Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

ELEANOR

“ I can’t believe you’re leaving me alone in this shitty pack.”

Micah’s voice was lazy and teasing. Her chestnut-brown eyes twinkled with mischief as her luscious auburn hair splayed across my pillow.

My heart clenched in my chest as I realized that this would be my last night in the pack I’ve called home my entire life. My wolf, Lara, coiled within me anxiously.

Placing my hand over Micah’s, I met her gaze with a smile.

“You’re my best friend, Micah. You know you can come visit me whenever you want.”

Micah grinned at me ruefully.

“With that open invitation, you’ll never be able to get rid of me,” she chuckled.

“Is that supposed to be a threat?” I teased.

Micah shrugged and flipped onto her back, tilting her face up to the twinkling glow-in-the-dark charms hanging above my bed.

“Luna of the Nightshade Pack,” Micah mused. Her gaze seemed a touch wistful in the dim lighting. “Even your dad won’t be able to mess with you now.”

“Future Luna,” I corrected, rolling onto my back as well. “Dylan isn’t the alpha yet.”

But Micah wasn’t completely wrong. After the bonding ceremony tomorrow, I would finally be free of Father.

Sometimes calling him that felt like a bit of a stretch. In all my twenty-two years living with him, he’d never really been much of a father to me.

To him, I was just a bastard from one of his many affairs who his late luna, Athena, had been stupid enough to take in after my birth mother abandoned me in the Red Moon Pack.

After Luna Athena died in labor when I was a few months old, Father kept me as his daughter in his mate’s memory. But over the years, he showed me exactly how repulsive he found taking care of the “whore’s daughter” who’d been foisted on him.

“...your older brother-in-law is looking for a mate?”

Micah’s words jolted me out of my thoughts.

“What?”

Micah sat up on my bed, facing me with an excited gleam in her eyes.

“I said , can you imagine me mated to Alexander?” She squealed. “We’d be sisters for real!”

“No, you can’t,” I blurted out, my voice coming out harsher than I’d intended.

A chill swept through me as the memory I’d worked so hard to bury suddenly resurfaced—a memory I’d been unable to share with anyone, even Micah.

Micah stared at me and I cleared my throat, softening my tone.

“Trust me, Alexander is an asshole. He doesn’t deserve you, Micah.”

I shivered at the thought of the frosty ocean-blue eyes that simmered every time we made even the barest eye contact. That wolf…no. Micah should stay far away from him.

My best friend’s expression hardened and for a moment, it felt like I barely knew her.

“Because I’m not an alpha’s daughter?”

My jaw dropped.

“Micah, that’s not what I?—”

Micah’s head fell back, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter, and when she straightened, her lips were split into a wide smile.

“I can’t believe you actually took me seriously.” She guffawed, another laugh bubbling up as she nudged me with her shoulder.

“Hey,” I protested, then threaded my fingers through Micah’s. “You know status doesn’t matter to me, right?”

Micah’s gaze flickered as she met mine, her smile softening.

“Same here,” she said, squeezing my hand.

A long howl pierced the silence of the night, and Micah jumped, muttering a curse under her breath.

“Fuck, I need to go. I’ve got perimeter duty tonight.”

I straightened as Micah climbed out of my bed, grabbed her boots, and hastily headed for the door.

“Stay safe,” I called out, and Micah turned and smiled at me.

“Tomorrow will go well. So don’t stay up all night worrying, little bride-to-be.”

Sometimes it felt as though Micah could read my thoughts.

Hiding a smile, I chucked a pillow at her. She easily ducked out of the way before closing the door behind her.

I flopped back onto my bed. In that moment, my world was perfect and brimming with potential. Maybe if I’d slept through that night, it would have continued being perfect.

But I couldn’t sleep.

I tossed and turned, restless for no particular reason—maybe Lara’s anxiety was rubbing off on me.

After another hour, I gave up on sleep, threw on a robe, and stepped out of my room and into the chilly night air.

I didn’t realize where I was going until I was in front of the building where the Hawthornes were being housed during their short stay here.

The house where my future mate was staying.

Years ago, when Father announced my engagement to Dylan Hawthorne, alpha heir of the infamous Nightshade Pack, I decided not to like him.

I’d been fully ready to sabotage the engagement—which was just my father’s power-hungry attempt at an alliance—by any means possible. Then I met Dylan. He was charming, witty, surprisingly sensitive, and sweet.

He’d slipped right through my defenses, and I was completely unprepared for that.

Being with him wasn’t exactly magical, but it was comforting and safe—two things I’d never felt in this pack. Slowly, my affection for Dylan had grown into a feeling as close to love as I’d ever have.

Being here this late wasn’t permissible, especially with our bonding ceremony tomorrow, but when had the rules ever stopped me?

Dylan might not be awake, but I wanted to see him.

But then I heard the sounds.

