Alpha's Forbidden Mate.

Selene pov

I opened my eyes, clutching my chest, my breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps.

No... no, this can't be happening.

My vision blurred, but I felt the shift happening in me before I could stop it. My brown irises turned into pure gold ...it was the mark of a wolf sensing her mate for the first time.

The scent hit me next, it was sharp and overwhelming, thick with power and heat.

I could feel him.

Even from this distance, the bond snapped into place like a chain around my neck. His scent clung to the air ...it was, dominant, unmistakably powerful. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever inhaled.

My mate.

Today was my eighteenth birthday ...the day I have been dreading all my life. The year when every wolf comes of age, when the mate bond awakens and the moon goddess chooses for you.

For most, it's a blessing.

But for someone like me ...someone who had survived alone since I was eight,the idea of being shackled to anyone, even by the Moon Goddess herself, was the same as death.

And I wouldn't let that happen.

I was still lost in thought, struggling to steady my breath, when Keisha burst into the room.

"Holy shit..." she whispered, eyes widening as she took one look at me. Her red curls clung to her damp face, wild from running. Her green eyes ...one that always seemed to hold concern just for me ,was fixed on my glowing gold irises.

"Is it happening?" she asked, with a low voice.

I couldn't answer ...I just nodded, clutching my chest as my breathing turned ragged again. My wolf was stirring beneath my skin, pacing, growling, snarling to break free. She could feel him. Our mate. And she was ready to tear down the walls to get to him.

Keisha dropped to her knees in front of me and gently held my face, grounding me with her touch.

"Breathe, Selene. I need you to be calm and listen to me, okay?"

I tried. Goddess, I tried. But the bond had snapped tight around my ribcage like a noose. I was suffocating in it.

"Keisha..." I managed to choke out.

Her expression darkened. "Our scouts just returned. The Northern Pack army is marching this way ...in numbers. It's Blackthorn."

My blood ran cold.

"That can't mean anything good," she continued. "We need to move. Now."

I nodded quickly, panic tightening every muscle in my body. "Yes... I can feel him. He's coming closer. Please, Keisha. Let's go. Now."

We shifted into our wolves and tore through the forest, heading east faster than we'd ever run before.

If we could just cross the border, we could lose them. The army. Him.

Something in my gut told me what I'd been dreading all along ...he's with them. My mate is part of that army. Part of the Northern Pack. Part of the life that destroyed me.

And I'd rather be caught dead than