Through Thorns And Shadows

They said the Alpha bond was sacred—that it passed down through legacy, blood, and honor. But Josh had never believed in inherited worth. He didn't wait for power. He took it.

He was seventeen when he challenged the Alpha—his own father—and he did it on a moonless night, in the middle of the clearing where he'd learned to shift for the first time. The pack had begged him to wait. Challenging blood was taboo, but Josh was done waiting for something he already deserved. His father was aging, weak in spirit, trying to keep the old traditions alive while their enemies grew smarter, crueler.

The fight was brutal and brief.

His father had landed one solid blow that cracked Josh's ribs, but Josh barely felt it through the rage. When the Alpha's spine snapped beneath his jaws, something inside Josh ignited.

He didn't cry.

He didn't celebrate.

He simply turned and faced the pack, blood in his mouth and fire in his eyes.

And one by one, they bowed.

---

He thought killing his father would make him feel more complete. But the silence that followed never left. It echoed in him—empty halls where purpose should've lived. That emptiness grew into ambition.

Josh didn't want to rule a patch of trees and a few dozen wolves. He wanted more—strength beyond instinct, power that lasted past the grave.

He found the first hints of it in an ancient book, buried in a hunter's den, left behind by a rogue warlock his father once executed. Most of the pages were burned, but the ones that remained whispered promises: immortality, divinity, strength to command fate itself. But it came with a cost. The ritual required the blood of someone who loved him—truly loved him—but who remained unmarked. No claim. No bite. No bond.

Someone like Evelyn.

---

Josh hadn't meant to fall for her.

Not at first.

She'd tripped into his life—quiet, awkward, human—and for a moment, he forgot what she was meant to be. She smiled like she hadn't been broken by the world yet. Her laugh made the darkest parts of him pause.

And that was the problem.

The ritual demanded her love—not his. Yet somewhere along the way, he started to want her in a way that wasn't useful. Not as a sacrifice. Not as a key.

But as a mate.

He could have claimed her. The wolf in him begged for it. A single bite, and she'd be bound to him forever. No more rituals. No more plans. Just instinct and blood.

But that would ruin everything.

---

Clara saw through him the first time they met.

She had smiled like a mother, hugged Evelyn like a daughter, and then locked eyes with him over her shoulder—and in that single look, Josh knew she wasn't fooled. She didn't trust him, and worse, she knew what he was. Not just Alpha. Not just a werewolf. But hungry.

She never confronted him outright. That was the clever part. She let him come and go. Let Evelyn fall deeper for him. But she watched. Always watched. And Josh knew predators when he saw them.

He respected her, in a way. But he hated her more.

---

Now Evelyn was gone.

Josh stood on the ridge above the northern valley, where the trees grew dense and the air felt heavy. The same place he'd killed his father. He stood still, silent, letting the breeze bring him every scent it could carry. Pine. Mud. Old ash. Something faint—maybe her. But too faint to follow. Clara had hidden her well.

His ribs still ached from the fight with Malric. That bastard had fought like a loyal dog, burning wolfsbane to slow him down. Josh had torn his throat open, but not before Malric's fire had done its work. His body was slower to heal now. The poison lingered.

And Evelyn's birthday was getting closer.

He couldn't afford to wait much longer. If the full moon passed and the ritual window closed, he'd lose his chance.

---

He sat on a boulder and stared at the sky, though he hated doing it. It made him feel like his father.

He thought of Evelyn again. The way her brows furrowed when she concentrated. How she bit her lower lip when trying not to laugh. The sound she made when she was about to cry but tried to pretend she was fine.

She had trusted him. Loved him.

And he wasn't sure if that made her his salvation, or his curse.

"Why couldn't you just be like the others," he muttered.

She could've made it easy. Could've been shallow. Conditional. Someone he could pretend with. But she had always seen more in him than he deserved. She believed he could be better. And maybe that's what made her so dangerous.

Because some part of him… wanted to be.

---

He stood, breathing deep.

If he found her, he'd have to make a choice.

Mark her—and lose the ritual.

Or let the stars align and take what fate promised.

He clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. He would not be weak. He couldn't afford to be. He'd sacrificed too much—his family, his youth, his soul. And Evelyn… Evelyn was just another cost.

But why did it feel like it would break him?

Josh growled low in his throat and let the wolf come closer to the surface. He couldn't afford memories. Couldn't afford warmth. Not now.

He would find Clara. He would tear down every den she built. And when he found Evelyn, he'd do what had to be done.

Even if it killed the last good thing in him.