Chapter 1 THE EDGE OF WINTERBORNE

The snow didn't fall gently, it attacked. Thick, fast, and blinding. One moment the road was visible, and the next, it was gone, buried beneath a blizzard that swallowed everything.

Eira Alden gripped the steering wheel until her hands ached, leaning forward as she squinted through the windshield. The heater wheezed out a weak breath of lukewarm air, barely enough to chase off the chill that had worked its way into her coat and deep into her bones.

She hadn't meant to end up here.

Winterborne had been nothing more than a dot on the map-an accidental detour on her way to nowhere. She hadn't planned to stop, only pass by unnoticed. But the storm had come out of nowhere, fast and wild and forced her off the highway onto a narrow, snow-drenched path that looked like it hadn't seen a plow in years.

Her GPS had died over an hour ago. The radio crackled with static.

And something had started watching her.

Shadows moved along the treeline. Low to the ground. Fast. Too fast. Wolves, maybe. But they moved differently. Quiet. Calculated. Like predators that didn't fear headlights or human scent.

Then the car jolted violently, the tires catching on something hidden beneath the snow. Eira slammed the brakes, heart leaping into her throat as the sedan skidded, groaned and died.

Silence settled, unnaturally thick.

She leaned forward, peering into the blur of white outside. The forest loomed, trees bending beneath the weight of the snow. Just shapes. Still. Waiting.

Movement flickered in the corner of her vision.

Not one shadow.

Dozens.

Her pulse spiked as she turned the key. Nothing.

Then came the growl..deep and low. Close.

Eira shoved the door open and stepped into the snow. The cold hit her like a slap, wind whipping her hair across her face. She wrapped her coat tighter and moved around the front of the car, boots crunching over frozen earth.

The woods were silent.

And then something exploded from the trees.

A blur of silver and black barreled toward her, massive and fast. She didn't have time to move. The wolf stopped inches from her, snarling, its teeth gleaming like ivory knives. Breath steamed between them, and its eyes, bright silver locked onto hers.

But it didn't attack.

It growled, paused, and seemed to hesitate.

Confusion flickered across its face, almost... recognition.

Eira stood frozen, heart pounding in her throat, but she didn't run. She knew better.

Wolves respected strength or at least the illusion of it.

The beast blinked once, then slowly stepped back, lowering its head.

Submission.

A sharp whistle pierced the air.

The wolf flinched, then turned and melted into the trees like it had never been there.

Eira didn't move. Couldn't. Her breath fogged in the air as she stared at the spot where it had vanished.

Then she saw him.

A figure stepped from the woods, tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a long black coat dusted with snow. His hair was dark and tousled, his face sharp, expression unreadable. And his eyes, God! his eyes were the same silver as the wolf's.

He moved like the cold didn't touch him. Like he belonged to it.

He didn't speak at first, just stared at her. Like he already knew her. Like he'd been waiting.

"You're not from here," he said at last, his voice low and smooth, carrying the kind of calm that wasn't human.

"No," she answered, breathless.

"You're trespassing."

"I got lost."

He glanced toward her stalled car, then back at her. "You shouldn't be on this road."

"Believe me, it wasn't part of the plan."

They stood in silence. The snow drifted between them, quiet and endless. He tilted his head slightly, assessing her like a question he already knew the answer to.

"What's your name?"

She hesitated. Names had power. They could tether you to people and places. She'd spent too long trying to stay untethered.

"Eira," she said. "Eira Alden."

Something shifted in his expression. A flicker of recognition. But it vanished too quickly to read.

"I'll take you into town."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to eat me or anything, are you?"

A faint smirk touched his lips. "Not unless you ask nicely."

Her mouth parted, caught between annoyance and curiosity, but she didn't argue. He gestured toward a sleek black SUV parked just beyond the trees, so silent it seemed to blend into the storm.

With no better option, she followed.

---

The drive was quiet. Tense.

He didn't look at her. Didn't ask questions. He drove like the road obeyed him. Like the mountain itself bowed to his will.

"So," she said, voice casual. "Do you have a name?"

"Lucien Thorne."

The name struck something in the back of her mind. Familiar.

She turned to stare at him. "Thorne? As in the Thorne Estate?"

No reaction.

"You own half the town?"

He didn't even glance at her. "All of it. Technically."

Of course.

"You're the Alpha."

The word slipped out before she could stop it.

Lucien didn't flinch. "I am."

Eira looked away, heart thudding. She'd heard whispers about Winterborne. About the man who ruled it. About what he was.

Now she knew it was true.

---

The manor came into view like something out of legend; massive, ancient, carved from black stone with windows glowing behind frost. It sat high above the valley like a forgotten fortress.

The SUV pulled up beneath a stone archway. Eira stared up at it, breath catching.

"This is where I leave?" she asked, half-joking.

Lucien stepped out and opened her door. "This is where you'll stay."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You're not leaving tonight. Or tomorrow."

"I didn't agree to that."

"And yet, here you are."

He turned and walked toward the entrance, expecting her to follow.

She hesitated. But followed anyway.

---

Inside, the manor was warm. Fires crackled in hearths. Soft golden light glowed from antique chandeliers. Everything smelled like cedar and smoke.

Lucien led her to a sitting room where a tall, elegant woman waite, dark hair streaked with silver, eyes sharp with quiet power.

"This is Maren," he said. "She'll show you to your room."

Eira frowned. "You're seriously keeping me here?"

He stepped closer. His voice dropped.

"You didn't scream when a wolf nearly tore your throat out. You didn't run. And it didn't bite you."

She tensed. "That doesn't mean-"

"It means you're not just some woman stranded in the woods."

He looked at her like he could see through her skin. Through her bones. To whatever truth was buried deep beneath.

"I want to know what you are."

She stared at him, breath catching.

"I don't know what you think I am..."

"I don't think you know what you are," he said softly. "But I can smell it."

His gaze narrowed.

"You smell like frost. And fire. And fate."

Before she could respond, he turned and vanished.

Maren led her upstairs to a lavish room. Eira sat on the bed, firelight flickering across the walls. Snow whispered against the windows.

What was she doing here?

She'd spent years running from her past, from danger, from herself.

But Lucien Thorne had looked at her like she wasn't just something to find, she was something he'd lost.

And for the first time, she wasn't sure she wanted to keep running.

Downstairs, Lucien stood before the fire in the manor's library.

His Beta, Cale, entered quietly. "You let her live."

Lucien didn't look away. "She didn't run."

"She should have."

"I know."

"She's not human."

"No," Lucien murmured. "And she doesn't know what she is... yet."