The moon was full the night I turned eighteen.
My heart raced as I stood by the lake, bare feet pressed into the cold grass. The water shimmered under the stars, whispering secrets I wasn't ready to hear.
Tonight was supposed to be my mating ceremony - the night my wolf would awaken. But nothing happened.
No shift.
No bond.
No mate.
Until a howl split through the silence.
It wasn't from my pack. It was deeper. Wild. Ancient. It pulled at something buried inside me - something raw and dangerous.
My body trembled as my wolf stirred for the first time, not with joy, but with fear... and desire.