Chapter 1

Elena

The music is loud in the club, and my blood is buzzing with the copious amount of alcohol running through my system. I am going to regret drinking that many Amaretto Sours in the morning, but for now, I will let the booze dull my pain and loosen my body up enough to enjoy the night. I dressed to kill in a skin-tight bodycon dress that left little to the imagination and shows off all my curves.

My best friend let out a giggle as I grab her hips, pulling her body flush against mine and swaying my hips to the beat. Alisha’s ass is grinding against me, and I laugh. I hardly go out, but after my father declared he was not standing down and handing the pack over to me, I decided to give Dad a big “fuck you” by missing the pack meeting and instead escaping to the club. Possibly to hook up with some random stranger.

I am going to make sure that he hears all about it. I want him just as mad as I am, so I know his wrath will make it worth it.

I am fuming and want to get back at him, which I have now done by directly defying him and going clubbing. I know it will get me in trouble, and he will claim I have caused him shame. Knowing he will struggle at the meeting without me managing presentations will be worth the punishment.

He’s had every excuse for not allowing me to take over the pack for the past two years.

It was the same argument today when I brought it up. However, he told me why this time: “You’re a woman, not an Alpha.” I just blinked at him.

All my life, I’ve trained and been a model daughter. I’ve done everything asked of me, and it’s been all for nothing. So, when he told me not to be late for the pack meeting, I boycotted it to go dancing instead.

Yet, despite the liquor I’ve consumed, I feel like I am being watched; that odd sensation of having eyes on me has me glancing around the club to see whose attention I have stolen. My eyes scan the room where bodies are mashed together, bobbing, and moving to the beat, yet I find no one directly staring at me.

Not until I look at the landing above the dance floor. Silver eyes peer back at me from a man leaning against the railing. He watches me for a few seconds and takes a sip of his drink. Then he turns away, shrinking back into the shadows, and I shrug, thinking it’s nothing. Yet why does something tug deep inside me, causing me to keep peering up at the landing? I can’t explain it, but something about the man has me nervous.

“Are you alright, babe?” Alisha turns to me, brushing her lavender-colored hair out of her eyes before leaning closer. She calls out next to my ear, her voice barely audible over the loud music.

I nod, returning my attention to her, her tan face flushed and glistening with sweat from the heat of us jammed close on the dance floor under the strobing lights. For some strange reason, my eyes return to the landing after only a few moments, but I can no longer see the mysterious man.

After about another hour, I finish my drink, and my feet are killing me when I tap Alisha on the shoulder.

“I need to get a drink,” I call out to her over the loud music. I nod toward the bar area, and she gives me a thumbs-up, yet as I turn around to weave out of the bodies crowding me in, I slam against a chest. Strong hands grip my hips, and his scent invades my nose, making my entire body tense when I feel his breath sweep over my neck.

“Found you, little mate,” he purrs next to my ear.

I swallow, pulling back to see who he is, only to meet the eyes belonging to the stranger from the balcony. Only down here, I realize he isn’t any stranger at all but Alpha Axton from the Nightfall pack. I have seen plenty of stories and articles about the man in the media, but I have never met him in person. Dad’s kept me far from this monster of a man. I gasp, stepping away from him. And for a good reason; he is one of my father’s enemies.

He flew into the city and bought out half of it. He has been trying to get my father kicked off the council for months, so he can buy out the only quarter left that is unclaimed, giving him control of half the city. When he doesn’t get his way, he plays dirty and rains hell on them until they give in or suddenly go missing. The city has lived in fear ever since his arrival.

“Don’t touch me!” I snap at him.

Tears prick my eyes at the outrage of him being my mate while my stupid wolf is trying to come forward, excited to see this monster. Of all the people who could be my fated one, it has to be this asshole. My father will kill me if he finds out. No one wants to be associated with the man who destroyed our peaceful city and turned it into sanctioned sections because the packs living here could suddenly no longer get along.

They blamed each other because of this prick in front of me. Alpha Axton swept into the city and divided the packs with his lies and almost cost my father his pack—my pack! Yet as soon as I think the words, I cringe. Dad made it very clear that I was born the wrong gender and that he would never give me my birthright. Instead, he’s been holding off on retiring until my little brother—who is ten!—comes of age. It’s insulting.

“Now, don’t be like that. You don’t want to piss me off, not when everyone is having so much fun,” he says, glancing around.