CHAPTER 1: A New Beginning

Kyara's POV

As I stood at the brink of the Silver Fang area, the air was thick with tension, my body shivering from the weight of my failures rather than the cold. The full moon shed a pale glow over the woods, and silence settled in like a smothering blanket. I had always imagined that this would be my home, but it suddenly felt more like a prison—one from which I was finally being released.

But not by choice.

I drew a trembling breath and tightened the straps on my purse, the leather biting into my palms. Victor stood a few feet behind me, gazing in frigid silence. The mate link we previously had, which should have been holy, felt like a distant, bitter memory now. His rejection was like a dagger still embedded in my chest, twisting every time I dared to imagine what might have been.

"You were never strong enough, Kyara," he murmured, his tone as frigid as the night around us. "I need a mate worthy of being by my side, not…this."

I winced, my heart twisted from his words. I'd heard them a thousand times before, but they still hurt. I swallowed back the tears that were about to flow. I wouldn't give him the joy of watching me break—not again.

"I'll be out of your way soon," I murmured, my voice barely audible. It was the only thing I could offer him: quiet. I had long ago realized that no amount of appeal or argument would persuade Victor to change his opinion. In his opinion, I was weak. A liability. And now since I didn't have my pack, I was nothing.

"Good," Victor mumbled, his gaze already drifting away, as if I no longer existed in his universe.

I blinked away the bitterness that rushed inside me and resumed walking. Each step felt heavier than the previous one as if the weight of his rejection was tied to my ankles, pushing me deeper into the darkness of my thoughts. Every rustle in the trees and blast of wind felt as if they were mocking me. You are not enough. You never were.

Just as I approached the edge of the trees, a person emerged from the shadows, his imposing presence almost taking my breath away. Erik Blackwood. Crescent Moon’s Alpha. Even under the moonlight, his tall, imposing physique exuded strength and authority. His dark eyes met mine, piercing through the shadows as if peering into the very soul I was trying so hard to conceal.

"So, you're the one." His voice was deep and hard, causing a shudder down my spine.

My heart stuttered, and my throat tightened under his attention. His expression was cold and unkind. Just a cold calculation, as if I were merely a piece in a wider game. His pack had taken me in as part of a contract, over which I had no say. I was nothing to him except a means to a purpose.

"I—I guess so," I muttered, disliking how little and vulnerable my voice sounded. In front of him, I felt even weaker than before.

Eric's eyes narrowed slightly, and his lips formed a thin line as he studied me over. I half expected him to reject me, telling me I wasn't worth the bother and sending me on my way. Instead, he moved closer, absorbing the space between us. "You'll follow me, and you'll follow my rules," he insisted, leaving no space for debate. "You're under my protection now, and that means you do what I say."

I nodded, too shaken to talk. It was the same chilly instruction I had heard from Victor, but Eric was unique. Victor had been brutal, but Eric was...controlled. Calculated. His look made me feel uneasy, but also strangely safe.

Before I could gather my thoughts, he turned on his heel and started walking, his long strides indicating that I had no choice but to follow.

As we moved deeper into Crescent Moon country, the animosity between us became palpable. The trees thickened, the forest darkened, and the stillness between us became stifling. Every step appeared to take me further from the person I used to be and into a world where I was nothing more than a pawn in some ill-defined prophecy.

"What do you know about the prophecy?" Eric asked unexpectedly, his words piercing through the silence like a razor.

I swallowed hard. The truth was that I knew very little. Just faint murmurs of a power I possessed—an ability that had lain dormant for as long as I could recall. "Not much," I said, my voice quivering. "Only that I'm supposed to be...important."

Eric snorted gently, but there was no comedy about it. "Important? No. Dangerous? Yes."

I felt a shiver down my spine as he spoke. Dangerous? How could I possibly be dangerous? I was the weakest link in my pack, ignored, forgotten, and discarded as if I were nothing. "I don't understand," I muttered.

"You will," Eric answered, his voice quieter but yet rigid as steel. "Soon enough."

The rest of our drive was spent in nervous quiet. By the time we arrived at Crescent Moon land, the moon had lowered in the sky, throwing lengthy shadows across the open. My gaze went across the massive stone structures and towering walls that encircled the Alpha's realm. It felt chilly, oppressive, and unwelcoming, exactly like the man standing next to me.

"You'll stay here," Eric explained, pointing to a little stone hut outside of the main pack house. "For now."

I halted at the entrance, feeling the weight of his stare on my back as I walked in. The interior of the cabin was modest and virtually naked, with a single bed and a little fireplace. It wasn't much, but it was more than I'd ever received from my pack.

Before I could speak, I felt Eric's presence behind me again. "Kyara," he replied, his tone low and inscrutable.

I turned, astonished to hear my name on his lips. He was standing closer than I imagined, his dark eyes fixed on mine. Something in the air between us altered for a little period, which I couldn't exactly understand.

"You may be weak now," he said softly, his gaze never leaving mine. "But I feel something more in you. Something...dangerous."

I blinked, perplexed and a little uneasy by the way he looked at me. "I'm not sure what you're talking about," I murmured.

Eric's lips curled into the smallest hint of a smile, which was more predatory than kind. "You will."

He turned and went before I could answer, closing the door behind him with a gentle click. I was left standing in the small room, my heart beating for reasons I couldn't comprehend.

What did he mean by dangerous? How could I, who had been rejected for being weak and impotent, possibly be dangerous?

I slid into the bed, my mind racing with bewilderment and panic. I had no idea what the prophecy meant for me, or why Eric was so adamant that there was something evil and strong inside me. But as I peered into the flickering flames of the hearth, a small, frightening notion crossed my mind.

Maybe Eric was correct. Perhaps there was something deadly within me. Something even I couldn't understand.

And if that's true, perhaps I wasn't just a pawn after all.

As sleep began to take hold of my mind, a loud knock resonated around the room, making me jump. I ran to the door and opened it, my breath stopping in my throat as I saw Eric standing there again, his face gloomy.

"There's been a change of plans," he explained, his gaze intense. "You're not safe here."

Before I could question him, a loud howl echoed through the night, sending shivers down my spine.

And in that instant, I realized that whatever sense of safety I had was gone.