Ember Thorne grew up knowing the bitter truth: weakness is a death sentence.
​On her sixteenth birthday, when the primal surge of the Shift should have remade her, she was left agonizingly human. Her failure transformed her from the beloved Beta-elect’s daughter into a pariah—a fragile, scentless Omega in the unforgiving Shadow Creek pack. For two years, she has endured the endless grind of servitude and the crushing cruelty of her Alpha, surviving only by the protective shadows cast by her twin, Elias.
​She has accepted her fate: no wolf, no mate, no escape.
​But when Alpha Kael Blackwood, the ruthless leader of the legendary Silver Moon pack, arrives for a surprise alliance meeting, he doesn't see the broken servant the pack sees. He sees her.
​He hauled me against his armored chest, the sheer force of his presence sucking the air from the room. His eyes, the color of storm clouds, bored into mine.
​“You think you can reject me?” His voice was a lethal rumble, closer than a whisper, yet loud enough to shake the walls. “You are a scentless, wolf-less weakling. Yet, you carry my soul.”
​I tried to swallow, but my throat was dust. “I am nothing. You are the Silver Moon Alpha. Reject me and spare us both the ridicule.”
​A dark smile, devoid of kindness, stretched across his face. He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear, sending a jolt of fire and fear straight through me.
​“I won't reject you. You will be claimed, protected, and possessed. You are no longer Shadow Creek's shame. You are mine, Ember Thorne. And you will be the envy, the obsession, and the absolute focus of every enemy I have.”

​💥 Chapter Ten: The Mating Ritual and the Redirection. 


​　The front door burst open. Kael stood there, his face set in grim determination, his gun drawn, though he clearly preferred his claws.


​　"Ember, now! We don't have time! The Shadow Cult is here for you!"


​　He saw the dress down around my waist, the blood on my finger, and the frantic desperation in my eyes.


​　"What did you do?" he roared, grabbing my arm.


​　"I activated the mechanism!" I gasped, pulling the velvet dress back up, hiding the rune. "I didn't want to kill Elias! We have to complete the bond, Kael. Now! But you have to channel the kill-energy to the external threat!"


​　"Channel? I don't know how to channel a magical weapon I didn't know existed!"


​　"The rune!" I cried, pointing at my back. "The Thorn is active! Focus your Alpha command into the rune, not the bond! Use the kill-energy against the Cult! Do it, Kael!"


Chapter 10 - Chapter Ten