Mira’s POV

“Didn’t your parents tell you?” Elder Eden’s voice carried a strange calmness, the kind that only made my heart beat faster.

I blinked at her, confused. “Tell me… what?”

She and Elder Alex exchanged a look. Even Alpha Sirius, who had been leaning casually against the window frame, straightened at her words. The air in the room seemed to tighten.

Elder Eden folded her hands on the table. “Mira, your father, Neil Delaine Moonriver, he was a good man. But he made choices that defied our pack’s laws. You said he died of a mysterious illness, yes?”

I nodded slowly. “That’s what my mother told me. He was only twenty-five.”

Elder Alex sighed deeply, his tone firm but not unkind. “He didn’t die of illness. He died because he broke the Moonriver curse.”

My brows furrowed. “Curse?”

Eden nodded. “A curse placed on our bloodline generations ago by the witches of the Northern Coven. A witch swore vengeance and bound our family to a scroll. Since then, every firstborn of the Moonriver Alpha’s line must marry whomever that ancient scroll decrees. If they refuse, the curse takes their life on their twenty-fifth’s birthday.”

I stared at them, unable to speak for a moment. “That’s impossible.”

Alex’s eyes were grave. “We’ve buried too many to call it a superstition.”

Eden continued, her tone quiet but steady. “Your grandfather’s brother died at twenty-five. So did your father’s cousin. And then, your father himself. He refused to honor the scroll and marry the heir of Thorndike Pack. Instead, he chose your mother.”

The room felt smaller, as if the walls were closing in. “So you’re saying he died because he married my mother?”

“Yes,” Eden said softly. “He broke the pact. And the curse never forgets.”

I swallowed hard. My mother’s face flashed in my mind, her soft smile, her tired eyes, the way she used to hum to me at night. All this time, I thought my father’s death was a tragedy of fate, not punishment.

Elder Alex’s gaze met mine. “You are his only child, Mira. The curse follows blood, not distance. Which means it rests upon you now.”

I froze. My breath caught in my throat. “Me?”

“You are the daughter of Neil Delaine Moonriver,” he said. “And as his first and only offspring, the curse demands your obedience to the scroll.”

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. “You mean… if I don’t marry whoever that scroll dictates, I’ll die?”

Eden nodded once. “Yes. The moment you turn twenty-five.”

That afternoon, they came for me again—Alpha Sirius, Elder Alex, and Elder Eden. Their expressions were solemn, their footsteps echoing down the long corridor that led beneath the pack mansion. I followed them, unsure whether I was walking toward truth or doom.

The air grew colder as we descended. Torches flickered along the stone walls, casting long shadows. At the end of the tunnel stood a heavy steel door guarded by two sentries. Elder Alex pressed his palm to a carved emblem on the wall, and the door clicked open with a low hum.

Inside was a circular chamber illuminated by moonlight pouring from a narrow opening in the ceiling. In the center rested a stone pedestal, and on it lay a rolled parchment sealed with an old silver sigil.

“This is it,” Elder Eden said quietly. “The ancient scroll of the Moonriver line.”

I stepped closer. The air around it seemed to shimmer faintly, as if something unseen pulsed from within.

“Place your hand on it,” Elder Alex instructed. “The scroll responds to blood. It will reveal the pack your bond is tied to.”

I hesitated. “And if I don’t?”

He met my gaze. “Then you tempt the same fate your father did.”

For a moment, I stood there frozen. My mother’s voice echoed faintly in my head: He died of illness.

No—he died of a curse. A curse he chose by loving her.

My hand trembled as I reached out. The parchment was warm to the touch, almost alive. The moment my skin brushed its surface, silver light burst from the sigil, swirling around the chamber. The symbols began to rearrange, glowing brighter and brighter until a single name burned in the air before me.

THORNDIKE PACK.

I took a step back, heart pounding. “Thorndike,” I whispered. “The same pack my father was supposed to marry into.”

Elder Eden’s eyes closed briefly, as if she’d been expecting it. “It seems the curse hasn’t changed its mind.”

Elder Alex nodded grimly. “The witches bound our bloodline tightly. Since Neil Delaine defied his fate, the curse passed to you. The only way to survive beyond twenty-five is to fulfill what he did not, to marry into the Thorndike Pack.”

I felt a surge of panic. “But I don’t even know them. I don’t want to marry anyone. I just came here for justice, for my mother.”

Eden’s expression softened. “I understand, child. But vengeance is meaningless if you’re dead.”

Her words struck deep. I thought of my mother again, of how she lived her whole life in fear, alone, raising me with nothing but faith. If I died at twenty-five, everything she’d endured, everything I’d survived, would mean nothing.

“I want to live,” I said finally. My voice came out steady. “If marrying into Thorndike Pack is what it takes, then so be it. I’ll do it.”

Elder Alex nodded once, solemnly. “Then the curse will spare you. You’ve chosen life.”

Alpha Sirius, who had remained silent throughout most of it, finally spoke. “Very well,” he said. “I’ll contact the Alpha of Thorndike Pack myself. They’ll be informed of the scroll’s decree.”

