"Did you check the perimeter?"

"Alpha Kaelen wants her gone by midnight. Check the east gate!"

I shoved a heavy wool sweater into my canvas bag. The shouts of the guards echoed through the courtyard directly below my window.

"They're going to search the rooms next," I whispered to the empty bedroom.

"We need to hurry." I placed a hand over my flat stomach. "We're getting out of here. I promise you that."

"Hey! Did someone check the armory?" a rough voice yelled from the courtyard.

"She wouldn't dare steal from the Alpha," another replied.

"She's a rejected Luna. She might do anything."

I pushed a cold silver dagger deeper into my right boot.

"They don't know me at all," I muttered.

I zipped the bag. The sound seemed deafening in the quiet room.

"Elara! Open this door!" A heavy fist pounded against the thick wood.

"Just a minute!" I shouted back.

"The Alpha said no stalling. Open up, or I break it down!"

I didn't answer. I grabbed the heavy brass lamp from the nightstand and hurled it at the glass window.

The pane shattered outward, raining shards onto the grass below.

"She's breaking the windows!" a guard yelled from outside.

"Get in there!"

The bedroom door splintered. I didn't wait to see who broke it. I slipped through the servant's exit door hidden behind the tall wardrobe.

"She's gone!"

"Find her!"

I melted into the shadows of the tree line. The storm had turned into a full-blown blizzard. Snow whipped across my cheeks, stinging my skin.

"Keep moving," I told myself. "Just keep moving."

"Where did she go?" a voice echoed through the tall pines.

"She has no car. She has to be on foot!"

The Frost River roared ahead. It formed the natural boundary of the Silver Crescent territory. Beyond it lay the Wilds.

"Check the riverbank!"

I plunged straight into the water.

Ice instantly locked around my calves.

"Damn it," I hissed through chattering teeth.

"Do you see anything?" A flashlight beam swept across the water, missing me by inches.

"Nothing but ice!"

"Keep looking!"

The current yanked at my waist. I stumbled. Freezing water soaked through my jeans, turning my clothes into heavy lead.

"Hold on," I commanded the darkness inside me. "Just a little further."

A massive wave of dizziness hit. The broken mate bond flared to life, burning my neck.

"No," I groaned. "Not now."

"I think I heard something!" a guard shouted from the shore behind me.

"Shoot if you see movement!"

I bit down hard on my lower lip. Copper flooded my tongue.

"Stay awake, Elara," I ordered.

I dragged my heavy boots through the sludge. The water pushed against my chest.

"Almost there."

My knee struck a submerged rock. I pitched forward, plunging chest-deep into the freezing rapids.

"Ah!"

"There! In the water!"

A loud crack echoed over the river. A bullet splashed into the water a foot from my head.

"I'm not dying here," I spat.

I thrashed against the water. My hands blindly searched for solid ground. My fingers snagged on frozen roots.

I hauled myself out of the river.

My wet clothes weighed a ton. I collapsed onto the sharp stones of the opposite bank.

"Made it," I gasped.

"Hold your fire! She crossed the boundary!" the guard yelled from the other side.

"Let the rogues have her!"

Their footsteps faded away.

A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the rocks beneath my ear.

"Well, well. Look what washed up," a raspy voice sneered.

I forced my head up. Three massive wolves stepped out of the blizzard. The leader shifted. Bones cracked and snapped until a scarred, naked man stood in the snow.

"You smell like a dead bond," the rogue said. "And fresh blood."

"Back off," I warned.

"Or what?" The second wolf shifted. A wiry woman with glowing yellow eyes stretched her neck. "You're trespassing, little stray."

"This is neutral ground," I shot back.

"Nothing is neutral out here," the scarred man laughed. "You belong to the Wilds now."

"I said, back off."

I reached into my boot and pulled free the silver dagger.

"A butter knife. How cute."

"It's pure silver," I challenged. "It'll burn right through that ugly scar on your face."

"You can barely stand," the woman mocked. "You're shivering so hard you'll probably stab yourself."

"Why don't you come find out?"

