Chapter 1

Winter.

“I reject you—“

Red. Everything was red. His shirt, mine, the floor, and so were my hands. My mate’s eyes widened as the small silver blade slipped out of my grip. His veins bulged, mouth agape, trying to lunge at me like a wounded wolf he already was.

“How dare you! How fucking dare you, Winter!”

With a wounded chest, he struck at me. Both of us fell with a loud thud. He stayed on top, breathing hard while clenching my neck, trying to suck the life out of my body.

“No,” I screamed, kicking the air and punching his bleeding wound.

He smiled in mirth, knowing that my consciousness began to fade away. How did we end up here? We were madly in love. I devoted myself to him, bare my soul only for him. Yet, the love was gone in a blink of an eye.

“I would have given you the luxury to stay in my pack if you had accepted the fact that I’ve found my fated mate. I would have left you living your best life here. But not anymore. You prove to me a jealous female could be very dangerous.”

I wanted to refute and fight back. I wanted to tell him that before he marked me, he had promised that nothing could sever our bond, not even our fated mate.

“Death is better for you,” he said, so low, like a whisper of the grim reaper.

Panic rose as he tightened his grip. His blood dripped to my face, and I realized if he could kill me, I could do the same. What of love? It didn’t matter in the face of death.

My head jerked to the right, founding the blade glistening. Looking at him, my hand reached for the blade. One second, two seconds, three seconds…

“When you wake up in the other world, you’ll be thanking me, Winter.”

And I struck the blade to his face, eliciting a roar from him.

Bang~

The door to my doom opened, and so many people dragged me like I was nothing. Their eyes scrutinized me as if I was a skilled killer. A scream echoed throughout the path. Gone was the respect in their eyes. What I am now is just a fallen Luna.

Stripped from honor, getting humiliated repeatedly was a norm. My body was punching back. I cried and begged to be saved, yet none heard me. They laughed and laughed until the sound became a constant music in my sleep.

“Winter, Winter, wake up.” Someone shook my body. I felt it, yet I couldn’t open my eyes. “Shh, it’s okay. You are dreaming. Wake up. Let me see your eyes.”

And my body jerked awake as a hard slap landed on my cheek. I looked at the preparator—Skye Ross, my roommate for almost a year. She smiled awkwardly at me, her green eyes staring at me as if saying sorry.

“I’m sorry. You know that it’s hard to wake you up when you have a bad dream. I have no choice, really.” She grinned, lifted her hands, and made a peace sign.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not Nina, it won’t work on me.” I replied, changing my position to sit straight.

“Speaking of Nina, where is she?” Skye asked as she went to the kitchen.

“I don’t know. Perhaps she is spending her time with family.”

Nina Woods. She was also my roommate—the one who rented us this ridiculous decent, almost luxurious apartment at a low price. I figured she was part of a big and rich pack, yet she lived alone outside her pack.

I didn’t know why, though. I never asked and didn’t plan to ask, either. Me, Skye and her, were roommates and friends, but not close enough to reveal a piece of our real selves. At least, that was what I believed.

Skye returned soon after, with a glass of water. She handed me the glass and took a seat on the reading chair near me.

“You okay?” She finally asked.

“Thanks. It’s nothing to worry about. Just having the same dream.”

“Ah, right, today is Blood Moon…” She stopped, yet her eyes spoke everything. I sighed, but then she added, “are you going to lock yourself again?”

“That was the plan. But I have work to do.”

With an arched brow, she uttered, “You do? That’s unusual.”

She was right. Blood Moon only happened four times a year, and she had seen me avoiding stepping out of the apartment three times. While everyone was thrilled to find their mate during Blood Moon, I wasn’t. I was terrified. The idea of finding my fated mate made me shiver in fear. So, I’d rather lock myself during that time.

“The pay is good. Besides, it’s for Verlices. It’s a one chance in a lifetime opportunity. When else I’d get a chance to visit Verlices’ main hotel if not this time?”

Skye threw a pillow at my face and complained, “That’s my line!”

“You visited Verlices every day. Why are you still obsessing about going there?”

“That’s different, Winter. The Verlices I work my ass for is just one of the smallest hotels among the others. So, I need to visit their main hotel, even just for once.”

“You can see the picture online. You know that, right?”

“You won’t understand.” Yeah, I won’t. “Anyway, how did you even get yourself a job there? Their selection is extremely hard to pass, even for the lowest level employee.”

“There are many ways. Taking a job under the table, that’s one way.” I stood up, tapping Skye’s shoulder before passing her to our room.

