Chapter 1

1.

Vane Blackwood’s breath came in ragged gasps against my neck.

His body was coiled tight, vibrating with tension, but for once, it wasn’t out of desire.

"I need a favor," he growled, stepping back.

His golden wolf eyes flickered in the dim light, a sure sign he was on the brink of losing control.

"Drive into town. Pick up the package from Dr. Finch. I need it now."

I touched his face, worry etched into my features.

" The suppressants? I thought you still had a stash―"

"I’m out," he snapped, his jaw clenching. "Sienna, please. Before I shift and do something we’ll both regret."

Our Mating Ceremony was only three days away.

The desperation in his voice made me grab my car keys without a second thought.

That was my first mistake.

The truck on Route 9 appeared out of nowhere.

It t-boned my Jeep at the Riverside intersection with a deafening screech of metal.

I remember the smell of gasoline, the shattering glass, and then, only pain.

When I woke up, I was lying in the Blackwood family’s private clinic.

Dr. Vance told me I had been in surgery for eighteen hours.

Three broken ribs, a shattered left wrist, and a snapped tibia.

The Mating Ceremony, scheduled for the full moon in three days, was postponed.

Again.

This was the fourth time.

It took half a month before I could even drag myself out of bed.

Leaning heavily on my crutches, I hobbled into the hallway, looking for Vane.

Instead, I heard voices raised in an argument coming from the office.

"Damn it, Vane! If you don’t want to mate with Sienna, just say it!" Dr. Vance’s voice was thick with rage. "You can’t keep doing this. You’re going to kill her!"

I froze outside the door.

"The accident wasn't supposed to be that bad―" Vane started.

"Not that bad?" Vance’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.

"She’s been in the ICU three times in six months! The glass at the gala, the fire at the cinema, the rogues in the forest―do you think I’m stupid? I know you hired those wolves!"

Silence hung heavy in the air.

Then came Vane’s voice, cold as steel.

"She’ll be fine. I hire professionals. Everything is under control."

"You’re doing this for that Omega, aren't you? For Ivy," Vance spat with disdain. "You’re destroying everything with Sienna―years of friendship, our alliance with the Ashwood pack―just for a stray we took in?"

When Vane spoke again, his tone was so tender it made my blood run cold.

It was a softness he had never shown me.

"I love her, Vance. Sienna will be my mate because the treaty demands it. But Ivy... she is the one I actually want."

I leaned against the cold wall, feeling my heart turn to ice.

The "accidents."

The champagne tower shattering over me. The skin grafts from the fire. The rogue wolves tearing at my leg.

Every near-death experience, every scar, was orchestrated by him.

My wolf roared inside me, desperate to claw its way out.

I fought the urge to shift, my hands trembling as I pulled out my phone.

I dialed a number I had saved for a rainy day.

"That plan we discussed," I said, my voice terrifyingly calm. "Start the preparations."

Inside the room, the conversation continued.

"So, you’ve decided to compromise?" Vance asked.

Vane lowered his head, dark bangs shadowing his guilty eyes.

"Yes. My union with Sienna is a twenty-year-old blood pact to end the territory wars. I will go through with it."

"Six months of resistance and delays... that’s enough rebellion against this damn fate," he sounded exhausted.

Vance wanted to say more, but I couldn't listen any longer.

Like a wounded, lone wolf, I stumbled away from that hallway.