Chapter 1 No.1

Aiden POV

The tires of my Aston Martin crunched over the gravel of the Blackwood Pack's private airfield, the sound echoing the grinding irritation in my jaw. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want this alliance, and I certainly didn't want a wife forced upon me by the council's archaic obsession with "political stability."

Emery Travis. The daughter of the Silvermoon Alpha.

A sneer curled my lip as I killed the engine. I had seen the photos Charlene had slipped onto my desk-grainy but damning images of my so-called bride entangled with other males at club openings and pack gatherings. She was loose. Disloyal. Everything an Alpha's mate should not be.

I wasn't here to welcome her. I was here to look her in the eye, deliver a formal Rejection that would shatter the treaty, and drive back to my tower where logic and business ruled, not ancient wolf politics.

The sleek white jet taxied to a halt, the Silvermoon crest gleaming on its tail. I stepped out of the car, adjusting my suit jacket, preparing my cold, rehearsed speech.

Then, the wind shifted.

It hit me like a physical blow-a scent so potent, so intoxicating, it nearly brought me to my knees. It was wild lavender, rain-soaked pine, and something sweet and electric that bypassed my nose and slammed directly into my soul.

My breath hitched. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic, thunderous rhythm that drowned out the whine of the jet engines.

Mine!

My Inner Wolf, usually a disciplined beast kept under strict control, erupted from the depths of my psyche. He didn't just speak; he roared, clawing at the walls of my mind with a possessive hunger I had never felt before. The world narrowed down to a singular point. The emptiness that had plagued me for twenty-eight years-the hollow space every wolf carries until they find their other half-vanished instantly, replaced by a profound, terrifying sense of peace.

No. It couldn't be.

I stared at the lowering stairs of the jet, horror warring with ecstasy. The Moon Goddess had a twisted sense of humor. The woman I came to reject, the woman I despised... was my Fated Mate.

A slender figure emerged from the cabin. Even from this distance, the pull was magnetic, an invisible tether yanking me toward her. She was breathtaking, far more stunning than the photos suggested, with hair like spun gold catching the afternoon sun. My feet moved on their own, my Wolf demanding I go to her, claim her, mark her.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

She reached the bottom of the stairs. I was about to sprint across the tarmac, dignity be damned, when a man followed her down.

I froze.

He was tall, broad-shouldered-a warrior. And he was too close. Far too close.

I watched, my blood turning to ice, as the male placed a hand on her arm. It was a gesture of familiarity, of comfort. He leaned in, whispering something in her ear, his body shielding hers. To a human, it might have looked innocent. But to an Alpha staring at his Fated Mate? It was a claim.

He was touching what belonged to me.

The scent of lavender was suddenly choked by the stench of my own jealousy and the bitter bile of betrayal. The photos were true. She was tainted. She had brought her lover with her, parading him in front of me on the very day we were to meet.

Traitor! My Wolf howled now, not in joy, but in agonizing fury. The bond that had snapped into place seconds ago now felt like a noose, strangling me.

The Goddess hadn't given me a gift. She had given me a curse.

I looked at her one last time-my beautiful, treacherous Mate-laughing at something the other male said. She didn't know I was here. She didn't know she had just ripped my soul in two.

I would not be the fool who accepted a broken mate. I was Aiden Madden, the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, and I shared with no one.

Without a word, I turned my back on the pull that screamed at me to stay. The physical pain of walking away was excruciating, like tearing my own skin off, but my pride was stronger. I slid back into the driver's seat, the leather cold against my back, and slammed the door, sealing myself in silence.

I opened the Mind-Link to my Beta, my mental voice devoid of the storm raging inside me.

Ferdinand.

Alpha? His voice was immediate, alert.

The Silvermoon alliance is terminated. She is not welcome in the Pack House.

Sir? Did something happen?

I gripped the steering wheel until the leather creaked, staring straight ahead at the empty runway, refusing to look in the rearview mirror.

Prepare the formal Rejection rites. Now.

I gunned the engine, the tires spinning violently against the asphalt as I sped away, leaving my heart and my hatred on the tarmac behind me.