Chapter 2

I looked around, searching for Lana. I thought maybe… just maybe… we could switch places. But she barely spoke to me anymore—not since the day she tried to kill me.

The hallways were silent, as if the entire house was breathing on its own.

I passed by the old portraits, the wilted flowers in the crystal vase, and wondered when that place had stopped feeling like home. The sound of laughter made me stop.

It came from the music room.

I approached quietly. The door was slightly open, and through that narrow gap I saw Lana sitting on the bench by the window, her body poised in that graceful, calculated way of hers.

Two young men were with her—childhood friends—faces I knew well enough to predict the malice that followed each laugh disguised as a joke.

"I can’t believe it," one of them said, laughing loudly. "Your useless sister is going to marry the Alpha."

"It’s almost poetic," the other added. "A dead soul gaining a throne she doesn’t even know how to use."

Lana didn’t respond.

She simply crossed her arms and stared into the distance, with a faint smile—the kind that hides too much contempt to fit into such a delicate expression.

She looked bored, or maybe just satisfied to let others say what she herself was thinking.

"So, Lana?" one of them pressed. "Don’t you feel bad? Your half-dead sister marrying the Alpha? I thought you’d want to be in her place, being queen."

She lifted her gaze, and for an instant, I swear the air in the room seemed to change temperature.

Her voice came out calm, almost sweet, but sharp as glass.

"Maya won’t live a single day of that marriage, so it’s nothing for me to envy."

The two of them laughed, as if she had told the best joke of the night.

"Cruel as always," one of them said. "Don’t you pity her?"

Lana just shrugged, a slow, almost elegant gesture.

"Pity is a waste."

I stood there, leaning against the wall, feeling my chest tighten—not from pain, but from a strange clarity.

She was right.

Maybe I really wouldn’t live a single day of that marriage. It would be nothing but torment and death.

And if the Alpha was everything people said he was, perhaps that was for the best.

I didn’t want to change my fate by putting it on her shoulders. She might end up suffering because of me if I did that.

I didn’t want to be a name whispered behind closed doors or a shadow of something that was never meant to be mine.

But there was nothing I could do—except accept it and finally face that Alpha.

I took a step back, just enough for the wooden floor to creak. No one noticed.

I slipped away in silence, my heartbeat calm, as if I had already given up on feeling anything at all.

When I reached my room, I had already forgotten why I’d left it.

I closed the door, pressed my forehead against the wood, and took a deep breath.

Then I simply let it go.

Some things, I learned too early, are easier to forget than to understand.

I began getting ready to leave for the Kan mansion with my parents.

I wore a simple dress of light fabric and white slippers. I pinned a golden flower in my hair just to look more presentable.

They said the wedding dress had been made by an important man, probably using measurements my parents had sent him.

No matter how luxurious it was, fear consumed me.

Our whole family set out for the grand Kan mansion. A council of leaders awaited eagerly for the union.

Upon arrival, the property’s vastness revealed itself in a silence that felt almost sepulchral.

Only servants and guards moved about, small figures against the mansion’s endless corridors.

It was a labyrinth of opulence, draped in gold and shadows.

But I didn’t care about all that luxury. With every second that passed, my mind returned to the only man I could touch without pain.

The dress arrived that morning, inside a huge box—white as snow, wrapped in silver ribbons and sealed with the golden crest of the Kans, the empire of the most feared Alpha among all packs.

They say he’s cruel, that his voice can silence an entire hall, that even the ground bends beneath his steps. They say many things.

But me… I only know that the moment he touches me, I will die.

It could be today, or tomorrow.

I opened the box almost absentmindedly. The dress shimmered as if it had swallowed the night sky, its tulle embroidered with tiny stones that caught the light like stars.

When I lifted the lid, a sweet fragrance filled the air—blending with the scent of fear that had lived inside me for years.

The fear of touch.

The fear of pain.

Because no one has been able to touch me since I was born.

Not even the wind seems able to reach me without burning from the inside out.

My body rejects contact; my skin reacts to touch with pain, as if the world itself reminds me that I don’t belong to it.

Except for him.

Since birth, I’ve been cursed—with a magical dagger embedded in my chest, piercing my heart—and no magic has ever been able to remove it.

Not even my mother understands why I was born this way. She hid me, to protect me—or perhaps because, from the moment I was born, I didn’t open my eyes until I was nearly fourteen.

The dagger reacts to any touch, and because of it, even my parents could never hold me.

But thanks to Lana’s attempt to get rid of me, I was given both a torment and a blessing that marked me forever.

Chapter 3

It was days before they announced my marriage to the Alpha—almost three years ago—when I was pushed into that lake. It was winter, and the water felt like needles.

I remember her hand—my twin sister’s—shoving me backward, with an expression I could never decipher. Anger? Jealousy? Fear? I never knew. But still… I hold no resentment. That moment gave me hope.

The water swallowed me whole. The world went silent and heavy, and I thought I would die there, in the depths.

