Chapter 1: The Girl Without a Wolf

Kira Hale had spent twenty-two years hearing the same cruel words. Worthless. Cursed. Broken. In the Moonfang Pack, every child awakened their wolf before turning eighteen. Some shifted at sixteen, some at seventeen, but by eighteen every werewolf found the beast sleeping inside them. Everyone except Kira.

The morning air carried the scent of pine and rain as she crossed the training grounds with a basket of fresh bandages. Young wolves only a few years younger than her sparred in the center of the field, shifting between human and wolf forms with effortless grace. Every growl reminded her of what she didn't have.

No one greeted her. A few warriors laughed under their breath while others looked away in pity. She had grown used to both reactions. Pity hurt more than mockery.

Her father, Alpha Marcus Hale, stood at the center of the arena, correcting a young warrior's stance. His sharp eyes landed on Kira for only a heartbeat before turning cold.

You're late, he said without raising his voice.

I'm sorry, Father. The healer needed help preparing medicine for Elder Rowan.

Excuses again. If you had a wolf, you would finish your work twice as fast.

The surrounding warriors lowered their heads, pretending not to listen, but every word echoed across the courtyard. Kira swallowed the humiliation and quietly placed the bandages beside the healer.

She had stopped expecting kindness from her father years ago. After her mother's mysterious death, Marcus became colder with every passing season. To him, Kira wasn't his daughter anymore. She was the living reminder of shame.

That afternoon, the annual Moon Ceremony began. Hundreds of pack members gathered beneath the sacred silver tree while children reaching adulthood waited to awaken their wolves. One by one, bright silver energy surrounded them as joyful howls filled the valley.

Kira watched from the edge of the crowd. She remembered standing in that same place four years ago, waiting for her own wolf to answer. Nothing had happened. Only silence.

A group of young women passed beside her.

Poor Kira.

Maybe she's human.

Or maybe the Moon Goddess abandoned her.

Their laughter faded into the crowd, leaving another invisible wound behind.

As night covered the forest, Kira escaped to the cliffs overlooking the valley. It was the only place where no one judged her. She sat beneath the stars, letting the cold wind dry the tears she refused to shed in public.

Why was she different? Why had the Moon Goddess remained silent?

Suddenly, the moonlight shimmered strangely across the rocks. A faint pulse of silver light appeared beneath her feet before vanishing as quickly as it had come.

Kira stood abruptly, searching the empty cliff. There was no one there.

Far away, beyond mountains no ordinary wolf had ever crossed, a pair of glowing crimson eyes slowly opened inside a dark castle.

The Lycan King stopped reading the ancient scroll in his hands.

Someone had awakened.

Not a wolf.

Something far older.

For the first time in years, Derek Wolfe felt curiosity replace the endless emptiness inside him.

And without realizing it, the fate of the wolfless girl and the most feared Lycan King had already begun to intertwine.