WOLF'S BANE

ASTRID

I stood in my private chambers, the weight of the maps and scrolls around me pressing down like a constant reminder of the journey I had been on. For ten years, I had chased fragments of dreams, visions of gray eyes in darkness, of a man standing alone under the moonlight. My mate. My destiny.

I was ready to leave. Ready to find him. I had to.

But then my father’s voice pierced through the silence.

“Astrid!” His call was sharp, filled with authority. “Come to the throne room. Now.”

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. I didn’t want to face him, not now, not when I was so close to finding the one I had always known was meant for me. But I had no choice. My feet carried me toward the throne room, though my heart already knew what awaited me.

When I entered, King Ulric was seated, his eyes cold and unforgiving. He didn’t even look at me before he spoke.

“You will marry Beta Darius of the Stormfang Pack,” he declared, his voice filled with finality.

The words hit me like a physical blow. My chest tightened. I froze, my hands trembling. I couldn’t—no, I wouldn’t—accept this.

“No,” I said, my voice steady despite the surge of panic. “I will only marry the one the Moon Goddess destined for me.”

Ulric’s eyes darkened, his face twisting into a mask of fury. “You will obey,” he hissed, his voice low and dangerous. “Or you will suffer the consequences.”

I lifted my chin, refusing to let him see my fear. “Then I’ll suffer.”

The words hung in the air, and for a moment, I thought maybe he’d back down. Maybe he’d see reason. But then his fury exploded. His hand shot out, slamming across my face with a force that sent me crashing into the marble pillar behind me. Pain exploded through my ribs, and blood spilled from my mouth as the world tilted around me. My vision went black, and I collapsed into darkness.

---

When I woke, my body felt heavy, as if the very air had turned to lead. My head was spinning, and everything about the room felt wrong. Velvet sheets surrounded me, and the air was stale, thick with something I couldn’t place.

I tried to move, but my limbs wouldn’t obey. My body felt like it belonged to someone else.

Then, a voice broke through the fog, soft but unmistakable.

“You’re awake.”

I blinked, struggling to focus, and saw him. Beta Darius. He sat beside me, his cold eyes watching me like a predator. His smile was unsettling, like something meant to torment.

“Good,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Now we can complete the bond.”

I turned my face away, the instinct to recoil sharp. My body wanted to escape, but it was as if my will no longer mattered.

“Don’t touch me,” I managed to whisper, my voice trembling despite my efforts to remain strong.

His smile didn’t falter. It only grew colder. “You can’t escape,” he murmured. “Becoming my mate is your only fate.”

I felt a knot of fear twist in my stomach. I tried to move, to fight, but my body betrayed me.

And then he leaned down, his breath hot against my ear. I screamed, the sound tearing through the silence of the room. But there was no one to hear. No one to save me.

My heart hammered in my chest, each beat deafening in the silence of the room. Darius’s scent was too close, too sour. His breath skimmed my neck as he tried to mark me, his grip on my arm tightening. Panic surged, but my hand moved before I even had time to think.

I reached for the silver hairpin tucked into my hair—the last gift from my mother. Not just a decoration. A weapon. My secret.

Without hesitation, I drove it deep into Darius’s arm. He jerked back with a howl, his body convulsing in pain. Smoke rose from the wound as the silver burned through his veins. It was poisoned—designed for one thing only: to kill a wolf.

“You… bitch…” he gasped, his voice rough, and then he collapsed to the floor with a sickening thud. His knees buckled, and his hands pressed against his side, as if trying to hold in the pain. His body shook, but his face, once full of hatred, now looked pale under the moonlight. Blood dripped from his mouth, down his chin, his eyes wide with disbelief and pain.

I could taste blood on my lips as it dripped from my chin. The air felt thick with sweat, blood, and fear. I stumbled off the bed, my legs unsteady, and the dagger in my hand felt heavier with every step. I winced as the pain from my wounds flared up but kept moving forward. My hand shook slightly as I grabbed the dagger from Darius's belt, the cold steel breaking the tension in the room.

