Chapter 1 The Reluctant Bride

Deborah’s POV

The Council chamber smelled of old, musty stone and held secrets from long ago.

Deborah Parker stood before the curved table where the seven Elders sat, judging her. Their faces showed the effects of years of tough politics and lies.

She acted like a leader, even though she wanted to run.

"You can't be serious," she said, her voice steady. Elder Thorne, the man who had raised her, avoided her gaze.

The other six Elders watched her with a mix of sympathy and cold calculation. Deborah wanted to wipe the smug look off one of their faces.

"Is this how you repay my years of service?" she asked. Finally, Elder Thorne looked at her, and she saw real regret in his face. "You are being asked to fulfill your duty to the pack."

"And what is my duty to this stranger? This...outsider you've brought in?" she asked. "Erick Olsen isn't just anyone, is he?" Elder Morgana said, her silver hair shining in the torchlight.

"He's from the Western territories. His family line, while...unusual...is useful to us."

"Useful for what?" Deborah moved forward, her palms feeling warm.

Elder Castellan looked at her hands, then at her face.

"What aren't you telling me? The Northern Alliance is getting impatient, Elder Thorne."

She laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "How does this solve anything?"

"The prophecy..." Elder Morgana started to say, but Elder Thorne cut her off with a sharp look.

"You'll understand the wisdom of this in time."

"Wisdom?" she repeated. "You mean you're afraid of losing power to the Northern packs."

"The future of Ravenswood and all the packs that look to us for leadership is at stake," Elder Castellan said, his voice becoming firm. "Your feelings are less important than the survival of our species."

So, after everything, she was just a tool, a womb to carry the next generation, a woman whose opinions didn't matter as much as the Council's plan.

"When do I meet him?" she asked, hating how weak her voice sounded.

Deborah turned and walked towards the door, her red hair swinging like a curtain of fire. "I wouldn't want to miss the formalities." She stopped, but didn't turn around.

"This isn't the end." She couldn't trust anyone, especially in a world where her upbringing was shaping her future just like the stock market shapes stock prices.

Deborah leaned against the cold stone wall and touched it. She felt the anger, the despair, the loneliness that had been with her since childhood.

Found as a baby, she was always different from the others; she never fit in, not even with a hundred people.

She looked down and saw a faint silver sparkle on her skin, the power that set her apart.

She shoved her hands into her pockets, and every step towards her room felt like a walk to her execution.

Erick’s POV

Erick stood in a small room connected to the main hall of the Ravenswood pack's house. Wolves surrounded him, watching him closely, as if they expected him to run away any second.

The Beta, Maya, had introduced herself ten minutes earlier with a handshake that felt like it crushed his bones and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"She won't hurt you," someone said.

For the past ten years, Erick had been disappearing, moving from town to town, never staying long enough for anyone to ask about the strange golden light that sometimes appeared around his hands when he wasn't careful.

He avoided making friends, never settling down. Now, the Council of Elders had found him and given him something he'd never had before: a home.

Erick's first impression of Deborah Parker was that she was like fire.

She was strong, almost as tall as he, with the fit body of someone who trained hard as a fighter for many years.

She stopped a few feet away and looked him up and down with clear dislike.

"You're the wanderer," she said.

He held out his hand. "Erick Olsen," he said. "Nice to meet you."

Erick slowly lowered his hand, not wanting to show how much her rejection stung. He expected resistance, but her meanness surprised him.

"I understand," he said softly.

To smile and pretend I'm happy to be given to a stranger?

Deborah's voice rose, and Erick sensed something moving near her.

A strange heat, not from temperature. "I am the Alpha of Ravenswood."

"I don't want to take anything from you, I promise," Erick said.

Deborah spat out the word like a curse. "The Council."

"The Council can go to hell."

The ceremony had to start before sunset.

The room where the ceremony took place was round, lit by torches that cast dancing shadows on the walls, where ancient symbols were carved.

Looking towards the moon and the names of their past people, Elder Thorne gave a speech that followed a set pattern.

He glanced at Deborah, who was staring straight ahead, her face a mask of barely controlled anger.

Silver light shot out of Deborah's hand, and Erick had to squint.

His own hand reacted, and golden light poured out of his palm to match her silver.

Where the two lights met, reality seemed to shake and bend.

The light grew brighter, and Erick felt something click into place in his chest.

The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and they were left standing in the suddenly dim room, still touching, still connected by something neither of them understood.

Deborah pulled her hand back and stumbled away, looking at him as if he'd grown another head.

"What did you do?" she asked, her voice shaking. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Erick said, looking down at his own hand.

"The binding is complete," Elder Thorne announced, his voice full of wonder and maybe even fear.

"The ceremony can continue."

She ran out of the room, leaving Erick standing before the Council, his hand still tingling from her touch, his mind filled with questions he didn't know how to ask.

Erick looked at his hand again, at the faint golden glow that flickered, flickered, and died.

He heard something in the distance that sounded like a wolf howling.

He was sure she was speaking the truth.