Chapter One – Shattered Zarina’s POV Today is the day. The day Kael would be announced as Alpha. The day he would finally claim me as his mate. The day he would prove that I hadn’t sacrificed everything for nothing. I smiled at my reflection, my chest swelling with pride. The deep blue gown Kael had chosen for me hugged my body perfectly, emphasizing every curve he used to admire. My black hair cascaded in soft waves down my back, and my emerald-green eyes shimmered with excitement. This is it. I walked away from my title, my family, and everything I had ever known because they said Kael wasn’t good enough for me. That I, the daughter of the strongest Alpha, deserved better than a low-ranked wolf with no real power. I had stood by Kael when no one else had. When his own pack doubted him, I had pushed him forward. I had fought for him. I had bled for him. I had betrayed my own family for him. Because I believed in him. I believed in us. Tonight, he would prove
Chapter Two : Some mates are not meant to be Zarina’s POV The night was cold, but I didn’t care. My feet dragged through the dirt as I walked deeper into the dark forest. I had no idea where I was going. I just wanted to get away. Away from him. Away from the pain. Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t bother wiping them. What was the point? My heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest. “Some mates are not meant to be.” His words repeated in my head, cutting me like a sharp knife. A broken sob escaped my lips. I dropped to my knees, gripping my chest. It hurt. It hurt so much. My wolf whimpered inside me, but she was weak—just as broken as I was. I had done everything for him. I thought we would be together. I thought I was finally going to prove to everyone that he was worthy of me. That we were meant to be. But he chose someone else. The pack cheered for him while I stood there like a fool. He didn’t even look at me. He acted like I didn’t exist. I squee
Chapter Three : One night with the stranger Asher’s POV Pain. That was the first thing I felt when my eyes opened. But then, something was different. My leg—it wasn’t aching anymore. I moved it slightly, expecting a sharp sting, but there was none. I frowned, sitting up on the bed. The last thing I remembered was collapsing in the forest, blood pooling beneath me. I had lost a lot of it, and I was sure I wouldn’t make it. But then... she came. Zarina. I glanced to the side and found her still asleep, her face turned slightly away. Even in rest, she looked troubled. Her dark lashes rested against her cheeks, and her lips were slightly parted, as if she had cried herself to sleep. I ran a hand over my face and exhaled. She was the one who helped me. I remembered now—she had pressed something against my wound, whispering words that I was too weak to hear. She must have used those leaves. I swung my legs over the bed and stood, testing my weight. I was stronger. Almost as if the
Chapter Four – A Cold Alpha Zarina’s POV When I woke up, my head hurt. My body felt sore, and for a moment, I didn’t understand why. Then, I realized I wasn’t in the forest anymore. I was in a room, lying on a bed. And I wasn’t alone. I turned my head and saw him—Asher. The man I met last night. The man I had slept with. My heart started beating fast. No. No. No. I sat up quickly, pulling the blanket over my chest. What had I done? How could I have been so careless? I didn’t even know this man! I wanted to scream, but before I could react, Asher moved. He opened his eyes, and instantly, everything about him changed. Last night, he had looked tired but kind. Now, his golden eyes were cold, emotionless. He sat up and looked at me like I was a problem he needed to deal with. Then, the first thing he said made my whole body freeze. “As the Alpha of this pack, I can’t be seen sleeping with just anyone. What do you want in return to keep quiet?” I blinked. My heart dropped. “Wh
Chapter Five : Decision Regretted Kael’s POV I sat on the Alpha’s seat, my fingers clenching the wooden armrests as I listened to the news that made my blood run cold. “The battle must be redone,” the Head Elder announced, his voice deep and unwavering. “I was not present during the last fight, and now we have reason to believe that Darius was weakened by outside interference.” I felt my stomach drop. My hands turned clammy, and I struggled to keep my breathing steady. “A… a rematch?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. “Yes,” the Head Elder said firmly. “The battle will take place in three days. This time, no interference. The true Alpha will be decided in front of the entire pack.” I wanted to protest, to say I was already named Alpha, but I couldn’t. The Alpha Seal—the final mark that would make my leadership unquestionable—had not yet been given to me. Without it, my title was nothing but a word. I swallowed hard, trying to think of a way out, but there wa
Chapter Six : A Warrior Asher’s POV The training grounds were filled with warriors practicing their moves. Some sparred in pairs, their bodies moving fast as they dodged and struck. Others stood in groups, watching and learning. The air was thick with sweat, dust, and determination. I stood at the edge, arms crossed, observing everything. As the Alpha, I had to make sure my warriors were strong. If they were weak, the pack would be weak. And weakness was something I would never allow. My eyes swept over the warriors until I noticed someone struggling. An omega. She was smaller than the others, her movements sloppy and weak. She threw punches, but they barely landed. Each time she was knocked down, she got up again, but her frustration was clear. The warriors around her muttered among themselves, shaking their heads. I was about to turn away. Some wolves just weren’t meant to fight. But then Zarina moved. She had been standing nearby, watching. Now, she stepped forwar
