Prologue

Mikael had spent the morning training. His father insisted that he trained for three hours each morning under their gamma. Mikael didn’t mind it, it meant less time being stuck in the office with his father. His alpha training was his least favourite part of the day. Four hours with his father in his father’s office felt like physical torture. 

As he had showered and changed he headed to the pack house. He wondered if he could talk Rayvin into going with him off pack ground. They could sneak out and go to the diner and have milkshakes. Rayvin could easily beat the best warrior in sneaking around in the forest. 

As if she was summoned by his thoughts, Rayvin came walking. She must have come from the school, but why was she at the pack house in the middle of the day? Mikael wondered. 

“Hey, Ray, where are you heading? You’re not skipping class are you?” he called out to her. He was the only one in the pack that called her Ray. Everyone else called her Vinny as her mother had done.

“Hey, Max. No, the alpha wanted to speak to me,” she said. She had her own nickname for him as well, it always confused people why she called him Max as everyone else called him Mike. 

Mikael had once confessed to her that he hated his middle name. After much nagging from her side, she could be very stubborn, he had told her his full name was Mikael Maximus Bloodfur. That had been it, from that day she called him Max. Since no one but his parents knew what his middle name was, everyone was just confused by it.

Mikael loved it, he had gone from hating his middle name to actually loving it. More than anything he loved that her nickname for him showed that they shared things with each other that they didn’t share with anyone else. 

She looked nervous, Mikael thought. Most wolves would be when being summoned to the alpha’s office, especially when they were sixteen and had no family to speak of. Mikael smiled at her.

“Don’t worry, Ray. I’m heading there as well,” he told her and ruffled her short, blond hair. 

When her mother passed away last year, Rayvin had cut off her hair. She had said it was a symbol of a new start. Mikael had been upset at first, he had liked her long hair, that had reached almost down to her waist. But she was adorable with short hair as well. 

“Hey, don’t mess with the hair,” she said, batting his hand away. 

“Sorry, miss prim and proper,” he joked and playfully shoved her shoulder. 

“Watch it, alpha boy,” she warned him. Mikael just laughed. 

The two of them had been friends since Rayvin and her mother had returned to the pack when Rayvin was four years old. Her mother was originally from the Whiteriver pack. But after meeting and mating with Rayvin’s father, she had left the pack. But they both returned when her father died. 

Rayvin’s mother had worked hard to support the two of them. That had meant that Rayvin had been left in the pack’s daycare facility more than most pups. Mikael had spent a lot of the time there as well. Both his parents had been busy running the pack and thought he needed to socialise with his pack members. 

When they had met, Mikael had been seven and Rayvin four. She had followed him around and at first he had been annoyed by it. But then he had come to like the quiet shadow that seemed to be attached to him. 

Since then he and Rayvin had been friends. He was the typical alpha, loud, outgoing and loved to joke around. She was the quiet, shy type. They balanced each other well. 

As Rayvin had turned sixteen, things had changed for Mikael. He had started to see her as more than just his best friend. She was this beautiful she-wolf all of a sudden and he struggled with how to handle it. He hadn’t acted on it yet. But secretly he was counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday. He hoped she would turn out to be his mate.

As they walked to his father’s office, Mikael tried to joke with her to make her relax. It didn’t work as well as he had hoped and when they stopped and he knocked at the door and mind linked his father, he could see her stiffen. 

His father told him to enter and take Rayvin with him. Mikael opened the door and saw Nikolaus, his father’s beta, and his daughter, Milly standing by the window. Something wasn’t right, he thought and he took a step closer to Rayvin. 

“Alpha,” Rayvin greeted his father and bent her head in respect. 

“Mikael, come here son,” his father said, ignoring Rayvin.

“What’s going on?” Mikael asked without moving.

“Milly has brought things to my attention that we need to discuss. Come sit by the desk,” his father said. 

“Things that concern Ray?” Mikael asked. He didn’t know how long he could defy his father and stay by Rayvin’s side. But he had a strong feeling that he shouldn’t leave her. 

“Yes,” his father sighed and seemed to give up on the idea of getting him to take his usual spot at his father’s desk.

“Milly, tell them what you told me,” his father then said. 

Milly was a year older than Rayvin and since they had both been hanging around each other for most of their lives, people assumed they were friends. Mikael knew better. Milly disliked Rayvin. She had decided that Rayvin was the reason why he had never asked her out. 

Mikael might concede that Rayvin was part of why he had never been interested in Milly. But even without her, he wouldn’t have looked twice at Milly in that way. She was just trying too much, she was obsessed with shopping and trends and never wanted to join the others when they wanted to do fun things. She would always come along and whine about how boring it was, how tired she was getting and that she wanted to go home. 

No, he had no desire to ask her out, Rayvin or not. But that didn’t matter to Milly. She had decided that Rayvin was the problem and she had taken to outright bullying her before Mikael and Milly’s brother, Ben, had found out and put a stop to it. 

Mikael now looked over at the platinum blond she-wolf and gave her a look that she should tread lightly.

“Well, I have heard several pack members say that they don’t feel safe around Rayvin. Since, you know, they don’t know what she is,” Milly said. 

“She is a member of this pack,” Mikael said. 

“Well, you know what I mean. No one knows what her father was. For all we know she can be dangerous. The pack is worried,” Milly insisted.

