Chapter 1
Chapter One
The Girl Meant to Be Claimed
The first thing Starlyn noticed was the suffocating weight of silk.
Layers of white fabric draped over her body like chains, stitched with silver thread and moonstone beads that caught every flicker of candlelight in her bedroom. The gown was beautiful in the same way a cage could be beautiful—ornate, delicate, and impossible to ignore.
It was too tight around her ribs.
Too heavy at her hips.
Too permanent.
“Stand still,” one of the attendants hissed, tugging the back of her corset tighter.
Starlyn winced.
Her fox ears flattened instinctively against the soft waves of her auburn hair, and her fluffy tail twitched with irritation beneath the layered skirts. The attendants pretended not to notice. No one ever acknowledged her more animalistic traits unless it was to criticize them.
“A future princess shouldn’t fidget.”
Starlyn bit back a sharp response.
She stared at herself in the mirror instead.
The girl staring back barely looked real.
Her golden-brown eyes—normally warm, bright, and curious—looked dulled by exhaustion. A silver chain rested delicately around her throat, holding the ceremonial pendant that marked her as promised property of the Northern Crown.
Promised.
Such an ugly word.
Tonight, by moonrise, she would be officially bonded to Prince Kael.
Alpha. Heir to the Northern Kingdom. Political weapon disguised as royalty.
And, if the rumors were true, absolutely brutal.
A shiver ran down her spine.
Not from cold.
From instinct.
Fox breeds were naturally sensitive to danger. Her mother used to call it a gift, brushing soft fingers through her hair while telling her to trust what her body knew before her mind could catch up.
Right now, every nerve in Starlyn’s body was screaming.
Run.
Her claws—small and subtle, more elegant than threatening—pressed lightly into her palms.
She inhaled slowly.
Exhaled.
This marriage wasn’t about love. Or even compatibility.
It was a transaction.
An omega daughter traded for military alliance, wealth, and peace between kingdoms.
Her life in one neat arrangement.
A knock sounded at the door.
Every attendant straightened immediately.
The room fell silent.
“Enter,” one of them called.
The doors opened.
Starlyn’s breath caught.
Her father stepped inside first, dressed in formal black and silver, his face carved from stone as always. Behind him came two royal guards.
And then—
Prince Kael.
He was taller than she imagined.
Broad shoulders wrapped in dark ceremonial armor lined with fur, black hair falling slightly into sharp gray eyes that scanned the room with practiced boredom.
He looked less like a prince and more like a war someone had dressed in jewels.
Every omega instinct inside Starlyn recoiled.
Alpha.
Powerful. Predatory. Wrong.
Kael’s gaze settled on her.
Not warm.
Not cruel, either.
Just assessing.
Like she was another political asset to inspect before signing paperwork.
Wonderful.
Her tail puffed slightly beneath the gown before she forced it still.
“Leave us,” her father ordered.
The attendants scattered from the room so quickly it almost made Starlyn laugh.
Cowards.
Now it was just the four of them.
Her father approached first, adjusting the pendant at her throat with cold precision.
“You will behave tonight.”
Not a request.
Not even advice.
A command.
Starlyn forced a small nod.
“Yes, Father.”
“Do not embarrass this family.”
She swallowed.
As if there was any room left for her to make choices embarrassing enough to matter.
Her father stepped away.
Prince Kael finally moved closer.
Up close, his scent was cedarwood, frost, and something metallic beneath it all—like blood on steel.
Not comforting.
Not even remotely.
He studied her face.
“You look terrified.”
The bluntness startled her.
Starlyn blinked.
“You’re very observant.”
For half a second, something almost like amusement flickered in his expression.
Almost.
“This marriage isn’t ideal for either of us,” Kael said quietly, voice low enough that only she could hear. “But if you do as expected, your life in the North will be tolerable.”
Tolerable.
How romantic.
Starlyn stared at him.
“I’m honored by your generosity, Your Highness.”
That earned her the faintest narrowing of his eyes.
Good.
Let him know she wasn’t entirely breakable.
Before he could respond, a loud bell rang from somewhere beyond the palace walls.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The ceremony summons.
Her stomach dropped.
It was time.
A guard stepped forward. “The moon is rising.”
Of course it was.
The universe had impeccable timing.
Her father extended an arm.
Starlyn stared at it like it belonged to an executioner.
Which, in a way, it did.
With numb fingers, she placed her hand atop his sleeve.
Her pulse thundered.
She could feel it already—the invisible tightening of fate around her throat.
One more hallway.
One more staircase.
One more ceremony.
And her life would no longer belong to her.
The palace doors opened.
Cold night air spilled inside.
Moonlight bathed the grand staircase leading down toward the bond altar in the courtyard below, where nobles and royals gathered beneath silver banners.
A hundred eyes turned upward.
Toward her.
Starlyn’s throat tightened.
Her fox ears flattened again.
No.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
That instinctive warning sharpened into a blade inside her chest.
Run.
Now.
Her breath hitched.
Then—
A scream tore through the courtyard.
Not elegant.
Not ceremonial.
Raw.
Violent.
Bloodcurdling.
Gasps erupted below.
The crowd scattered as something crashed through stained glass high above the altar.
Glass rained down like glittering knives.
A body hit the marble.
Then another.
Then chaos exploded.
Someone shouted.
“INTRUDERS!”
Another scream.
This one cut short.
Starlyn froze at the top of the staircase, heart slamming violently against her ribs as dark figures dropped from the shattered ceiling into the moonlit courtyard below.
Not guards.
Not assassins.
Something worse.
Black-cloaked figures moved with unnatural speed, fangs flashing beneath moonlight.
Vampires.
Her blood ran cold.
And standing in the center of the chaos—
Untouched by the screaming crowd and pooling blood—
was a man dressed entirely in black.
No armor.
No crown.
No visible weapon.
Just pale skin, dark eyes, and a smile far too calm for the violence unraveling around him.
His gaze lifted.
Straight to her.
Like he’d known exactly where to find her.
Starlyn forgot how to breathe.
The stranger tilted his head.
Slowly.
Curiously.
As if seeing something unexpected.
Then he smiled wider.
And whispered something she couldn’t hear.
Before everything went black.
