Chapter 1
Karla’s POV
years and it’ll kill you.”
That bracelet you’re wearing–it’s made from wolf bone. Keep it on for three yea
The Moon Priestess watched me with those unsettling pale eyes. When I didn’t respond, she continued, almost casually, like she was discussing the weather
“Wolf bone carved from ribs while the beast was still breathing. Nasty piece of work that one. Three years, and your soul gets sucked right into it. Whoever’s supposed to benefit from your death? They’ll wake right up.“]
She tilted her head, studying me.
“Someone really doesn’t like you, honey.”
My throat felt like sandpaper. 1 couldn’t get any words out.]
“Now, if you want to break this little curse, you’ll need to bond with someone… special. Someone with ancient bloodlines–mixed heritage, if you catch thy meaning. The kind most packs don’t talk about.” Her smile was sharp as broken glass.
“That type of union might just save your skin.”
Before I could ask what she meant, she grabbed my hand. The blade appeared from nowhere, slicing across my index finger before I could pull away.
My blood dripped into a small crystal vial she produced from her robes.
“You’ll need this,” she said, pressing the warm vial into my palm.]
“When you’re ready to call for help.“[
Then she was gone, melting into the shadows between the trees like she’d never been there at all.]
I stared down at the bracelet circling my wrist, ice–cold against my skin.
Three years.
Soren had given me
this as an engagement gift three years ago.
In exactly one month, I’d hit that deadline.
The drive home was a blur of panic and desperate phone calls.
Three hundred attempts.
Three hundred times Soren’s phone went straight to voicemail ||
My hands shook on the steering wheel as everything started clicking into place–the nightmares, the constant exhaustion, the way I could barely keep my eyes open most days
I’d thought it was stress from preparing to take over as park Alpha
Turns out, I was just slowly dying
Being the daughter of the most powerful Alpha in the northern territories used to mean something. Right now, it felt like a joke.[]
When I finally made it home, I spotted a crack of light under Ophelia’s door.
My sister’s room had been like a shrine for the past three years–over since the accident that left her in a supernatural coma.
Mom insisted we keep everything exactly as she’d left in
The door wasn’t fully closed. Through the gap, I saw him
Soren, the pack’s most respected doctor, heir to a bloodline of healers going back centuries, was kneeling beside Ophelia’s bed, His hands–the same
hands that were supposed to marry me in a month–were wrapped around hers]]
“She’s almost worn it for three years, Lia,” he whispered, voice soft in a way I’d never heard him use with me. “One more month and you’ll finally wake up1
He brushed her dark hair back from her face, and I watched him lean down to press his lips to her forehead. Then her cheek. Then her mouth.||
1 gripped the doorframe so hard I thought the wood might crack]
“Don’t worry. Kaela’s going to pay for what she did to you.”
The world tilted sideways.
My chest felt like someone had reached inside and torn something vital out. [].
What I did to her?
The car accident wasn’t my fault–I’d been driving, sure, but that drunk human had run the rod light. ||
I’d swerved to protect her, ended up taking most of the impact myself
But Soren thought Id hurt her on purpose.
I stumbled back to my room and collapsed against the door.
The tears came hard and fast, three years of confusion and loneliness finally making sense. He’d been planning this from the beginning.
Using me to save her.
The knock came twenty minutes later.
I scrubbed my face and opened the door. Soren stood there, still gorgeous still carrying himself like the golden boy of our pack. His family had served as healers to mine for generations–I’d grown up thinking we were destined for each other.
“Where is it?” His voi
voice was sharp, clinical Doctor voice
I blinked. “Where’s what?”
The bracelet His eyes dropped to my bare wrist, and his whole body went rigid. “Where the hell is my bracelet, Kaela?“]]
The way he said ‘my bracelet hit like a slap. [
Not “your engagement gift or the bracelet I gave you.”
His bracelet. His tool
“I took it off” I kept my voice steady, even though I felt like I was falling apart. “I’ve been sick for three years, Soren Nightmares, headaches, barely able to function. So I took it off.”
His hands shot out, gripping my shoulders hard enough to bruise. His eyes flashed gold–wolf coming to the surface
“You don’t get to take it off?” The words came out as a grow!. ||
“I don’t care if it kills you you keep that thing on until I say otherwise. Now where is 117“]]
There it was
The truth, laid out between us like a blade
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bracelet. His relief was so obvious it made me sick, I slipped it back on, feeling the bone’s chill seep into my skin
“Happy now?”
He stepped hack, immediately smoothing down his perfectly styled hair and adjusting his collar. []
Bark to playing the part of the devoted fiancé
“There’s an auction tomorrow night,” he said, voice returning to that polite, distant tone he used in public.
“Pick out something nice. Consider it an early wedding gift.
He was gone before I could respond
I sat on my bed, staring down at the vial the Moon Priestess had given me.
My finger had already healed–Alpha bloodline perks–but I could still feel where she’d cut me.
Taking a deep breath, I found the small knife I kept in my nightstand drawer and pricked my finger again. A single drop of blood fell into the vial, mixing with whatever she’d put in there.
The reaction was immediate.
Silver smoke poured out, swirling until it formed the Priestess’s face.
“Well, well. That was faster than I expected.”
“Please. My voice cracked.
need help. I can’t die in
die in a month.”
Her ethereal features softened slightly. The Grimweald pack has someone who might work. Strong bloodline, ancient magic running through his veins But he’s… complicated. Mixed heritage isn’t exactly welcomed in most circles, if you know what I mean.”
I didn’t fully understand what she was hinting at, but I was desperate.
I don’t care what he is.”
“Even if bonding with him means your pack might disown you?”
“They’re going to lose me anyway if I’m dead.”
She smiled, and for the first time, it looked almost kind
Smart girl. I’ll make the arrangements.”
The smoke dissipated, leaving me alone with the weight of what I’d just agreed to. Whatever this mysterious Grimweald pack member was, he was my only shot at survival
And honestly, after three years of being slowly murdered by my own fiancé, anything had to be better than this
