A THRONE OF SHADOW AND SOULMATES

The drive home from Northbridge stretched endlessly, each mile heavy with silence.

Skye gripped the steering wheel, her thoughts a tangle of Derek's crimson eyes, the electric shock of his touch, and the way he'd cut Joanna down with a few sharp words. But her father's text loomed larger, its words like a cold blade: The forests are restless. Her mom's voice echoed in her head, using that phrase when pack tensions simmered, when the wild world pressed too close to their quiet life. Delayed. The word sat like ice in her gut.

She pulled into the driveway of their modest twostory house, a world away from the glossy wealth Derek swam in. This was her haven-her mom's herbscented kitchen, her dad's steady presence. But today, the house felt brittle, like it might shatter under the weight of what was coming.

Inside, she found her dad in his study, standing at the bay window, staring at the dark forest beyond. Dane Garrick's broad shoulders, usually squared with an alpha's strength, slumped under an invisible burden. His reflection in the glass showed deep lines carved into his face, his graying beard stark against the gloom.

"You're home," he said, voice rough like gravel. He didn't turn.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Skye dropped her bag by the door, the leather notebook from Derek heavy inside it, like a secret she wasn't ready to face. "Your text sounded bad. Where's Mom? What's 'delayed' mean?"

He turned, and the grief in his gray eyes hit her like a physical blow. It was raw, alive, stealing the air from the room. This wasn't about restless forests. This was worse.

"Your mom..." His voice broke, and he cleared his throat, forcing control. He picked up a small wooden wolf from his desk, a gift from her mom, his fingers tracing its edges. "Kaida insisted on coming with me. A scouting mission. To find safer land for the pack."

Skye's heart dropped. "Why? What's wrong with our territory?" The howl she'd heard after meeting Derek flashed in her mind, sharp and ominous.

"The Red Pack's growing stronger," Dane said, his fists clenching, the carved wolf fragile in his grip. "They're not just fighting for control anymore. They're forcing wolves to join them, using some twisted purification rite. Their numbers are swelling. We're peacekeepers, Skye, not warriors. Our best shot is to find new land, somewhere safe to regroup." His gaze drifted, lost in memory. "She wouldn't stay behind. You know her-those fierce eyes, that stubborn spark. I could never say no."

Cold dread coiled in Skye's stomach, sharp and separate from her confusion over Derek. "Where is she, Dad? When's she coming back?"

He stared at the floor, the silence louder than any answer. His face was a man's whose world had collapsed.

"Dad?" Her voice was a whisper, fear roaring in her ears. "Where's Mom?"

Deep in the forest, where trees choked out the sun, the air was thick with earth, pine, and the faint tang of blood. The Red Pack's training ground was chaos-young warriors with glowing crimson and amber eyes clashed in brutal sparring, snarls and thuds echoing through the clearing. This was Derek's world, forged in sweat and violence.

At the center stood Damon Clawson, a towering figure whose presence drained the warmth from the air. His red eyes burned, scars mapping his face and arms like a history of war. He watched the training with a predator's focus, arms crossed over his broad chest.

"You're late," Damon said, not looking at Derek. His voice was like stones grinding together.

"Was at the university," Derek said, keeping his tone even. Skye's golden eyes flashed in his mind, a shield against his father's weight.

Damon's lips curled into a cruel smirk. "Playing human. A waste of time. Your place is here. Strength is here. Power is here." He turned, his gaze a physical force. "The White Wolf is weak, running like a coward with his pack. Now's our chance to strike. But you-" He sniffed the air, eyes narrowing. "You reek of city streets and human softness."

Anger flared in Derek's chest, hot and familiar. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Are you?" Damon stepped closer, his scent-old blood and dominance-overwhelming the forest. "Your head's with that human girl you're chasing."

Derek froze. How did he know? A chill ran through him. His father's spies were everywhere, even on campus. The thought was a violation, a leash he couldn't shake.

