The last thing I remembered was storming out of a club after a fight with my best friend Chloe. Then I was standing in a dark, empty corridor, drawn toward a door at the end of the hall like my body knew something my mind didn’t. I slipped into a moonlit bedroom and found a man asleep in the bed. Even in sleep, there was a strength to him.
When I got close enough to see his face, my heart stopped. It was Dr. Saxon. My university professor.
The arrogant, condescending jerk who had made me feel smaller than anyone ever had—and that was saying something, since my own father had walked out when I was five. I loathed him. Which made it completely insane that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. Our first meeting had been a disaster.
I’d stormed into Dr. Barnes’s office, furious about an F on my term paper, only to find a stranger behind the desk instead. A younger man with sharp gray eyes and a jawline that could cut glass. “Dr.
Barnes had to take sudden leave,” he’d said, barely glancing up. “I’m Dr. Saxon. ”
I’d handed him my paper, explained the mistake.
He’d looked at me with those thundering gray eyes and said, “You’re the student who cheated. ”
I hadn’t cheated. But my friend Ted had copied me, and I’d panicked and blamed him anyway. Dr.
Saxon hadn’t believed me for a second. Then he’d said something that made the air leave the room: “There’s an easy way you could improve your grade. ”
I’d assumed he meant what it sounded like. I’d asked where he wanted me, whether he wanted me on my knees.
His eyes had widened in disbelief, then he’d recoiled and snapped, “I meant extra credit. A chance to redo the assignment. ”
The embarrassment had nearly killed me. But instead of letting it go, I’d doubled down, saying extra credit was too time-consuming anyway.
He’d called me out for offering myself to a random stranger. “Get out of my office,” he’d growled. And that had been us ever since. He made a point of getting my name wrong—Mildred, Rita, anybody.
I’d earned his reluctant respect with my grades, but the man made me want to scream. So why was I here, in his bedroom, in the middle of the night, unable to look away from him? I needed to leave. I needed to figure out how I’d even gotten here.
But something held me in place. The last thing I remembered was convincing Chloe to come out with me. We were supposed to go dancing. Had we gone?
Before I could decide what to do, footsteps approached in the hallway. I darted behind a curtain just as the door burst open. A tall redhead in a silk robe rushed in. “Har!
Wake up! ”
Dr. Saxon sat up immediately, looking alarmingly composed. “Viv, what’s wrong?
”
“It’s Chloe. She needs help. ”
Wait. Not my Chloe.
It couldn’t be my Chloe. I followed them out, keeping to the shadows. Downstairs, I found Chloe on her knees, sobbing, her boyfriend Nate beside her looking furious. Dr.
Saxon placed a hand on her back. “What happened? ” he asked. “It’s her friend,” Nate muttered through clenched teeth.
“The one she met in class. The small, obnoxious brunette. ”
“Emma? ” Dr.
Saxon’s head snapped up. He knew my name. “She got hit by a car,” Nate said. “On her way out of the club.
She and Chloe were—”
I stopped listening. Hit by a what? That couldn’t be true. I’d remember being in an accident, wouldn’t I?
A vague impression surfaced: fear, shouting, rain. Me dragging Chloe down a street. I stepped out from my hiding spot. “Look, I don’t know what Nate’s deal is, but I obviously wasn’t in any accident.
I’m right here, doing just fine. ”
No one looked at me. Nate and Vivien kept talking like I didn’t exist. I waved my hand in front of Nate’s face.
Nothing. I grabbed his shoulder. My hand went right through him. I froze.
That couldn’t be happening. I tried again, throwing myself in front of them, screaming, begging. They walked right through me like I was smoke. Am I dead?
I ran. Out of the house, into the woods, my feet barely touching the ground. I couldn’t feel the cold. I couldn’t feel anything.
Just pure, suffocating terror. Then, for a brief instant, I felt a pull, like being yanked through water. The forest dissolved, and I was back in Dr. Saxon’s bedroom.
