Chapter 1

Elara's POV 

Today was supposed to be an ordinary day. I was meant to run simple errands, mind my business, and make it back to my little corner without incident. I wasn’t aiming to be noticed, especially by the pack members who always made it their mission to remind me where I stood—or, rather, where I didn’t. But sometimes, I wondered if staying out of their way only made them seek me out even more.

I pulled my hood up and ducked my head, hoping the less they saw of my face, the better. The market was busy, filled with laughter and chatter, and I hoped the noise would hide my presence. I had to pass by a group of wolves, talking loud and carefree, completely absorbed in their own conversations. My steps were quiet, deliberate.

But luck wasn’t on my side.

“Hey, isn’t that Elara?” The voice was sharp, familiar. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was—Mira, the pack’s reigning queen bee and self-proclaimed guardian of everyone else’s business.

I ignored her, quickening my steps.

“Don’t walk away,” she snapped, and then her footsteps closed the distance between us in an instant. Her fingers gripped my shoulder, nails digging in hard enough that I could feel the sting through my clothes. “Are you ignoring me now, too?”

I swallowed, forcing myself to stay calm. “I’m just passing through, Mira. Let me go.”

“Oh, passing through, are we?” She scoffed, tightening her grip. “Like you passed through Caleb’s life and left him to die?”

The words hit like a punch, my breath catching as the blood roared in my ears. Caleb. The one who’d been chosen for me, my mate—or so I thought, until he’d turned on me. He’d broken the bond, cut me out of his life in front of the entire pack, and not even a month later, he was dead. They said it was an accident. Some still whispered that it wasn’t.

And those whispers always pointed in my direction.

“I had nothing to do with Caleb’s death,” I said, my voice barely steady. “You know that.”

Mira laughed, a cruel sound that caught the attention of others. A small crowd had begun to gather, their eyes alight with a hunger for drama. Perfect. Exactly what I didn’t need.

“Sure, Elara. We all know how hard he rejected you. Maybe you couldn’t take it. Maybe you snapped.” Her voice was sharp, cutting into me like a blade. “You probably thought if he wasn’t going to be yours, no one else deserved him either.”

“Stop it, Mira,” I managed, feeling their gazes on me, the disgust, the barely-hidden sneers. It was suffocating, squeezing the air from my lungs.

“Oh, look at her,” Mira continued, her voice mocking. “She doesn’t even have the decency to defend herself. You’re pathetic, Elara. What kind of wolf lets her mate go like that? And then just… lets him die?”

I couldn’t help it. My hands clenched into fists, knuckles white as I held myself back. Anger coursed through me, hot and furious, but I knew better than to let it show. They wanted a reaction, wanted proof that I was as unstable as they claimed.

“Say something, Elara,” Mira jeered. “Or are you going to run off like the coward you are?”

My mouth opened, the words on the edge of my tongue, but before I could say anything, Mira pushed me. Hard. I stumbled back, trying to regain my balance, but then someone else shoved me from behind, and I fell to my knees, gravel biting into my skin.

Laughter erupted around me. Harsh, unforgiving. I looked up, blinking through the haze of anger and humiliation, and saw their faces—the sneers, the curled lips, the eyes shining with contempt. This was their entertainment, their twisted way of reminding me I didn’t belong. I was an outsider in my own pack, marked by the effect of Caleb’s death.

“Did you really think you could just move on like nothing happened?” Mira asked, leaning down so her face was close to mine. Her breath was hot, her gaze filled with disdain. “You’re tainted, Elara. Stained. You’ll never be one of us.”

I stared back at her, refusing to let her see the pain that pulsed in my chest, the ache of her words sinking deep. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of my tears. But she must have seen something in my eyes because her smirk widened, cruel and triumphant.

“Nothing to say?” she whispered, barely loud enough for only me to hear. “Maybe you should have been the one to die instead of Caleb.”

The words hit harder than any blow, tearing through the thin barrier of composure I’d tried to maintain. I forced myself to breathe, to keep my expression blank, to not let her see the hurt. But it was there, just beneath the surface, about to spill over.

Just when I thought they were finished, Mira grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at her. “You’re a curse, Elara. You killed him. Own up to it.”

Her grip was bruising, fingers digging in hard enough that I knew I’d bear the marks. I swallowed the sharp reply on the tip of my tongue, knowing anything I said would only make things worse.

“Is that true?”

The voice was deep, authoritative, and sent an effect of silence through the crowd. Mira’s hand fell from my face as she turned, and I looked up, heart pounding, to see the figure standing at the edge of the circle.

Andrew Galway.

The Alpha from the Salientmoon pack. His gaze was intense, piercing through each person as he stepped forward, his presence radiating a quiet power that made the air feel thick, charged.

I’d heard about him, of course. Everyone had. He was the kind of Alpha who commanded respect just by being there, who didn’t need to raise his voice to be heard. But I’d never expected to see him here, in our territory, watching this… spectacle.

He looked between Mira and me, his expression unreadable. But there was something in his eyes—something dark and unsettling. His eyes rested on me, and for a moment, it felt like the rest of the world had fallen away, leaving only his steady stare, sharp and assessing.

“What’s going on here?”