“Be careful. If you don’t, you might find yourself a mate there!” She screamed.

“Shut it! It won’t happen, and if I did, I’m a good runner, you know."

“As if Snow will let you walk away.” Then her laugh reverberated through our apartment, which was irritating.

My wolf—Snow, yeah, it would be hard to fight her. She always got angry every time I denied her a chance to find our mate. But I didn’t care. I did everything for my mental well-being. She’d understand like she always did.

I stripped my clothes and changed into a new pair of jeans and a black shirt with a medium size sling-back to complete my look.

“Good luck with finding your mate.”

I ignored her annoying taunt and walked past the living room. Then, I heard her again.

“Careful, Winter.”

“I will.”

Then I went out hoping I wouldn’t find my mate in the sea of wolves tonight.

***

Now I understand Skye’s obsession with Verlices. The moment I passed the revolving door and stepped into the grand lobby, I couldn’t stop myself from admiring how magnificent this hotel was.

Skye would have jumped in excitement if she were here. She’d dragged me to see every corner of this hotel until she was satisfied. But she wasn’t here, and I certainly didn’t have time to marvel at how gorgeous this place was. I had work waiting for me.

I went straight to the top of the building where the party would be held after changing my clothes to the hotel uniforms.

Pushing the entrance, I walked inside and stopped breathing for a second. This was huge. I knew they decorated the top building like a beach club, but didn’t expect it to be large. There were multiple swimming pools and lots of deck chairs, and lounge sofas.

I ventured toward the indoor lounge and nightclub and found myself in awe again. That made me question just how much they earned yearly to build this kind of place.

“Adrianne! Adrianne!” Someone suddenly tapped my shoulder. “Adrianne!”

“Huh, me?” I pointed at myself.

“Of course. Is there any Adrianne around here?” She asked. Then I realized I worked here under Adrianne’s name.

I found Adrianne’s post on the dark web. She asked for a replacement for today’s event. At first, I thought she was suspicious, but after she told me all the details, I took the job. As I said, the pay is good.

“I’ve been calling you dozens of times. Don’t wander around, the guest has come. Go to your position before the manager sees you stalling alone. Believe me, if he caught you, you won’t get a single penny from him.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll go then.”

More and more people packed the venue. They laughed and chatted with each other as the night grew deeper. I went around, offering them drinks. Some took it, some just gave me a slight glance before returning their attention to their friends.

I felt sick as the realization drew into me. No single human here. Goddess, there were so many wolves, and one of them could be my mate.

“Easy, easy. You’ve passed several Blood Moon without meeting him. This one won’t be different.” I kept telling myself as I did my work.

“Drink?” I said to a group of females, and they dismissed me with a wave of hands.

While some still mingled with their own circle, I found several already marking each other. They looked so in love.

“I used to be like that, too.” I shook my head as soon as that thought passed through my mind.

“Have you heard that Alpha Dante especially holds a Blood Moon party to find his mate?” One female in the lounge asked her friends.

“That’s what I heard. However, none have seen his shadow ever since the party starts.”

“But some have seen Beta Kayden and Gamma Kieran.” The other female looked around and pointed behind my back. “That’s Beta Kayden.”

I peered over my shoulder and saw the male they called Kayden. He was…handsome, I had to admit. Among his feature, his curly hair caught my attention the most.

“He is hot.” That female said.

“Stop it. He won’t look at you even when you are dancing naked in front of him.”

“What? Why?”

“I heard—“

“Adrianne! Go over there,” one of the servers pointed to the left side.

“Okay.”

As the clock neared midnight, I relaxed.

“No sign of our mate, Snow. Now, I won’t have to worry—“

My entire body bristled with an icy chill as sweat drenched my skin. Snow pushed forward, trying to dominate me.

‘Mate! Mate! Mate!’ Snow screamed.

“No!”

But Snow was persistent. She was desperate and fought hard against my control. And she won. I turned my body in slow motion, hoping I wouldn’t find anyone.

Moon Goddess, however, had another plan.

I saw him—stood proudly among the crowds. Snow purred as his eyes rooted on me for a split second. I blinked once, then he was before my eyes.

I couldn’t run. Snow was holding me in place.

‘Please. I don’t want this. You also don’t.’ I said to Snow.

A cold hand touched my cheek, forcing me to look straight into his eyes. They were blue. So blue, like the ocean.

Then he whispered words that shattered the wall I had built with tears and blood.

“My mate. Mine.”