Chapter Seven : Find Her Kael’s POV I sat in my chamber, my fingers clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. The room was dimly lit, the heavy curtains drawn shut, but I could still hear the voices outside. My warriors. My pack. They were trying to reassure me. “Alpha, you don’t have to worry,” one of them said. “You won the last fight. You can do it again.” “Yes, Alpha,” another added. “Darius was weak then, and he’s still weak now. Be rest assured that the seal would be given to you even if they had to do countless times” I wanted to believe them. I wanted to hold onto their blind faith in me. But I couldn’t. Because I knew the truth. Darius wasn’t weak. The only reason I had won that fight was because he had been drugged. And now, the truth had come out. The head elder had returned, and he wasn’t pleased. He had ordered the battle to be redone. This time, in his presence. And this time, Darius would be at full strength. I could already imagine it—his
Chapter EightChapter Eight: The ContractZarina’s POVMy fingers tightened around the bathroom door handle, my body aching for a moment of peace. The exhaustion from the past few days weighed heavily on me. A long, hot bath—that was all I needed. Just a little time to forget everything, to escape, even if only for a while.But just as I was about to step inside, the door to the bedroom creaked open.My entire body tensed.I turned sharply, already knowing who it was. “Asher,” I snapped.He stood there, leaning against the doorframe, his tall frame filling the space. His skin was still damp from a shower, water droplets sliding down his toned chest, disappearing beneath the towel slung low around his hips. His muscles were carved, powerful, a silent display of dominance.A shiver ran down my spine.I tore my gaze away, my cheeks burning.“Knock next time,” I muttered, gripping the door handle tighter.His lips curled slightly, but there was no amusement in his eyes. “Knock?” He steppe
:Chapter Seventy : Zarina's Journey – The Quest for a SolutionI had my hand on the door handle, weighing the decision heavily in my mind. Asher stood but a step or two behind me, watching, waiting, but I couldn't turn around. I couldn't dawdle."Zarina…" Asher's voice was thick with concern, but I could feel the unspoken words hanging there. He didn't want me to leave, I could tell. But he had no idea of the burden of the pack and duty that lay on me at that time. I loved him, and I loved our children, but I had to do this for all of us.I couldn't allow them to take one of my children. I couldn't allow them to offer my flesh and blood for some ancient ritual."I'm doing this for us, Asher," I whispered, barely above a whisper so he could hear me. "I promise, I'll come back."I could not gaze at his face, but I felt the hurt in the silence that followed. I knew he was torn. He knew what the pack needed, but this? This was different. I opened the handle and stepped out, leaving behin
Chapter: Zarina's DecisionThere was a sound of rain in sheets accompanied by sound of drumbeats thundering overhead as rain kept pounding ruthlessly at the roof. Asher had pulled back into the darkness of his own mind, his furrowed brows and concerned expression evident as the elders' expectations remained suspended in the air around us. I could feel the burden of the world weighing on him, as though he carried the future of our entire pack on his own shoulders. The elders were unforgiving, pushing him to make a choice—one that would destroy us. They wanted to take one of our children, one of my babies.I couldn't let it happen. I couldn't let them take one of my children.But I recognized that Asher felt trapped, stuck by his position as alpha, the need to protect everyone, even if it meant sacrificing the very people he cared about most. I saw it in his eyes—the torn look of a man who wanted to protect us but didn't know how.I walked around our quarters, pacing back and forth, ide
Chapter Sixty Eight : The Feelings Asher's POVThe load of the day was a boulder on my chest. The pack, the elders, everybody was depending on me, and the pressure was suffocating. But this evening, I did not care to think about any of it. I simply wanted to spend time with my kids.I crept down the hall to the nursery, gentle sounds of my babies drifting from the doorway. Their coos, their tiny laughter, were like music.When I entered, to behold them nearly shattered my heart. They were so tiny, so innocent.Luca was lying on his belly, his small hands reaching for a teddy bear. His little legs kicked against the air as he struggled to grasp it, his face concentrated. He wasn't there yet with the words, but the way he looked at the toy, how hard he reached for it—my heart swelled to full.Freya rested in her crib, waving her small hands in the air as she looked up towards the mobile revolving over her head. Her large eyes followed each movement, and a soft little giggle formed on h
