Her Alpha's secret:the white wolf

HAZEL**“Sold,” my father declared coldly, stripping the moment of all warmth. “She is now yours.”The word struck me like a punch to the gut, leaving me breathless. My father had just bartered me away to Lucian D'Arden, the formidable Alpha of the Silver Crescent Pack.Would I ever be enough to satisfy him?From my earliest memories, I had been a source of disappointment to my father, the daughter he never wanted to have. My mother, who had perished in childbirth, cast a long shadow over my existence, and I had always felt the weight of her loss and my father’s resentment.To make matters worse, I was supposed to wolf out at 18—but here I was at 26, still not transformed.Now, with that indifferent exchange, he had traded me for potential power, hoping to ascend the social ladder of the werewolf hierarchy from a lowly fifth position to a respectable third.As I stuffed my meager belongings—a few tattered clothes and a frayed photograph—into an old suitcase, a wave of anxiety churned

CHAPTER THREE** — REJECTED*HAZEL*“The… mating bond,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes widened in shock, and his grip loosened as if he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just felt.“Impossible,” he said, shaking his head.No way.No way in the goddess’s cursed earth.Don’t tell me Lucian D’Ardern, Alpha of the Silver Crescent Pack… is my mate?He stepped back, putting distance between us as if I were fragile glass. But that space twisted something tight in my chest. I wanted him closer—closer enough to feel the heat of his touch, the brush of his breath, the pull of his scent.This… this was a feeling I’d never experienced before. Or maybe this was what a mating bond did—made you feel the impossible, the things you weren’t supposed to feel yet.My phone buzzed.Caller ID: Lyria.I hesitated. Should I answer? Or focus on Lucian, who—no, who was my mate?Before I could decide, he turned and walked away, that shocking look still lingering, each step heavy, tense wi

**HAZEL**My eyes shot open.For a moment, I couldn’t tell where I was… or how long I’d been here. Last night’s incident slammed back into my mind, sharp and disorienting. Was it even last night? Or had days passed?When my vision finally adjusted, I realized my hands were chained—so were my legs.A throbbing pain pulsed through my skull.God. Where did Lucian’s men dump me?And who gave him that cursed letter? Why wasn’t my life hell enough already? Betrayal was something I thought I was used to, but Lyria’s… Lyria’s cut differently. The look on her face before I left that ballroom—mockery, triumph, or something uglier—I’d never seen that side of her before.She had always treated me like a sister.So why now?Why take the only precious thing I thought I finally had?The curtain scraped open suddenly, sunlight slicing into my eyes like daggers. I lifted my chained hands to shield myself, blinking rapidly.And then I froze.Draxus Valenhart.My stomach dropped.Why… how… why did they

CHAPTER SEVEN —HAZEL Weeks blurred into months.Lucian and Evander were on the news again—both of them snarling, chest‑to‑chest, ready to tear each other apart on live television. Everyone in the city knew the Blackspires and Silver Crescent never mixed. They avoided each other’s streets. Each other’s shadows.But today?They were two seconds away from shifting in front of the entire city.The media blurred the footage before the claws came out, but the damage was already done.My heart twisted for reasons I didn’t want to examine.Was it the shock of seeing Lucian again after months?Or the irritation that still prickled under my skin whenever he appeared?I hated him Or… maybe hate was a strong word for someone who used to be my mate.Used to.The bond was broken. The mark… fading. The connection— dying.I checked my watch; Kael should’ve been back already.The doctor re‑entered, flipping through some papers with a strange expression.“I found something unusual about the pup,” he

*HAZEL *Stepping out of the lobby felt like escaping a burning room.Evander’s gaze still clung to my skin — low, commanding, intrusive in the way it always used to be.Except now… he wasn’t looking at Hazel.He was speaking to Summers, a stranger with a new face, masked scent, and erased past.He had no idea who I was. I made sure of that the day I rose from the ashes of the girl he shattered.But his presence…His aura still pressed against my spine like a memory my body refused to forget.Cold. Sharp. Intoxicating.I kept my steps steady. My breathing even. Only when the doors slid shut behind me did I release the trembling breath locked in my chest.Get it together, I warned myself.You’ve survived worse. You rebuilt yourself. You owe him nothing.I checked my phone.6:45 PM — Appointment with L. Silver Crescent.Lucian.The man who once marked me.The man I once believed fate carved into my path.Just like the others, he wouldn’t recognize me now. Never with the new face, the al