Chapter 1

I was dead,curled up in the corner of the wrecked room.

Blood had soaked into the moon-blessed rug — the kind only High Packs could afford.

The silver-tipped needle was still sticking out of my chest, right where my heart used to beat.

I’d tried to mind-link the Pack’s healer, to scream for help.

But the silver was faster.

It lit my veins on fire, shredded my link, shredded me.

The intruder, a rogue was still here,tearing through my drawers.

Lucy, my wolf, whimpered inside me.

But the silver wasn’t done with us.

Even dead, it clung to her, making her light dimmer, weaker, like a dying ember.

Wolves poisoned by silver just... disappeared，I begging to Moon Goddess.

The mate who should’ve been here, Alpha Holden. He hadn’t come home in days.

We’d fought.

"If you can’t accept Talia joining the Pack’s medical unit, then maybe we’re done," he’d said, his voice cold.

"Call me when you’ve stopped being jealous."

He walked out that night alone.

My soul. pulled by pain and the last thread of the mate bond still wrapped tight around my spirit.

I ended up at Carter Tower — the heart of Silverclaw Pack’s power, carved out of stone and steel, blessed under a Blood Moon centuries ago.

The wards around it should’ve stopped spirits like me.

But the bond let me slip past.

Holden’s office light was still on.

The door opened, and Talia Marlowe stepped inside.

She was as perfect as ever.

Long gray coat belted tight at the waist, hair pulled into a sleek twist, not a strand out of place.

"Holden," she said, her voice warm but careful, "You should call it a night. You’re exhausted."

It was past eight.

Silverclaw custom said Alphas shouldn’t stay in their towers past moonrise — when instincts ran hotter, when it was easier to make mistakes.

I felt the air shift inside the office — the subtle flicker of dominance Holden threw off without thinking. His scent thickened, territorial, brushing over her skin in a silent warning: You’re not mine.

Not yet, anyway.

Talia smiled and crossed the room.

Even poisoned by silver, even half-gone, the bond still burned hot enough to taste the betrayal on my tongue.

Holden looked up：“I have a meeting with the western council in an hour. You should head back,” he said. “The Pack’s not falling apart.”

Talia stepping forward to tidy the documents on his desk — the ones he usually hated anyone touching.

“I’ll just organize these before I go.”

He said nothing.

Holden never let anyone near his space, not mention to touch his business files.

But she was Talia — the one who’d bailed on him to study advanced healing with the Lake Shadow Pack overseas.

Everybody said if she hadn’t left, I never would’ve stood a damn chance.

"I... I need to ask," she said, pressing two fingers hard against her temple.

"I've been getting these moon-sickness flares."

It’s obvious that’s a lie. How could the smartest young Alpha we have not know?"She swallowed, faking brave.

"Could you walk me home, Holden?"

He just slammed his file shut. He stood without a word：“Let’s go.”

All the way, Talia sat in the passenger seat, glancing over at Holden.

“Holden, I heard you haven’t been home for days. Been staying at the office?”

He seemed... irritated. The veins on the back of his hand popped up, and a low grunt escaped him.

When the car pulled up to the building,

“Holden, why don’t you come up for a drink with me? ”

Holden’s phone suddenly buzzed — a call from his assistant.

He answered with a sharp frown, the usual smooth Alpha mask cracking for a second.

“I gotta head back to the office,” he said curtly, barely sparing a glance at her. “You go ahead, I’ll be fine.”

Talia, with sugar-sweet smile, barely held back her irritation as she stepped out of the car.

But as she reached for the door, she leaned closer, “You know, Holden... you’ve been under a lot of stress. Maybe you need someone to help you relax.”Then, almost too casually, she reached over and adjusted his collar, her fingers brushing his neck.

His eyes flashing for a moment, the edges of his irises turning that familiar, dangerous yellow.His wolf was rising.

As soon as she was out of his sight, Holden slammed his fist against the steering wheel, his wolf howling in frustration.