Two years ago, the scent of fresh rain and damp earth hung heavy in the air, clinging to the ancient trees that ringed our pack lands. I remember the weight of the rules, a comforting mantra in my mind: Wait for your mate. Don't flirt. Don't date. Don't fall for anyone but your one true love. It was a simple truth, one I’d embraced since my first shift.

But that evening, as the moon climbed higher, casting silver shadows through the leaves, something shifted. A new scent, sharper and more dominant than any I'd known, drifted on the breeze. It spoke of raw power, of destiny, and of something utterly forbidden. It was the scent of a future alpha, a man I knew instinctively was off-limits, yet who pulled at me with an undeniable force.

My heart, usually so steady, began to beat a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I knew then that the rule book, the one I’d followed so faithfully, was about to be challenged in ways I could never have imagined.