"You reek of rejection," the third wolf shifted, a massive brute with a missing ear. "Your Alpha threw you away like garbage. Couldn't give him a pup?"

"That is none of your business," I snapped.

"We can smell the emptiness on you," the woman taunted.

"You smell a lot of things," I replied. "But you missed the silver."

My vision swam again. The bond-sickness threatened to pull me into unconsciousness.

"She's fading," the woman pointed out. "Look at her eyes."

"Easy prey," the brute agreed.

I flipped the dagger, pressing the sharp edge directly into my left palm.

"What are you doing?" the leader frowned.

I sliced down.

The sharp sting shot up my arm. I clenched my bleeding hand into a fist. The sharp pain anchored my mind, cutting through the dizziness.

"You're crazy," the man said.

"I have nothing left to lose," I stated. "That makes me dangerous. Who wants to die first?"

Instead of screaming, a broken laugh escaped my throat.

"She's completely unhinged," the brute muttered.

"I'll take the throat," the woman snarled.

She dropped back onto all fours. Her spine contorted as she shifted back into a grey wolf.

"Take her," the leader commanded. "Leave the meat intact."

The wolves lunged. Their jaws snapped toward my face.

"Come on!" I screamed.

"Put the blade down, little wolf."

The voice didn't yell. It was deep, resonant, and cut straight through the howling wind, carrying an undeniable royal command.

The attacking wolves slammed into the mud.

They whimpered.

Right in front of me, the three vicious rogues rolled onto their backs, exposing their bellies to the freezing rain in total, absolute submission.

I kept the dagger raised, my breath rattling in my throat.

Heavy footsteps crunched against the frozen gravel.

A towering shadow emerged from the blinding white storm, a massive aura of pure power locking the entire area down.

---

A colossal figure emerged from the whiteout.

The three rogues didn't twitch. They stayed pinned to the frozen mud, exposing their throats to the freezing rain.

I wiped a mixture of sleet and blood from my eyes, trying to focus on the newcomer. He didn't run. He walked with a terrifying stillness.

"Who gave you permission to hunt on my border?" The stranger's voice rumbled, vibrating against my ribs.

"Mercy, my Prince," the scarred leader choked out. His eyes were wide with stark terror. "We didn't know."

"Ignorance is a poor excuse."

"She smells like death!" the woman shrieked, pressing her snout deeper into the dirt. "She crossed into the Wilds! She's unclaimed!"

"She is standing on my ice."

"We'll leave!" the third brute barked, his massive frame shaking. "We won't come back!"

"You certainly won't."

The man crouched beside the trembling leader. He didn't shift into a beast. He didn't even bare his teeth. He simply reached out and wrapped one massive, gloved hand around the rogue's thick neck.

"Wait—" the leader begged.

A sickening crunch echoed over the howling wind.

The leader's eyes rolled back instantly. His body went limp, dropping into the slush like a discarded rag.

The other two wolves scrambled backward. They whined pitifully, tails tucked tightly between their legs.

"Run," the stranger commanded softly.

They bolted into the blinding blizzard without looking back.

I tightened my bloody grip on the silver dagger. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic rhythm of pure survival.

He stood up. He wiped a speck of crimson from his leather glove using his thumb. Then, he turned his gaze to me. Eyes like fractured ice locked onto mine.

"Stay back." I leveled the blade at his chest.

He took a step forward. Snow crunched beneath his heavy boots.

"You are bleeding out, little wolf."

"I said, stay back!"

"Your hands are shaking." He closed the distance between us in three long strides. "Put the toy away before you hurt yourself."

"Try me."

I drove the silver dagger straight toward his heart, putting every ounce of my remaining strength into the strike.

Metal rang out.

My arm jarred to a halt, sending a painful shockwave up to my shoulder. He didn't dodge. He caught the razor-sharp blade between his index and middle fingers.

"Silver," he murmured, inspecting the edge without blinking. "A bold choice for a stray."

"I'm not a stray."

I yanked the hilt. The blade didn't budge. It was trapped in a vise of pure muscle.

"Release it," I demanded, my voice cracking under the strain.

"You are in no position to give orders."

"I don't take orders from strangers."

