Chapter 1

When Daniel promised me a beautiful future, I was the only one in his eyes.

He held me tight and said that once he inherited the Alpha title, he would make me his Luna.

We grew up together. The Iron Crest Pack and my home, the Stone Creek Pack, were neighbors, and he was a frequent guest at our house.

I watched him grow from an Alpha’s son into a fierce, powerful leader.

I naively waited for that promised day.

But on the day he finally took over the pack, he held the hand of a woman in a white dress, looked at me, and said,

"Elena, you have to be reasonable."

The news that Daniel was going to mate with Lily Green—the daughter of the Silver Creek Pack's Alpha—spread like wildfire. I was sitting at my vanity, putting on my makeup, when the news reached me.

Alex Carter, a common pack warrior who usually ran errands for the Alpha, walked in cautiously carrying a tray. He didn't even dare to look up at me.

He had been by Daniel’s side for a long time. He had witnessed every single vow Daniel had made to me.

Even a messenger felt guilty. But what about you, Daniel?

I let out a self-deprecating laugh and glanced at the food on the tray. I had no appetite at all.

"Where is he?" I asked.

Alex bowed his head even lower. "Alpha Daniel is in a meeting. He can't get away right now, but he is still thinking of you."

My smile didn't reach my eyes. "He’s with Lily, isn't he?"

Alex fell silent.

So, I was right. Never mind. I watched Alex leave. Outside, a light snow began to fall, mirroring the coldness freezing my heart.

My first meeting with Daniel had been on a day just like this.

That year, after the Alliance Pack Summit, the Alpha of the Iron Crest Pack brought his son to visit the Stone Creek Pack to negotiate an alliance.

My father threw a grand banquet to welcome them.

The young Daniel stood beside his father. He wore a heavy black coat. Though he was young, his sharp eyes carried a quiet, commanding authority.

I was standing at the landing of the stairs on the second floor when my father saw me. He waved me down. "This is my daughter, Elena. She’s my only girl, and I've spoiled her rotten. If she causes you any trouble, just let me know, and I’ll handle her."

I stood there frozen, completely captivated by how handsome the boy was. I forgot to speak.

Suddenly, something stirred deep within my chest. My inner wolf was waking up, whispering to me that the boy standing in front of me was my fated mate.

Back then, I didn't fully understand what that meant. I just stood there, speechless.

He offered a soft smile, and the warmth in his eyes made my heart skip a beat.

I didn't know then that he would become the future Alpha of the Iron Crest Pack.

I called him Daniel. I constantly pestered him to teach me combat skills and tactical strategies. He never showed a single hint of impatience. Whether it was the burning summer or the freezing winter, as long as he visited Stone Creek, he would spend hours with me on the training grounds.

I was wild and hyperactive. Yet, a man as decisive and ruthless as him was always incredibly gentle with me.

My mother used to tease me. "When your father made you read the pack ledgers, you would throw a massive tantrum and cry your eyes out. But look at you now—training in combat every day, getting taller and tanner. You don't look like a proper lady at all. How are you going to be a Luna in the future?"

I would shrug it off, but later that night, I’d secretly slather skincare cream all over my face.

A young girl's feelings are hard to hide.

I loved his composure. I loved the fleeting sadness that occasionally crossed his face. I loved every word he said, and every single thing he did.

Daniel treated me wonderfully. In his spare time, he would take me to the local tavern in town to drink craft beer. Every time he returned from a mission, he would bring back unique trinkets just for me.

Besides my father and my brother, he was the best man in my life.

During those years, territorial disputes between packs became more frequent, and several wars broke out.

My family ruled the Stone Creek Pack. My father wasn't like other traditional Alphas. He taught me finance, strategy, and pack management from a young age. He was raising me to know how to lead.

When I was a kid, I hated it. I envied other girls who could act cute and throw fits, while I got lectured by my father if I made a single mistake in my lessons.

Fortunately, Daniel never raised his voice at me. Even when he was frustrated, he would just take a deep breath and give me a helpless smile.

"Elena, the sweet plums at the orchard outside the town are ripe. Let me take you to pick some."

I dropped whatever I was doing and followed him. He drove me to the orchard, nimbly climbed up a tree, and picked a whole bag of plums for me.

I sat on the grassy hill, happily munching on the fruit. The wind blew through his dark hair as he sat there in his black clothes, staring at a plum in his hand, lost in thought.

Daniel’s mother had loved sweet plums.

Back then, I was too young and careless to realize that the emotion in his eyes was deep, agonizing grief.

One autumn night that year, we went for a walk along the river and were ambushed by a pack of rogues.

We ran for our lives and hid in an abandoned warehouse.

He was badly injured, and before long, he developed a raging fever.

He started burning up, slipping in and out of consciousness, muttering incoherently. "Mom... I picked some sweet plums for you. Please, try some..."

It was only then that I learned the truth. When he was eight years old, a rogue pack named Bloodfang had raided a border village of the Iron Crest Pack. His mother and many of his pack members were brutally slaughtered in that raid.

His father’s visit to Stone Creek was to secure an alliance so they could destroy Bloodfang together.

I couldn't begin to imagine how an eight-year-old Daniel had managed to survive that horrific slaughter.

Touching his burning skin, my heart ached terribly for him.

I soaked my clothes in cold river water, running back and forth in the dark. I stripped off his shirt and held him close against my bare chest, trying to use my own body temperature to cool him down.

After doing this several times, his fever finally broke.

At dawn, the cold morning air made me sneeze. Daniel, who was nestled in my arms, jolted awake.

Our eyes met.

Daniel, who hadn't flinched when facing a dozen enemies the night before, looked at his bare chest and blushed for the very first time.

Before he even turned twenty, Daniel had successfully united three border packs into a defensive alliance on behalf of the Iron Crest Pack. Every time my father mentioned him, he couldn't stop praising him.

My father said Daniel was brilliant and had a glorious future ahead of him. He wanted us to be together.

My mother, however, was worried. She said Daniel was not an ordinary man, and his path would be dangerous.

My father just laughed and said his daughter deserved the best man in the world.

I eavesdropped from outside the door. Actually, since that night in the warehouse, I had already decided that he was the only one for me.

But father, if you were still alive today, you would definitely regret your decision.