The Alpha's Oath.

forest floor, every ragged breath pluming like smoke beneath the looming crimson glow of the blood moon.

y felt the pain. Her only thought was to keep moving. Her mind scream

old herbalist in the village of Ashwood Hollow. She'd always felt a strange pull toward the forest, an u

keep her inside, but an unfamiliar heat had bloomed beneath Lyra's skin - a fever that made her bones ache and her senses sharpen. Her hearing had caught whispers miles away; her vision had picked up the flutter of bats

e Crimson Fang

ke burning coals - wolves too large, too intelligent. She knew instinctively: these creatures were hunting her. And the realiza

racked her body as claws pushed through her fingertips, fangs erupted in her mouth, and her eyes shifte

ap of bone, and eve

s slick with blood - not hers, but the thick, dark lifeblood of the beasts lying around her. Three massive wolves,

She, who had never hurt anyone, who ha

al. She saw a figure step into the clearing, tall and cloaked in shado

and cold beauty, but his expression was unreadable - neither predator nor savior. This was Alpha Draven Blackmoor, though Lyra

id, voice low and dark. His eyes flicked to her

vely. "Who are you?" Her voic

o might save you - or kill you.

y, but her legs trembled. Draven stepped closer, boots crushing dried

from me!"

s not mocking, but almost curious. He studied her like a puzzle. "

he forest swayed around her as she struggled to breathe. Blood. Fear

er, his face softening a fraction. "Y

at him, pantin

uch oddly gentle. "You are Lyra Evernight, last of the Evernight b

head snapped up. His eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight. "We don't have t

the heat in his grip, but didn't resist. Draven scanne

st go.

uiding her quickly but silently. Lyra's mind spun. Evernight bloodline? What did that mean?

n the valley was a fortress-like compound built of dark stone - moonlight sh

ice like steel. "The Crimson Fa

hadows, some shifting mid-stride. Lyra flinched, but Draven's arm kept her steady. He barked order

s, tapestries depicting wolves and moons adorned the walls. But everywh

place crackled at one end, a thick fur spread be

st," he commanded. "We'll s

n know who you ar

Alpha Draven Blackmoor, leader of the Blackmoor Pack

her like a weight: she wasn't ordinary. She was a werewolf. An heir to a bloodline worth kill

stood over the torn bodies of his fallen wolves. His eyes blazed with rage. T

e Darkvale," he sn

torchlit hall, her emerald eyes glint

. "The Evernight girl survived. B

her lips. "Then let the Blackmoor Pack bleed. And let Drav

nd eyes - Astrid Evernight, her mother, whispering: You are stronger than the

echo of the prophecy