Chapter 1 A Crown in the Shadows
The forest was silent.
Not the peaceful kind of silence that came after midnight, but a silence so deep that it felt as though the entire world had stopped breathing.
Zee stood alone beneath a silver moon.
She didn't know how she had gotten there.
One moment, she had been asleep in her room. The next, she was standing barefoot among towering trees, surrounded by thick mist that curled around her ankles.
She looked down at herself.
Her heart skipped.
She was wearing a long black gown.
The fabric flowed around her body like liquid darkness, trailing behind her as though it had a life of its own.
She raised her hands to touch her face.
Then she noticed something heavy on her head.
A crown.
Her fingers trembled as they moved over the cold metal.
It wasn't an ordinary crown.
It was black, decorated with tiny red stones that glowed faintly beneath the moonlight.
Zee stared at her reflection in a pool of water nearby.
She looked different.
Older.
Powerful.
Almost like a queen.
A sudden sound came from behind her.
Crunch.
She froze.
Another step.
Crunch.
Her breathing became shallow.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
The mist moved.
Then he appeared.
A tall man stood between the trees.
He was dressed entirely in black.
His shoulders were broad, his presence intimidating, and his dark hair fell slightly across his forehead. Even from a distance, Zee could feel his eyes fixed on her.
She couldn't see his face clearly.
Yet something about him felt familiar.
Dangerously familiar.
He slowly walked toward her.
Zee took a step backward.
"Don't come closer."
He stopped.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Then his lips curved into a faint smile.
"My Luna."
The words sent a strange shiver through Zee's body.
She stared at him.
"Luna?"
He took another step.
She wanted to run.
Her body refused to move.
He came closer until only a few steps separated them.
There was something in his eyes that frightened her.
Something that also made her heart beat faster.
"I've been looking for you," he whispered.
"I don't know you."
"You will."
His voice was deep and strangely familiar.
Zee swallowed.
"Who are you?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he continued walking toward her.
The closer he came, the stronger the strange feeling inside her became.
Her heartbeat grew louder.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
She could hear it in her ears.
He stopped directly in front of her.
He was much taller than she had imagined.
She had to lift her face to look at him.
His eyes were impossibly dark.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered.
His expression changed.
"Neither should you."
Before she could understand what he meant, he leaned closer.
Zee's breath caught.
She could feel his warm breath against her ear.
Then his voice came softly, almost like a promise.
"My Luna..."
A shiver ran through her.
"Come home to your Alpha."
Her eyes widened.
"Alpha?"
The moment he said the word, the forest changed.
The wind suddenly howled through the trees.
The red stones on her crown began to glow.
Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled.
Zee turned toward the sound.
When she looked back, the man was gone.
"Wait!"
She spun around.
Nothing.
Only the trees.
Only the mist.
Only the moon.
Then she heard footsteps behind her.
She turned.
A pair of glowing red eyes stared at her from inside the darkness.
Zee screamed.
She jolted awake.
Her eyes flew open.
She sat upright in bed, gasping for air.
Her heart hammered against her chest.
She looked around.
Her room.
Her bed.
Her curtains.
Everything was exactly where it should be.
"It was a dream."
She pressed a trembling hand against her chest.
Her nightdress was damp with sweat.
She slowly climbed out of bed and walked toward the window.
Moonlight spilled across the floor.
She stared outside.
Nothing.
Just the quiet night.
Zee sighed.
"It was only a dream."
But then something caught her attention.
She looked down.
A black feather lay beside her pillow.
Her entire body went cold.
She hadn't seen it before going to sleep.
She slowly picked it up.
The feather was unusually dark.
Almost unnaturally black.
And when she touched it, she heard a whisper.
So faint that she almost convinced herself she had imagined it.
"My Luna..."
Zee dropped the feather.
Her eyes widened.
Then, from somewhere far beyond her window, a wolf howled.
She stood completely still.
For the first time in her life, Zee wondered if some dreams were actually memories...
...and whether the stranger in hers was waiting for her to remember him.
