Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1
Luna was in heat!!
That unbearable, restless ache had returned hot, pulsing, and consuming. Luna was tired of it. Tired of her body betraying her every full moon. And as if the gods had a sense of humour, she was an outcast loner girl whom no boy wanted to even pay attention to.
Wild, isn't it? .
Why did her werewolf transition have to begin earlier than everyone else’s? Why did it have to come with such an overwhelming storm of needs and urges?
Her body whispered one command: find your mate.
She rolled her eyes. “Like it was an easy task,” she said. “But how, when no one in school even noticed her? And even if they did, no one stirred that primal hunger clawing inside her. Nothing beats her fancy in New Orleans.
When she told her mother about the fire and urges going wild in her veins, her mother had said quietly, “Only your true mate can calm it, Luna. No one else.”
Useless words. Her mate was nowhere near.
She’d tried to satisfy the need and urges alone, every single night after night, but tonight was different, deeper, needier, sharper, and more urgent. The moon and the Eden forest called to her like they knew her name. She couldn’t stay indoors another minute or second longer.
Rushing out the front door of her house, she ran across the fields, the night air cold against her feet and her skin. The forest loomed ahead: Eden Forest. Her sanctuary, and she never felt alone while exploring freely in there; it was like the trees and mountains protected her, and it felt homey.
She shifted mid-run, her bones snapping, fur bursting through her skin, and paws hitting the earth with a wild thud.
Here, she was free. Here, the fire and urges in her dulled just enough for her to breathe. The moonlight painted the forest silver as she chased fireflies through the trees, trying to lose herself in the rhythm of the night. But fate had other plans for Luna Rivers.
On the other side of the city of New Orleans, Damian Blackwell was losing control too, but for a very different reason.
He’d had it with his father tonight. The endless rules, the lectures, the manipulation.
“New Orleans will make a man out of you,” his father had said. “You’re not fit to inherit anything if you keep living like a reckless beast.”
Damian did not want to go to New Orleans. He wished he could return to New York City, with its clubs, adrenaline, noise, and wildlife. He didn't ask to be dragged into this ancient southern pack drama or to attend some elite school full of weird smiles and shallow wolves.
He banged his fist into his motorcycle. His father's guards observed silently from afar.
He needed air. Space to unwind. He decided to hit the road for a wild drive.
Damian revved the bike and rode down the curving lanes, the city lights disappearing behind him as the asphalt gave way to gravel and forest. He continued until he reached the entrance to Eden Forest.
He parked, removed his shirt, and let the shift take over. His bones broke into shape, his body stretched, and in seconds, the wolf emerged massive, black as midnight, powerful, and burning with rage.
He bolted into the forest, a dark blur under the glowing moon. He didn’t care where he was going; he just needed to run and feel free.
But destiny was already waiting for him at the edge of the trees.
It was as if he had lost control.
Damian ran without direction, his paws pounding against the earth, his heartbeat beating louder with every stride. Uncontrollable rage had driven him mad into the woods, but something else, something magnetic, a sensation he couldn't explain, pulled him deeper.
Luna had stopped beneath the open sky at the edge of a pillar. Her fur shimmered silver, catching the light of the full moon until she looked like she’d been spun from starlight itself. She closed her eyes, and each deep breath she took calmed the storm inside her.
The forest felt alive, whispering calmness to her. Wait… he’s coming. He will find you.
Damian burst through the trees, chasing the glow ahead. At first, he thought he was running straight toward the moon itself until the “moon” turned, and he saw her.
A silver wolf. Rare. Beautiful. Impossible and never seen or heard. Just a telltale story being told to him while growing up. Was he dreaming?
He froze, the night wind carrying her scent straight into him. It hit like lightning—passionately sweet, wild, homey, and dangerously familiar. His anger evaporated in an instant, replaced by something primal, older than reason.
Their eyes met. The world went slow, then still. It was as if they existed alone.
They moved together like they weren't strangers, drawn by a rhythm neither understood. Each step closed the distance until his dark fur brushed against hers. Sparks moved through the air, soft and electric. The pull between them was undeniable, passionate, fierce, and terrifying. It was like they were lost in time; in a moment, they had done it all passionately, becoming sealed as one.
For a heartbeat, their souls touched.
The moon flared brighter. A faint mark flickered where their bodies met, unseen by either of them, sealed and written by their fate itself.
Luna stumbled back, her breath strained, her instincts screaming to leave this stranger despite her heart's want to stay. She dashed into the trees, glittering light silver fur vanishing in the shadows.
Damian remained paralyzed in shock, chest heaving, her perfume still clinging to him.
Who was this rare-furred wolf?
The forest was still again, but he could sense something strange in the air, like they had been watched, as if the night had witnessed a secret too big to conceal.
He looked back toward the city, trying to remember the way he had come into the forest, the weight of the uncertainty of what had just happened weighing heavily on his mind. This is the weirdest experience of his lifetime. On his first night in New Orleans, he had already broken every rule his father had warned him about. As he raced back to his bike, he reflected that New Orleans appeared to have something he couldn't ignore.
"Interesting," he mumbled in his mind.
Luna woke up in her bed, tangled in her messy sheets and drenched in sweat.
Her head throbbed faintly, like she’d been standing and spinning all night. The window was open, the moonlight long gone, and the break of dawn was spilling across her room.
How did she get home?