Elara stared at the small cupcake in front of her. One sad candle flickered in the growing darkness of her tiny cabin. Today was her eighteenth birthday, and she was celebrating alone. Again.
"Happy birthday to me," she whispered, her voice breaking the silence that had become her only friend.
The flame danced as she took a deep breath. Before blowing it out, she closed her eyes and made the same wish she'd made for the last ten years.
Please let me stop seeing her face in my dreams.
With a quick puff, the flame disappeared, leaving only a thin trail of smoke. Elara sat back and hugged her knees to her chest. The cabin felt emptier than usual tonight. The walls seemed to press in around her, a constant reminder of how far she'd fallen.
Ten years ago, she had been the daughter of an Alpha, living in a mansion with a loving family and an entire pack that adored her. Now, she was just Elara—the exiled wolf, the girl who killed her sister.
Except she hadn't killed Liora. Not really. But no one had believed her.
Elara grabbed her jacket and stepped outside. The moon hung fat and bright in the sky, not quite full but getting there. The forest around her cabin was quiet, the animals knowing better than to make noise when a wolf was near.
She walked to the edge of the small clearing and looked up at the stars. "I miss you, Li," she said softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
The water had been so cold that day. Liora's scream still echoed in her nightmares, the splash as her eight-year-old sister fell through the ice of the frozen lake. Elara had tried to reach her, had nearly drowned herself trying to find her under the ice.
They never found Liora's body. Just her small wool hat floating on the surface once the ice had melted enough.
Elara's father, the great Alpha Thorne, had looked at her with cold eyes when they'd dragged her from the lake. "You were supposed to watch her," he'd said, his voice like ice. And then, in front of the entire pack: "You are no daughter of mine."
The exile had been immediate. At just eight years old, Elara had been cast out, saved only by the kindness of Bryn, the pack healer who had secretly helped her build this cabin deep in the woods and taught her how to survive.
Elara lifted her chin, feeling the cool night air against her skin. She wouldn't cry. Not tonight. She was eighteen now—an adult in the wolf world. Old enough to find her own path.
Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over her, making her skin tingle. It started in her chest and spread outward, like an invisible hand pulling at her heart.
Elara frowned and pressed her palm against her chest. The feeling grew stronger—a tug that seemed to be pointing her toward the mountains to the north. Pack territory. Forbidden to her.
"What is this?" she murmured, turning to look at the distant peaks silhouetted against the night sky.
The pull increased, becoming almost painful. Elara took a step forward without meaning to, as if her body was responding to a call she couldn't hear. She'd never felt anything like this before. It was both frightening and exciting.
For a wild moment, she wondered if it was Liora somehow calling to her. But that was impossible. Liora was gone.
Elara hurried back inside her cabin and began packing a small bag. She didn't know what this strange feeling meant, but after ten years of the same lonely existence, any change was worth investigating.
She stuffed a change of clothes into her backpack, along with some dried meat and the hunting knife Bryn had given her years ago. As she moved around the cabin, the pull grew even stronger, making her hands shake with its intensity.
"I'm coming," she whispered to the empty air. "I don't know who you are, but I'm coming."
Elara paused at the small drawer beside her bed. Inside lay the only thing she had left from her old life—a small silver locket with a picture of her and Liora inside. She hadn't opened it in years; the sight of Liora's smiling face hurt too much. But tonight, something made her take it out and slip it around her neck.
Outside again, Elara locked her cabin door and took one last look at the only home she'd known for the past decade. The strange pull was now a constant pressure in her chest, like an invisible rope tied around her heart, tugging her northward.
"I'll be back," she told the cabin, though she wasn't sure if that was true.
Elara closed her eyes and let the change take her. Her bones shifted and cracked as her human form melted away, replaced by sleek gray fur and four powerful legs. The transformation, once painful, now felt as natural as breathing. In wolf form, the pull was even stronger, a beacon calling her to something—or someone—unknown.
With one last look at her cabin, Elara bounded into the trees, following the mysterious call. The forest opened up before her, familiar paths rushing past as she ran faster than any human could. The freedom of her wolf form never failed to thrill her—the speed, the sharp senses, the connection to the world around her.
For hours she ran, the pull growing stronger with each mile. By dawn, she had traveled further from her cabin than she had in years, approaching the borders of pack territory. She slowed, caution replacing excitement. If she was caught here, the punishment would be death. Her father's decree had been clear: step one paw onto pack land, and any wolf had the right to kill her on sight.
Elara shifted back to human form, crouching behind a large boulder at the edge of a stream that marked the boundary. The pull was now so strong it made her dizzy. Whatever was calling her lay just beyond this border.
"This is crazy," she whispered to herself. "What am I doing?"
But even as she questioned herself, she knew she would cross. Ten years of loneliness had left a hole inside her that nothing could fill. This strange new feeling, whatever it was, promised something different—something worth risking everything for.
With a deep breath, Elara stepped into the stream. The cold water swirled around her ankles as she carefully moved forward, heart pounding. As she reached the middle—the exact border between her exile and her old home—the pull suddenly vanished, replaced by a warm sensation that spread throughout her body.
Elara gasped, nearly losing her balance in the rushing water. The feeling wasn't painful anymore, but calm and certain, like finally finding something she hadn't known she was looking for.
Just as her foot touched the far bank—officially entering pack territory for the first time in a decade—a twig snapped in the trees ahead. Elara froze, her eyes scanning the forest.
A low growl reached her ears, and her blood turned to ice as a massive black wolf stepped out from behind a tree. Not just any wolf. An Alpha, bigger than any she had ever seen, with eyes that glowed like amber fire in the morning light.
The wolf stared at her, power radiating from every inch of its massive frame. Then it did something unexpected—it tilted its head, as if confused by her presence.
The warm feeling in Elara's chest exploded into something new and terrifying—a connection that seemed to reach directly from her to the huge black wolf. In that moment, she knew her life would never be the same.
Before she could react, more wolves emerged from the trees, surrounding her. The black wolf shifted, transforming into the most intimidating man Elara had ever seen. Tall and muscular, with those same amber eyes that seemed to look straight through her.
"You," he said, his deep voice sending shivers down her spine. "Who are you, and why do you feel like..."
He didn't finish his question, but Elara felt the rest of it hanging in the air between them. Why do you feel like you're mine?
The other wolves circled closer, growling at the intruder. But Elara couldn't take her eyes off the man in front of her. The strange connection between them hummed like electricity.
"My name is Elara," she said, lifting her chin despite her fear. "And I don't know why I'm here. Something...called me."
Recognition flashed in the man's eyes, followed by shock. "Elara? The exiled daughter of Alpha Thorne?"
Elara stiffened, waiting for the death sentence she was sure would follow. Instead, the man stepped closer, his face a mask of conflicting emotions.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked, his voice quieter now.
Elara shook her head.
"I am Kaelen, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack." His eyes never left hers as he spoke his next words. "And I believe you are my fated mate."