Chapter One

Lily’s POV

“Father, allow me to go on this trip and find the black iron crystal.”

I stood in front of his desk in the war room, still wearing my leather riding pants and tunic. My hair was tied back like a boy’s.

My father, Alpha of the Red Moon pack’s weapon house, did not look up from the map. “Lily, it’s dangerous. The border is in chaos and I worry about anything happening to you. You are the light of our pack.”

“I know,” I said, stepping closer. “But the black iron crystal is crucial for improving the crossbow. You very well know what will happen if we don’t get it. Once the Moonlit Whisper pack selects their Wolf Lord, their next move will be to attack our pack. And I fear the Alpha King will blame our family for it.”

He finally looked at me, his brown eyes tired. “I don’t want you to take such a risk, Lily. I know you’ve always dressed like a man, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a lady and you should be finding your mate, not wanting to go on dangerous trips.”

I clenched my fists. This was the same argument every time.

“Father, even if I start dressing like a girl it still doesn’t change the fact that I have to design weapons for our pack and the Alpha King,” I said. “Allow me to go on this journey and find the black iron crystal. Our pack rule doesn’t allow women wolves to lead the family. Are you willing to hand over the family’s legacy to your younger brother if I fail to make the crossbow?”

He looked at me with scrutiny, then sighed. “You always know what to use against me, you silly girl. Fine. I will let you go, but on one condition. Once you get back, you get married to Mason.”

I stared at him, shocked. “But dad, Mason is not my mate and I don’t have feelings for him.”

“We’ve searched all over the Red Moon pack but we couldn’t find your mate,” my father said, genuinely concerned. “And I fear your mate may be from our enemy’s pack. It’s best you marry Mason. I have been taking care of him since his parents got killed by the Moonlit Whisper pack, and he has been your guard since you both were young.”

My wolf stirred uneasily under my skin at the thought of a forced mating. I pushed it down and sighed. “Fine.”

Deep down I knew I would never be able to marry Mason. He was my brother in every way that mattered.

“So you ride with the trade team now, right?” my father asked.

“Yes, dad,” I said, trying to look happy.

He raised an eyebrow. “You planned it before you started pestering me, right?”

“Yes, dad. Don’t worry, I will be fine and Mason is also here to protect me.” I hugged him quickly.

Just then Mason walked in, tall and broad in his guard leathers, his sword at his hip. “Master, the trade team is ready to leave,” he said.

“Alright,” my father said. “Mason, make sure you keep Lily safe, okay?”

“Rest assured,” Mason said, his hand on his chest. “I will keep her safe with my life.”

We rode out of my family’s house before sunrise. The trade caravan was twelve horses, with crates of furs and salt to disguise our real mission. I rode at the front beside Mason, dressed as a young master, my chest bound flat, my bow across my back.

We rode for a long time until we left Red Moon territory fully and entered the borderlands that separated us from the Moonlit Whisper pack, the most powerful wolf pack on the continent.

The air here was different. Colder. My wolf’s ears, even in human form, picked up too much wind. I could smell old blood in the soil.

Something feels off, I thought, just as we were about to cross the old stone border marker.

In no time, two of our horses at the back began to stumble, then fall, shrinking in pain and foaming at the mouth. Mason and I jumped down from our horses to check.

“What happened?” I asked, kneeling beside one. Its eyes were rolled back.

“Lily, I think it’s horse plague,” Edwin, the manager in charge of the trade team, said, his voice shaking.

“The climate here is unstable,” I said, worried. My nose caught the scent of a strange herb crushed in the grass. Not plague. Poison. “We should leave here very soon.”

“Plus the border is a perfect place for ambush,” Mason added, his hand already on his sword, his wolf rising to the surface. His eyes flashed gold.

No more than a few minutes later, we heard it. The low thunder of many horses running toward us from the north. The ground vibrated.

The trade caravan wolves were already shaking, their own wolves whining in fear.

I turned to Mason. “What should we do now?”

He sniffed the wind, his nostrils flaring. “Judging from the sound of their horses and their speed, it’s the Moonlit Whisper pack. We need to fight our way out and I will find a way to get you out of here.”

“I will fight with you all,” I said, drawing my short sword. “I am never leaving anyone behind.”

They hit us like a storm.

Twenty riders in black leather armor broke through the trees, their horses snarling, half shifted. Moonlit Whisper wolves. They moved as one pack, silent except for growls.

Our men shifted, bones cracking, clothes tearing. Mason shifted beside me into a huge grey wolf and lunged.

I stayed human, faster with my bow. I fired three arrows in quick succession. One hit a rider in the shoulder, another in the thigh. The fight was chaos, steel on steel, wolves tearing at throats, horses screaming.

I saw a Moonlit warrior raise his axe behind Mason’s wolf form. I screamed his name and ran forward, swinging my sword with both hands. I beheaded the man clean. Blood sprayed hot across my face. My wolf howled inside me at the kill.

“Thank you,” Mason said, shifting back to human for a second, breathing hard.

In that moment, I felt a sharp whistle in the air. I turned my head.

An arrow pierced into my chest, right beside my heart. The force knocked me to my knees. Pain exploded white hot. I clutched my chest, gasping, blood warm between my fingers. My wolf recoiled in shock.

Mason caught me, holding me up, his face completely devastated. “Lily!”

I looked around through blurred vision and saw that all our pack brothers had been defeated. Some were on their knees, others were in wolf form pinned down.

A horse came running toward us and finally stopped right in front of Mason and me. The rider dismounted in one smooth motion.

The man who came down was what we call majestically gorgeous. He was tall, broad shouldered in black fur-lined armor. His brown hair was braided back from his face, a few strands loose around sharp cheekbones. His eyes were a pale, cold grey, like winter moonlight. He held a black recurve bow in his hand. He was the one who shot me.

He walked beside me and pushed Mason away from me with one boot, easily. Mason snarled but two guards held him.

The lord knelt down to my level. I could smell him now, pine and snow and alpha power. My wounded wolf whimpered and also leaned toward him, confused.

He leaned close and whispered in my ear, his breath warm against my skin. “Young master, you are one lucky soul. My arrow never misses its prey’s heart, but today it dodged your heart by a few centimeters.”

He smiled, slow and dangerous.

“Welcome to my den, wolves of Red Moon pack.”