It was true that Rayvin’s father had not been a wolf. He wasn’t human either, Rayvin didn’t smell to be half-human. He had been some type of magical creature. But Rayvin’s mother had refused to tell anyone what. She had made Rayvin promise to tell no one but her mate. A promise Rayvin lived by. 

Mikael never cared. She was Ray, his friend. She turned into a wolf like everyone else and she was kind and good-hearted and cared for those who were weaker than her. Her mother had been an epsilon, an everyday wolf. But Rayvin was a delta or even an alpha. Whoever her father had been, he must have been at the top of his species. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ray wouldn’t hurt anyone in this pack. The pack knows that, she has been a part of every charity event for the last seven years. She volunteers to help the elderly of the pack, for goddess’ sake,” Mikael said, irritated. 

“It’s just what I have heard,” Milly defended herself.

“Rayvin, this is serious. I can’t allow the pack to feel uneasy about your presence here,” his father said, looking at Rayvin. 

“I understand, alpha,” Rayvin said.

“You need to tell us what type of creature your father was, Rayvin,” his father then said. 

“I’m sorry alpha, I can’t do that,” she answered.

“You know that I can force you.”

Rayvin just nodded at those words. Mikael stared at his father, had he just threatened to use his alpha command on Rayvin? Because of some loose rumours? 

“Father, this is out of proportion,” Mikael said.

“No. You must learn Mikael that as an alpha you can’t allow any threats to the pack. Not from the outside and most certainly not from within,” his father said. Then he turned towards Rayvin.

“Tell me what creature your father was,” he said. Mikael could feel the power of his father’s command. He turned to look at Rayvin. 

She looked like she felt physically sick, a drop of sweat rolled over her forehead as she battled against the command.

“No,” she said. 

The room became dead silent. No one had ever resisted an alpha command before. Mikael’s father’s eyes grew big in disbelief, and Mikael thought he saw fear in them.

“Tell me,” his father roared.

“No,” Rayvin said. She didn’t seem to be struggling as much the second time.

“I will exclude you from the pack,” his father growled.

“Yes, alpha,” Rayvin said, looking down at her feet.

“Father, this is crazy. Why are you punishing her for something that you haven’t even looked into?” Mikael demanded to know.

“Mikael, an alpha can never look weak. His pack can never doubt him. If what Milly says is true, and she is the beta’s daughter, the pack is already afraid that I can’t protect them. She must go,” his father told him. 

“She has no family, you are condemning her to death,” Mikael shouted. 

“What happens when she leaves this pack is not my concern,” his father shrugged. 

“Rayvin, you have an hour to pack your things, then I want you off the pack land. I, alpha Johaness Bloodfur, retract you from being a member of the Whiteriver pack. You are no longer of our spirit, you are no longer one with us,” his father said.

Mikael could see Rayvin jolt and he felt his pack bond to her snap and vanish. 

“Yes, alpha,” she said, turned around and walked out of the office.

“I will never forgive any of you for this. The only thing this has proven is that you are a weak alpha, father,” Mikael spit out and turned around to leave.

“Don’t turn your back on me son,” his father growled. 

“Don’t try me right now, father. I might forget the respect I owe you and challenge you,” Mikael growled as a response. 

“Mike,” Milly gasped.

“You. You don’t talk to me ever again,” Mikael said, pointing a finger at Milly. He then left the office to find Rayvin.

He found her in the small apartment that was her home in the pack house. After her mother had died, she had been given it as she was old enough to take care of herself. When Mikael walked in, she was busy stuffing some clothes into a duffel bag. 

“Ray, stop,” he told her.

“No, Max. I need to pack and try to find a way to get to the bus stop in town,” she said. She didn’t even look at him.

“Ray, stop and look at me. We can figure this out,” he insisted.

“How? How are we going to figure this out Max? Your pack is scared of me, your father was right to make me go away,” she said.

“I’ll call Gray. You can go live with his pack. His father won’t say no,” Mikael tried. 

“No, Max. I won’t go through this again. My mother gave me a number to call if I was ever in trouble, and a place to go, they are friends of my father. I’ll just go there,” she said. She seemed to be done packing, she looked around the room and nodded. 

“You’re just going to leave me?” he asked, he felt hurt that she could just walk away.

For the first time since the office, Rayvin looked at him and he could see the held back tears in her golden eyes. The golden eyes that he could get lost in. 

“You are nineteen, you will soon find your mate and you will take over the pack. You won’t have time for me anyway,” she said and tried to smile.

“I will always have time for you,” he objected. 

“Max, just promise me that you will do a better job than your father?” she told him.

“I promise, I will never be like him,” Mikael said.

“I know you won’t,” she nodded and then she gave him a hug. Mikael hugged her close to him and wished he could keep her there forever. 

“I need to go,” she then said.

“I’ll take you to the bus stop,” he said. 

“No, I’ll ask one of the ones going in to shop for Milly’s birthday party to take me. I can’t say goodbye to you twice,” she told him and grabbed her two bags.

“Here, to remember me by,” she said and held out a thin gold chain with a round pendant on it. Mikael knew it was a sphere of amber encased in a cage of gold.

“I can’t take this, you got it from your mother,” he said.

“And she got it from my father. I want you to have it,” Rayvin said, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek before going out the door. 

Mikael stood holding the necklace for almost an hour. He was making plans of his own. He knew he needed to change things in the pack. When he had, he would find Rayvin and he would bring her home again.