The Harvested Mate

lled my thin blanket tighter around my shoulders, watching my breath turn to frost in the dim light of dawn. Today was my eighteenth birthday. In a

of the Bloodmoon territory,

low

wooden bucket in my hands. That wasn't just any pack member. That was Brenna, one of the seni

air that made me shiver down to my bones. Brenna stood there in heavy leather armo

snapped, crossing her arms

ut raspy and small. "I haven't finished h

l so hard it tipped over, spilling icy water across the packed dirt floor.

gainst my ribs. "The Alpha? Darius? Wh

idiot," Brenna spat, her lips

scent straight to this frozen wasteland. Now clean the mud off your fa

arius Blackthorn. He was ruthless, powerful, and utterly intolerant of weakness. The thought of

hispered, backing away until my

abbing my arm in a bruising grip and hauling me towar

As we reached the edge of the camp, the whispers started. Dozens of pack members had gathered in the snow, their breath pluming in the freezing air, their eyes sh

hen I

less, terrifying authority that made every lesser wolf bow their head. His dark hair blew slightly in the wind, and his eyes the piercing amber of a

at I stumbled, catching myself on my han

was absolute. You could hear the wind how

. My chest rose and fell in shallow, panicked breaths. I kept my gaze fixed

the cold air like a razor. It was deep,

the side. "The scent trails and the birth records confirm

ight of his presence pressed down on my shoulders, making it hard to breathe. A heavy, mu

me," Dariu

ly raised my chin, forcin

a hard, unforgiving line. But as his amber eyes locked onto mine, the dark confidence in his expression shifted. The he

s flared as he drank in my scent, and his wolf stirred benea

reality

, and straight into my eyes, searching for the answering amber glow of a

es staring back at him. No wolf. No power. Jus

The brief spark of mate-bond hunger died instantly, replaced by a dark, vi

across the silent clearing like a death sentence. "The Moon

rembling violently as humiliation burned hot tears d

roared, the sound v

ting knife from the sheath at his hip. The steel

g rising in waves. Even his elite guards sh

hand. Bright, crimson blood welled up instantly, spilling over his life-line. The sacred mate bond the ancient,

houted, his voice echoing

ut, lifting a ha

the Bloodmoon Pack, sever this

s life-force bleed directly into the dirt, effectively draining and killing the sacred bond before it could take root. Th

oughly on his trousers. "A broken parasite has no place in the Bloodmoon P

rough the freezing slush as the pack watched in cold silence. Darius turned his broad

o burn from the inside out with a terrifying, blin