Chapter 1 The Rogue in chains

The snow was falling like ash.

Kael Thorne stood at the edge of the northern border, eyes fixed on the pale figure being dragged through the blood-stained snow. His enforcers hauled the rogue by the wrists, iron cuffs biting into her skin, chains rattling like the bones of ghosts. She didn't struggle. She didn't even flinch. That disturbed him more than anything. Rogues fought. They snarled. They pled for their lives. She did none of that. She just... watched. As if she had already decided what would happen. Her feet were bare. Her body, cloaked in a ripped cloak barely clinging to her frame, looked battered and starved. Thick tangles of hair hung over her face, masking her features-but Kael didn't need to see her face to feel what she was. The instant her scent hit him, his wolf surged beneath his skin. Mate. Kael's heart slammed into his ribs. No. No, no, no. Not now. Not her. His wolf growled again-louder this time, not a whisper but a snarl laced with hunger. Ours. Claim her. "Alpha?" Ronan, his Beta and closest friend, eyed him cautiously. "You feel that?" Kael nodded once. His eyes never left her. "I don't like it," Ronan muttered. "She crossed the eastern pass-through the blood wards. None of the alarms triggered. It's like she just appeared." "She didn't appear," Kael murmured. "She wanted to be caught." He stepped forward, slow and deliberate, until he stood directly before her. Snowflakes settled into her tangled hair. Her breathing was shallow, but even. She looked like a ghost. And then she lifted her head. Silver eyes. Pure, unbroken silver with no iris or pupil. They didn't blink. They didn't look away. Kael's wolf went wild. He clenched his fists. "What's your name?" She said nothing. He tilted his head. "Mute? Or stubborn?" Still nothing. One of the guards shifted uneasily beside him. "Should we take her to the holding cells?" Kael's answer was immediate. "No. She comes with me." Ronan stiffened. "You sure about that?" "She's not just some rogue," Kael said. "I want her questioned. Alone." The rogue tilted her head, ever so slightly. For a split second, Kael swore he saw a flicker of recognition-or was it amusement? It vanished before he could be sure. "Chain her in the silver cell beneath the manor. Clean her wounds. But no one touches her." Ronan hesitated. "You think she's dangerous?" Kael looked over his shoulder. "She crossed blood wards, entered my land without a trace, and smells like prophecy. Yes, I think she's dangerous." As they dragged her away, her eyes remained locked on his. And Kael's wolf whispered again: Ours. The cell beneath the Alpha's estate wasn't just for rogues-it was for monsters. Cold stone walls, silver-embedded chains, and runes carved into every corner of the room. A single torch flickered in a metal sconce, casting golden shadows across the floor. The air smelled of damp stone, magic, and something older. Kael stepped inside. She was already chained to the far wall, wrists locked above her head, legs folded beneath her. Someone had cleaned her wounds-though the scars still marred her skin like a map of past sins. The thin cotton shirt they'd given her clung to her body, soaked from the melting snow. She didn't look up. But she didn't need to. Kael could feel her. His wolf paced beneath his skin, restless, aching. He approached her slowly, the torch in his hand casting firelight over her pale skin. "You should be dead," he said quietly. "You crossed blood wards that haven't been breached in over a century. You don't have a pack scent. And my seers say there's no record of your existence." No response. He crouched in front of her. Close enough to touch. Close enough to breathe her in. "But you smell like prophecy," he whispered. Still nothing. Kael reached forward and brushed a strand of damp hair away from her face. She didn't flinch. But her pulse fluttered at her throat. "You're not mute," he said. "You're just hiding." Her eyes opened slowly. Not silver anymore-but glowing faintly. Moonlight trapped in flesh. "I should be afraid of you," Kael murmured. "But I'm not. My wolf is obsessed. He wants to claim you. Right here. Now." Her body tensed. Not with fear-but recognition. Kael's blood ran hot. His fingers twitched. "I don't know what you are," he said, his voice darkening. "But I know what you are to me." He moved forward. Their bodies touched-barely. Her breath hitched. The scent of arousal, subtle and sharp, hit him like a strike to the gut. She wanted him. And hated herself for it. Kael leaned in, brushing his lips over her neck, not quite kissing. His tongue flicked over her skin-tasting the salt, the blood, the magic. She gasped. A sound, at last. His wolf roared in triumph. "I could take you," Kael growled. "Chains and all. And you wouldn't stop me." Her hands clenched. Her eyes burned. "But you don't want me," he whispered. "Not like this." He pulled back, breathing hard. "What's your name?" he asked. Still no answer. He stood. "Then I'll find out myself." He turned to leave-but stopped when he heard it. A soft sound-barely a scrape. He turned back to find her on her knees, one hand extended, fingertip red with blood. She was drawing something on the floor. A symbol. A crescent moon... with a bleeding eye. Kael froze.

That mark. He knew it. The mark of the Moonbloods. "Where did you get that?" he demanded. She didn't answer. Instead, she pressed her bloody finger to the floor and began writing. A name. Selene. Kael staggered back. Selene.

Her name was Selene. And that symbol-only one bloodline ever carried it. A line wiped out in the Witch Wars over a century ago. Kael's hands trembled. "You're not just my mate," he said. "You're a ghost. A weapon." A shiver ran through the room. The air thickened. Selene's skin began to glow-soft silver light pulsing from beneath her flesh, like moonlight trapped in human skin. His wolf howled in ecstasy, fury, lust. Claim her now. Before someone else does. Kael didn't move. His throat was dry. His limbs locked. She was power incarnate. Magic bound in silence. And somehow-fated to him. "Selene," he whispered. Her silver eyes lifted to his. And then she collapsed. Unconscious,Glowing, Bleeding.

Kael rushed forward, catching her just before her head hit the stone. "Selene," he said again, louder. Her skin was hot to the touch-too hot. Power thrummed through her like a heartbeat. And then- A voice. Not hers. Not his wolf. But something deep, ancient, speaking directly into his mind. "She is the beginning of your end, Alpha." The torch behind him flickered. A gust of wind-impossible underground-blew through the cell. And Selene's lips parted. Just one word escaped, cracked and broken. "Run."