Reckoning  [noun] - the avenging or punishing of past mistakes or misdeeds.

author's note: welcome to my second werewolf book! this one will have similar vibes to alpha tristan, but is a standalone and not linked at all due to different worlds, and to avoid spoilers before i bring out the sequel. as per usual, there is and will not be a set cast so you are free to imagine whoever you want but i will describe the characters according to how i see them! happy reading! <3

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Every night for three years, I had the same nightmare. Eyes that burned like embers staring into my soul, and canines bared as if he was ready to attack. Every night, I woke up in the safety of my bed. Except tonight.

Tonight, my nightmare was real, and he was crouched between the trees.

The saliva dripped from his sharp canines, and I wasn't sure what was louder—my racing heart or his growl. It ripped from his chest and rippled underneath the snow. My feet were ice-cold, and I didn't have to look down to know that I was barefoot. I couldn't look away from him. It was as if we were suspended in time, and as soon as I would break away from it, he would pounce.

My feet were beginning to burn from the cold, and my first mistake was flexing my toes to check I could still move them. His sharp gaze followed the movement when the snow crunched and it was just like that that time resumed again.

Run.

My heart plummeted as I twisted in the air and triggered my shift. My clothes ripped to shreds and paws replaced feet on the settled snow. He had quite a distance to cover as I set into motion and headed for the trees on the other side of the clearing.

His wolf was larger and faster and I could feel my breath quicken as I felt him closing the distance. I tried my best to weave in and out of the trees to tire him out. The nightmare had always ended with my blood soaking the snow.

His growls became louder and I frantically scanned my surroundings for anything that could come to my aid. If I attempted to climb a tree, he could sink his teeth into my hind legs and shake me like a rag doll.

I knew the chase was exhilarating him, like it was a game of wolf and rabbit. I was the prey and he was the apex predator.

I could see the gates that marked the beginning of civilisation yet a sinking sense of doom encased me. Everyone else was asleep and no one would come to my rescue or see me die.

I knew death was imminent when I could feel his breath on my hind leg.

It was just me and him.

A fire burned in my stomach and I refused to be easy prey. I was agile and being smaller was an advantage when I leapt through a break in the gate. I yelped as the barbed wire cut my right leg but the adrenaline numbed the pain when I staggered back and saw his teeth clashing together against the hole he couldn't get through.

I won the chase.

His glowing eyes stared into mine, full of anger at his loss and I whimpered as I limped backwards. His breaths were harsh and he snarled when he accepted the sick game was over. I watched as he retreated and didn't look away until I saw him disappear into the trees.

My gaze then dropped to my cut and how the blood dripped onto the snow, painting it a crimson red. The metallic stench was strong in the air and it was a stark reminder that my nightmare had become true in all ways but one.

He didn't kill me this time.

—————

When the sun had risen, I had just about made it back to my bedroom. When I shifted back, the gash on my leg was beginning to heal but I knew it was going to scar. The smell of fear stuck to my every pore and I showered to wash it, and the memories, all off.

I could still hear his snarls in my ear and I tried to make sense of it all. What had happened and why was it real? I had questions I knew would remain unanswered as I cleaned and dressed my wound. I pulled clean clothes on and limped to the door.

Today was an important day for all the packs in the region. That meant crowds of people. There was safety in numbers and safety was what I needed.

Three and a half years ago, there had been a brief war between all the packs in the region, started by rivalling claims to disputed territory. Initially, it had been two packs against each other but then the other four had been roped in through alliances.

Three years ago, the bloodshed ceased when a treaty was drawn up and the territory was conceded to one alpha. Every year since then, one pack would host the revisiting of the treaty to uphold good relations across the packs.

This year was my pack's turn.

When I made my way downstairs, the house was empty and I figured my parents were already with the alpha and luna. If they had seen me come in bleeding, alarm bells would have sounded in their minds. With the arrival of high-ranking wolves across the region, I had no clue whether my nightmare was an undeclared act of war or if the black wolf was a rogue. He didn't seem like a rogue.

I kept my thoughts to myself until I walked—or hobbled, really—to the alpha's house. I had to stand with my parents as everyone arrived. I had time to think of an excuse before I met them and regarded them with a cool smile.

My father was first to speak. "You were up early. Where did you go?"

I looked between my parents and tried to feign nonchalance. "I went for a walk to clear my head. Climbed a tree and managed to snag my leg so didn't make it back until you left."

My mother's dark eyes widened and zeroed in on my leg. "Are you okay?"

I nodded as my father gave me his arm to steady myself. "It's healing but it still hurts."

"Why don't you stick with us today so we can keep an eye on you?" my mum glanced at me as the cars began to filter in. There would be five cars arriving, one for each alpha.