But before the darkness could take me, I saw him. He dove in without hesitation. His eyes found mine in the void—eyes that seemed to glow even underwater. And when he touched me, there was no pain. No screaming. No burning. Only warmth. And peace.

I felt the bond the instant he touched me, as if something inside me had awakened. Then everything went black. When I woke, the lake was empty. Only the sorcerers who served my family were there.

That was also the day I felt my wolf for the first—and only—time. After that, I remained powerless, voiceless. The useless daughter, hidden away, dreaming of a man whose face I could no longer recall—only the green lights that shimmered along his body, familiar and warm.

I was tired of waiting for the makeup artists. My parents had vanished, and Lana had snuck in disguised so no one would notice our resemblance.

I walked through the corridors to pass the time. My footsteps echoed on the polished marble, and the golden light of the setting sun cast reflections along the walls. The place felt as empty as my home.

That was when I noticed a monumental door, half-open, carved in solid wood with spiral engravings. Curiosity got the better of me.

I approached and, through the crack, glimpsed a luxurious office where three men were talking and laughing.

They were triplets—identical as drops of water—each one devastatingly handsome.

The one closest to the door, with black hair and brown eyes, held a glass of red wine with an air of careless amusement. Beside him, the other two carried the same presence—three times the same sin, cunning and smiling.

"Everything’s ready," one of them said with an ironic grin. "When he comes to meet us, we’ll give him this and ruin his reputation. He’s kept that incorruptible stance for too long, but no one stays untouchable forever. Just one drop of this will do."

He raised a small vial filled with a lilac liquid that shimmered in the light.

"It’d be better if he just died already!" another exclaimed brutally.

"Let’s not forget he has divine origins," the third murmured calmly. "Wolves of his lineage don’t die easily. The chances of survival are high, so it’s wiser to ruin his image. That way, we can end the fear he inspires in everyone."

I stepped back silently, my heart pounding. Conspiracies among the great families were nothing new, but I couldn’t get involved. I didn’t even want to know who they were talking about. Who could possibly have divine blood?

They’d get themselves in trouble soon enough.

My fate was already sealed. Soon, I would be presented to Alpha Samuel Kan—and that was all I should focus on.

I returned to my room, my heart hammering.

The walls now felt like a prison, their jeweled decorations and perfumed flowers only masking the dread pulsing inside me.

I sat at the edge of the bed and ran my fingers over the golden wedding invitation that lay beside the box. My name, next to his, looked like a sentence. The letters bound two destinies that were never meant to touch.

But my thoughts… were only on the one man who had marked my life.

"I wonder if he’s alive… and if he remembers me."

Moments later, an army of people burst in—makeup artists, hairdressers, seamstresses—all working frantically to adjust the dress.

It was dazzling, fit for a grand wedding… or a nightmare.

Two hours later, I was ready. Beautiful. Flawless. And utterly desperate.

Outside, a crowd was gathering. I watched them from the window, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach.

They said Samuel Kan still hadn’t arrived.

The ceremony was to begin in minutes—and he simply hadn’t shown up.

Every second that passed was torture.

"He didn’t keep his word! I want to leave!" I exploded when my parents entered the room. "I won’t be a bride abandoned at the altar!"

My mother tried to calm me with a trembling voice, but the look exchanged between her and my father said it all.

Had he changed his mind?

Was this my chance to escape?

"I don’t want to get married anymore!" I cried, but no one seemed to hear me.

My parents were blinded by greed.

I tried to run, but my father’s strong hand grabbed my arm. Pain shot through me, forcing him to let go quickly—he knew I had to be conscious for the wedding.

The heavy dress tangled around me as he dragged me back and shoved me onto the bed.

"You’re not going anywhere!" he roared. "Even if he comes tomorrow, you’ll wait!"

"I’m not a toy!" I sobbed, tasting the salt of my tears. "Tell him I won’t marry! I don’t want to marry someone who’s going to kill me!" I shouted, panicking. The calm acceptance I’d clung to for so long shattered in an instant.

The slap came fast—sharp—cutting through the air and through me.

"Just behave and don’t ruin everything!" he barked before leaving.

In that moment, I understood. I wasn’t a daughter. Not even a person.

I was a transaction.

When they left, I pretended to give in.

But the moment the door closed, I ran to the window.

The garden below was silent. The night was perfect, the rows of pine trees dividing the main entrance—where the guests arrived—from the secluded wing where I was kept.

Everyone must have been busy waiting for the groom.

I climbed onto the ledge, my heart racing. A tall, sturdy pine stood beside the window—my only chance.

I jumped, grabbing a branch. Pain burned through my arms, but I held on.

With effort, I climbed down until I was close enough to drop, landing hard on the wet grass.

My bare feet met the cold ground, and I ran as fast as I could, the dress tearing with every step, the icy air slicing my skin.

The mansion disappeared behind me as I darted between bushes and pines in the darkness. But when I reached the farthest part of the garden, something made me stop.

Among the shrubs, a man lay on the ground.

His breathing was ragged. One hand clutched his chest.