Each step was a struggle, but my mind pushed me on. When I reached the door, I saw it was bolted from the outside. Panic hit me hard. I was trapped. My heart raced, and I could feel fear creeping up.

I turned back to him, breathing fast. His body twitched on the floor, his fingers moving in the dirt as he fought to stay awake. The man who had once been so sure of himself was now just a broken wreck. His blood pooled around him, but he wouldn’t die quickly. It made me angry, yet somehow, I felt satisfaction too.

I moved toward him, dagger raised. I crouched down beside him, forcing him to look at me. His eyes were unfocused, the life slowly leaving them. He didn’t speak.

I pressed the blade to his throat, feeling the pulse beneath the steel. “Tell me,” I whispered, my voice cold, “Where’s your pack? How many guards? What did my father promise you?”

He flinched, his mouth opening, but no words came. His body twitched again, breath rattling, and then, with one last shudder, he stilled. His eyes glazed over, and the fight drained from him.

I stared down at him, my chest rising and falling. A strange weight settled in my chest. The reality of what I’d just done hit me. I’d killed a Beta. A powerful wolf, reduced to nothing by my hand.

I should escape. I should leave before anyone found me, before the blood trail led back to me. I should slip away into the night like a shadow and vanish.

But my legs didn’t move.

A few moments passed, and then I forced myself to turn away, pushing the thoughts aside. There would be time to think later, when I was safe.

I stumbled out of the room, my feet dragging as I moved through the empty halls. The cold air hit my face as I stepped outside, and I was reminded of how the night had turned from a haze of fear and adrenaline into a cold, brutal reality. The forest lay ahead of me, its dark trees standing like silent sentinels. I had stolen a horse from the palace stables, but it hadn’t lasted long. My father’s men had shot it down halfway through the woods, and now, I was running on foot. My side bled, my steps faltering with each labored breath, but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop. Not now.

The wind cut at my skin as I moved through the bushes, each branch tugging at my cloak. The pain in my legs reminded me of how far I'd pushed myself. The forest was thick, the trees towering like twisted guards, their branches swaying in the wind. But my vision blurred, my breath came in ragged gasps, and the world around me darkened with every step. The sharp pain in my side was nothing compared to the fear gnawing at me.

I couldn’t let them catch me.

Then, I saw them. The eyes. Gray eyes. They flashed through the shadows ahead, too bright, too piercing. I stumbled, my heart racing. I froze, panic flooding me. I could hear my pulse in my ears as I backed away, my hands scraping the ground when I fell to my knees.

From the shadows, he stepped forward.

A massive black wolf, so large its shadow spread across the ground like a dark omen. His presence was heavy, as if a thousand-pound stone had fallen on me. His fur shifted in the moonlight, dark shadows moving with him. His gray eyes glowed, too bright for comfort. They locked onto mine, and a chill ran through me. Every instinct screamed for me to run, but I couldn’t.

I whispered, barely a breath, “It’s you…”

For a long moment, the wolf stayed still. His gaze never left mine, and yet, something flickered in those deep, unblinking eyes—something I didn’t understand.

Then, to my shock, the impossible happened.

The wolf shifted, his body folding and twisting as if made of liquid, the dark fur melting into human skin. The change was both terrifying and mesmerizing. The man who stood before me was scarred from countless battles, his chest exposed to the cold night air. He had the same gray eyes, his face sharp, but it was the eyes that stood out. They were blind, but filled with a fire I couldn’t ignore.

He knelt before me, his movements slow and careful. He reached out, his hands brushing the air as if he could sense me, as if I were more than a stranger.

“You’re real,” he whispered, his voice low and rough, as if speaking was a forgotten effort. “You’re real…”

I couldn’t hold myself up anymore. The adrenaline that had pushed me faded, leaving only exhaustion. My knees gave out, and I collapsed into him, trembling as I sought the warmth of his body.

He was solid. Warm. Real.

I was safe—for now.

But as I lay there, heart pounding, I knew the danger was just beginning. The prophecy, the hunt, the wolves—it was all starting. And neither of us would be able to stop it. Not now. Not ever.