The sun penetrated through the window of the small, rundown room where I slept. It was casting a golden hue on my body. I got up, sitting on the floor, stretching my body. I felt so sore from the cold cement pressing on my bones all through the night.

The ragged blue blanket offered little or no comfort, but I didn't mind; I wasn't supposed to have comfort, not after what I had done.

My name is Eliana Paw, a rogue, and I have been for the past ten years. I can't believe how quickly time flies; it felt like yesterday, the very day Karen died.

The day my life changed for the worse. The guilt and nightmares had kept me awake at night all these years. Reminding me constantly never to be happy. But last night was worse; I couldn't shake off what I saw earlier.

A familiar rustling outside my window caught my attention. The other rogues were stirring. I rubbed my eyes when I heard a coarse voice call me from outside. But pretended not to hear.

Most of the rogues don't know me. I hunt when I have to and only speak when necessary. For some crazy reason, I kind of love it this way.

"Eliana!" The voice came again. I was still pondering whether to answer or not when the voice came again.

"Shift duty, now, East perimeter," Rick ordered. I heard footsteps as he walked away.

I got up from the floor, put on my coat and a pair of boots, and tied my hair backward in a high ponytail.

I pulled open the door and straddled out. I always shudder each time I'm posted to the east border; it was one of the most dangerous borders. It was close to the old border of the most powerful pack.

I hadn't dared approach since I left home; their patrol rarely comes this deep into the woods, but we still have to stay alert.

I could hear my wolf stirring endlessly as I approached the east border; it hated this part of the woods. It was an endless reminder of our past, but it's not like we have a choice.

I was almost at the border, just a twist over the fallen oak tree when they ambushed me.

"Happy Birthday, Minx." Rick and Knox said, "Scaring the shit out of me."

"Damnit, guys," I blurted, clutching my chest. They both laughed heartily.

I can't believe I forgot today was my eighteenth birthday. How can I remember? I'm just a ghost of what I used to be.

"I know you don't like celebrating your birthday, so we got you a little something," Knox said, all smiles, his icy blue eyes staring at me.

"Here, we got you a little something." He pulled out his hand from behind to show a pair of black leather gloves.

He took my hands and helped me to wear them. "These should keep you warm," holding my hand affectionately.

It was this pair of strong arms that saved me that night that I almost fell off the cliff. Sometimes I don't know whether to be grateful to him for saving me or to curse at him.

"I should get going; I don't want to be late for my shift." I headed out.

No matter how I look at it, I have no right to celebrate my birthday. When I killed my sister, tears welled up in my eyes. I was staring at the gloves when I suddenly heard a twig break, then footsteps. I looked up frantically when the scent hit me.

"Pack patrols?" I gasped. They never patrolled this deep into the woods.

I quickly ducked behind a big tree, my heart racing, slamming against my ribcage. My wolf growled inside. For some reason, my wolf has been unsettled. The closer I get to the border, the more unsettled it becomes.

I looked around searching for a way to escape; I can't possibly stand here till they catch me.

I took a quick peep as they advanced close; I could count five men, and one of them was an alpha.

There was no mistaking that aura.

I was still thinking of a way to escape when a scent struck me. It wasn't like anything I had ever smelled, but my wolf recognized it.

The scent of sandalwood and earth, my eyes lit up in realization, while in denial.

"Mate," I heard my wolf growl the word I had feared the most.

I pressed my hand on my chest to calm my beating heart. I can't have him see me, definitely not like this.

As they wandered in the forest, I stood hidden, but I couldn't get my eyes off him; the mate bond was messing me up.

He was tall, cold, and commanding; he was everything I had heard in whispers amongst the rogues.

He was feared as the most ruthless alpha. And has always been open about his hatred for rogues.

Fate must be enjoying this cruel joke. How on earth did he pair me with someone like that?

I sighed in relief when I saw the patrol head back. I went down on all fours and crawled away. I was almost halfway back to the rogue border when I heard a cold voice that stopped me in my tracks.

"Stop!"

I froze; his voice was sharp, firm, and lethal. It was etched into my bones, sending cold shivers down my spine. Without being told, I knew who the voice belonged to; my wolf was almost leaping, fighting to take control.

"Turn around," he commanded. My wolf continued howling inside, pushing me to go to him.

"I said now," he barked at me. I slowly turned to face him.

"Go to mate," my wolf kept purring into my ears, but I dared not.

He stood a few feet away from me, flanked by two warriors. But his scent and alpha aura suffocated me.

His dark hair was tousled by the wind, his jaw was clenched, and his icy blue eyes glared at me like he was seeing my soul. A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed hard.

The moment we locked eyes, the mate bond hit me. I could sense I wasn't the only one feeling it; his nostrils flared, and my legs instantly became weak.

I was still in disbelief that the alpha of the Blackclaw pack was my fated mate.

He stared at me for a while like he had seen a ghost, one he hadn't expected to see and didn't welcome.

I could tell without being told that, just like me, he was fighting the bond.

"You!" he snarled in disgust.

The warriors looked between us with a confused expression.

He took a step forward, and I quickly took a few steps backward, eyes still fixed on him.

"Name," he demanded.

"E...Eliana, Eliana Paw," I slowly said, scared.

His brow furrowed, but his face quickly turned cold and unreadable again.

"Paw, you must be the fallen daughter of the old alpha; you are the daughter who went rogue ten years ago, the disgrace."

"Of course, I was a disgrace to my father."

"You, my mate!" he blurted out as reality began sinking in. Not with excitement but anger.

His words stung like a bee; my heart ached.

"I didn't ask for this," I fired at him, trying to remind him that we were both slaves to fate.

"Neither did I, but here we are," he spat out. His words twisted deeper, and I groaned in pain.

He advanced towards me and was only a breath away from me, then stopped in his tracks; the warriors quickly looked away.

My wolf whimpered, pushing me to cover the distance between us and kiss him. But I held it back.

I wasn't going to do something that would get me killed.

He looked me over for a few seconds and spat out.

"You are coming with us," he commanded.

My eyes lit up in shock. "Wait.... What?"

"You're in my territory and mine, so you are coming with me." He turned almost immediately and began walking away.

I stood frozen, furious, and at a loss. The moon goddess must have wished to punish me for my past and decided to send him as my fated mate.

I spun on my heels to run, but he grabbed me by my throat and suspended me in the air.

I hit his hands a few times and tried speaking but ended up making incoherent noises.

After a few seconds, he let me go, and I landed on the floor, coughing hard.

"Get up!" he ordered. I quickly scrambled up, glaring at him.

Running from him was useless; he would hunt me to the depths of the underworld if he had to.

So I followed him. My wolf wouldn't allow me to run, and I didn't bother trying to. He would kill me if he caught me.

Maybe this would turn out for the best. But just as I was in my thoughts, a scent hit me. It sounds crazy since right now, I should be possessed by my fated mate's scent, but I couldn't dismiss the scent no matter how hard I tried to shake it off.

It smelled strange, dark, and chilly, but what was stranger was that the scent was coming from him.

But for some crazy reason, the scent smelled familiar. I could swear I had smelled that scent a couple of times in the past but can't just place it, but why he has it on him aside from his scent beats me.

"Move!" His voice jerked me back to reality.