FLASH FORWARD
LUXURIA'S POV
The chill wind whipped through the stone archways of the Ash Mountain pack, filtering into the large chamber where I sat.
The chilling wind was nothing compared to the icy dread in my heart.
Outside, in the courtyard, the ceremony was prepared. Not a marriage ceremony, as my lineage demanded, but a mating ceremony.
I would be the first in my lineage to be mated without a proper marriage ceremony.
Tonight was the night of the full moon.
Tonight, I am to be joined, not to a man of my choosing. Not to the man I have always loved. Not even to the man close to my dream man. But to the beast who ruled the neighboring lands with an iron paw. The Alpha Of The North.
I clutched the silver locket at my throat. A gift that had been given to me by the man I would do anything to spend the rest of my life with, the Beta of my father's pack, Beta Kahel. He was my secret lover. But fate was so cruel to have torn us apart.
Kahel had vowed to challenge the Alpha of the North, Alpha Parthe, to fight for our love... but what if the darkness of this enemy, Alpha Parthe, had already seeped into my very soul, contaminating my innocence?
A knock at the chamber door made my heart jump. It was Rella, my step-sister.
"My lady," she purred, eyes glittering with malice far deeper than mere jealousy, her voice dripping with mockery, "He has arrived. The Cursed Alpha."
The joy in Rella's voice. The satisfaction on her face. Sending me off to my death. They all couldn't wait to get rid of me. My father, stepmother, siblings, pack members. Everyone.
They all saw me as a curse. Finding out that I was mated to Alpha Parthe, they confirmed that I was truly cursed and deserved to be mated to someone as cursed as I was.
No woman ever mated to an Alpha from the lineage of the Wild Wolf pack ever lived more than two years. They all disappear mysteriously.
I saw my own reflection in the mirror. My warm blue eyes suddenly gleamed with a dull shade of red, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Quick enough for Rella not to have noticed it.
This was a secret no one knew about. A secret I tried to run away from after the forbidden night with the cursed Alpha.
A night I regret.
I had fled from him as soon as it was dawn, even before he woke up from his slumber, but fate drew the perfect map and led him straight to my father's doorstep two days ago, coming to lay claims on his mate.
HOW IT ALL STARTED.
Chapter 1
LUXURIA'S POV
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me through the woods. It was close to winter; the days were quite cold, and the nights were numbly freezing.
The ground was covered in an ocean of stones, and the thimbleweed concealed the sharp twigs that lay underneath; therefore, I had no idea that the twigs and sharp stones were hoping for an unfortunate guest.
The trees around the forests were stunted and thin; there was no hiding place. The night sky was clear without any tears in it. Clear. Bright.
Tonight was supposed to be different—special even. My 21st birthday. A night where I could have at least hoped for a shred of affection from Alpha Odren, the man who called himself my father. Instead, he had chosen this night to punish me again, to remind me that I was nothing but a stain on his legacy.
The humiliation had been worse than usual. In front of the entire pack, he had accused me of being a curse, a blight on our family's honor. The words still echoed in my mind, tearing at my already fragile heart.
I couldn't stand it any longer—the insults, the cold stares, the constant reminders that I was unwanted. Tonight, something inside me had snapped, and I had run.
My bare feet pounded against the uneven ground, the sharp twigs and stones hidden beneath the thimbleweed slicing into my skin. Pain flared with each step, but I welcomed it, using it to drown out the memories of my father's cruel words and the hateful sneers of my step-siblings and his mistresses.
I immediately shifted into my beautiful white wolf and ran deeper into the thick forest, not scared of the quietness of the night.
I had crossed the line, the stream that separated the South from the feared North.
It had been whispered that a monster from the North had always terrorized the borders of the South, East, and West. But right now, I care less. It is better I am attacked by the monster of the night than endure more cruelty from my father and step-siblings.
I wondered why my father, Alpha Odren, hated me with so much passion. Sometimes, I feel jealous of my siblings. They were loved. Cherished. Treated like queens. But I was treated like an outcast.
I wish every single day that my mother was here with me. They said she left as soon as she had me. Some said it was because she was too scared to raise a cursed child, some said she couldn't stand my father's cruelty, while others said she died after birthing me.
As I sprinted through the North, something in the air changed. A scent, musky and powerful, hit me like a wall. My wolf's instincts flared, a mix of fear and something else—something far more dangerous. I slowed, ears pricked, scanning the darkness for any sign of movement.