He was awake this time. And he wasn’t alone. A brunette straddled him, her hand roaming over his bare chest, unzipping his jeans. She was enjoying it far more than he seemed to be.
I wanted to push her off him. Then pleasure struck his features, and it felt like a punch to the gut. I took a long, calming breath. Exhaled loudly.
Dr. Saxon’s head snapped up. His eyes locked onto mine, widening. “Emma?
”
Oh my God. He could see me. He shoved the woman off him so fast she toppled onto the bed. “Zoe, I hate to do this, but you’re going to have to go.
”
He got rid of her. Then he turned to me, looking absolutely livid. “Do you have any idea how worried Chloe was? She thought you died.
”
“I know. I was here the whole time, but no one could see me except you. ”
His face went from doubt to shock to something like horrified realization. “You’re…
you’re a ghost. ”
“Looks like it. ”
“I need a drink,” he groaned. “Well, hi-yippee for you.
Shall I make you a freaking margarita? ”
“Why would I want a margarita? They’re awful. ”
“Who cares?
I’m a ghost! I literally go through people, and you’re the only one who can help me. ”
“Me? What am I supposed to do?
”
“You’re the one with the fancy degree. Figure it out. ”
He looked at me, troubled. “Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you’re probably already dead.
”
That gave me pause. Was I? “I can’t be,” I protested. “I have important things to do.
There’s a Taylor Swift concert next month. ”
“A concert? ”
I could work with this. “Well, Dr.
Saxon, you’re going to have to learn how to raise people from the dead. Because if you don’t, I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your days. Starting now. ”
I began singing “Wildest Dreams.
” He winced. “Stop. ”
“So you’ll help me? ”
“I’ll try.
Now get out of my room. ”
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime? ”
“I don’t care, as long as you don’t do it here. Good night.
”
He slammed the door in my face. Dramatic, but he’d said he’d help. I roamed the halls of his enormous house, trying to make sense of things. I encountered a blonde man who looked like a Viking and a small girl with deep brown eyes.
Neither noticed me. “Did I say we allowed sneaking off at night? ” the girl teased him. “Harry’s mentally like a gazillion years old,” she added.
“What does he know? ”
Harry. That was Dr. Saxon’s first name.
And this girl—Max, they called her—had some kind of connection to him. When I tried to leave the house, I was yanked right back. I was tied to this place somehow. Morning came.
I found Dr. Saxon in his study, making phone calls in a hushed voice. “Yes, Emma Pierce. The accident last night.
Can you tell me anything? ”
I listened as he made call after call. Finally, he hung up and turned to me, looking like he’d seen a ghost. Which, I supposed, he had.
“What? ” I asked, heart racing. He took a breath. “Emma, there’s something you should know.
”
“What is it? ”
“You were in a car accident. But there’s more. ”
“More?
What could be more than being dead? ”
He met my eyes, and I saw something there I’d never seen from him before. Pity. “They found your body last night, Emma.
You died on impact. ”
The words felt like they should hurt. But I couldn’t feel anything. “Okay,” I heard myself say.
“So what happens now? ”
“There’s one thing I need you to know,” Harry said slowly, his gray eyes searching mine. “The way you feel when you’re near me. About me.
It’s not because you’re a ghost. ”
“I feel nothing when I’m near you. You’re the worst person I’ve ever—”
“That bond you can feel pulling you toward me, even now? ” he interrupted.
“That’s not death, Emma. That’s the mate bond. ”
My mouth fell open. “The what?
”
He gave me a level look. “Soulmates. They’re real. You’re my soulmate, Emma.
You have been since the moment we met. ”
“This is a joke. ”
“I don’t joke about things like this. ”
“I hate you,” I said.
“You made me feel worthless repeatedly. ”
“Yes,” he said roughly. “Because the second I saw you, I knew you were mine. And I thought if you knew the truth about my world—about who I am—you’d run.
