way from her arms reach. He felt irritated at himself for ever trusting her.

“Do I?” he asked, his voice barely audible. “Do I really know you? Or the pretend you. Or have I been blind this whole time, blinded by the mate bond, by some twisted sense of fate?”

The silence grew between then and neither of them said anything.

Zyana’s tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn’t wipe them away. She wanted him to see the pains he was causing her.

“I love you,” she whispered, her voice broken. “You’re the only one I’ve ever loved. Please… don’t push me away. I promise nothing will happen, I know nothing will happen Evander, I will never hurt you.”

Evander’s chest tightened, his heart screaming at him to take her in his arms, to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t.

“I can’t,” his voiced cracking.

“I can’t be with you, Zyana, just not with you. Not after everything your family has done. Not after all the blood they’ve spilled. I can’t live in fear for the rest of my life with you, waiting for the day you turn into a monster like them, even if it's unconsciously. You might think you are different but you are not, you are a Moreno and forever a Moreno.”

Zyana cried out, clutching her chest as she tried to hold herself together, to keep herself in check.

“Evander, please...”

Evander stepped back, looking into her eyes with hurt and anger in his eyes.

" I, Evander Blackwood, rejects you, Zyana Moreno as mate and Luna of Raven's peak."

His final words were a dagger to both their hearts. “I wish I never met you.”

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving her standing there, broken, her sobs echoing through the empty hallways as he walked away from the only woman he had ever loved.