CHAPTER ONE

EMMELINE

They are never going to find the bodies of the men I killed on the day of my mating ceremony.

Neither would they find me.

My name is Emmeline Carrington, and I am King Carrington's daughter and the last female Lycan.

Six Months Earlier

As I stood before Jonas, my fated mate, our hands intertwined and our smiles beaming, I couldn't think of a more perfect day.

It was the day of our mating ceremony, and to say that I was still in awe of everything playing out would be a sheer understatement. I just couldn't believe a day like this had finally come, that something this good, this perfect, would ever happen to a girl like me.

Several times today, I'd paused and waited with bated breath, half expecting to awaken from whatever dream this was.

But it wasn't a dream. I was getting mated to Jonas Sharpe!

For the first time in my life, it didn't feel like I had been cursed. To be bound to a man like Jonas as a mate was the greatest blessing of all.

He was a top-ranking warrior in the pack, a courageous man that everyone looked up to with respect. And to crown it all, he was simply gorgeous. I still didn't know how I was able to withstand staring into those hazel eyes of his without melting into a puddle.

"Do you, Emmeline, take Jonas Sharpe as your mate, to love and honor him forever?" I turned sharply to the sound of my father's voice booming through the hall and pulling me out of my thoughts.

I faced Jonas with a smile. "Yes, I do."

My father, who was the officiating elder, proceeded to read out the rites. With each passing second, everything felt a little more real.

"It's finally happening, Emmeline," my wolf, Cara, whispered. "Think happy thoughts, good thoughts only. You deserve this."

I wanted to think only good thoughts but as I glanced around the banquet hall to see everyone who had showed up for me, my smile dropped.

My mother was perched on one of the chairs in the front row with a bored expression on her face as though she would rather be anywhere else but here. No one looked excited compared to the day of my sister's mating ceremony. The hall had been filled to the brim, and my mother looked the happiest I had ever seen her.

But, of course, things were always different with me. I had never felt like the ideal daughter or that my mother cared for me. Perhaps her resentment towards me was made worse by the cheating rumors she had to endure when my legitimacy was questioned.

My parents had always kept me away from public gatherings because of my looks. I did not possess the typical Lycan appearance and strength like the rest of the pack. Unlike my sister, whose appearance was fully Lycan, I was smallish in nature, and my facial features were much softer. At first glance, I probably would not be categorized as a Lycan. I never failed to strike up gossip and attract stares wherever I went. So, it was inevitable that I slowly became invisible.

It was almost like they had only one child. The perfect child which was my sister. Meanwhile, I was the child they were ashamed of. I just didn't expect them to be ashamed of me on such a special day.

I felt the back of my eyes begin to sting painfully with unshed tears, but I forced them back. I wouldn't break down now, not today, not on this perfect day. I reminded myself that Jonas had chosen me. He didn't reject me when he felt the mate bond but instead accepted me with open arms. Jonas loved me regardless of everything. He never made me feel different or like something was wrong with me. As though he could read my mind, he squeezed my hand reassuringly.

Finally, my father read the last rites and shut the ancient book. "You may now kiss the bride," he announced.

I leaned in happily to kiss Jonas. But just before our lips met, commotion struck.

The hall doors were swung open with a deafening sound, and a panicked guard burst through. "We're under attack!! We are under-----"

The words had barely left his lips when a gunshot sounded through the hall, aimed at the guard's back. Suddenly, he let out a painful groan, his eyes popping out of their sockets as bluish veins lined his face. With a strangled gasp, he fell to the ground in a heap. Dead.

There was only one thing that could kill a Lycan that way: silver.