"Mate," my wolf spoke loudly in my mind. 
The smell hit me first. A smoky cedarwood, dark and heavy. My body reacted before my head even had a chance to process what was going on, and then I saw him.
Alpha Elias Beaumont. He was tall, and handsome. His full dark hair made me feel bald and emerald eyes were sharper than the edge of a knife. 
He stole the moment. The rest of the world went into oblivion.
He was mine.
I took one step closer and he retreated.
The earth beneath my feet could have turned to liquid, it was that soft.
Elias's face impossible to decipher, his jaw shut tight, his eyes burning with some feeling I had no notion how to classify.
My wolf yelped in agony, but I held strong, muzzling my own breath into a level plane, waiting…waiting for him to speak.
He felt it just like I did. I moved towards him, but he stopped me with his hand. "Don't," he warned. 
And then, his words, individually like a blade, cutting through me.
"I, Alpha Elias Beaumont of the Artemis Pack, deny you, Amara Kings, as my mate."
~
For eighteen years, Amara Kings has been nothing more than a ghost—a forgotten heir locked away in secrecy. On the night of her long-awaited debut, she senses her fated mate among the guests. But her dreams of love and freedom shatter when Alpha Elias Beaumont, the man destined to be hers, publicly rejects her and claims her sister, Kamla, instead.  
Betrayed and heartbroken, Amara swears Kamla will not get away with her deception. But when Kamla is found murdered that same night, all eyes turn to Amara. Branded a jealous killer, she is thrown into a nightmare of torture and humiliation at the hands of the mate who once denied her.  
But Amara is no ordinary wolf. As darkness rises and buried secrets unravel, she discovers a power within her that could reshape the entire werewolf world—or destroy it. With enemies lurking in the shadows, an obsessed Alpha vying for her heart, and Elias desperate for redemption, Amara must decide: will she seek vengeance, claim her rightful place, or carve a new destiny of her own?  
The truth was never meant to come to light. But now that it has, the world will never be the same.

Celeste's hands shook as she sprinkled the purple powder around Amara's limp body. Dorian watched her every move like a hungry wolf, which he was.


"Hurry up, witch," Dorian growled. "The blood moon rises in thirty minutes."


"Magic can't be rushed," Celeste snapped back, even though her heart was pounding. She had to be careful. One bad move and Dorian would know she wasn't really helping him.


The girl on the stone altar moaned softly. Amara Kings—the one with the blue fire. The one Dorian planned to sacrifice to bring back his dead mate. The one Celeste had to save somehow.


Celeste leaned closer, pretending to check the marks she'd drawn on Amara's arms. Instead, she whispered quickly, "Stay still. I'm trying to help you."


Amara's eyes fluttered open for just a second. Confusion, then understanding flashed across her face before she went limp again.


"Is she ready?" Dorian asked, stepping closer.


Chapter 74 - Chapter 74: Double-Crossed Hearts