CHAPTER 1

"Morning, Lenora, time to wake up! We have visitors coming soon," my mum’s unmistakable voice called up the stairs, interrupting my dreams. I groaned, rolled out of bed reluctantly, and rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. The thought of entertaining visitors so early made me wish I could hide under my covers for just a bit longer.

But wait, first things first, let me introduce myself. I'm Lenora Harts. I am 18 years old, with curly brown hair and amber eyes. By now, I was supposed to have found my mate, but I haven’t, and honestly, I’m not complaining. I’m not ready for that kind of commitment; it feels too limiting. Plus, who wants to be tied down just to have kids? Not me. There are so many things I want to do first.

I also have an older brother who is the leader of our pack, Leander Harts. He’s 24 years old, has a partner named Freya, who is 23 years old, and they have two adorable children, a boy named Axton and a little girl named Liora. My best friend, Elara, is also 18 years old and, unlike me, is very eager to find her mate. Elara envies Leander and Freya’s relationship and is eager to settle down and have kids. We’re total opposites but love each other dearly. She’s a cheerful girl with straight brown hair and blue eyes.

Anyway, I went to my bathroom, put on one of my dad’s old sweaters and some leggings, threw my hair into a messy bun, and headed downstairs. I heard my mum shouting before I even entered the living room. It was chaos. She was giving orders to everyone, and the poor servants were confused, which only made her angrier. When she saw me, she sighed and smiled.

I spent the morning and lunch helping my mum, cleaning, and making sure everything was perfect for our guest, Alpha Black. He was rumored to be ruthless, killing for fun. The thought made me shudder. I felt sorry for him, knowing he had been searching for his mate for four years without success. However, his reputation for killing without feeling sorry made me dislike him. I oppose violence when innocent lives are at risk. Don’t get me wrong; I’m strong, but I have a soft heart.

My brother, Leander, aimed to make a peace agreement with Alpha Black to protect our pack. Surprisingly, Alpha Black agreed, as he is very picky about whom he deals with. Unfortunately, my wolf had been on edge all morning, which was starting to frustrate me. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she didn’t respond. I thought it had something to do with Alpha Black, maybe fear. I brushed off the thoughts, went upstairs, and took a shower. Once ready, I put on black skinny jeans and a white crop top, styled my hair, and wore minimal makeup.

"Lenora," Elara said, rushing into my room with a huge smile. I gave her a puzzled look, but she continued, "Lenora, OMG, they’re here. Ugh, they are so unbelievably sexy. I hope my mate is in that pack. Then it would be worth saving everything for him." She winked at me. Snapping out of my daydream, Elara dragged me to the window where we could see Alpha Black’s pack talking to Leander and Freya. My wolf was becoming restless but still wouldn’t tell me why. Before I could ask Elara about my wolf’s behavior, I locked eyes with a pair of magnificent blue ones. I gasped in shock...