So I pushed you away instead. ”
“Who… who are you? ”
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he pulled his shirt off. And before my eyes, his skin shifted, bones rearranging. I watched the man I loathed—the man who could see me when no one else could—transform into a massive, silver-gray wolf, his eyes glowing gold. A wolf shifter.
“They’re real too,” he said, but no. His voice wasn’t in the air. It was in my mind. A pack link, he explained as he shifted back into human form.
something you share with your true mate. “I’m the Alpha of this pack,” he told me quietly. “And whether you accept it or not, Emma, you’re my mate now. You’re part of this pack.
You’re mine to protect. ”
Protect me. He’d seen me, heard me, helped me when I was just a dead girl no one else could perceive. “Can you bring me back?
” I asked, voice trembling. He let out a breath. “There’s a soulmate bond, Emma. Being what I am, being your mate…
it can pull you back. Heal you. But your body was badly hurt, and my magic is weaker now than it’s ever been. Reaching you being a ghost, crossing that divide and bringing you all the way back…
” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can. ”
“But you said you’d try. ”
“I said I’d try,” he agreed, gray eyes dark with regret.
“I didn’t say I’d succeed. For a human to survive the kind of injury you had… even with the bond, even with me as your mate… ”
“Then what am I supposed to do?
” I asked. Harry looked conflicted. “There is one possibility. It’s dangerous.
More dangerous than anything you’ve ever faced. ”
“I’ve died. I’ve literally crossed over. Whatever it is, I’ll face it.
”
“Max,” he said quietly, “she’s coming to see me in the morning. She’s a healer, one of the strongest in the pack. She thinks you might be able to come back completely, not just as a ghost. ”
“How?
”
“But it’s her power surged, if she bites you, the bite could trigger your own latent shifter genes to come online. You’d be a wolf, and the healing would kick in. ”
“I’d need to survive the bite itself. ”
“It kills most humans,” Harry confirmed.
“But you’re my mate. The bond… Max thinks you’d be strong enough to survive. ”
“And, what, I’d be a wolf forever?
”
“A shifter. You’d be like us. You’d age slower, heal faster, feel more intensely. And you’d be with me, in my pack, as my mate.
”
“Forever is a long time,” I said. “I know. ” His eyes softened. “From where I’m standing, I can’t think of anyone else I’d want to spend forever with.
I know I don’t deserve you, and I’ve been a jerk, but I promise you this—if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to become the kind of man you’d want to share forever with. ”
“I thought you hated me. ”
“I was afraid of you,” he admitted roughly. “More than I’ve ever been afraid of anything.
I saw you, knew you were mine, and I knew you’d never want a monster like me. ”
“You’re not a monster,” I said. “You’re a wolf. And apparently, you’re my soulmate.
”
“That’s the truth. ”
I looked at him—really looked at him, past the arrogance and the horrible nicknames. All I saw now was a man who’d been scared of losing me before he even had me, and was still trying to find a way to save me. “Okay,” I said, stepping forward until I was close enough to touch him.
The pull I’d felt before, the strange connection I couldn’t explain, burned between us like a visible thing. “Okay what? ”
“I’ll do it. I’ll let Max bite me.
I’ll try to survive. ”
Harry’s breath caught. “Emma, are you sure? ”
“If I don’t, I’m stuck like this forever.
And I’m just realizing I’d rather be alive, even if it means being a wolf for the rest of forever. ” I looked at him. “Even if it means being with you. ”
His lips curved into a slow, genuine smile that transformed his entire face.
“There she is. The girl who writes a half-decent paper. ”
“Oh, shut up,” I laughed, even though I was shaking. Max shifted into her wolf form.
She was small, dark, with intelligent golden eyes. She looked at Harry, who nodded. “This is going to hurt,” Max warned, her young voice sounding oddly ancient. I braced myself.
“Compared to dying, how bad can it be? ”
The pain exploded through me. White-hot, searing, unimaginable. I screamed, but no sound came out.
Harry was there, his hands on my face, chanting something in a language I didn’t understand. “Stay with me, Emma. Stay with me. ”
The darkness pulled at me.
