Chosen by the CEO

*Chapter 1: Shattered Trust*

The cold rain of the Northern Territories didn't wash away the scent of betrayal; it only made it cling to Ava's skin like a second layer of grief. Standing at the edge of the Silver Moon border, she watched the lights of the pack house flicker in the distance.

​Only an hour ago, Lucas -the man she'd spent her life preparing to lead beside-had stood before the Council and claimed she was "unfit" to be a Luna. He hadn't mentioned the other woman, a high-ranking daughter from a neighboring pack, or the political alliance her father offered. He had simply looked Ava in the eye, his gaze cold and unfamiliar, and severed their bond as if it were nothing more than a frayed thread.

Ava's eyes still burned from the tears she'd cried. The memory of Lucas's laughter, the pack leader's son, echoed in her mind like a cruel joke. How could he have done this to her? They were mates, meant to be each other's everything. But it turned out he was just a master manipulator, using her to further his own ambitions.

The forest floor was damp beneath her paws as she ran, the moon casting shadows through the trees. Ava didn't know where she was going; she just knew she had to get away. Away from the pack, away from Lucas, away from the pain.

​ You're trespassing, Little Wolf."

​The voice didn't come from the woods behind her, but from the shadows directly to her left. Ava didn't flinch. She was too numb for fear.

​Out of the darkness emerged a figure that made the air itself feel heavy. Kazeem, the Alpha King, was a legend whispered in warnings to disobedient pups. He was taller than Jaxson, his shoulders broader, and his presence carried the weight of a mountain range. He wore charcoal tactical gear, looking less like royalty and more like a predator mid-hunt.

​"The Silver Moon doesn't want me," Ava said, her voice raspy from the scream she'd suppressed in the Council room. "So technically, I'm not trespassing. I'm just... leaving."

​Kazeem stepped into the faint moonlight. His eyes weren't the standard gold or blue of a common werewolf; they were a deep, piercing amber that seemed to track the very beat of her heart.

​"Leaving is a choice," Kazeem countered, his voice a smooth, dangerous velvet. "Being hunted is a circumstance. Your former Alpha's son has already sent a scouting party to 'escort' you to the border. They aren't carrying flowers, Ava."