Chapter 1 Running before the moon chooses me

Sable’s POV

By the time I was old enough to string a bow, my mother made sure I was trained to be one of the strongest fighters in our pack.

At seventeen, I could put a blade against the throat of half the warriors in Black Pine before they realized they’d underestimated me. I could track a deer across frozen ground. Break a hold from a wolf twice my size. Swim against the river current during spring thaw. And in three months, I planned to disappear and no one knew. At least, I hoped no one knew.

I drove my practice knife into the wooden target and watched the blade bury itself exactly where a man’s heart would have been.

“Again.”

My mother, Aria, stood behind me with her arms crossed. Black Pine called her one of its fiercest warriors. I called her impossible. I retrieved the knife.

“You keep dropping your shoulders,” she said.

“I hit the target.”

“And if the target is moving?”

“Then I’ll hit him twice.”

Her mouth twitched. That was almost a smile. A rare sight when we are training.

“Again.”

I threw the knife, and it struck slightly left of center.

“Better.”

That was practically a declaration of love from my mother. I walked toward the target, breathing in pine, damp earth, and the distant river. This was home and I loved this place. That was what made leaving so difficult. Black Pine had given me everything, my family, my training, my wolf, people who would bleed beside me without hesitation. It was also the place where, in three months, I would stop belonging entirely.

My eighteenth birthday was coming. And eighteen changed everything. That was when a wolf could recognize their fated mate. The old stories made it sound beautiful. When you meet your mate, there will be one scent, one look and one perfect person selected by the moon goddess herself.

The pack called it sacred. I called it terrifying. Because I’d watched what happened after the fairy tale. I’d watched Tamsin limp through the lodge after her mate decided she needed a lesson in obedience. I’d watched Raina pack away the paintings she loved because her mate wanted children and believed art was a waste of her time. Everyone still called their bonds blessings. Maybe some were.

My parents weren’t fated mates, yet somehow they’d built something stronger than many couples who were. They respected each other. Challenged each other. Chose each other. That mattered to me. Choice mattered. And I refused to gamble mine.

“Sable.”

I turned.

My older brother, Jaxon, leaned against the training-yard fence, tossing a practice blade from hand to hand.

“You planning on murdering that target all afternoon?”

“Yes.”

“Well, sucks for you because Kier’s looking for you.”

My stomach did something irritating and I ignored it.

“Why?”

Jaxon’s grin spread slowly. That grin had annoyed me since childhood.

“Training ring.”

Of course. I yanked my knife from the target.

Kier Blane, The future Alpha of Black Pine He was a year older than me, a head taller, too strong,too confident, and entirely too accustomed to getting his way.

We’d been sparring since childhood. When we were younger, I hated losing him. Now? I mostly enjoyed watching his expression when he lost to me.

Jaxon fell into step beside me. “There’s a crowd.”

I stopped. "What crowd?”

“Warriors. Dad. Alpha Tor.” He paused dramatically. “Luna Alina.”

I groaned.

Jaxon laughed. “Apparently our future Alpha has something to prove.”

“Then he should find someone he can beat.”

“That’s my little sister.”

He slung an arm around my shoulders and I shoved him off. As we approached the main training yard, voices roared between the trees. The ring was already surrounded. My father stood beside Alpha Tor near the wooden railing. My mother’s footsteps followed somewhere behind us.

And above the yard, on the pack-house balcony, Luna Alina watched with her silver shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She spotted me and smiled. My chest warmed despite myself. Alina had always treated me like the daughter she’d never had. She had only one child.

Kier.

And there he was. Standing in the middle of the training ring. Shirt damp with sweat. Dark hair falling over his forehead. Practice blade hanging loosely from one hand. He looked toward me and changed in his expression. Small enough that no one else would’ve noticed, but I did. I always noticed things about Kier. That was another problem I intended to leave behind.

“Finally,” he called.

I stepped through the gate.

“Miss me?”

A few warriors laughed.

Kier’s mouth curved. “You wish.”

I grabbed a practice blade from the rack. Our eyes met and one strange heartbeat, everything around us disappeared. Then Alpha Tor’s voice shattered the moment.

“Let’s see what you’ve learned.”

I rolled my shoulders and stepped into the ring as Kier did the same. He looked completely at ease and that annoyed me.

“You ready?” he asked.

I lowered into my stance.

“Are you?”

His grin widened, and suddenly I remembered the folded bus schedule hidden beneath my mattress. The cash stuffed inside the hollow cedar near the river. The motel two towns over that accepted money without identification.

Three months. That was all I had left. Three months before the moon could decide who I belonged to.

Kier lifted his blade and I lifted mine. And as the future Alpha charged toward me, I made myself a silent promise. I would beat him today.

And before my eighteenth birthday I would be gone.