It's dark. And cold.
Where am I?
Crunching leaves and snapping twigs gave under my weight as I stirred. My eyes fluttered open.
I'm in the forest.
A groan slipped out as I forced myself upright—
That's when the scent hit me.
Rotten. Metallic.
Blood. But not mine.
My hands, parts of my torso, and my bare feet were coated in it.
I just stared.
For someone who looked like they'd bathed in blood, you'd expect more emotion. Panic. Horror.
But this isn't new. I'm used to it.
I looked around.
Trees torn to splinters. Blood splattered across trunks and leaves. My shredded clothes and other clothes I've never seen before scattered like remnants of a nightmare. A recurring nightmare that follows me like a shadow.
A thick, painful lump rose in my throat. I swallowed it down and made my way toward the nearest stream, a path I've taken too many times before—trying to wash off the guilt.
Not that it ever works.
The water was icy, biting at my skin as I scrubbed the blood from my hands and face. My reflection stared back: exhausted eyes, expression blank.
The full moon had vanished. Dawn was breaking.
"Hm." I straightened slowly.
The cursed child.
Rapid wolf.
Destroyer.
Unstable Alpha.
Hands stained with blood.
Just a few of the names they've given me. Names that echo in my head after every full moon.
Every time I come back to my senses.
My curse?
I lose control.
Every full moon, my wolf breaks free—and when I return, I'm soaked in blood. Never mine. Never from my pack.
Innocents. Wanderers. Strays. People who were just in the wrong place when Cassian Vale lost his mind.
Men. Women. Sometimes...children.
I exhaled, slow and heavy, and walked to the forest's edge—my usual path home after destruction.
The scent of blood still clung to the air like a second skin.
"That cursed child can't be our Alpha!"
"What if he turns on us during one of his episodes?!"
"He's a ticking time bomb!"
"We have younger, stable Alphas—he's a liability!"
They never held back.
But my father—Alpha Elios—had ignored them all. Even me.
He'd named me his successor, deaf to the growls of protest.
Deaf to my own refusal.
Now they watch. Waiting.
Those old mutts, hungry to see me slip, hoping I'll break so they can seize the title of Dominant Alpha or take it for their sons.
But none of them have the balls to challenge me outright. Not after the year I rose to Alpha and nearly tore the throats out of three so-called rivals.
I'd been this close to losing control again.
A scent drifted toward me—familiar. Calming.
Luke. My Beta.
He appeared at the edge of the forest, relief softening his usually stern features. I saw him exhale, probably the first breath he'd allowed himself in hours.
Adjusting his glasses, he approached with a fur coat in hand.
Without a word, he draped it over my shoulders. Warmth bled into me. I shivered, only just realizing how cold I'd been. Shirtless. Barefoot. Blood-soaked.
"How are you feeling, sir?" he asked, voice low but laced with concern.
"Luke."
"Yes, sir?"
I looked up at the fading stars, then down at the blood-stained earth behind me.
"I need a bath," I growled.
Luke gave a small smile. "It's ready. So are hot meals and warm clothes."
I slid into the back seat of the black SUV as he took the front.
The driver's scent hit me immediately—sharp and acrid. Fear.
He was sweating.
I met his gaze in the rearview mirror. He quickly looked away.
I turned toward the window.
Silence followed us, broken only when Luke began briefing me on the events I'd missed during my…break.
Most of it was the usual: the council's endless complaints, their growing desperation to replace me with a "stable" Alpha. Nothing new.
Rival packs making subtle moves.
And the seer—muttering cryptic warnings again. No one ever understands what she means. Not even me.
"Sounds about right," I muttered.
"Yes, sir," Luke said, snapping his notebook shut and adjusting his glasses again.
My eyes drifted to the forest shrinking behind us.
Just how far had I run this time?