A scream sliced the silence of the woods, but Seraphina didn't flinch.
The wind howled through the treetops like a warning, but she only gripped her hood tighter and pushed deeper into the forest.
Night had cloaked everything in its black veil, save for the full moon overhead — swollen, white, watching.
The scent of pine and death clung to the air, thick enough to taste.
She was close now.
Her boots cracked dry twigs beneath them, echoing louder than they should.
ShadowFang territory.
Every step she took forward was a step into the enemy's den, and still her heartbeat remained steady.
She had rehearsed this moment in her dreams — the moment she crossed the border of the pack that destroyed everything she'd ever loved.
The same pack led by the Alpha who slaughtered her family without blinking.
Alpha Kael Nightborne.
The name was a poison that had festered in her veins since childhood.
But tonight, the poison would finally serve its purpose.
She paused at the edge of the ravine that marked the invisible border between rogue lands and ShadowFang's claim.
Her breath caught.
The air shimmered faintly, disturbed by a surge of raw power — the territory ward.
She stepped through.
Pain tore across her skin like fire.
Her wolf shrieked inside her, and she collapsed to her knees.
It felt like her soul was being ripped open, then stitched back together.
Then... it was over.
She stood up, gasping, eyes gleaming silver for a split second.
The bond had recognized her.
And it was already too late to turn back.
A branch snapped to her right.
She spun, claws half-shifted, ready to strike.
But it wasn't a threat — just a ShadowFang patrol.
Three wolves.
Massive.
Armed.
Growling.
One sniffed the air and bared his teeth.
"Rogue," he spat.
Before she could speak, they were on her.
She fought like a cornered beast, wild and precise, but she was outnumbered.
A blow to her ribs.
A claw slash across her cheek.
Then something hard collided with her skull.
Darkness surged.
Voices blurred.
The last thing she heard was, "Take her to the Alpha."
The floor was cold beneath her cheek when she woke.
Stone.
Damp.
Heavy with the scent of iron.
A dungeon.
Chains rattled as she moved — her hands were bound behind her.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Measured.
Commanding.
Then he stepped into view.
Tall.
Impossibly broad.
Eyes like ice lit by lightning.
And a presence that suffocated the room.
Alpha Kael Nightborne.
The monster from her nightmares.
The man she came to kill.
He stared at her, unmoving.
Her breath stilled.
Something ancient stirred between them.
Something savage.
Something binding.
No...
No, no, no...
She felt it slam into her like a storm — a pulse deep inside her chest.
The bond.
Mate.
Her wolf whimpered.
His expression didn't change, but his eyes darkened.
"You're my mate."
The words fell like a blade.
Her stomach twisted.
Fate was mocking her.
She had crossed the border to murder him — only to find herself fate-bound to him instead.
A cruel, cosmic joke.
He took a step closer, jaw tight.
"You crossed into my land to die, didn't you?"
She didn't answer.
Couldn't.
He crouched, staring into her soul.
"So tell me, rogue — what should I do with my mate, when she comes here dripping in lies and vengeance?"
She met his gaze, trembling, furious, aching.
And then, in a whisper that sounded like a curse, she said, "Kill me."
But Kael didn't move.
He only smiled.
It wasn't kind.
It was dark.
Cold.
Deadly.
"Oh no," he murmured.
"I think I'll keep you."
He stood and turned his back on her like she was no more threat than a leaf.
The guards behind him were silent — trained, brutal, loyal.
One of them eyed her and chuckled darkly.
She didn't flinch.
Even with blood drying on her cheek, she held her head high.
But inside, her heart twisted in agony.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
She'd imagined her vengeance for years — not captivity, not a bond, not this.
The collar they fastened around her neck was silver-laced.
It burned.
Her wolf growled in pain but stayed down.
They wanted to tame her.
Break her.
She would let them try.
But she would not shatter.
The dungeon door creaked open.
She was dragged into a hallway lined with torches and ancient murals of battles soaked in blood.
The ShadowFang history — etched in stone, bathed in flame.
A tribute to their ruthless power.
She was led up winding stairs, into a hall that smelled like rain and old leather.
And then, into Kael's quarters.
He dismissed the guards with a flick of his hand.
She was alone with him again.
Her breathing slowed, controlled.
She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear.
But Kael said nothing.
He only poured a drink and handed it to her.
She didn't touch it.
"You'll stay here," he said.
"I am not your prisoner," she replied, voice sharp as glass.
He raised a brow.
"You're not?"
"I'm your curse," she hissed.
Silence wrapped the room like a noose.
Then he said, "Good."
He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with something dangerous.
"Because I like broken things."
She didn't blink.
"I'm not broken," she whispered.
Kael smiled.
"Not yet."
She didn't sleep that night.
How could she?
Not with the bond gnawing at her chest like a starving beast.
Not with his scent — dark, sharp, addictive — coiling in her lungs like a chain.
She lay curled on the cold bed, staring into shadows that whispered promises of vengeance.
Every heartbeat echoed like betrayal.
Every breath tasted like ash.
Morning didn't come with sunlight.
Only with more silence.
A servant brought her clothes — thick velvet laced in ShadowFang symbols.
She burned them with her glare.
They left without a word.
Kael returned at dawn.
Still expressionless.
Still lethal.
Still hers.
She hated it.
She hated him.
And yet her wolf stirred at the sight of him like a fool craving a curse.
He didn't speak for a long time.
Just watched her with those glacial eyes like he was reading pages of a book she didn't know she was writing.
Then finally, he asked, "What's your name?"
She said nothing.
He stepped closer.
"I'll find out either way."
Still silence.
Her jaw clenched.
Her pulse raced.
"Fine," he said.
"You can keep your name."
He turned to leave.
But then paused at the door.
And without looking back, he added, "But you can't keep your secrets."
Then he was gone.
And she was alone again.
Only this time, she wasn't afraid.
She was furious.
Because somehow, fate had twisted her vengeance into a bond.
And Alpha Kael Nightborne wasn't just her target anymore.
He was her tether.
Her prison.
Her mate.
But he would never be her Alpha.
She would burn this kingdom to the ground before she bowed.
And when he fell, it wouldn't be by fate's hands.
It would be by hers.