Mira’s POV

I never imagined fate would move this quickly.

Alpha Sirius had barely sent a raven to the Thorndike Pack when word came that their Alpha himself had responded—swiftly, decisively, almost as if he had been waiting. I didn’t know what to feel: fear, disbelief, or something colder and sharper curling in my chest.

“Thorndike doesn’t delay matters concerning the scroll,” Alpha Sirius told me that morning, his tone as cool as ever. “No pack dares to ignore it. Everyone in the capital knows the price of defiance.”

The price of defiance. My father’s life was proof of that.

Two days. That was all the time I had spent in Moonriver Pack, the pack of my blood. I had arrived as a stranger, and I was leaving the same way. I packed my meager belongings—a few clothes, a photo of my mother, and the Moonriver crest Elder Eden insisted I wear on my cloak.

When Elder Eden came to see me off, she rested her frail hand over mine. “Remember, child, whatever awaits you there, endure it. And live.”

Her words lingered like a prayer.

Alpha Sirius stood beside the waiting car, a sleek, black limousine with tinted glass and the Moonriver crest embossed on its door. “Thorndike’s messengers will be expecting you before sundown,” he said. “They sent their own escort to ensure your arrival.”

I nodded silently. We weren’t family in the emotional sense, just bound by blood and obligation. Still, I gave him a small bow. “Thank you, Alpha Sirius. For… everything.”

He regarded me with an unreadable expression. “Be careful, Mira. Thorndike Pack is powerful. And their Alpha…” He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. “Their Alpha is not easily understood.”

I didn’t ask what he meant. I simply stepped into the car, my heart thudding with a mix of dread and determination.

The journey to Thorndike territory felt endless. Outside the window, the landscape shifted from open fields to dense forests and finally to wide, paved roads lined with towering black pines. The further we drove, the stronger the aura of dominance became. Even my wolf stirred uneasily in the back of my mind, restless but alert.

“Do you feel that?” she whispered.

Yes. The energy in the air was unlike anything I’d sensed before. It was heavy, ancient, and undeniably powerful, like walking into the presence of royalty.

By the time the limousine crossed the high, wrought-iron gates bearing the Thorndike crest, a crescent moon entwined with silver thorns, I understood what Elder Eden meant when she said they were once the royal wolves. The guards stood in perfect formation, their uniforms pristine, their eyes sharp and disciplined. Every inch of the territory screamed wealth and authority.

The streets were lined with stone villas, fountains shaped like wolves howling toward the sky, and lanterns carved from moonstone. Even the air smelled different, cleaner, laced with faint traces of cedar and silverleaf.

I swallowed hard, clutching my bag. “So this… is Thorndike Pack.”

When the car stopped before a grand mansion, I could only stare. The pack mansion was more of a palace, its marble walls gleaming under the sun. Wide staircases led up to massive silver doors adorned with ancient runes. Guards flanked every side, their eyes following me as the driver opened my door.

“Miss Mira Delaine Moonriver,” one of them announced, his voice echoing.

I stepped out, trying not to let my nerves show. Still, my palms felt cold.

A maid hurried forward, bowing slightly. “Welcome, Miss Moonriver. The Alpha has been informed of your arrival. Please, follow me.”

I nodded, forcing my feet to move. Each step up the marble stairs felt heavier than the last. My wolf was pacing now, her claws scraping at the edges of my mind.

Something’s wrong, she murmured. My chest feels—tight.

I frowned slightly. It’s probably the nerves.

But the moment I crossed the threshold of the mansion, everything changed.

The air shifted. It was faint at first—a strange pressure, like static crawling over my skin. Then came the scent. Powerful. Intoxicating. My breath hitched before I even realized I was breathing it in—cedarwood, smoke, and something darker that coiled through my veins like wildfire.

My heart began to pound uncontrollably. My vision blurred. My knees wobbled. I clutched the edge of a nearby pillar to steady myself as a sharp pain lanced through my temples.

“What’s happening to me…” I gasped.

The maid turned in alarm. “Miss?”

I could barely hear her. My wolf’s voice cut through the noise, fierce and trembling.

Mate.

The word hit me like a thunderclap.

No. That couldn’t be. I wasn’t supposed to—

Before I could even finish the thought, a ripple of energy swept through the hall. Every head turned toward the grand staircase.

And then I saw him.

He was descending the steps with slow, deliberate strides. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Power radiated off him in waves, so strong the air seemed to bend around him. His hair was dark, his eyes an intense gray that flickered almost silver under the chandelier light. Every movement spoke of authority—effortless, lethal, commanding.

When his gaze met mine, the world stilled.

I couldn’t breathe. My wolf whimpered in recognition.

He stopped at the last step, his eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to make sense of what he was feeling. For a heartbeat, neither of us spoke. It was as if the universe itself had gone silent.

“Alpha Lucas,” the maid whispered, bowing her head.

The name tore through me like lightning. Alpha Lucas Thorndike. The current Alpha. The man I was bound by curse to marry.