Chapter 1 Chapter 1

E L A R A

If anyone had told me I would have to spread my legs for the Rogue Alpha just to pay my son’s medical bill, I would have called them crazy. But here I was standing outside his mansion, heart pounding, waiting for his maid to usher me in.

The night air bit my skin, carrying the faint scent of pine and smoke that clung to the massive stone walls around me. His house... no, his fortress loomed in front of me, crouched on the edge of the forest like a beast waiting to swallow me whole.

The last place any sane omega would dare to come. And yet, this was where desperation had brought me.

My fingers clutched the small envelope in my coat pocket, a pitiful sum I scraped together after pawning my wedding ring, my mother’s locket, even Luca’s old toys. But it was not enough. It could never be enough.

The image of my son flashed before me, small, pale, his breaths shallow as if each one hurts to take. The way his curls stuck to his damp forehead last night when the fever took him again. “It’s all right, sweetheart,” I had whispered, lying through my teeth as I dabbed at his skin with a cold cloth. “Mummy will fix it. I promise.”

Dr. Rowe’s voice still echoed in my ears, calm but edged with finality.

“He needs the treatment immediately, Elara. The medication is rare, expensive. If we wait any longer, his organs will start shutting down. I wish I had another option to give you.”

But there were no other options. Not for a lowly omega who barely earned enough cleaning taverns and tending to other people’s pups. Not for a woman without a pack, without a mate, without power.

I had gone to the council once, begged on my knees in the middle of their pristine hall, and they had turned me away like I was filth. An omega begging for mercy was entertainment to them. They would rather see my son buried than waste their gold on his survival.

And so I came here. To him.

Kane Drake - the Rogue Alpha. The name every parent used to scare their pups into obedience. The man who defied the pack council, who tore apart his own kind and vanished into the wilderness with blood on his hands.

I used to think he was a myth. A nightmare. But the moment I sent a message through one of the city’s underground brokers, I learned how real he was.

The answer had come back fast.

“He’ll see you. Midnight. Bring what you can pay. And be prepared to offer more.”

More. I knew exactly what that meant. Every woman in the borderlands did. The Rogue Alpha never gave without taking.

The heavy doors creaked open, dragging me from my thoughts. A tall woman stood there, her dark braid tight against her back, her sharp gaze cutting right through me. Even without scenting her wolf, I could feel her dominance in the air.

“You’re the omega,” she said flatly.

I nodded, my voice lost somewhere between fear and shame.

“Follow me. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

The moment I stepped inside, the heavy scent of cedar and smoke enveloped me instantly. The air felt thick, charged, like the house itself was alive, breathing along with the beast who ruled it.

Each step echoed through the vast corridor. My heart thundered in my chest, and with every beat, I could hear my son’s weak voice in my mind. Don’t be scared, Mummy.

But I was. Terrified, actually. Because I knew once I crossed that line, there would be no turning back.

The maid stopped in front of the massive oak doors, their dark surface marked with long, deep claw scratches that made my stomach twist. She turned to me sharply, her expression as cold and unmoving as stone.

“He’s waiting inside,” she said. Then her voice lowered, quieter but firm, the kind of tone that didn’t allow mistakes. “Listen carefully. You will not speak unless he speaks to you first. You will not move unless he tells you to. And you will not look him in the eyes, not unless he gives you permission. Do you understand?”

My mouth went dry. My heart was beating so fast it hurt. I nodded quickly, clutching the envelope of money like it was the only thing keeping me from collapsing. “Y-yes,” I whispered.

Her eyes narrowed, studying me for a moment before she gave a single curt nod and turned back to the door. She knocked twice, the sound echoing through the long hallway, heavy and final. Then, without another word, she pushed the doors open.

The moment I stepped inside, the air changed. It was warm, thick, and heavy with the scent of smoke and something darker beneath it, something that made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise. The room glowed dimly from a fire burning at the far end, its flickering light casting long, restless shadows across the floor.

And there he was.

Kane Drake. The Rogue Alpha.

He sat on what looked like a throne carved from dark wood, the firelight outlining his broad shoulders and the hard lines of his body. There was a woman beside him, dressed in a thin, revealing gown that left little to the imagination. She was pouring amber liquid from a jug into a glass, her movements graceful and slow, like she was performing for him.

I couldn’t look away from him.

I had seen pictures of Alphas before, powerful men, intimidating and proud but none of them looked like him. His face was sharp and strong, his jaw cut clean as if it had been carved by hand. A scar ran across his left eyes, faintly silver under the firelight, but it only made him look more dangerous. His eyes….goodness, his eyes were a molten shade of gold, glowing faintly as if something wild lived behind them.

I knew I shouldn’t have been staring, but I couldn’t stop. There was something about him something that pulled and burned all at once, something that made it hard to breathe.

Then, before I could even blink, there was a sharp sound.

A sting exploded across my cheek.

SLAP

My head jerked to the side, the slap so hard it left my skin burning. For a moment, I couldn’t even process what had happened, just the heat, the shock, and the faint taste of metal in my mouth.

When I turned, the woman in the skimpy dress was standing right in front of me. Her eyes blazed with anger, and her voice cut through the silence like a blade.

“How dare you,” she spat, her lip curling. “How dare you look at the Alpha with those eyes?”