The night before the wedding, my fiancé Alpha Eliot’s beloved little sister Lola told me she had a surprise prepared — one I would never forget. She lured me into the Frost Pack’s restricted canyon, locked the heavy iron gate from the outside, and activated the artificial rain system. It was a December blizzard. Ice water mixed with sleet slammed into my face. The canyon was surrounded on all sides by transparent observation decks. Young wolves from both packs held up their phones, watching me shiver and struggle like I was the night’s entertainment. Lola smiled — sweet and vicious at the same time. “Seren, aren’t you always playing the high-and-mighty act? Get on your knees and beg me. Let everyone watch you shake like a wet dog!” And my fiancé, Frost Pack’s Alpha Eliot, stood at the center of the observation deck, watching me through the curtain of rain. “Just make sure nobody dies.” “A wild girl who grew up running with Rogues needs to learn the hard way that Frost Pack doesn’t let just anyone through its doors.” Ten minutes later, I smashed through the iron gate and walked out of the storm, covered in blood. I dialed the Elder Council and spoke in a voice so calm it had no warmth left in it at all. “Notify all elders. Terminate the inter-pack marriage alliance. Cut all resource ties.” “Everyone who came here tonight to watch — I won’t let a single one of you off.” Eliot thought I was just some stray girl clinging to Frost Pack for a better life. What he didn’t know was that I was the Alpha Female of Ironclaw Pack — his most important ally.
The moment the ice water hit me, I could barely breathe. The iron gate had been locked from the outside. All four sides of the canyon were enclosed by reinforced glass observation decks, and the cold white glow of night-vision lights lit everything up, leaving me no place to hide. The decks were packed with young wolves from both packs. They held warm drinks in their hands and watched like this was a carefully arranged hunting show. Someone slammed their palm against the railing and let out a long, mocking howl. Someone else raised their phone and pointed the lens straight at my soaked back. “Frost Pack’s got a new game? Pretty entertaining.” “Gotta hand it to Alpha Eliot — night before the bonding ceremony and he’s got his fiancée standing in an ice storm.” “This is his test to see if she’s worthy of being Frost Pack’s Luna!” The taunts cut through the sound of the rain and burrowed into my ears one by one. My fingers locked around the iron bars of the gate. The gate wouldn’t open. An electronic lock hung on the outside, its screen glowing with Frost Pack’s white wolf crest. Lola stood at the front of the observation deck. She wore a clean white dress, makeup flawless, like a white rose that had never been touched by dirt. She stood under a white umbrella, smiling, and gave the remote in her hand a little wave in my direction. “Seren, don’t look at me like that.” “Everyone just wants to see how much you really love Alpha Eliot.” Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was just loud enough for the wolves nearby to hear. Another wave of laughter rolled through the crowd. I wiped the water from my face and heard my own voice shaking. “Lola, open the gate.” She tilted her head like I’d said something funny. “But the hunt just started.” “We made a bet on how long you’d last before you begged.” She stepped closer and looked at me through the glass. “Didn’t you always say you were Ironclaw Pack’s finest heir? Independent. Strong. Capable?” “Then prove it.” I watched her innocent face, and something inside me turned cold, inch by inch. Tonight was supposed to be the eve of my bonding ceremony with Eliot. Frost Pack and Ironclaw Pack had been neighbors for generations, but border conflicts had been escalating. The Elder Councils had decided to seal the alliance through a bonding. Eliot said this was the respect he owed me. He said I had stayed by his side through Frost Pack’s three hardest years. That I had walked with him from the fringes of the pack all the way to the Alpha seat. He said I deserved to carry the title of Luna. For a while, I thought that was the best ending I could hope for. For this alliance, I had turned down three border hunts and personally reviewed every territory agreement and every supply line arrangement. But now, the man who promised me respect was standing at the center of that observation deck. He hadn’t come down. He hadn’t told anyone to open the gate. The overhang above the deck kept the rain off him. Eliot stood in the warm light, watching with cold eyes as I soaked and shook in the canyon below. I called up to him through the glass. “Eliot!” “Tell her to open the door!” I thought he would at least frown. But he just slowly brushed a hand across his sleeve. “Seren, Lola just likes to have fun.” “You’re older than her. More mature. Don’t take it so seriously.” I stared at him, eyes burning red. “You know exactly why this terrifies me!” When I was ten, I followed my father on a border hunt and got trapped with him when an enemy pack cornered us inside a collapsed cave. A blizzard raged outside. Snowmelt rose past my knees. There was nothing around me but darkness and broken rock. My father, trying to get me out, was crushed by a collapsing wall. He pushed me toward the opening. He never made it out. After that, I was afraid of enclosed spaces. Afraid of the constant sound of running water. Afraid of any night I couldn’t escape from. All these years, I never told anyone. Only Eliot knew. Because once, when the Frost Pack was cornered underground by enemy wolves, I stayed in that cave with him for an entire night to help him protect his pack’s hunting maps. He held my hand and said: “Seren, I’ll protect you from now on. You never have to be afraid again.” Now he stood on the observation deck and let my fear become entertainment for every wolf in the canyon.