.Chapter Sixty Seven : The IdeaZarina's POVThe pressure of the situation weighed heavily upon me like a boulder weighing a hundred tons. I sat silently in our bedroom, attempting to make sense of things, but it seemed the tempest within me was way too raucous to be silenced. The elders had come, demanding a sacrifice. A child. One of Asher's own. And my heart had shattered when I saw Asher stand firm, his voice unshakeable, his face set in determination as he denied their request.But that hadn't changed the fact that the elders wouldn't let go so easily. Their ultimatum hung over us like a cloud, dense with threat and conclusion. I knew Asher would never let harm befall his children. He couldn't—he loved them with every fiber of his being. He was their protector, their father, their Alpha. But the longer things dragged on, the more I began to fear what this stubbornness would ultimately cost us all.I could hear Asher's footsteps from the other side of our room. I did not look at
Chapter: The Elders' DemandThe weight of being Alpha had never rested more heavily on me than it did today. Every step, every decision I took, came under such close inspection that the weight was suffocating. But what the elders were demanding—no, insisting upon—was something I could never possibly consent to.I stood in the center of the black hall, the air thick with the heaviness of unwritten words. The elders were seated, faces grim, eyes blazing with accusation. They had waited for me to decide, but this. this was something more than I had expected.We've waited long enough, Asher," Elder Rurik's voice was deep, but his words cut through the silence. "The pack demands a sacrifice. It's the only choice. You understand this."I clenched my fists at my sides, my heart pounding in my chest. This was the moment I'd feared. The moment when I would break or remain unbroken."I told you," I said, my tone steady even as my gut churned with queasiness, "there must be another way. The pack
Chapter Sicty FiveThe Burden of LeadershipZarina’s PovI leaned against the window, the night air stinging cold against my skin, my fingers touching the stone sill lightly. The moonlight this evening was colder than usual, casting long shadows across the woods, making the familiar landscape into one that was almost alien. The air was tense, charged, and for all I could do, I couldn't shake it away.Asher was fighting. I could see it, feel it in every line of his posture, every heavy step he took. The pack was closing in on them, their needs growing more and more desperate, their eyes full of fear, of anger. They hungered for blood. They hungered for sacrifice. And as their Alpha, Asher's responsibility was to make the decision, to lead them through this dark and dangerous time. But I could see it in his eyes—the fear, the uncertainty. It was there, lurking under his stoic facade, and it was destroying my heart.I wasn't sure how long he could hold out.The soft creak of the door warn
Chapter: Whispers in the NightZarina's POVThe evening was quiet, too quiet.The wind barely whispered through the leaves outside, and the only sounds inside were the soft sounds of the sleeping children breathing lightly in their beds.I remained sitting on the edge of our bed, fingers crossed in my lap, gazing at the door. Asher still had not come to bed. Once more.I knew he was carrying the weight.I saw it in his eyes, how they fogged each time there was mention of the word sacrifice.It was not fair. It was not just.But Asher was the Alpha.And when the rest of the others were afraid to do so, it was him that all of them looked up to.I got up quietly, not to wake the children, and moved down the hallway barefoot. The house was dark, with only the gentle warm glow of a lantern left burning in the living room.And there he was.Asher was reclined on the floor, the top of his head resting against the couch, his old book on his lap. His knees were under the book, his elbows hooke
Chapter: A Leader's Burden(Asher's POV)The hall was quiet.Not the calm kind.The heavy, suffocating kind that made the air too thick to breathe.I stood at the front, looking out over my pack.Their faces were pale.Their eyes were wide with fear.Their shoulders stiff with concern.No one spoke.Not at first.The fire crackled weakly in the fireplace.It did nothing to remove the chill that had settled into the room —the kind of chill that came not from the weather, but from fear.Finally, one of the elders stood up.His voice was hoarse, as if he had been shouting or crying before he got here."No one lived through last night," he said, looking around at all of them."We waited. We watched. But not one soul crossed the grounds at midnight."There were murmurs all around the room.People whispering, heads shaking.Mothers clinging to their children more tightly.Fathers glancing suspiciously around.I said nothing.I needed to hear them.I needed to let them pour out their fears
Chapter: My HeartAsher’s POVThe night was too quiet.I stood by the window, looking out into the infinite night. The village that had once pulsed with life was now lifeless. Terror clung to the air like thick smoke, permeating every inch of our lives.They wanted blood.They wanted a sacrifice.And in spite of all I fought, in spite of all I stood up before them and said there would be a choice, I could still feel their eyes… still feel their fear.They had looked at my children.My blood seethed just thinking about it.I wheeled about to find Zarina holding one of the triplets in her arms. Her eyes were tired, but she tried to smile down at the baby, to lie that everything was all right.The other two were already snuggled into the bed, small bodies rising and falling with soft breaths as they slept.God, how tiny.How innocent.They didn't deserve it.None of them did.I walked over and swept Zarina's arm with my own. She looked up at me, her eyes full of unspoken fear. She did no