The night hid his face… At first, I thought of running. It was my chance. But he looked like he was dying.

I stepped closer, slowly—and there he was, trembling, his eyes flickering from red to green to black. It was surreal.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"Stay back… please!" he pleaded, staring at me in panic. But I couldn’t read his expression—it was like a beast was looking right through me. Yet something about him… wouldn’t let me walk away.

I reached out to touch his forehead—but his hand shot up, gripping my wrist with such speed my eyes widened in shock. And then, with one pull, he yanked me against his body.

Chapter 4

There was less than an hour left before Alpha Samuel Kan’s wedding, yet the groom felt no joy. Instead, a weight pressed on him — a mix of anxiety and melancholy. It had been years since he’d last seen Maya, the woman he had finally found again after so long.

Hours before the ceremony, he was in his office, surrounded by the leaders of the family’s companies.

While the elders discussed the details of the event with enthusiasm, Samuel barely listened.

His mind was far away — with Maya. The woman he was certain had been the one he’d waited for all this time. The elders, of course, had no idea.

For a long time, they had demanded that Kan marry and finally produce heirs to continue his hybrid bloodline, but he had always refused, for reasons he kept locked in his heart. There was someone he had been waiting for.

More than a hundred years had passed since the wolves had been cast into that new world.

There, he had built an empire of power and influence among humans, who advanced further each year into modernity.

"A centenarian wolf still without heirs! This is outrageous!" one of the elders barked.

Samuel barely reacted. Heirs, power, lineage — none of it mattered. All he wanted was to find his true mate, the only one his heart recognized as his Luna.

Over the years, the elders had tried to convince him to accept an aristocratic marriage, and he knew that sooner or later he would have to give in — but his hope had been rekindled.

When he met Maya, he knew instantly: his Luna had been reborn. It was her.

The goddess had kept her word. Samuel found her alive, though without memories of her former life — a fragile teenager, with no trace of the power she once possessed. For that reason, he hid his identity and forced her family to do the same.

He wanted her to live in peace, free from the burden of a past she couldn’t remember.

Samuel carried a curse left by the blade that had taken his mate’s life. A cut on his right ear, which never healed, glowed with a poisonous green light.

Once a year, he had to endure the pain to resist the venom forged to kill gods.

Each burning reminded him of her — reminded him that he still had to wait.

"Samuel Kan is finally getting married," his father announced solemnly. "Soon, we’ll witness the rebirth of what was once forgotten."

Samuel only nodded, emotionless.

When the meeting ended, he rose, ending the discussion with firm authority.

"I’m tired, gentlemen. I have other matters to attend to with my brothers — one last meeting before the wedding."

The elders bowed and left the room.

Samuel walked to the adjoining hall, where his three brothers were waiting, laughing as if nothing in the world could touch them.

"I see you’re enjoying yourselves," he said with a faint smile, though he knew they were plotting something.

He still remembered their last punishment — days imprisoned underground, face-to-face with creatures from the underworld. They would never forget that terror, but neither would they stop provoking Kan, even knowing his leadership was untouchable.

"We came to apologize, brother," one of them said, bowing his head in false submission.

"That’s all right," Samuel replied with irony. "Today is my wedding day — the day when many things will realign."

The three exchanged confused glances.

"We thought you’d only marry once your mate reincarnated," another said.

Samuel smiled coldly.

"I won’t wait any longer. My legacy is at risk. I must do what a leader is bound to do."

The brothers poured him a drink. He watched them cautiously, sensing the trace of magic in the liquid — yet he drank as always, proud of the fact that as a demigod, such things had no effect on him.

"You’re giving up centuries of waiting?" one taunted. "And what if the goddess truly brings her back? Will you abandon your destined mate?"

"She will return," he replied calmly. "But there are more urgent matters now."

Samuel would never reveal that Maya had already been reborn. Protecting her was his priority — and this marriage was part of that protection.

He lifted the glass to his lips but hesitated. Something felt wrong. His sense of security wavered for a split second, then he grabbed the bottle and drank directly from it. Laughter echoed through the room.

Then the floor began to spin. A strange heat pulsed through his veins.

"What is this? The bottle too?" he muttered, dizzy, staring at his brothers.

"The seller was right — the effect is immediate. Amazing," one said with glee.

"A potion for demigods. The glass had the one meant for wolves — a diversion. We knew you’d notice. But the potion for hybrids, for those with divine blood, is harder to detect," another explained, amused. "It awakens uncontrollable desires… and only fades once they’re satisfied. The best part? It also suppresses the mate bond for a while — though you hardly need that, do you?"

Samuel’s mind began to blur. They dragged him into a locked room, where three women waited for him.

His instincts surged, his body burning from the inside out. But the memory of Maya made him fight it.

She was the only one.

The only one for whom he would break curses and wait centuries if he had to.

And so, in one final act of desperate will, he vanished — leaping out the window with monstrous agility. Neither poison, nor destiny, nor desire would make him yield before holding her in his arms again.

But he didn’t expect to be found — by the one person he could never have imagined.