"She's nothing," Derek lied, the words bitter. Skye's defiance was a light in the dark of this place.

"Keep it that way," Damon growled, his face inches from Derek's. "Feelings make you weak. They rot you, slow you down. They're the White Pack's disease, and I won't have it in my blood." He waved his hands and pointed at the other wolves training. "Kael, Roric, Jax, Silas! Your alphaintraining needs a lesson in power."

Four massive warriors stepped forward, eyes glinting with hunger and fear. Four against one. Damon's favorite way to break him.

The fight wasn't fair-it was a punishment. Derek was fast, strong, but against four seasoned wolves, it was a grind. Fists slammed into his ribs, his jaw, his back. Blood filled his mouth, sharp and metallic. He fought back, claws flashing, fury fueling him. He sent Silas crashing into a tree with a crack, but the others pounced, driving him to his knees.

"Pathetic!" Damon roared, his voice cutting deeper than any blow. "Get up! I didn't raise a weakling! You're the next Alpha! Act like it!"

Derek staggered to his feet, body screaming. His father's eyes were a tyrant's, not a teacher's. But Skye's face-her unimpressed glare, her fire-flashed in his mind. Not weakness, but strength. Something worth fighting for.

With a raw roar, he threw himself back into the fray, moves sharper, fueled by defiance. He wouldn't break. Not today.

Back in the study, Dane faced Skye, his eyes a storm of grief. The truth hung between them, too heavy to bear.

"We were ambushed," he said, voice breaking like glass. "The Red Pack. Damon was there."

Skye's hands flew to her mouth, a gasp escaping. "No..."

"He turned the warriors with me," Dane said, hollow. "That forced purification-it broke their minds, made them his. And Kaida..." He gripped the wooden wolf, knuckles white. "She stood her ground. Braver than any of us. Damon looked at me and drove his claws into her chest. A warning."

Tears burned Skye's face, silent and hot. Her mom-vibrant, stubborn, human-gone. Delayed was a lie, a cruel shield now shattered.

"He didn't know she was human," Dane said, a bitter laugh choking him. "Thought she was just the White Pack's Luna. His 'warning' was murder."

Skye stumbled forward, and Dane caught her in a fierce hug. They clung to each other, two broken pieces in a silent house, the loss screaming louder than words.

"I'll make him pay," Dane vowed, his voice hardening to steel. "I'll rally the Alphas. We'll end Damon."

The words should've been a comfort, a promise of justice. But Skye felt only fear. A war was coming, and her dad was charging into it, fueled by rage.

As she sobbed into his shoulder, two faces haunted her: her mom's warm smile and Derek's crimson eyes. The son of the monster who'd destroyed her family.

It was too cruel to be chance.

The world she'd known and the one she was stepping into were colliding.

And she was caught in the explosion.

Skye sat on her bed later, the house too quiet, the wooden wolf now on her nightstand. Her mom's absence was a void, swallowing everything. She stared at Derek's notebook, untouched in her bag. It felt like a tether to him, to that spark she couldn't shake. But now, knowing who his father was, it burned.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Mia: Heard about the Derek drama. You okay? Campus is WILD. Skye didn't reply. She couldn't explain the storm inside her-grief, anger, and something dangerous tied to Derek.

She opened her laptop, pulling up her Mythology notes. The Mega Alpha stared back, its lore steeped in blood and chaos. It had always been a story, a puzzle to solve. Now, with her mom gone and Derek's father a murderer, it felt like a warning.

Across town, Derek stood at the edge of the forest, blood drying on his knuckles. The fight had ended, his body bruised but unbroken. His father's words echoed-weakness, power, Alpha-but Skye's face drowned them out. She wasn't just a girl. She was a spark, a challenge, a piece of something bigger.

Another howl rose from the trees, sharp and urgent. The pack was restless, and Damon's plans were moving. Derek's world was closing in, and Skye was at its heart, whether he wanted it or not.