I felt myself slipping, dying all over again. But through the haze of pain, I felt the bond. That golden thread between me and Harry. I grabbed onto it with everything I had.
“No,” I said out loud. “I’m not done yet. ”
The darkness screamed. Then, with a jolt like being struck by lightning, my eyes snapped open.
I was awake. Human. Lying on the floor of Harry’s study, Max’s small hands pressed against my temples. “Welcome back,” Max said, grinning.
Harry was beside me in an instant, pulling me into his arms. “Emma. Oh God, Emma. ”
“Did it work?
” I mumbled, shaky. “Feel your heart beating,” he said. “You’re alive. You’re a wolf now.
You’re here. ”
I laughed, and the sound was warm and relaxed. “So… do I get a pack now?
”
Harry kissed me, and I felt the mate bond snap into place, stronger and more vibrant than ever. “You get everything, Emma Pierce. Everything. ” He kissed my forehead, then pulled back, gray eyes serious.
“But I remember you said you need to go to a Taylor Swift concert next month. ”
I burst out laughing. “Are you serious? That’s what you—?
”
“I’ll make it happen,” he said, smiling now. “There are some benefits to being Alpha. ”
Max groaned. “Get a room, you two.
”
Three weeks later, I was officially a member of Harry’s pack, learning to control my new senses and feel my bond with my mate hum beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. Chloe came to visit, and she looked… different. More distant, like a part of her had already checked out.
Throughout her visit, her phone buzzed constantly, and she kept flinching at the sound. “Are you okay? ” I asked her. “I’m fine,” she said, not meeting my eyes.
“Everything’s fine. ”
But after she left, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was deeply, terribly wrong. “He’s going to kill her,” Max said quietly, appearing beside me. “Who?
Nate? ”
Max nodded. “She’s his mate. She doesn’t want to be with him, but the bond is dragging her back.
And when she refuses, when she tries to break free… he’ll kill her before he lets her go. ”
“We can’t let that happen. ” Harry’s voice had gone hard and cold.
“No one kills one of my pack. Or a friend of my mate’s. ”
I looked at Harry, and I could feel the full, devastating force of his possessiveness through the bond. “Then we’re going to help her,” I said.
“We’re going to save her from him. ”
“We’ll try,” he said. But four weeks later, Chloe disappeared. Her apartment was empty.
Her phone was off. Nate’s house was deserted, too. He’d taken her somewhere we couldn’t reach them. “I need to find her,” I said every day.
Harry’s pack searched. Max tracked scents across the entire city. Nothing. Then, six weeks later, a lead came in.
A vampire, a creepy one, had been spotted living in a crumbling manor on the outskirts of the city. And he had a new bride. Chapter Twenty-Nine
The car pulled up in front of the old manor, and I looked at Harry in the driver’s seat. “This is a vampire’s house,” I said.
“A really creepy vampire. ”
“So are wolves,” he replied. “Let’s go make him give her back. ”
“You don’t know she’s here.
”
He gave me a look. “I would also do anything to get you back if someone took you from me. Chloe’s being here is as sure as the sunrise. ”
We got out.
The manor was dark, silent, and every instinct I had screamed danger. But we walked in anyway. We found Chloe in a small sitting room, wearing a pale dress, looking… not good.
Thin, pale, with dark circles under her eyes. But when she saw us, something sparked in her gaze. “Emma? ” she whispered.
“Chloe! I’m here. We’re getting you out—”
“No! ” The vampire appeared at the door, tall and cold with ink-black eyes.
“She’s mine now. She pledged herself to me willingly. ”
“Like hell I did! ” Chloe snapped, and for the first time in months, I saw fire in her eyes.
“Surrender,” the vampire said silkily, “and I’ll let Emma and your Alpha leave alive. ”
Harry snarled. “She’s a wolf. She made her pact with our pack before she made it with you.
And no one takes a pack member without a fight. ”
The vampire laughed. “Then we fight. ”
What followed was a blur.
