Chapter 1 The man In The Rain
No, I choose Sienna he said, those words lives rent free in her head.
Rain poured over mystic drops like the town owed a debt to the sky that's yet to be paid, Lila stood behind the bar, cleaning a glass that didn’t need cleaning. The air was thick with perfume and heat and the sharp bite of alcohol. She breathed it in like armor.
To everyone here, she was just the owner of the best nightclub in Mystic Drops, no one knew her real name. No one asked about her old life, the pack she’d left, or the mate who had broken her heart.That was what she liked about it. Secrets stayed secret.
It had been three years since that night, the Moon Ceremony that was supposed to mark the start of her future.
Three years when Lila’s fingers trembled as she fixed the lace at her wrist.
The whole pack had gathered beneath the Moonlight Arch. The scent of pine mixed with smoke and sweat. Every eye was on the two people standing in the circle her and Damon Steele.
He looked like a story the moon had written itself, tall, broad-shouldered, jaw tight enough to crack stone. His black ceremonial coat caught the light like oil.
“Lila Grey,” the Elder called, his voice deep and calm. “Step forward, child.”
Her heart moved before her legs did. The crowd parted. Her white dress brushed against the damp grass. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled, and the sound felt like goodbye.
When she stopped in front of Damon, he still wouldn’t look at her.
The Elder’s tone softened. “Damon Steele, Beta of the Iron Fang Pack. The bond between your souls was written by the moon. Do you accept Lila Grey as your mate and Luna?”
Silence.
Then Damon spoke. His voice was flat. “I don’t.”
It didn’t click at first. Lila blinked, certain she’d heard wrong.
“I’ve found my true mate,” he said.
The world tilted. Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Someone gasped her name.
Lila took a step forward, eyes wide. “Damon, what are you"
“She’s right here.”
The crowd shifted, revealing a figure stepping out of the line of pack members. Sienna. Her sister.
Lila’s mouth went dry. Sienna’s golden hair caught the moonlight like fire. She smiled that slow, perfect smile that had always gotten her what she wanted.
Lila’s stomach turned. “Sienna, please don’t"
“The moon doesn’t make mistakes,” Sienna said and smiled mischievously.
Lila looked back at Damon, but there was nothing human left in his eyes. Only cold resolve.
Her throat burned, but she forced her voice steady. “Then may the moon bless your choice.”
It came out small but sharp, and the stillness that followed was heavier than any scream.
She turned before they could see her break. The sound of laughter trailed her out of the clearing. Someone called her name. She didn’t stop. Her nails dug into her palms until blood filled the lines of her hands.
When she reached the tree line, the drums had faded.
And by the time she reached the river, Lila Grey no longer existed.
The woman who kept walking was quieter, colder, nameless.
"Boss there's another fight" those were the words that brought her back to reality
You said what? She asked; Another fight by the pool table,” Rye her bartender best friend said, sliding up beside her. His blond hair was a mess, his grin lazy. “You want me to handle it or keep pretending I’m just the pretty face?”
“I’ll go,” she said.
She walked through the crowd drunk in their own mess, two men were squared off near the back, shoulders tense, eyes flashing gold under the twitching lights.
“Take it outside,” she said quietly. "You know the rules not here".
One of them laughed. “You don’t give orders here.”
The other one added. "You gonna stop me, human?"
Lila’s gaze didn’t move. “You want to test that theory?”
The man hesitated. Something in her voice, in her eyes maybe, made him step back.They left muttering, shoving each other toward the door.
Rye joined her again, raising a brow with half a grin “You scare people.”
“That’s the point,” she said.
She headed back to the bar, but hands trembled when she reached for another glass. Her wolf still stirred at the scent of aggression, even when she tried to bury it. Some things couldn’t be trained out.
Outside, thunder cracked across the sky. The lights inside flickered. For a heartbeat, everything froze music, laughter, movement. Then it all rushed back, louder than before.
Lila glanced at the clock above the bar. Midnight.
The door opened.
That was when he walked in. A man stepped through, tall and still, the kind of presence that didn’t ask for attention but drew it anyway. His coat was soaked, his hair slicked back with rain.
Lila’s breath paused without permission. Something about him the way he carried silence like a weapon set her nerves on edge.
He reached the bar and spoke in a voice low enough that she felt it in her chest. “Whiskey. Straight.”
She poured without a word and slid the glass toward him. Their fingers brushed for a second.
The air around her shifted. Heat crawled up her arm, spreading across her skin like fire under ice. Her pulse was on pause.She could feel the mark at the base of her neck, the one that had burned out the night Damon rejected her; grow warm.
His eyes flicked to her neck, confusion crossing his face, his eye brow coming raised and eyes quint. He looked like a man trying to remember a dream that kept slipping away.
First time in Mystic Drops?” she asked.
He nodded. “Passing through.”
Rye appeared, grinning. “You picked a good night for it. The whole town’s half drunk.”
The man barely glanced his way. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Before Lila could ask more, shouting came from near the door. A group of men stumbled in, rougher than the usual crowd. Rogues. Lila recognized the look; desperate, hungry, dangerous and by the way one of them looked at her, she knew they weren’t here by accident. One of them spotted her and froze.
“Lila Grey,” he said.
Her blood went cold. No one here knew that name.
The stranger beside her stiffened. “What did you call her?”
The rogue’s lips curled. “Didn’t know the Alpha’s reject ran her own club now.”
The entire bar went silent. Even the music seemed to stop.
Lila’s heart hammered. She could taste the metallic fear on her tongue, but her voice came out calm. “You’ve got the wrong girl.”
The rogue laughed. “Do I?”
Before Lila could react, the stranger moved faster than she thought possible. One smooth motion, a blur of strength. He caught the rogue’s wrist midair, twisted, and slammed him against the bar with a thud that shook the glasses.
The rogue’s snarl turned into a cry of pain.
“Apologize,” the man said, voice steady, quiet, terrifying.
The rogue did. Quickly.
The man released him. “Get out.”
They ran, leaving the door swinging open behind them.
Lila looked at the stranger. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He met her eyes. “Yes, I did.”
