"Mate," my wolf spoke loudly in my mind. 
The smell hit me first. A smoky cedarwood, dark and heavy. My body reacted before my head even had a chance to process what was going on, and then I saw him.
Alpha Elias Beaumont. He was tall, and handsome. His full dark hair made me feel bald and emerald eyes were sharper than the edge of a knife. 
He stole the moment. The rest of the world went into oblivion.
He was mine.
I took one step closer and he retreated.
The earth beneath my feet could have turned to liquid, it was that soft.
Elias's face impossible to decipher, his jaw shut tight, his eyes burning with some feeling I had no notion how to classify.
My wolf yelped in agony, but I held strong, muzzling my own breath into a level plane, waiting…waiting for him to speak.
He felt it just like I did. I moved towards him, but he stopped me with his hand. "Don't," he warned. 
And then, his words, individually like a blade, cutting through me.
"I, Alpha Elias Beaumont of the Artemis Pack, deny you, Amara Kings, as my mate."
~
For eighteen years, Amara Kings has been nothing more than a ghost—a forgotten heir locked away in secrecy. On the night of her long-awaited debut, she senses her fated mate among the guests. But her dreams of love and freedom shatter when Alpha Elias Beaumont, the man destined to be hers, publicly rejects her and claims her sister, Kamla, instead.  
Betrayed and heartbroken, Amara swears Kamla will not get away with her deception. But when Kamla is found murdered that same night, all eyes turn to Amara. Branded a jealous killer, she is thrown into a nightmare of torture and humiliation at the hands of the mate who once denied her.  
But Amara is no ordinary wolf. As darkness rises and buried secrets unravel, she discovers a power within her that could reshape the entire werewolf world—or destroy it. With enemies lurking in the shadows, an obsessed Alpha vying for her heart, and Elias desperate for redemption, Amara must decide: will she seek vengeance, claim her rightful place, or carve a new destiny of her own?  
The truth was never meant to come to light. But now that it has, the world will never be the same.

"Ten years," I said, the nickname hitting like a memory, us racing bikes, stealing cookies from her kitchen. "You dropped off the map, Viv. I looked for you."


She pushed her glass away, turning to face me fully. "You actually looked for me? Why?"


"Because you mattered," I said simply. "One day you were there, the next... nothing. Your dad wouldn't talk about it. Said you ran off."


Her face tightened, and she took a swig of whiskey. "Had to. After Bella… things got bad."


I nodded, leaning closer to hear over the bar's din. "I heard about the pool. I'm sorry."


"Yeah, well," she muttered, staring at her glass. "Sorry doesn't fix it."


The bartender, a guy with a beard and a bored look, slid another beer my way. "On the house," he said. "You two look like you need it."


"Thanks," I said, pushing it toward Vivian. "You want this? Looks like you're running low."


Chapter 72 - Chapter