All Chapters of The alphas dead mate: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The ancient bells of the Moon Temple echoed through the valley, their deep chimes rolling over the mountains like a warning carried by the wind. Each strike seemed to hang in the air a second too long before falling away, swallowed by mist and pine. The sound traveled down into the villages below, rattled shutters, and made animals lift their heads. It was the third toll of dawn. The day of the Moon Blessings. Lyra Ashwood tightened the worn gray cloak around her shoulders as she climbed the endless white stone steps leading to the sacred temple. The wool was thin at the elbows and patched twice at the hem, but it was the only thing she owned that kept the mountain cold out. Her boots felt strangely heavy. Not because of the climb. She had walked farther on less. It was something else, a pull, like the stones themselves were trying to slow her down—or maybe draw her forward. She couldn't tell which. Why am I so nervous? She pressed her palm against the cold stone railing and ke

The silence stretched until it became unbearable.It was a thick silence. The kind that filled your ears until you could hear the blood moving in your veins. The kind that made every small sound feel like a shout. Every eye in the temple remained fixed on Lyra.There were hundreds of them. Alphas in their ceremonial robes. Nobles with jewels at their throats. Priests with silver staffs. Young wolves who had come for blessings. All of them staring.She could feel their stares like invisible hands pressing against her skin. On her face. On her shoulders. On the faded gray cloak that suddenly felt too thin. Her pulse was in her throat. "The birthmark," the old elder repeated, his trembling voice barely above a whisper. "Please... show us your neck."The words cut through the quiet. Lyra instinctively reached up, her fingers brushing the back of her neck. The hair there was cool. She didn’t know what they were talking about. She’d never thought about the back of her neck before."My n

The temple bells refused to fall silent.Their relentless toll rolled across the mountains, each strike echoing farther than the last until it seemed the entire kingdom could hear them.Not a blessing.A warning.Outside the Moon Temple, wolves rushed through the courtyards with drawn weapons. Messengers mounted waiting horses, their cloaks snapping violently in the cold wind as they rode toward the territories of the Seven Great Packs.Within hours, every Alpha would know.The Moon Goddess had chosen.The Royal Moon Crest had returned.And an assassin had struck inside sacred ground.Inside the temple, the once-orderly ceremony had dissolved into controlled chaos.Families clung together, ushered toward the side exits by anxious priests.Lyra stood exactly where she had been since the bells first changed.She couldn't make herself move.Her fingers drifted unconsciously to the back of her neck.The skin there was warm.No...Hot.Not painful, but alive.As though the crest hidden ben

The Moon Wing fell silent the moment Alpha Kael closed the doors behind him.The echo of his footsteps faded down the corridor until Lyra could no longer hear them.She was alone.Completely alone.Slowly, she turned back toward the room.It was unlike anything she had ever imagined.The fireplace was carved from white marble, its mantel decorated with wolves chasing the moon through flowering vines. Tall bookshelves lined one wall, each shelf packed with leather-bound books that looked too old to touch. Silver curtains framed the towering windows, and beyond them, snow drifted gently over the mountains surrounding Blackthorn Keep.The room was beautiful.Too beautiful.Lyra walked carefully across the polished floor, almost afraid her worn boots would leave marks.She stopped before the ruined portrait hanging above the fireplace.The silver frame gleamed despite its age.The painting inside was another story.Someone had destroyed it.The woman's face had been slashed beyond recogni