Chapter 1

“Monster!”

“That’s a werewolf!”

“Run! Don’t let it get near us!”

Fear raced through the gym like an out-of-control fire.

Some people covered their heads and bolted for the exits. Others fell beneath the crush of fleeing feet. Even those shaking too hard to hold their phones steady kept their cameras trained on my son, Noah.

More than three hundred students and parents screamed beneath the shattered lights.

Five minutes earlier, I had been sitting in the darkest corner of the stands, my fingers worrying the strap of my bag.

Twelve-year-old Noah was in the middle of the court, dribbling past defenders with bright eyes and quick feet.

Then two boys closed in from either side. An elbow slammed into Noah’s chest.

He hit the hardwood hard. His elbow scraped open, and a single bead of blood welled up.

The sweet, metallic scent hit the air.

Every nerve in my body locked tight.

Before the referee could blow the whistle, bone cracked sharply across the gym.

Noah convulsed on the floor. His jersey split across his shoulders as coarse gray-black fur pushed through his skin.

He threw back his head. His brown eyes flooded into feral amber.

With a ragged roar, his claws slashed across the metal scoreboard.

Sparks exploded. The heavy frame crashed into the power box, and two rows of overhead lights burst apart. Glass rained down across the court.

I did not stop for the falling shards.

I ran through the wreckage, dropped to my knees on the hardwood, and caught Noah’s face in both hands.

“Noah. Look at me.”

A pained, bloodthirsty growl tore from his throat. His claws gouged deep into the floor, sending splinters flying.

I held his face even when a claw tip cut my wrist.

“Noah, tell me three things you can see.” I kept my voice steady and stared straight into his wild, unfocused eyes. “Look at me. Say them.”

For twelve years, this had been the anchor I used whenever he began to lose control.

Noah shuddered. His bloodshot gaze fought its way back to my face.

“The floor… the glass… Mom.”

“Good. Breathe with me. In. Out.”

The red slowly drained from his eyes. His claws trembled, then slipped back beneath his skin. Small, sweaty hands seized my clothes.

“Mom… I broke the lights. They’re all looking at me…”

Before I could pull him into my arms, a heavy scent of snow and cedar crashed into the gym.

The doorway darkened.

Ronan stood in the broken doorframe, a black coat carrying the cold of deep winter.

He had arrived too quickly.

As if he had been waiting for this day.

He did not look at the wreckage. His gaze went straight to Noah.

It was the pull of blood between two Alphas.

The instant Noah caught Ronan’s scent, the wolf inside him pricked up its ears and gave a small, instinctive whine.

Noah was afraid of this tall stranger.

But his body leaned toward him anyway.

A cold terror opened inside me.

For twelve years, I had built a wall around my son with everything I had. Blood had found a crack in it within seconds.

“He is my heir,” Ronan said, striding closer. His voice rolled through the gym like thunder. “He comes back to the territory with me for assessment.”

I pulled Noah behind me and met Ronan’s icy stare.

“You have never been there for him. He’s terrified, and the first thing you do is try to take him away?”

I held his gaze.

“What gives you the right, Ronan?”

Irritation flashed in his eyes. He was about to answer when brakes screamed outside.

Serena crossed the broken glass in high heels. The faint smile on her lips stiffened for one brief second when she saw Noah’s face.

My stomach clenched.

The bitter taste of silverleaf tea.

The night I had curled up in bed, hurting too badly to stand.

And Ronan’s voice at the door.

“I need a Luna who can survive at my side.”

That was the day he had severed our Mate Bond with his own hands.

Serena stopped beside Ronan and asked softly, “Is he yours?”

My arm tightened around Noah until my knuckles went white.

I could face Ronan’s arrogance.

But I would never let this woman near my son.

Noah felt the tension in me. Curled against my side, he asked through tears, “Mom… am I a monster?”

Ronan looked away from him and down at me.

“The Council will be at your home tonight.”

Then he turned and left.

I stood in that dark, freezing gym with my trembling son in my arms.

The two people I had spent twelve years running from had found me on the same afternoon.