Chapter 1
The night of the Mating Ball, I was stuck serving blood wine at the kitchen back door of Wolf Castle.
The Silverpine Pack's coming-of-age ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Every werewolf over sixteen who hadn't found their fated mate would put on their finest clothes, step into the Moonlight Hall, and wait for their inner wolf to recognize their fated partner.
But me? I could only linger at the back door because I was a half-breed.
And also because I was already eighteen and still couldn't shift.
Everyone in the pack called me Shell.
They said the Moon Goddess had given every werewolf an inner wolf—except she forgot me.
"Elena, keep steady," the kitchen manager said, shoving a silver tray into my arms. "Tonight, it's not just wolves. There are vampire guests, too. Break one glass of blood wine, and you can't afford it."
Blood wine was for the vampires.
Three days ago, a delegation from the Blackthorn Coven arrived in Silverpine lands. Leading them was a vampire prince named Cassian Vale.
Rumor had it that he was pale, cold-blooded, and cast no reflection. He could hear someone's fear before they even opened their mouths.
More importantly, he was the High Lord of the Blackthorn Coven.
And tonight, our Silverpine Pack's Alpha was set to sign a blood truce with him.
When I walked into the Moonlight Hall carrying the silver tray, everyone's attention was locked on the raised dais in the center.
Our Alpha, Adrian Silverpine, sat on the throne of bones, with Lawrence Ford, our Beta, at his side. Adrian's only son, Lucian, stood at the foot of the dais, dressed in a sleek black suit, his golden hair tied back, looking like a blade forged in moonlight.
He was the future Alpha of the Silverpine Pack, and he was the boy I'd been secretly crushing on since I was ten.
Seven years ago, when some high-ranking werewolf pups shoved me into the frozen river, it was Lucian who dove in and pulled me out.
He wrapped his cloak around my shivering shoulders and told me, "Don't cry, Elena. Someday, you'll have your own inner wolf."
I held onto those words for seven years.
But even now, I still hadn't heard my inner wolf's voice.
*****
"Look, Shell is here," someone snickered.
"She actually has the nerve to walk into the Moonlight Hall? Isn't she afraid she'll bring shame to Luna?" another one sneered.
I lowered my gaze and set the blood wine glasses down on the long table, one by one.
Just as I was about to slip away, the far end of the hall suddenly went dead silent.
The doors swung open, and a gust of cold, rainy night air swept in.
A group of vampires in black robes marched into the hall, their steps perfectly synchronized, faces pale as death, their eyes shimmering with a dark red tint in the candlelight.
The man leading them wore no crown, but the moment he appeared, every werewolf in the room instinctively tensed up.
He was tall, with black hair falling over his brow, skin cold and pale as ice, lips so faint that they looked like an unopened rose in the snow.
A silver pin fastened a black rose insignia to his collar, his cloak sweeping the floor. Even the moonlight seemed to shy away from him.
I'd seen plenty of powerful people before.
Adrian was as unyielding as a mountain, and Lucian was as strong as a blade.
But this vampire prince was like a coffin lid swung wide. Anyone who dared get close would be pulled into endless night.
Cassian stopped in front of the dais and gave Adrian a slight nod. "Alpha Silverpine."
His voice was soft, yet it commanded the entire hall.
Adrian stood up. "Prince Vale, welcome to Silverpine."
Welcome?
The thought had barely formed in my mind when pain shot through my palm.
The tray's edge nicked my finger, and a drop of blood slipped right into a wine glass.
In the next instant, every vampire's head snapped toward me at once.
It wasn't sight that drew them. It was scent.
Their dark red eyes ignited with hunger, and the temperature in the hall plummeted in an instant.
I froze in place.
The kitchen manager's face went sheet-white. "Get out, idiot!"
Just as I was about to leave, Cassian turned abruptly. His eyes locked onto my finger.
It lasted only a second, but it felt like an icy fingertip pressed right against my throat.
Adrian frowned. "Elena, get out."
I picked up the silver tray and turned to leave, but the noble girl behind me subtly hooked my ankle, tripping me.
Her name was Vera, one of the most respected she-wolves in Silverpine, and everyone assumed she would be the future Luna.
My body pitched toward the long table. The tray tumbled, and blood wine splashed everywhere.
The hall went dead silent.
Vera gasped, "Elena, how could you be so careless? Tonight is the blood truce ceremony."
I crashed to my knees, shards of glass biting into my palm. The scent of blood grew even stronger.
Some vampires swallowed.
Adrian's expression went sullen. "The half-breed Elena has disrupted the blood truce ceremony. Take her away."