The continuous, almost violent creaking of a bedframe, soft gasps, wet slapping sounds, and almost pained groans.

The sounds of a couple having sex weren’t new to me, despite the fact that I was a virgin.

The fact that those sounds were coming from my fiancé’s room, however, was enough to make my knees buckle.

I tried to deny it. It couldn’t be. Dylan would never?—

“Fuck,” he groaned, and my doubts vanished.

It was Dylan’s voice. Pain sliced my chest open, and for a moment, my vision blurred with unshed tears. Lara coiled within me, her canines bared, anger blossoming at this betrayal.

I reached for the doorknob and yanked the door open.

And what I saw shattered my entire world.

Dylan was completely naked, his long black hair falling slightly over his forehead. Sweat glistened on his skin as he mindlessly thrust into my best friend, Micah.

I must have made a sound, because suddenly both of them turned to me, expressions of shock on their faces. Then they quickly pulled away from each other.

My body felt cold.

So cold.

My eyes kept moving between Micah, who stared right back at me with no shame in her beautiful brown eyes; and Dylan, whose expression had shifted from shock to entitled annoyance.

“What are you doing here?” Dylan asked roughly, closing the distance between us in a few strides as he hastily tied a sheet around his waist.

This close, I could scent Micah’s arousal on him, and I almost gagged, pain and disgust warring within me.

I tipped my head back and met Dylan’s unrepentant gaze.

“How long have you…?” I tried to ask, but I couldn’t get all the words out.

How long had they been lying to me? Deceiving me? Making a fool of me behind my back?

Something fractured within me as Dylan glanced away from me, while behind him Micah ignored my presence and picked up her discarded clothes from the side of the bed.

So they’d been doing this for a while.

I squeezed my eyes shut, like that would make this reality disappear. How could I make sense of the fact that the two most important people in my life had been betraying me for Goddess knew how long, while I’d been completely oblivious?

I felt like a fool.

I opened my eyes, anger filtering through my pain.

“Our engagement is over,” I said, and Dylan’s eyes widened comically.

“Eleanor.” His voice was laced with shock. “Eleanor, you can’t do this.”

I didn’t bother responding to him. I simply turned away and headed toward the door, fighting Lara’s growing urge to rip both his and Micah’s heads off.

I was almost at the door when Dylan spoke, his words cutting and arrogant.

“Does Alpha Derek agree with what you just said?”

I slowly turned back to face Dylan, unable to believe my ears.

Surely he wouldn’t stoop so low as to use Father to force me to stay with him. Surely I hadn’t been such a bad judge of character that I’d failed to see this side of Dylan for years. But the cruel glint in Dylan’s eyes said otherwise.

My ears rang, my rage building.

“Is that a threat?” I asked.

Dylan smirked and moved closer, his hand grabbing my chin and forcing me to meet his gaze. “Stop overreacting, Eleanor. This is nothing. We both know your father wants this alliance so badly that he’d host a damn orgy for me at our bonding ceremony if I wanted.”

I slapped him.

“You fucking asshole,” I said with a voice that was shakier than I would have preferred…because he was right.

Father wouldn’t care that Dylan was cheating on me, as long as the alliance was secured.

That was all I was able to get out before Dylan’s fingers wrapped around my neck, choking me as his alpha aura pressed down on me from every side.

“Don’t use that tone with me, Eleanor,” Dylan threatened, his hazel eyes dark with rage.

I tore at his arm with my claws as I struggled to breathe.

“Get your hands off me,” I rasped.

Dylan wasn’t fazed. His hold on me tightened.

“Our bonding ceremony will be held tomorrow as planned, or your father’s precious alliance is off. Is that clear?”

I stared up at the man who an hour ago, I would’ve sworn I knew completely—a man I could’ve grown to love, but could barely recognize now. At that moment, I made my decision.

“Crystal clear,” I whispered with a strained voice.

He let go of me and I collapsed to the ground, sucking in a breath.

“I’ll see you at the altar tomorrow,” Dylan said dismissively, turning away from me to face Micah, who’d been quietly watching everything play out. She sat on the bed, only wearing a T-shirt.

Without missing a beat, Micah stood up and pressed her lips to Dylan’s, continuing right from where they’d stopped. And Micah…Micah kept her gaze on me as she kissed my fiancé.

I pushed myself off of the ground and walked out of the room, my entire body vibrating with pure, unadulterated rage.

Dylan’s ascension as alpha of the Nightshade Pack would occur in a week or two. He could only ascend to alpha with a mate—and if his mate, who he’d been engaged to for years, left him at the altar because of infidelity, no sane alpha family would give him their daughter as a mate.

So he was willing to threaten me into mating with him.

I wanted nothing more than to leave this pack, but after a lifetime under my father’s thumb, I refused to trade one dictator for another.

I couldn’t share my body and life with someone as two-faced, shameless, and despicable as Dylan.

If I couldn’t end this engagement, then I would make Dylan end it.

