Astrid dedicated her life to Leon, believing in their love, their pack, their future. But the devastating return of her sister, Clara, as Leon's destined mate, shatters Astrid's carefully constructed world. Betrayal cuts deep, leaving Astrid stripped bare and forced to confront a horrifying truth: her loyalty was misplaced, her sacrifices meaningless.

Just as despair threatens to consume her, Kaeleen, a magnetic and rebellious Alpha from a rival pack, storms into her life, igniting a forbidden passion that challenges everything she thought she knew. He offers her a chance to escape the suffocating control of her past, to claim a life of her own, a life where she is the priority.

But Leon won't relinquish his prize so easily. Obsessed and dangerously possessive, he unleashes a storm of violence and manipulation, determined to drag Astrid back into the darkness. Now, Astrid must make a desperate choice: succumb to the chains of her past, or embrace the dangerous allure of a love that could save her... or ignite a war that will consume them all.

Kaeleen's question hung in the air, a gentle probe into the deepest recesses of my past. The high of standing up to Leon and the Elders was fading, replaced by a familiar ache, the ghost of a life I'd lost, a sister I'd mourned, and now, a stranger wearing her face.


I took a deep breath, steeling myself. "It's a long story," I began, my voice a little shaky. "And it's not a pretty one."


Alex, sensing my discomfort, squeezed my hand. "You don't have to, Astrid," he said softly. "Not if you don't want to."


I managed a weak smile. "No, it's okay. Kaeleen deserves to know." I turned to him, meeting his concerned gaze. "Clara and I were twins. Identical. We grew up in the Wildthorn pack. It wasn't… the best place. My father was a stern man, obsessed with tradition. Clara was everything he wanted in a daughter, obedient, quiet, graceful. I… wasn't."


Chapter 62 - Chapter 62