“Alpha Eliot already said it himself — I’m just having fun.” “Seren, don’t be such a killjoy.” She turned to face the wolves on the deck and raised her voice. “Everyone, the bet is officially open.” “If she cries and calls out for Alpha Eliot to save her within thirty minutes, I lose.” “If she holds out and doesn’t beg, I’ll transfer one hundred thousand dollars to each of you.” The crowd erupted. “Lola, you’re the best!” “Then we’re all betting she breaks.” “She’s got no father, no backing — does she really think putting on a nice dress makes her Frost Pack’s Luna?” “Is Alpha Eliot actually going to marry her? I always figured it was just a political deal.” My fingertips went numb. Rain ran into my eyes and the sting made it hard to keep them open. I pounded on the gate. “Eliot! I’m saying it one last time — tell someone to open this door!” Eliot finally looked up at me. His expression held no guilt. Only irritation at being called out in front of everyone. “Seren, do you really have to make this so ugly?” “Lola grew up spoiled. Why are you letting her get to you?” “Besides, aren’t you the one who’s always handling crises? You can’t manage something this small?” I stood there frozen for a moment, then felt the corner of my mouth pull into a smile. So in his eyes, my fear of being locked in the storm was nothing. Just something small. Three years of blocking border threats for him, negotiating every resource deal for him, rewriting pack development plans for him at four in the morning — all of it had somehow become the reason he felt entitled to humiliate me. When Lola saw me smile, her expression flickered. She hated this. She hated that even at my lowest, I wouldn’t bend. She raised the remote and pressed a button. A second later, the rain system at the top of the canyon surged. A colder, heavier torrent came crashing down. My knees buckled and I nearly fell. The observation deck erupted — not in concern, but excitement. “She’s going to break!” “Hurry, get it on video — this is going to spread to every pack by morning!” “Alpha Eliot’s fiancée is something else, I’ll give her that…” Lola moved close to the glass and dropped her voice so only I could hear. “Seren, drop the act.” “I know exactly what you’re afraid of.” “Alpha Eliot told me himself.” My stomach dropped. Her smile got sweeter. “You think he kept your wounds as secrets?” “Sorry, he tells me everything when he’s trying to get me to sleep.” “He said you got trapped somewhere when you were little, so you never sleep well when it rains.” “He said you seem tough, but deep down you’re still that scared little wolf who’s afraid of the dark and afraid of water.” Something in my ears started roaring. Those words were colder than the storm. Three years with Eliot. I had shielded him from enemy ambushes, negotiated the northern mineral rights for him, held a starving territory together in the dead of winter. The night his stomach bled, I sat with him in the medical tent until morning. When the Frost Pack elders tried to frame him for misappropriating pack resources, I was the one who found the accounting discrepancies and pulled him out of that hole. He knelt in front of me and said: “Seren, without you, I wouldn’t be here.” “Once I’ve secured the Alpha seat, I’m going to marry you.” I thought that was a promise. But it turned out I was just a useful tool. Lola tapped the glass. “Seren, don’t blame me.” “I just wanted you to understand your place.” She glanced up at Eliot and let her voice go soft. “Alpha Eliot, you’re not upset with me, are you?” Eliot put out his cigarette. “Don’t go too far.”
Lola immediately pouted like a child who’d been scolded. “What’s too far? You promised me tonight would be fun.” “And you said the bonding was just a temporary arrangement.” A temporary arrangement. Four words. They dragged back and forth across my chest like a dull blade. I looked up at Eliot. “Is that true?” He frowned. He clearly hadn’t expected Lola to say it out loud in front of everyone. But a moment later, he settled back into that composed, untouchable expression. “Since you heard it, there’s no point hiding it.” I stood soaked to the bone in freezing water, staring at him. “So tomorrow’s ceremony — that’s all fake too?” He said, evenly, “Seren, you should understand that an alliance between two packs can’t be built on feelings alone.” “Lola is connected to the northern white wolf bloodline. She’s the one who belongs at my side as Luna.” My nails pressed into my palms. “Then what am I?” For the first time, a flicker of impatience crossed Eliot’s eyes. “Do you have to make me say it like this?” “I haven’t treated you poorly these past three years.” “You wanted power — I gave you the Beta position.” “You wanted respect — who in Frost Pack dares to address you as anything other than Beta Seren?” “The Luna title isn’t something I can offer you. I won’t lie to you about that forever.” He said it so calmly. As though three years of everything I gave had been worth exactly one title. Lola leaned against him, smiling. “Seren, learn to be grateful.” “You have no family name, no backing. The fact that you get to be Alpha Eliot’s Beta is more than you ever deserved.” Voices nearby chimed in. “Exactly.” “If Alpha Eliot actually married her, what would that say about Frost Pack?” “Being capable doesn’t matter. A Luna is chosen by bloodline.” “Seren should wake up. At best, she’s the person who helped Eliot get to the top. That doesn’t make her Luna material.” I looked at the wolves who had bowed their heads to me at every hunting council meeting. When they respected me, they called me Beta Seren. Now that Eliot wasn’t protecting me, they had turned without hesitation. One wolf in a gray jacket grinned and held up his phone. “Beta Seren, want me to take a photo for you? Something to remember tonight by?” “After tomorrow, it’ll be Lola standing next to Alpha Eliot.” “The way you look right now — might as well enjoy your last moment in the spotlight.” I said nothing. Because the fear had already passed its worst point. When pain reaches its limit, something in you goes still and clear. I reached up and touched the wolf-mark stud in my right ear. It wasn’t an ordinary piece of jewelry. Three months ago, when I noticed irregularities in Frost Pack’s internal accounts, I had my personal guard put together an emergency device for me. Three consecutive presses would trigger an automatic location signal, sending an alert to the Elder Council, my guard unit, and my private hunting team. Eliot didn’t know. He had always assumed I handed him every card I held. But he forgot: someone who clawed their way out of ruins doesn’t truly put their life in anyone else’s hands. I lowered my head, pretending to choke on the rain, and brought my hand up to cover my ear. Once. Twice. Three times. A faint vibration from the stud. The signal was sent. Lola thought I was finally breaking. Her eyes lit up. “Alpha Eliot, is she about to cry?” “I knew she couldn’t hold out long.” She pulled out her phone and aimed it at me. “Come on, Seren. Look at the camera and say you were wrong.” “All you have to do is admit you’re not good enough for Alpha Eliot, and I’ll open the gate.” I looked up at her. “Lola. Are you sure you want to keep going?”