"I am not a stranger. I am your salvation."

He twisted his wrist slightly. The dagger snapped out of my grasp, tearing a fresh layer of skin from my palm. It clattered against the icy rocks, useless.

"Don't touch me!"

I scrambled backward, but my frozen boots slipped on the wet stones. My legs finally gave out, refusing to carry my weight any longer. Before my knees hit the ground, his arms wrapped securely around my waist. He swept my legs out from under me, lifting me horizontally against his broad chest as if I weighed nothing at all.

"Put me down!" I thrashed against him, slamming my fists into his solid shoulders.

"Stop fighting," he commanded.

The sheer force of his tone hit me like a physical weight. My muscles locked instantly. It was a royal decree woven into his very tone.

Then, the scent washed over me. Crushed mint and sharp, freezing snow. It completely obliterated the foul stench of the wet rogues. It wiped away the lingering rot of my broken mate bond. A bizarre warmth radiated from his chest, searing through my soaked, freezing clothes. My icy cheek pressed against the boiling heat of his chest.

The agonizing cramps in my womb instantly ceased. The violent twisting in my gut smoothed out, replaced by a deep, unnatural calm. The tiny, dark life inside me seemed to purr under the influence of his aura, settling down like a satisfied beast.

"What are you doing to me?" I whispered, staring up at his sharp jawline.

"Keeping you alive."

He carried me effortlessly through the storm. Far ahead, through the thick curtain of white, the headlights of a massive black SUV cut through the falling snow.

"I can walk," I lied.

"You can barely open your eyes."

"I don't know you."

"My name is Valerius."

I tried to keep my spine rigid. I wanted to pull away from the stranger. I needed to maintain some shred of control. Instead, my stiff back uncontrollably relaxed. My body betrayed me, melting into his overwhelming heat.

This wasn't just an Alpha. The absolute authority humming in his blood forced my wolf into total submission. My jaw locked, refusing to bare my teeth at him. This sheer bloodline suppression sparked a raw, terrifying panic in my chest.

"You're a Lycan," I realized, the word tasting like ash.

"Astute."

"I don't belong to your court."

"You belong to no one right now," he replied smoothly. "Which makes you my problem."

"I'm nobody's problem."

"The dead bodies on my border suggest otherwise."

"Stop projecting your aura on me," I ground out through chattering teeth.

"I am doing nothing of the sort," Valerius replied, his gaze fixed on the SUV ahead. "Your wolf simply recognizes a superior predator."

"Conceited jerk."

"Honest observer."

He reached the vehicle. A driver in a dark suit immediately pulled the rear door open, ignoring the freezing rain pelting his face.

"Prince Valerius," the driver said, bowing his head respectfully.

"Turn the heat up. Maximum," Valerius ordered.

"Right away, sir."

He slid into the spacious backseat, bringing me with him. He didn't drop me onto the leather cushions right away. He held me firmly against his side. The heavy door slammed shut, cutting off the howling storm and plunging us into quiet isolation.

I shivered violently as the adrenaline finally crashed out of my system. My teeth chattered. My vision blurred at the edges. Valerius tightened his arm around my shoulders, anchoring me against the furnace of his chest. The dark life curled inside my womb went silent and still, soothed by his heat.

"Sleep," he ordered.

"I can't," I whispered. "If I close my eyes, I won't wake up."

"You will." His thumb brushed the broken mark on my neck. The touch should have hurt. Instead, the searing pain went quiet. "I did not drag you out of that river to let you die in my car."

I wanted to argue. I wanted to demand he stop the vehicle and let me out. But my eyelids were already sliding shut.

The last thing I felt before the darkness swallowed me was his hand pressing flat against my lower belly—right over the secret I had told no one.

His entire body went rigid.

"Little wolf," Valerius said slowly, his voice dropping into something dangerously quiet and intense. "What exactly is growing inside you?"

The vehicle surged into the frozen night, leaving the answered riddle of my survival hanging in the balance. If Kaelen ever discovered the truth, he would stop at nothing to hunt us down—but looking at the terrifying Lycan holding me, I knew the real danger had only just begun.

---