The night was heavy with mist, the kind that clung to the skin and made every breath feel colder, sharper. Elara Hayes stood on the edge of the gathering field, her heart beating wildly beneath her ribs as the drums pounded louder. The sound wasn't celebratory—it was primal, ancient, the call of wolves to witness something that felt more like a funeral than a union.
Her union.
She clutched the thin shawl tighter around her shoulders, though it did little to keep out the biting air. Eyes followed her from every corner—wolves in human form, members of packs that had gathered from miles around to witness the bargain her father had struck. They whispered her name like it was both a curse and a prayer, a girl born human, raised among wolves, and now thrown into the hands of a monster no one dared defy.
Kael Draven. The Savage Alpha.
The stories about him were enough to hollow out her chest with fear. They said his claws tore through flesh as easily as silk, that his anger had burned villages, that even the Moon Goddess herself had cursed him for crimes too great to speak aloud. No woman had ever lived under his roof for long. Some vanished. Some were sent back broken. Others… never returned at all.
And yet, tonight, she would become his bride.
"Elara." Her father's voice hissed close by, low and firm, dragging her from her spiraling thoughts. Alpha Hayes wasn't a man who used gentle tones. His eyes were sharp, his hand firm as it gripped her arm. "Stand tall. Do not shame us before the Savage."
Shame. That was the word he chose as she stood on the precipice of what could be her death. Not fear, not hesitation, not sorrow. Shame.
Her throat tightened, but Elara lifted her chin anyway. If she showed fear, it would please her enemies and weaken her before Kael. And though she was walking into a nightmare, she swore to herself—silently, secretly—that she would not break.
Not for him. Not for anyone.
The crowd parted. The drums stopped.
And then she saw him.
Kael Draven strode into the clearing like a shadow come alive. His presence seemed to pull the air from the lungs of everyone present. Tall, broad-shouldered, and clad in black, his very being radiated a violence barely leashed. His eyes were not the golden amber of most wolves. They were a piercing shade of storm-grey, cold and unyielding, like sharpened steel forged in darkness.
Elara's breath caught despite her determination. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her legs refused to obey.
Kael's gaze locked on her, and the world shrank until nothing else existed.
"She's human," he said at last, his voice low, guttural, threaded with disdain that rippled through the crowd like a lash. "You offer me this?"
Her father stepped forward quickly, bowing his head. "She is untouched, loyal, and bound by blood to my pack. Her value is in her obedience."
Obedience.
The word burned in Elara's ears. She curled her fists at her sides but kept her face calm, her gaze steady.
Kael tilted his head, studying her like a predator deciding whether the prey before him was worth the chase. For a moment, Elara thought he might refuse. And a part of her—a dangerous, selfish part—hoped he would.
But then his lips curved into the faintest ghost of a smirk.
"She'll do," he said.
The murmurs in the crowd swelled into a storm.
The Savage Alpha had claimed his bride.
The ceremony was swift, performed under the blood moon's watchful eye. The officiator's voice was drowned out by the pounding in Elara's head. Every vow spoken felt like a chain tightening around her throat.
When Kael took her hand, his touch was cold and rough, his palm calloused like a man who carried death in his grip.
"Mine," he said simply, loud enough for every soul present to hear.
The word reverberated through her, binding her more tightly than any ritual.
Elara's heart thrashed, her lips trembling as the officiator declared what no one thought possible. The Savage Alpha was no longer without a Luna.
And she—Elara Hayes, the bargaining chip, the human girl—was now trapped in his cage.
The ride to Kael's territory was long, the moon hanging above them like a blood-red eye. Elara sat in the carriage alone, her hands folded tightly in her lap to hide the tremor in her fingers.
Outside, the woods stretched endlessly, dark and ancient, the howls of unseen wolves echoing like a chorus of threats. Her thoughts wandered to the stories told in whispers—wolves mutilated for disobedience, rival alphas torn apart limb by limb, Kael himself drenched in blood after the Goddess's curse fell upon him.
Her stomach twisted.
When the carriage finally stopped, the sight before her nearly stole her breath.
The Savage Alpha's stronghold was no home. It was a fortress carved into the side of a mountain, jagged and unwelcoming, its walls draped in shadows and iron. Torches burned, but they gave no warmth. This place was a kingdom of silence and dread, and it was now hers to endure.
The heavy door creaked open, and Kael himself appeared, towering in the flickering light.
"Out," he ordered.
Elara hesitated, then stepped down, her feet sinking into the cold earth.
His eyes flicked over her, unreadable, then he turned without another word, striding into the fortress.
She followed, her every step echoing.
The air inside was colder than the night. The stone walls whispered secrets of blood and suffering. Wolves in Kael's colors lingered in the shadows, watching her with thinly veiled disdain. She could feel their hatred like a physical weight.
One wrong move, and they would tear her apart.
At the top of the stairs, Kael stopped and turned suddenly, his gaze slamming into hers.
"Rule one," he said, his voice low, dangerous. "You will not question me."
Her breath caught, but she refused to lower her eyes.
"Rule two. You will not disobey me."
Her heart pounded, her fingernails digging into her palms.
"And rule three," Kael's lips curved into something darker than a smile, "you will never forget whose bride you are."
He stepped closer, his presence suffocating, his scent of smoke and steel coiling around her.
"You belong to the Savage now, Elara Hayes," he whispered, his voice brushing against her ear like a threat. "Pray you survive me."