Kael Draven stood at the edge of the terrace, the wind tousling his dark hair as he looked out across his
"They won't stop until I give in," he muttered.
Who!?
Behind him, a figure leaned casually against the stone wall, arms crossed. Lucien Vale.
"The elders. annoying is their love language," kael said dryly. They want a Luna. Someone to 'soften me.'"
Lucien raised an eyebrow. "You could use a little softening. You're like a blade with no sheath." Kael shot him a glare.
A Luna should be earned, not forced down my throat."
Lucien walked over, dropping into one of the stone chairs and kicking his boots up. "So tell them no."
"I have."
"And?"
"They said if I don't choose," Kael muttered, "they'll offer me one. From the Crescent Moon Pack. A treaty bride."
Lucien whistled low. "Politics."
"Chains," Kael corrected. "I won't be tamed for the sake of tradition."
***
She didn't want her father's wealth not that it amounted to much. She only wanted space. Freedom. Her mother had abandoned them when she was just five, and the hole she left behind had been patched over too quickly with a cold new wife and a ready-made son. One year later, and her father had remarried like her mother had never existed.Maris stayed to care for her
Evelyn rounded the corner onto the main street just as the scream cut through the air.
Tires screeched.
A black luxury car slammed to a halt, inches from a teenage boy frozen in place.
Evelyn stopped too, half-hidden by a tree watchingthescene from afar, Her heart thudded. The boy stumbled back, breathless and pale.
A man in a crisp suit got out of the passenger seat. His jaw was sharp, eyes cool, and in his hand, he held a thick wad of cash.
"Take this," the man said smoothly, voice polished. "For the trouble.
The boy blinked, confused, but nodded. The man shoved the bills into his hand and returned to the car.
Evelyn's eyes narrowed, the guts this rich people have' she muttered.
***
In the back seat of the car, Kael did not care about the accident that almost happened, he was just a cold billionaire werewolf
His wolf stirred in the back of his mind, restless. Pacing.It wasn't just the adrenaline of nearly hitting someone.Something had changed in the air. A scent, faint but wild. A presence.
"She was here," Kael muttered.
My matte
I felt her