ALPHA'S HEIR ONE NIGHT ONE MATE

The Night Everything Changed

Above the forest, the moon was silver and full, illuminating the branches with fragments of light.. It should have been beautiful, but that night, beauty was laced with dread. My chest was tight, my palms clammy. Something was wrong. The air smelled of smoke and blood before the first scream split the night.

“Ella!” I was startled out of my icy fear by my mother's voice. Her hand closed over mine, pulling me into motion. We ran through the inner courtyard of the Blackstone Pack, the night alive with chaos. Wolves darted past, fur bristling, eyes glowing, charging toward the clash at the borders. Snarls, bone cracks, and the moist sound of ripping flesh filled the air..

My father—the Alpha—stood at the heart of it all. I caught a glimpse of him on the steps, his wolf massive, obsidian fur bristling, his roar carrying across the battlefield like thunder. Even outnumbered, he was magnificent.

But even an Alpha could not hold back an army alone.

“Go, go!” Mom shoved me toward the hidden tunnels as flames licked up the wooden gates. My feet slipped on the stones, heart hammering. All around me, the world I had always known—my family, my pack, my home—was being destroyed.

The earth shook beneath my feet. My ears rang from the clash above. Then the tunnels swallowed us, damp air pressing close. For a moment, I dared to hope. If we reached the exit in the forest, maybe… just maybe we would live.

That hope was shattered when two glowing red eyes appeared in the shadows ahead. My breath hitched.

Rogues. Not ours.

The smell of decay rolled off them. Wolves twisted by hunger and madness.

Mom snarled, her bones snapping and stretching, fur bursting across her skin until she towered before me, her amber eyes blazing. She didn’t hesitate. She leapt.

The clash was a blur of blood and teeth. She tore through the first rogue’s throat, spraying the walls crimson. The second rammed her from behind, sinking its fangs deep into her back. Her howl of pain shredded me.

“Mom!” My scream cracked my throat raw.

“Run, Ella!” Her voice ripped fiercely through the bond and through my mind. “You have to live!”

“I can’t leave you!” Tears were streaming hot down my face as my knees trembled..

“Go!” Her roar echoed, savage and final, as she hurled herself into the rogue again.

Her eyes—the last thing she gave me—burned into me as I stumbled back.

I turned and ran.

Her scream followed me. Then silence.

I didn’t look back. Because I knew if I did, I’d never be able to keep running.

---

Fifteen years later

I woke screaming, the sound tearing out of my chest before I could stop it. My sheets tangled around my legs, soaked in sweat. My throat burned. My hands shook.

The same nightmare. Every night. The smell of blood. The silence after my mother’s last scream.

I pressed my hands into my face, forcing my breathing to slow. It never worked. The memories clung like thorns.

I was the only survivor of the Blackstone Pack. The girl who ran while her parents died fighting—the rogue who never belonged.

Since that night, I had sworn I’d never let another Alpha rule me. Packs meant chains. Packs meant loss. Packs meant death.

But my wolf disagreed.

For weeks, she’d been restless, scratching at the edges of my mind, tugging me north. No matter how far I walked in the opposite direction, she pulled me back, an invisible leash around my soul.

Toward the Blackridge Pack.

The most powerful, ruthless pack in the north.

If they caught me, I’d be executed on sight. Rogues weren’t welcome. Rogues were pests to be exterminated.

Yet here I was, slipping past their borders like a thief in the night.

The forest was dense, brambles clawing at my arms as I crawled through underbrush. The scent of pine stung my nose. My legs ached, but I kept going, every sense alert. Under my skin, my tense wolf prowled, pushing me on..

Almost there. Almost safe.

“Hey! Rogue!”

The shout shattered the night.

My heart plunged. I whipped around to see two guards, their eyes glowing gold, their bodies already shifting.

“Run!” my wolf howled inside me.

And I did.

Branches snapped beneath me as I sprinted, lungs burning. Shouts echoed behind me, closer and closer. I burst through the trees—and found myself stumbling straight into a village square lit by lanterns.

I froze for a heartbeat. People. So many people.

Wolves in human form turned to stare, their eyes narrowing.

The guards roared behind me. My heart slammed against my ribs.

No choice. I shoved past startled villagers, ignoring their curses as I ran through the crowd. Music played somewhere—flutes, drums, laughter—mocking the terror that clawed through me. A festival. I had stumbled into a celebration.

Perfect cover. Or my death trap.

I ducked between stalls, knocking over baskets of apples, weaving past children chasing each other with streamers. My stomach twisted with hunger at the smell of roasted meat, but I dared not slow down..

The guards were gaining.

My wolf urged me to leave. I followed her without question, shoving through a narrow alley. A dilapidated inn with a creaking sign stood at the end

Without thinking, I yanked the door open, darted inside, and slammed it shut.

My chest heaved. My lungs burned.

The footsteps thundered past outside. For the first time that night, silence fell.

Relief loosened my shoulders. I turned, ready to collapse against the wall.

But a voice cut sharply through the dimness.

“Who are you?”