Chapter 1 – The Ruined Queen And Her Vengeful Mate

Phoebe’s POV

I bolted through the forest, my lungs burning with each desperate breath. My legs shrieked in agony, begging me to stop, but I couldn’t afford to slow down.

They were closing in. Getting caught meant certain death.

*Phoebe! Get back here!* My father’s furious voice slammed into my mind through the pack link. Beta Cameron was among my hunters, along with my stepbrother and that bastard alpha’s son.

A dozen Obsidian Claw warriors tracked me through the woods. My odds of escape? Nearly impossible. But I had to try. The pack border was within reach – I could sense it calling to me.

I pushed harder, my legs pumping as adrenaline flooded my system. The pain from thorny branches and jagged rocks tearing at my skin faded to nothing. *Moon Goddess, please,* I begged silently. *Just a little miracle.*

Almost there. Almost there. The words became my mantra.

My backpack snagged on a low branch, jerking me backward. The contents scattered across the forest floor, but I didn’t waste a second gathering them. I ripped free and kept running.

Clothes could be replaced. Freedom couldn’t.

The cruel irony wasn’t lost on me – in two days, I’d turn eighteen and finally shift. But I couldn’t wait another moment, not after what Kevin had done to me.

*You’re dead when I get my hands on you!*

My father’s snarl ripped through my thoughts, making me stumble. I tried blocking the mind link, but he was too strong. Being a beta had its advantages.

The border appeared ahead – a shallow river separating Obsidian Claw from Crimson Fang territory. I’d chosen this route because it was lightly guarded.

Just a few more steps…

I crashed through the underbrush and splashed across the river. The moment my feet hit the opposite bank, I collapsed, my chest heaving as my lungs fought for air.

Every muscle screamed, but I’d done it. I’d crossed the border.

An angry howl echoed behind me. I twisted around to see Kevin and my stepbrother Reginald shifting back to human form on the other side.

Their glares could have melted steel, but they were trapped. Crossing without permission would spark a war between the packs.

I couldn’t linger either. Crimson Fang patrols would find me soon enough, and that would bring different problems.

I needed to reach the Solitary lands to the south, then push toward human settlements.

“Get back here, Phoebe!” Reginald’s roar echoed across the water while Kevin bared his teeth, murder gleaming in his eyes.

I wanted to tell them exactly where they could shove their demands, but I had no energy left. I had to keep moving.

My body protested as I struggled to stand, ready to flee again when something slammed into me from behind. My heart stopped as Kevin’s weight pinned me to the ground.

“Think you can run from me, little wolf?” His voice was pure menace. He used his bulk to crush me into the dirt. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“You… you crossed the border,” I gasped. His knee dug into my ribs, making each breath torture.

“Yeah, so did you.” His smirk was triumphant and cruel.

Across the river, I watched my father screaming at Kevin to return before Crimson Fang warriors found them.

“Time to go home. You’ve been very naughty tonight.” Kevin’s fist tangled in my long brown hair as he stood, yanking me up with him. I couldn’t stop the scream that tore from my throat.

He didn’t give me a chance to find my footing before dragging me toward the water. My scalp burned like fire.

This was it. They’d kill me for trying to escape.

But before we reached the riverbank, a dozen Crimson Fang warriors melted from the shadows, surrounding us. Their gamma shifted to human form.

“Kevin Obsidian Claw,” Gamma Darius drawled, making each syllable deliberate. “Funny, I don’t recall giving you permission to visit our territory.” His gaze flicked to me dismissively.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Kevin replied smoothly, “but one of our pack members got a little too adventurous tonight. We caught her before she could cause your pack any trouble.”

His grip on my hair tightened until tears stung my eyes.

Gamma Darius studied me, though my tangled hair hid most of my face.

“I understand the situation, but rules are rules. There will be consequences.”

“Of course.” Kevin nodded like the perfect diplomat. “We can discuss terms later. Let me just drag this mutt back where she belongs.” He shook my head for emphasis, flashing that harmless smile. “Maybe we can grab coffee and work something out.”

“No, please… don’t send me back,” I begged the gamma, desperation cracking my voice. But he looked right through me.

Gamma Darius weighed his options before nodding curtly. “Take her and leave. I’ll discuss this incident with my alpha.” His attention shifted to the warriors across the river.

“Much appreciated.”

Phoebe’s POV

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

The brutal slap crashed across my face. I collapsed onto the frigid dungeon floor, curling into myself. No sound escaped my lips – I simply lay there and absorbed the beating, the way I always had.

“You bring nothing but trouble to this pack!”

Beta Cameron lifted his boot, preparing to drive it into me when he realized I hadn’t moved. Scowling, he crouched down and swept the tangled hair from my face.

I was breathing, alive technically, but my eyes held nothing. I gazed into the empty distance, the pain no longer registering. The sight deepened the scowl etched across the beta’s features.

“Are you listening to me?!” Cameron roared, but I didn’t even twitch. “Phoebe!”

Footsteps echoed in the dungeon as someone approached the beta. “My father wants to see you in his office,” Kevin announced, his gaze flicking to where I lay motionless on the stone floor.

Cameron exhaled heavily before rising and abandoning the dank dungeon – and me – while Kevin remained behind.

Once we were alone, Kevin dropped into a crouch. His fingers seized my chin, forcing me to meet his stare. “I promised I’d destroy your life. How dare you try to escape your punishment?”

My lifeless eyes focused when I saw Kevin, my cracked lips parting as I rasped, “I don’t know where my sister is. I’ve already told you.”

“Liar!” Kevin’s hand cracked across my face with such force I thought he’d broken my neck.

Viola was Kevin’s girlfriend. She was also my stepsister. Five years separated us, and she was three years older than Reginald.

Kevin and Viola should have been mated a year ago, but the day before their ceremony, Viola discovered her destined mate and fled with him, shattering Kevin’s heart. He’d transformed that anguish into rage, and he needed someone to blame.

I made the perfect target – the pack’s outcast, and the first person to discover Viola’s disappearance.

In Kevin’s warped mind, I must have aided Viola’s escape. The abuse had started that day.

No one dared challenge the alpha’s son, and Reginald eagerly joined Kevin’s campaign to break me, having tormented me since beta Cameron mated his mother.

“Where is she?” Kevin’s fist twisted in my shirt, tearing the fabric. He pressed his face close to mine. “You were planning to escape and meet her, weren’t you?”

“I don’t care about her. I was trying to escape your torture. This place is hell.” I tasted copper on my tongue. I couldn’t heal – I hadn’t received my wolf yet.

Shifter healing kicked in with the wolf, though some got it earlier.

---