The staircase leading to the first floor was just around the corner…and there was only one room currently occupied on that floor.

My palms grew clammy and Lara was quiet, but my rage burned too hot for me to falter. I climbed the stairs and found myself in front of the room far too quickly.

Alexander Hawthorne’s room.

The room of the wolf who’d tried to kill me the first day we met—a fact I’d never told anyone, not even Micah.

I sucked in an unsteady breath before knocking on the door, not giving myself a chance to have second thoughts.

The door swung open.

Alexander Hawthorne towered over me shirtless, his toned abs on display above shorts that hung distractingly low. His ink-black hair was slightly tousled, as if he’d just climbed out of bed, but those icy blue eyes were vicious as ever as he gave me a once-over with that condescending glare that always graced his face whenever I was near him.

“Are you lost, little rabbit?”

The low timbre of his voice seemed to vibrate through me, and for a moment, I forgot why I was there.

Alexander Hawthorne was an apex predator, and despite my alpha blood, I felt like I was his prey.

Alexander lifted a quizzical eyebrow, and I realized I’d just spent the past few seconds staring at him.

Swallowing hard, my courage shot, I tried to hold on to the pieces of my rapidly unraveling plans.

I took one step toward him, then another. Before I could react, Alexander pushed me up against the wall, grabbing my hands and holding them in place by my sides.

Alexander’s dark gaze narrowed with suspicion.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The words left his lips in a guttural snarl that had my pulse spiking dangerously.

I didn’t let myself think about it.

Standing on my tiptoes, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Alexander’s.

Yes, this was it—my very simple plan. Seducing my brother-in-law would easily shame Dylan into breaking off our engagement.

Alexander was so still I could almost taste his surprise, but he quickly took over the kiss.

Alexander’s lips were surprisingly warm. His hands released mine to cup the back of my head and guide me into the most mind-numbing, addictive kiss I’d ever experienced.

He kissed me like we’d done this a million times already, and he’d mastered the craft of kissing me.

His tongue moved against mine, slowly but surely conquering me with every lick, until my body was ablaze with pleasure and only his hold on me kept me upright.

I slid my hand down his bare back, unable to help myself, needing to feel more of him, all of him. I felt a slight tremble run through Alexander, and before I could think too much about it, his hand was on my neck, his touch so arousing and—his fingers grazed where Dylan had choked me mere minutes ago, and I winced.

Alexander ended the kiss, leaving me gasping for air. My body subconsciously leaned into him before I noticed what had made him stop.

Alexander’s gaze was focused on my neck—or rather, on the bruises Dylan had left on me.

“Who did that to you?” Alexander demanded, his jaw tight with displeasure. I’d never heard him sound so enraged before.

Before I could respond, Alexander pushed my hair over my shoulder and ran his nose down my nape, sniffing me.

Sparks erupted down the path of Alexander’s breath on my skin and I shivered, my hands forming fists in my robe as I tried my best to resist the urge to arch against Alexander. What the hell was happening to me?

When Alexander moved away from me, his usual sardonic look was back on his face. The passionate Alexander from our kiss was completely gone as he chuckled derisively.

“So the little rabbit is here for revenge,” he said mockingly, and I flushed.

Of course Alexander had scented Dylan and Micah on me and drawn an accurate conclusion. The rumors about his senses being stronger than those of a regular wolf were true, apparently.

Suddenly I felt so out of my depth. What on earth was I doing here?

“This was a mistake,” I said, unable to meet Alexander’s gaze. “Please excuse me.”

I made to leave, but Alexander didn’t move out of my way. Instead, he took another step closer to me.

Purely reflexively, I took a step back, but Alexander followed me, literally caging me in, his voice at my ear low, thick, and luscious.

“It’s a little too late for that, Eleanor.”

My lungs couldn’t seem to work properly, and my shallow inhales just made my head foggy with Alexander’s scent of sandalwood and amber.

“I… I…” I had something to say, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what it was.

Alexander’s fingers went up my nightdress and trailed across my bare thighs, making a small moan escape my lips.

I pressed my thighs together as if that would ease the ache in my core, but that just trapped Alexander’s hand between my legs.

Alexander’s eyes stayed steady on mine as he stroked my thigh—once, twice—and my legs fell open. No sooner had my legs fallen apart than Alexander pulled his hand away, and I almost pulled it back onto my thigh.

I wanted him to keep touching me like that…and maybe even more?

For the love of the Goddess, what was going on?

I stared at Alexander, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Could he see how turned on I was?

Alexander leaned in, his lips just inches from mine, his pupils so dilated that his eyes looked like pure, unadulterated black.

“You need to leave now, Eleanor.” His voice was tight with an emotion that took me a moment to identify as restraint.

Wait, was I actually getting to him?

“And if I don’t?” I didn’t mean to sound so breathless.

Alexander’s black gaze bored into mine.

“You’ll regret it.”