The Alpha's Invitation

Dark clouds hung low over the mountains, hiding the sunas though even the heavens mourned what I was about to become.

I stood outside the small wooden cottage that had been my home for the last ten years.

The air smelled of damp earth and pine, carrying the familiar scent of the forest I had grown up hiding in.

It should have felt comforting.

Instead...

It felt like goodbye.

I tightened the leather strap around the sheath fastened to my thigh before pulling my black cloak over my shoulders.

Everything I owned fit into one small travel bag.

Two changes of clothes.

A few coins.

A hunting knife.

A whetstone.

Medicinal herbs.

And the silver crescent pendant resting safely beneath my shirt.

Nothing else mattered.

The girl named Seraphina Vale had lost everything ten years ago.

The woman called Raven Ashford needed very little.

The cottage door creaked open behind me.

"You were planning to leave without breakfast."

Lyra crossed her arms, pretending to glare at me.

I couldn't help smiling.

"I wasn't hungry."

"You never are when you're nervous."

"I'm not nervous."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Really."

She stepped closer until we were standing face to face.

"Then why have you checked your sword five times in the last minute?"

I glanced down instinctively.

My hand rested on the hilt.

Again.

Lyra laughed softly.

"I knew it."

I sighed.

"Old habits."

"No."

She gently reached for my hand.

"Fear."

For a moment...

Neither of us spoke.

She wasn't wrong.

I wasn't afraid of Kael Draven.

I wasn't afraid of Bloodfang.

I was afraid of what revenge might turn me into.

Lyra disappeared back inside the cottage and returned carrying a small cloth bundle.

She placed it into my hands.

"I made your favorite."

I unfolded the cloth.

Fresh bread.

Honey.

Dried meat.

Just like the lunches her mother used to prepare when we were children.

My throat tightened.

"You didn't have to."

"I know."

She smiled.

"But I wanted to."

I looked away before she could see my eyes filling with tears.

Ten years ago...

She had shared everything she owned with a frightened little girl who had nothing.

Now she was letting that same girl walk into the most dangerous pack in the kingdom.

"You can still change your mind," she said quietly.

I shook my head.

"It's too late."

"It isn't."

"Lyra..."

"You don't owe the dead your life."

I slowly looked back at her.

"My parents gave theirs so I could live."

"I know."

"So I owe them justice."

She bit her lip, fighting tears of her own.

"Promise me one thing."

"What?"

"If you discover you've been wrong..."

Her voice cracked.

"...don't let your hatred stop you from seeing the truth."

For some reason...

The mysterious warrior's words echoed inside my head.

"Learn the truth before you seek revenge."

I had heard those words only once.

Yet after ten years...

They still refused to leave me.

"I promise," I said at last.

"If the truth is different..."

I looked toward the distant mountains where Bloodfang lay.

"...I'll face it."

Lyra stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.

The embrace lasted only a few seconds.

But it felt like saying goodbye to the only family I had left.

"Come back alive," she whispered.

"I'll try."

"No."

She pulled away and looked directly into my eyes.

"You will."

An hour later...

I stood alone before two simple stone markers beneath the ancient oak tree.

The wind rustled through the branches overhead.

White moon lilies rested against the graves.

I knelt slowly.

"I kept my promise."

My fingers brushed the weathered stone.

"I became stronger."

"I learned to fight."

"I survived."

A bitter smile touched my lips.

"I wish surviving had been enough."

Silence answered.

I removed the pendant from beneath my shirt and held it tightly.

"I don't know if you can hear me..."

"But today I begin the journey I've dreamed about for ten years."

My voice became steadier.

"I'll walk into the enemy's home."

"I'll earn his trust."

"And I'll uncover the truth."

A long pause followed.

"If Bloodfang truly destroyed our family..."

My eyes hardened.

"...they'll answer for every drop of blood they spilled."

I kissed my fingers and gently touched the stones.

Then I stood.

Without looking back.

Far to the north...

Beyond towering cliffs and dense forests...

The Bloodfang Pack awakened.

Unlike most packs, Bloodfang greeted every sunrise with training instead of celebration.

Hundreds of warriors filled the massive training arena inside the fortress walls.

Steel clashed against steel.

Commands echoed through the air.

Every movement was disciplined.

Every strike precise.

At the center of the arena...

One man stood surrounded by six elite warriors.

Alpha Kael Draven.

His black training trousers sat low on his hips, while a pair of leather bracers protected his forearms.

His broad, muscular chest was bare, revealing countless battle scars earned over years of war.

Sweat glistened across powerful shoulders as he calmly studied the warriors circling him.

One attacked first.

Kael sidestepped effortlessly.

The warrior's momentum carried him forward.

Kael caught his wrist, twisted smoothly, and sent the man crashing onto his back.

A second warrior charged.

Then a third.

Neither lasted more than a few heartbeats.

Within moments...

All six elite warriors lay on the ground.

Panting.

Defeated.

Silence filled the arena.

Then thunderous applause erupted from every corner.

Kael offered a hand to the first warrior he had thrown.

"You're improving."

The young man accepted it gratefully.

"Only because you never go easy on us, Alpha."

Kael's lips curved into the faintest smile.

"If I go easy on you..."

He helped another warrior to his feet.

"...our enemies won't."

The warriors nodded with respect.

They didn't admire Kael because he ruled them.

They admired him because he bled beside them.

As the crowd dispersed, a familiar voice called out.

"Alpha."

Beta Darius Thorn approached, carrying several sealed reports.

"I've found information about Raven Ashford."

Kael accepted the documents without speaking.

His sharp gray eyes scanned the pages.

Then...

His expression changed.

Very slightly.

But enough for Darius to notice.

"Something wrong?"

Kael looked up.

"These records..."

He flipped through another page.

"...begin exactly ten years ago."

"No birthplace."

"No family."

"No pack."

"No childhood."

"Nothing."

He closed the file slowly.

"No one simply appears out of nowhere."

Darius folded his arms.

"I thought the same."

Kael looked toward the northern mountains.

For reasons he couldn't explain...

His wolf had become unusually restless the moment he read her name.

Almost...

As though it recognized someone his mind did not.

He handed the report back.

"Keep watching."

"Do not let anyone know we're investigating her."

Darius nodded.

"And if she truly is hiding something?"

Kael's gaze hardened.

"Then I intend to find out what it is..."

"...before she walks through my gates."