The air over the Silverwood lands was a harsh, cold thing, promising snow that hadn't arrived. It smelled faintly of something sharp and icy, like a burn. Alpha Allister moved through the dark of the late night, leading his guards with the serious focus of a man walking on a knife edge.
His mind was constantly spinning with worry about duty and pack politics. The Elders, especially the icy Maeve, demanded he choose a mate with pure wolf blood to make sure the pack would survive. Allister felt less like a leader and more like a game piece.
Allister's second-in-command, a strong, trustworthy man named Ivan, was checking the left side. Their young, slender tracker, Ben, moved to the right. It was just a normal midnight patrol, meant to show the outer areas that everything was safe.
Then, everything changed.
A scent hit Allister like a punch to the gut. It cut through the normal smells of wolf and pine trees, attacking his deepest, most basic instincts. It was a powerful, confusing mix: the warm, comforting smell of sun-baked earth mixed with the sharp, electrical smell of something very old and totally against the rules. It was wolf blood, absolutely, but mixed with something so strong, so wrong, it made his skin crawl with both disgust and an instant, crushing need.
Allister stopped short, slamming his hand against a tree trunk. "Separate," he whispered, his voice a low, vibrating growl that demanded instant action. "Chase silently. I go first."
He crouched low, almost turning into his wolf form, his body stretching out, his muscles tightening under his clothes. He ran on two feet, a quick shadow, following the dizzying, tempting scent. The creature they were hunting was unbelievably fast, weaving through the tricky forest floor with a speed that no regular pack member should have.
He finally trapped her near an old, crumbling stone wall marking the border. She was small, thin, and completely covered in scuffed, black leather. Her hood had fallen back, showing dark, short hair stuck to her face. She was holding a small, silver-tipped tool, using it to chip away at the soft material between the ancient stones.
Allister landed a few steps behind her, his large shadow covering her completely. The air between them vibrated with scary, wild power.
She spun around instantly.
Allister didn't even see the tool. He was instantly fascinated and horrified by her eyes. They were amazing, shocking, and didn't match: one eye was the clear, bright gold of a pure wolf, but the other was a deep, stunning purple, like a jewel catching the light. They burned with raw, desperate challenge.
"Who are you, you who don't belong here?" Allister's voice was a deep, loud order, meant to crush any resistance.
She held his gaze, her chest moving quickly, but she stood her ground. There was a raw, dangerous look in her eyes, but beneath it, Allister sensed a sharp, mocking wit.
"Sunflower," she said, her voice dry, a little shaky, and tinged with that clear, dark humor. "Just Sunflower."
Allister froze. Sunflower. The name was so ridiculously sweet, so completely opposite of the fierce power coming from her, that it caused a sharp, confusing stop in his organized mind.
It was in that half-second of shock that the real shock landed.
It was the soul-shattering, impossible-to-deny power of the true mate connection. A burning, white-hot wire of connection shot out from his wolf's core and smashed into her soul. This was the destiny he'd been waiting for, the anchor that would make him whole.
But it was broken.
The force of the bond was instant and overwhelming, yet it was painfully incomplete—a beautiful song playing on a broken, sparking stereo wire. It tore through his chest, making him stumble. His Alpha senses screamed in pure, panicked pain: Forbidden. Damaged. Destined. He had just found his true mate, and she was a terrible lie.
Driven by a desperate need to stop the painful connection and take control of the situation, Allister moved. He rushed forward, closing the distance in a blur. He didn't try to hurt her; he tried to hold her still. He slammed her back against the cold stone wall. His huge forearm pressed against the soft curve of her throat, and his other hand gripped her wrist, holding her small body against the stone.
The moment their skin touched, a clear, violent burst of raw, non-wolf energy—like a million bolts of static electricity—flashed between them. They both cried out, a choked sound of pain and shocking realization.
Allister stared down at her, his Alpha dominance fighting the overwhelming pull. He needed to show her who was boss, to silence the painful connection. He focused all his power, pushing his will into her mind in a silent, punishing command: Tell me what you are!
Instead of her obeying, a terrible noise ripped through his brain. It felt like needles poking his skull—not because she was fighting back, but simply because he tried to force the command through the broken rope of their bond. He stumbled back one step, holding his head, his eyes squeezed shut against the sudden, blinding pain.
When Allister opened his eyes, Sunflower was still held against the wall, chest heaving, her gold and purple eyes wide with real confusion and fear. She hadn't even tried to fight him off. His attempt to dominate her had physically broken him.
"I… I don't know what you are doing," she whispered, her voice shaky but still challenging. "But I think you just broke your own brain."
Allister clenched his teeth, ignoring the pounding behind his eyes. He looked past her, at the old wall she had been picking at, and saw that the material had fallen out. Peeking out from the hole was not treasure, but a crumbling, black book bound in what looked like dried animal skin.
He had just captured his mate, been rejected by the bond, and found a forbidden book—all in five minutes. Allister knew for sure: his destiny for a pure-blood mate was over. He was trapped, connected to a mix-breed named Sunflower, and he had no idea what to do next.
He took a deep breath, fighting the pain, and finally growled the only order he had left:
"Don't speak. You're coming with me."