Chapter 1 THE BILLIONAIRE ALPHA

Chapter 1

The scent of blood and power lingered in the air.

Alpha Damian Blackthorn stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his high-rise penthouse, watching the city burn with lights beneath him. Below, humans hustled through their glittering illusions - deals, traffic, laughter - all unaware that their survival depended on the silent rules of his kind.

The wolves ruled the shadows.

And he ruled them all.

His reflection in the glass was sharp and cold - jet-black hair, cut with precision; eyes of molten gold that flickered faintly when his wolf stirred. Every line of his tailored suit screamed control. Every breath carried authority.

Behind him, his Beta's voice broke the silence.

"Alpha, the council's decision came in."

Damian didn't turn. "And?"

"They've approved the takeover of Crescent Pack territories. The Bloodfang Alpha has... resigned."

"Resigned," Damian repeated, his tone razor-sharp. "You mean he begged before I ended it."

The Beta swallowed hard. "Yes, Alpha."

Damian finally turned from the window, slow and deliberate. "Prepare the contracts. By tomorrow morning, I want the documents signed. I don't keep wolves who bow to fear."

"Yes, Alpha."

The Beta left quickly - grateful, perhaps, to still have his throat intact.

When the door closed, silence returned. Damian loosened his tie, his jaw tight.

The world saw him as a billionaire, a ruthless businessman with an empire spanning oil, tech and pharmaceuticals. But what they didn't know was only supernatural world whispered was that Blackthorn industries was more that a company.

It's the foundation of an empire built on power, loyalty and blood.

But beneath all that dominance something deeper stirred something wild and restless.

His wolf had grown agitated lately, pacing within him, snarling at unseen ghosts. It wasn't just stress. It was instinct.

The Moon Calling.

Every few decades, an Alpha's wolf began to fade if he hadn't found his true mate. And though Damian's pack was the strongest in North America, even his strength couldn't suppress the slow erosion of his soul.

He felt it more each night - the silence where a connection should have been.

"Find her," his wolf growled in the back of his mind, a voice low and primal. "She's close."

Damian rubbed his temples. "You've been saying that for years."

"This time is different."

He exhaled sharply, trying to suppress the pull in his chest - that strange ache, like something inside him had started to wake. The moon hung full and pale over the city, washing the skyline in silver light.

For a heartbeat, his heart stumbled. The room around him flickered - a flash of snow-white fur, a woman's distant cry.

Damian froze. His pupils flared gold.

"What was that?" he hissed.

His wolf didn't answer - only howled.

A soundless echo, like a song carried on the wind.

⸻

Hundreds of miles away, under the same moon, a girl knelt on cold marble floors.

Aurora Vale pressed her hands into the bucket of icy water until her knuckles burned. The manor kitchen smelled of bleach and smoke, and the laughter of her foster sister echoed from the next room.

"Faster, orphan!" sneered Clara, her voice sharp and mocking. "You missed a spot again. Do you think the guests will enjoy stepping over your dirt?"

Aurora bit her tongue. "I'm cleaning as fast as I can."

"Not fast enough. You're useless." Clara tipped the bucket, spilling dirty water over the newly washed floor - and Aurora's bare feet.

Cold water splashed up her legs. Her fingers trembled, but she didn't move. She'd learned not to fight back. Not when every bruise was a reminder of what defiance cost her.

Her guardians, Lord and Lady Kane, had raised her since she was a child - not out of kindness, but because her labor filled the gaps servants once had.

And kanes were powerful in the human world, owners of luxury estates, deep political ties. But deep their wealth, a darker truth pulsed. They were wolves part of the same network of Alphas that control territories from the shadows.

And Aurora was their slave.

"Don't just stand there," Lady Kane snapped from the doorway. "You have guests tonight. Make yourself useful and stay out of sight. If I see that face near the dining room, you'll sleep outside again."

"Yes, ma'am," Aurora murmured, her eyes down.

She turned away before they could see the anger rising behind her lashes.

⸻

Outside, the night air was cold. Aurora stepped into the backyard, the moonlight spilling over her skin. The forest loomed beyond the fence - dark, ancient, whispering secrets she couldn't name.

Sometimes, when she was alone, she thought she could hear it calling to her.

Something inside her had always been different. She could sense storms before they came, feel emotions before they were spoken. And lately, the pull toward the moon had grown unbearable.

That night, her reflection in the window caught her breath - silver eyes glimmering faintly, just for an instant.

She blinked, and it was gone.

⸻

Inside the mansion, the guests arrived. Aurora's heart sank as she recognized the man standing beside Lord Kane.

Victor Kane.

Tall. Handsome. Cold. His smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Ah, our honored guest," Lady Kane cooed. "Victor has just returned from the North. He's to inherit his father's territory soon."

Victor's gaze flicked toward Aurora, and a slow smirk spread across his lips.

"Who's this?" he asked. "New servant?"

Lady Kane's hand tightened on Aurora's shoulder. "Our ward. A burden, really, but she keeps herself useful. Don't mind the face - she's common."

Aurora's cheeks burned.

Victor leaned closer, his voice low. "Common, maybe. But pretty. I like the frightened ones."

The room erupted in polite laughter.

Aurora's stomach turned. She excused herself quickly, rushing back to the kitchen, where she could finally breathe.

She didn't know that upstairs, in a hidden office, her guardians were sealing her fate.

"She's of age now," Lord Kane whispered. "Victor's father offered double the dowry. The girl will marry him next week."

"Good," Lady Kane said. "It's time we finally profited from the little stray."

⸻

Back in the city, Damian's pulse still raced.

He hadn't seen visions in years - not since his father's death. Yet tonight, under the full moon, his senses burned with clarity. His wolf clawed at his control.

"Now," it growled. "She's awake."

Damian strode to his private study. The screens across the wall flickered with satellite feeds and surveillance maps of his territories. In the top corner, one monitor pulsed with faint energy readings.

A light, like a spark of moonfire, appeared near the Eastern border - the human region.

His eyes narrowed. "There."

Without hesitation, he grabbed his jacket.

"Alpha?" his Beta called as Damian passed him in the hall.

"Cancel tomorrow's meetings."

"Where are you going?"

"East," Damian said, his voice dropping to a growl. "To find what's mine."

⸻

In the Kanes' estate, Aurora sat by the window, unable to sleep. The moon hung low, enormous and white, glowing like a heartbeat in the sky.

Her chest ached - a sharp, throbbing pain that made her gasp. She pressed her palm over her heart, breathing hard.

Then she heard it.

A voice. Distant. Deep. Wild.

Aurora.

She stood, trembling. "Who's there?"

The wind answered - soft, whispering through the trees.

Her skin glowed faintly under the moonlight, veins of silver crawling across her arms. Her eyes turned luminous, reflecting the moon.

And then she felt it.

Her wolf.

The world tilted. The pain became heat, rushing through her veins like fire. She fell to her knees, gasping, her nails digging into the floorboards.

Inside her mind, a figure emerged - tall, ethereal, made of white flame and fur.

You've been asleep too long, the wolf's voice said. They've hidden us. Stolen us. But not anymore.

Aurora's scream shattered the quiet night.

The windows cracked, glass raining across the floor. The moon above flared so bright it drowned the stars.

And hundreds of miles away, Damian Blackthorn's wolf threw back its head and howled.

He felt her.

Finally.

His mate.

The one the moon had promised.

⸻

The sound of her awakening echoed through every pack across the continent.

And in that single heartbeat, destiny began to move.