Harry shifted in seconds, his massive silver wolf crashing into the vampire. I grabbed Chloe by the hand and ran, but two more vampires appeared from the shadows, blocking our path. “Human,” one said. “Crunchy snack.
”
“Not so much anymore,” I snarled, letting my own shift roll over me for the first time in a real fight—my body reshaping, claws and fangs extending. I tore through the first vampire like parchment. Chloe found a broken chair leg and impaled the second one with a shriek of pure rage. When I looked up, Harry was standing beside us, still in his human form, wiping black ichor from his hands as the vampire he’d fought dissolved into ash.
“Alpha of the Wolves,” the dying vampire gasped. “You’ll regret this. The count won’t let you insult his hospitality. ”
“I’ll take my chances,” Harry said flatly.
The vampire dissolved, leaving nothing behind but ashes. We drove home in silence, Chloe in the back seat wrapped in a blanket. I kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “What happened?
” I asked finally. She shook her head. “The vampire promised he could make the bond with Nate go away. He said he’d make me forget all about him and the pack.
But… I don’t want to forget. Even this awful. Even Nate.
It’s the only grief I have left for him, and I can’t seem to stop feeling it. ”
Her voice broke. “I loved him so much. How can you love someone who becomes a monster?
”
“He was always a bit of a monster,” I said quietly. “He showed himself at the end. That’s not your fault. ”
She cried for a while.
Harry kept his eyes on the road and didn’t say much, but I could feel his own grief through the bond—for what Chloe had gone through, and for what he couldn’t fix. It wasn’t until we got back to his house that Harry pulled me aside. “Emma, I need to tell you something. ”
“What?
”
“The bond between us, it’s going to feel a lot stronger than a normal mate bond eventually. Because you’re my anchor now. My balance. ” His jaw tightened.
“There’s still a war coming. I might have to do things… dark things. Things I never wanted to drag you into.
”
“Then teach me,” I said. “Train me. I’m not just your mate, Harry. I’m a wolf.
And I can fight. ”
He looked at me, and there was something raw and desperate in his eyes. “You don’t have to. ”
“I know I don’t have to.
I want to. ”
He pulled me to him, pressing his forehead against mine. “You’re going to be terrifyingly good at this, aren’t you? ”
“Absolutely terrifying,” I agreed against his lips.
He kissed me, and for a moment, the war disappeared, and it was just us. But even as I melted into him, I could feel it. The echo of his darkness in my own bones. We were each other’s anchor now—and the storm was coming for both of us.
Epilogue
Two years later, I sat on the wide front porch of the pack house, watching Max train with a few of the younger wolves. Harry came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me as I leaned back against him. “What are you thinking? ” he asked.
“I’m thinking about how we got here. You have to admit it’s pretty wild. ”
“What is? ”
“The fact that my mate is the Alpha of a wolf pack, that I’m the Luna, and that I have more family now than I’ve ever had.
” I smiled. “Also, the fact that you still can’t handle my karaoke. ”
Harry groaned. “You said you’d never bring up the karaoke.
”
“I said I’d never bring up the karaoke publicly. This is private. ”
He kissed the top of my head, but I could feel the smile against my hair. “Do you ever regret it?
” I asked quietly. “Giving up the freedom of being the strongest wolf in the pack? ”
“There’s no freedom in being alone,” he said simply. “All the strength in the world doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a family to share it with.
And I have you. That’s everything to me. ”
“Even with my questionable taste in music? ”
He kissed me properly then.
“Especially with your questionable taste in music. ”
The sun set over the pack lands, and for a long while, there was just quiet and comfort. But I knew it was only the calm before the next storm. There were still vampires, and rogues, and the scars of the war we’d won still knitting themselves together.
I looked up at the sky and let myself feel the quiet thrum of the mate bond in my chest. Whatever was coming next, we’d face it together. THE END
(If you enjoyed this story, don’t forget to check out the sequel, “Crimson Moon,” coming soon.
)