I got distracted when I only spotted four. My father patted my hand to regain my attention. "What? No that's okay. I don't think being one of the only beta wolves in a room full of alphas is my idea of a fun time."

"And what kind of fun were you thinking of getting up to with an injured leg?" my dad quipped with a charming smile.

I chuckled and almost replied when my mum caught our attention.

"He's late again this year," she muttered with an annoyed expression.

"Who?" I asked but my parents began speaking to each other.

"Typical," my dad replied, shaking his head. "Between us two, if there was anyone who I thought would break the treaty, it's him."

It dawned on me who they were speaking about and I decided to keep quiet. My heart twisted at the mention of him and I felt scared to add anything to their conversation about him. It seemed irrational but I didn't want to say anything lest he was lurking in the shadows.

Something told me he didn't take well to people speaking ill of him in his presence.

"Hey, Rina. You okay?" my dad questioned, noticing the expression on my face.

I blinked my thoughts away and forced a smile onto my face. "Yeah."

No more was said as the four alphas exited their respective cars. Alphas Leander, Myles, Owain, and Jax. The missing alpha's presence was felt when my alpha, Alpha Eryx, emerged from inside his house with his mate, Luna Melia.

Their collective sense of power surrounded us and I held my breath at the feeling of it. Their ranks gave them a sense of dominance that was impossible to ignore, and while I was used to feeling my alpha's, it was unsettling to be in the presence of them all.

My alpha glanced at my father. "Check in with the border patrol to see if he's crossed already."

My father nodded and I had to hold my own weight as he moved to step away. He only took one step when we all heard the sound of wheels rolling against the gravel. The fifth car came into view and the only thing I could hone in on was the sound of a steady beating heart.

Sight, hearing. Smell.

My heart began to race when I caught a familiar scent. Glowing eyes and bared teeth. I looked around to see if I could spot the wolf again and tried to control my breathing. Relax, Rina. He can't get you in front of all these alphas.

The car tore my attention away from looking for the wolf and I forced myself to focus on it as it came to a stop. The door opened and it was so silent, I could hear the blood rushing in my ears.

The last alpha got out of the car and the breath caught in my throat. Amber eyes met mine and I was instantly transported back to last night. His eyes were lighter—closer to burnt honey.

Could it have been him?

I shook my head. If he had attacked me then surely that would have been an act of war. I glanced around at the other alphas and contemplated telling my mother the truth. I was certain another war would begin.

"I'm glad we're all here," Alpha Eryx broke the silence. "Why don't we all go inside?"

His gaze was still fixed on me and there was nothing behind his eyes. He was a walking enigma. Cold fire.

The shiver coursed down my back and my father wrapped a hand around my arm. I supposed it was to stop me from staring but I couldn't look away.

There was something about him that demanded my attention. It has to be him. The fear brewed inside me and when it bubbled over, it was tinged with the same fire I felt last night. Fury filled me at the thought of him being the thing that went bump in the night. Of him being the face of my nightmares for three years.

In human form, he looked normal. Like he was a man of contained emotions and not the beast that had chased me in the woods. His mirage angered me and my skin prickled with a fiery heat. The dam of my control broke and I snatched my arm from my dad's hand.

The alphas were moving yet everyone and everything came to a stop when I took a step forward. I hid my limp as best as I could to not be his perfect prey again. An arm's length remained between us.

My jaw clenched as my chest began to rise and fall with my quickening breaths. Where my instinct had told me last night to run, I had one instinct that rushed in my head louder than the blood he had been so eager to spill.

Kill.

My claws descended and as I lifted my hand to go for the jugular, he caught my wrist in an iron-clad grip.

Touch.

His touch was gentle yet piercing and my pained gasp overpowered my parents' expression of shock.

The pain in my wrist brought me to my knees in front of him. I didn't know what emanated more strongly from me—my fear or the blood that was beginning to seep through my bandage. My whole body felt like it was alight and the skin on my wrist felt raw.

I gripped his wrist yet the power that thrummed strongly through him kept him upright. I gritted my teeth as a sharp red line began to burn on my wrist.

He clenched his jaw before he ripped his wrist from my hand, yanking his sleeve up. I could no longer keep quiet as a sob fell from my mouth from the pain. I watched as four letters burned on his skin and my heart sank at the confirmation of what was happening.

This wasn't supposed to happen. It doesn't happen like this. I had turned twenty-one two years ago and my mate's first words to me hadn't appeared on my wrist then. I had accepted that I didn't have one, that he was dead and that was why my wrist remained bare.

What was happening?

I looked down at my wrist now through the tears and there it was. The harbinger of doom, the bad omen and lethal prophecy burned into my skin.

Kane.