Chapter 2
Jessica must have known I wouldn’t yield so easily this time. After all, this wasn’t like before.
Not like those nights when she suddenly fell ill and needed Alpha Manfred to rush her to the hospital.
Not like our anniversary, when she claimed she was being stalked and needed Alpha Manfred by her side.
Three years of marriage, and Alpha Manfred had broken countless promises to me–all for her.
Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d think she was allergic to me and immune to shame.
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Three years. Three full moons times thirty–six. That’s how long I’d stood by and watched Alpha Manfred sprint to her side like a good little lapdog every time she whimpered.
At first, I kept my mouth shut. I was the good mate. The supportive Luna.
Later, I just… stopped caring. I’d growled. I’d snapped. I’d even thrown a chair once.
But his response was always the same.
“I told you before we married–Jessica is the daughter of my benefactor. I promised to take care of her. You said you didn’t mind.”
Mind? Oh no, I adored being the third wheel in my own marriage.
And stupid me, I thought “take care of her”
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meant maybe hiring a maid. Or helping pay her rent. Not dropping everything–including his Luna–every time she cried wolf.
The irony? She wasn’t his fate mate, I was the one,his fate mate.
My first meeting with Alpha Manfred had been nothing short of a fairy tale–a damsel in distress rescued by a knight.
I fell irrevocably in love.
He didn’t even remember.
I was thirteen when I fell for Alpha Manfred. Head over tail.
It started with a fight with my older brother, Damon. He said I was too soft to be a warrior. So naturally, I had to prove I can do
- it.
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How? By sneaking off alone into the forest to hunt a rabbit.
Yes. A rabbit.
I did catch the rabbit, by the way. Snagged it right by the ears. But in my proud,
triumphant victory dance, I realized one minor issue.
I was completely, absolutely, and hopelessly lost.
I tried to mind–link my family, but all I got was static.
By sundown, I was freezing, scared out of my fur, and sitting under a tree hugging my knees like a sad little pup. I cried. I howled. I cursed my brother.
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And then- A miracle happened.
A massive black wolf appeared, silent and still.
Was he a threat?
Would he attack me?
Hands trembling, I gripped my dagger and pushed myself up, legs wobbling as I faced him.
He took one look at me, then shifted–fluidly, gracefully–into a man.
When he stepped from the shadows, the dying sunlight wrapped around him like a divine omen.
In that moment, I believed in fate.
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Tall. Broad shoulders. blond hair. A pair of green eyes that could slice straight through you.
To ease my nerves, he introduced himself.
“Manfred Alvarado, futher Alpha of the Silver Claw Pack.”
I didn’t know him, but I knew of his pack.
Silver Claw–one of our Eclipse Pack’s allied packs.
Still cautious, I gave only my first name.
“Emily. I’m from Eclipse Pack.”
He shifted back into wolf form and lowered himself.
“Hop on. You’re in Silver Claw territory. If
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your people try to track your scent here, they won’t find you until next moonrise.”
he didn’t smell like a threat. So I climbed on.
He ran with the power of a seasoned Alpha -fast, smooth, effortless. And to keep me from panicking, he started talking through our link.
Said he was out picking moonflowers for his benefactor’s daughter. She had some kind of stress rash and apparently moonflower essence was a miracle cure.
How sweet. How gallant. How utterly whipped.
Somewhere along the way, lulled by his voice and the steady rhythm of his stride, I fell asleep.
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When I woke up, we were at the Eclipse border.
His jacket was draped around me.
And he stood nearby, leaning against a streetlamp, cigarette glowing between his fingers as he waited for my pack to show up. A wolf–shaped shadow keeping watch.
He didn’t say goodbye. He just nodded once, then vanished into the trees like a ghost.
I never told my family about that night.
But from that moment on, I tracked every whisper of the Silver Claw Pack. Read every article. Watched every broadcast.
