ADRIAN'S POV

The peace summit was supposed to last an hour. It didn’t even make it past ten minutes.

By the time I left that clearing, my hands were still shaking. I told myself it was rage. It wasn’t.

The bond crawled under my skin, steady and unwanted, like a heartbeat that didn’t belong to me. Every few seconds, something foreign pushed through the link, her scent, her pulse, the feeling of her breath. It was driving me mad.

“Alpha,” Kai called from behind me as we rode through the forest. “Do you want me to—”

“Don’t,” I said. My voice came out rough. “Not now.”

He fell silent. He knew when to stop.

We reached the Ironclaw border by sundown. The others peeled away toward the fortress, but I stayed back for a moment. From where I sat, the mountains stretched for miles, dark and endless.

The valley below was quiet.

That silence had a history.

Three years ago, my father stood right here, swearing peace under the same moon that had watched us spill blood for centuries. He’d gone to meet Elias Carter — Alpha of Moonfang — to end the fighting once and for all.

He never came back.

Three days later, they found him by the river. No wounds, no scent, no blood. Just sitting there, his eyes open, body cold, and his heart had gone still. The healers called it a curse. The council called it murder. Moonfang called it karma.

No one ever found the truth.

That was the last time I believed in peace.

I took the title of Alpha at twenty-two. The council wanted vengeance. So did I. But war doesn’t build strength… it just eats it. So I built something different.

Discipline.

Silence.

Fear.

I turned Ironclaw into an army that no one dared provoke again.

For three years, that worked. Hatred kept the peace better than any treaty ever could. Until the council forced this new summit.

They said too many rogues were rising, many witches sniffing around the borders, feeding on old blood. They said the Moonfang Alpha was ready to talk again.

I only agreed to remind Elias Carter that he still owed me a corpse.

But then his daughter walked in.

Lena Carter.

She didn’t carry herself like a politician’s daughter. She looked like she’d rather set the whole table on fire and watch the flames. Wild eyes, amber gold — the kind that made it hard to look away even when you should.

And then she looked back.

That’s when everything cracked.

The bond hit like a knife to the chest; painful, hot, and very real. I’d seen a lot of things in my life, but I’d never felt anything like that. It was supposed to be impossible, a mate bond across rival packs. The Moon goddess must’ve been laughing.

I didn’t even remember the ride home. My mind was a mess of her presence…like she was living in mind somehow and the sound of my own breathing trying to drown it out.

By the time I reached the fortress, the torches were already lit along the walls. The guards bowed as I passed, their eyes careful. I ignored them and went straight to my office.

The fire in the hearth was burning low. I stood in front of it, letting the heat seep into my skin.

It wasn’t quiet anymore. I could feel her through the bond, faint and constant — confusion, anger, and maybe fear. She was far, but not far enough.

“Damn it,” I muttered, gripping the edge of the desk until the wood creaked.

The door opened behind me. “Adrian.”

It was Kai.

“The council’s in the war room,” he said. “They’re already waiting.”

Of course they were.

I followed him down the hall.

When I entered the war room, the elders were already there. Silas Grayson sat at the far end, that smug half-smile on his face.

“Well,” Silas said, “That went well.”

I said nothing.

He leaned back. “You let her look at you. Everyone saw it. What do you think that means?”

“It means nothing,” I said flatly.

His eyes glinted. “I’ve seen mate bonds before. They turn strong men into fools. You’re already shaking.”

Kai stepped in before I could speak. “With all due respect, Elder, the Alpha kept the peace. Without him, we’d be burying men tonight.”

Silas laughed once, dry and bitter, like in mock response. “Peace doesn’t keep us alive.”

“We’re not at war,” I said.

“Not yet.”

The room went dead silent.

I looked around at faces that used to follow my father. Men who’d seen too much, lost too much, and couldn’t live without something to hate.

“The summit was a mistake,” I said finally. “But there won’t be another war unless they bring it to us.”

Silas gave a slow nod. “And if the girl brings it?”

I didn’t answer.

Because part of me already knew I’d never let her.

If she called for me, I’d go. No matter what that meant. And that truth was more dangerous than any blade.

The meeting dragged on, talk of borders, supply chains, but nothing that really mattered. My head was miles away. Out there, in the woods, her heartbeat was still echoing faintly through mine.

When it finally ended, I stepped outside. The cold air bit into my lungs. Kai followed a few paces behind, quiet like always.

“You good?” he asked.

“No.”

He didn’t push. He never did.

I leaned against the balcony rail, watching the training yard below. Wolves moved like shadows, blades flashing under torchlight. I’d trained them to be precise, unbreakable, and emotionless. The kind of strength that couldn’t be swayed.

And now one glance from a girl was enough to split the armor.

“I’ll find a way to break it,” I said.

Kai frowned. “The bond?”

I nodded. “Whatever this is, it won’t control me.”

“You’re sure?”

“I don’t get to be sure.”

The wind picked up, and my hands clenched against the railing.

It wasn’t supposed to be her. It wasn’t supposed to be anyone.

I’d built my life around control. One look from her, and it was gone.

I exhaled slowly, the words escaping my lips before I could stop it. “Not her,” I whispered. “Not the enemy.”

Then the night changed.

A sound ripped through the air; low, distant, and heavy, like thunder rolling through the mountains.

But it wasn’t thunder.

Kai went still beside me. “You heard that?”

I nodded once. My wolf was already on edge, ears straining. The sound came again, deeper this time….and closer.

“Get the men,” I said. “Now.”