She blinked, then let out a short, contemptuous laugh. “We’re already this far in and you’re threatening me?” “Seren, you don’t actually think you’re still Ironclaw Pack’s feared heir, do you?” “Your position was given to you by Alpha Eliot.” “He gave it. He can take it back.” I straightened slowly. “Ask him, then. Ask him whether Frost Pack still has the power to take anything back from me.” A shadow passed through Eliot’s eyes. “Seren. What are you implying?” I looked at him through the rain. “I’m implying that you should pray nothing happens to me tonight.” “Because if it does, tomorrow Frost Pack will be hosting a reckoning, not a celebration.” Laughter rippled through the crowd again. They thought I was bluffing. Lola laughed so hard she bent forward. “A reckoning? You’re going to hold Frost Pack accountable?” “Seren, did the cold freeze your brain?” Eliot’s expression went cold. “Enough.” He looked at me, voice low. “Seren, don’t overestimate your importance.” “The hunting territories you control ultimately belong to both packs.” “The connections you’ve made — you made them through the platform the alliance built.” “Without Frost Pack, you’re nothing.” I held his gaze, and in that moment the last ember of whatever I’d felt for him burned out completely. “Fine.” “Then let’s find out tomorrow, Eliot.” “Let’s see which one of us ends up with nothing after we walk away.” Lola didn’t like the look in my eyes. She wanted me to cry. She wanted me to beg. She wanted to watch me lose every shred of dignity in front of the entire pack. But I didn’t give her any of that. So the smile on her face slowly died. “Seren. You’ve got more endurance than I thought.” She handed her umbrella to someone nearby and walked to the electronic lock herself. “Since you won’t admit you’re wrong, let’s make it harder.” She pressed another button. The blackout curtains around the canyon began to drop. Heavy black panels slid down one by one, covering the transparent glass walls. The light disappeared, and my breath lurched. Enclosed. Dark. Water. All three hit at once. My vision swam. Lola stood outside the last narrow gap as the curtain fell. “You said you were going to hold us accountable?” “Come on then.” “Get out first. Then we’ll talk.” The curtain dropped completely. The canyon fell into near darkness. Only the lights at the top flickered on and off like something was broken, white and cold. The water kept falling. Each drop felt like the snowmelt that used to leak through the ceiling of that old cave. I heard my father’s voice. “Seren. Crawl out.” “Don’t look back.” I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted blood. I can’t fall apart. Not yet. There were still people outside waiting for me to break. Eliot was still standing there, waiting for me to bow my head and give in. I moved along the wall, feeling my way to the corner. There was a decorative wolf bone altar set up in the canyon. I used everything I had left to lift the heaviest bone from it and drove it into the iron gate. The first blow left a hairline crack in the metal. The people outside startled. Someone shouted: “She’s lost her mind!” “That’s an alloy gate. She can’t break through.” “Seren, give it up. Just apologize and this all goes away.” I didn’t stop. Second blow. Third. My wrists went numb from the impact. The skin at my palm split open and blood ran down, mixing with the rain on the ground. The cracks spread wider with every hit. Lola finally panicked. She slapped the door from outside. “Seren, stop it!” “If that gate breaks, you’ll get hurt.” I let out a cold laugh. “Now you’re worried about me getting hurt?” Lola’s face drained of color. She turned back to look at Eliot. “Alpha Eliot, she’s actually going to break it.” Eliot’s brow furrowed hard. “Seren, stop.” “All you’re doing is making this worse.” I swung the bone and brought it down again. With a sharp crack, the gate finally split open at one corner. Cold air rushed in. I drove my foot into the gap.
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