---- Chapter 2 "Who do you think you are?" Ethan's voice echoed in my ears, but I couldn't feel any warmth in it anymore. Only disdain, only coldness. I closed my eyes. Sharp pains shot from my mate mark. The twenty-year bond was naturally weakening, like an old rope about to snap. Twenty years ago, this mark was forged with love and vows. Back then, Ethan wasn't the strongest Alpha in North America, just a poor college student from a small, fringe pack. He was cornered in an abandoned factory by three vampires. And he was covered in wounds from silver weapons. "Let me go!" nineteen-year-old Ethan roared, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "The ---- Stone family never bows to enemies!" The rival wolves laughed at him. "The Stone family? That third-rate pack on the verge of extinction? Kid, you don't even qualify to attend the Alliance meetings." I stepped out from the shadows. "Let him go," I said calmly. The rival wolves turned, stunned when they saw me. A harmless-looking college girl. "Another one eager to die?" The leader of the rivals licked his lips. ''Two wolf pups should fetch a good price." I didn't shift, didn't roar. I just released a tiny bit of my bloodline's power. The three experienced rival wolves instantly dropped to their knees, their bodies shaking uncontrollably. The leader even started babbling, " No... impossible... that kind of power..." ---- "Get out," I said softly. They scrambled away, practically tripping over themselves. Ethan stared, wide-eyed, struggling to his feet. " You... how did you do that?" I walked over to him, checking his wounds. " These silver wounds are deep. They need to be treated right away." "wait!" Ethan grabbed my wrist. "Who are you? No ordinary werewolf could..." "My name is Regina Winters." I tore a strip from my clothes and bandaged his deepest wound. "And you?" "Ethan Stone." His voice was weak, but his eyes were still stubborn. "Winters... Never heard of that family. Which pack are you from?" I smiled but didn't answer. ---- From that day on, this stubborn boy started pursuing me. He thought I was just the daughter of some mid-level pack, with a few special talents. I didn't correct him. "Regina, I'll protect you," he said during his first confession, his eyes burning with sincerity. "I know I'm weak now, and my family isn't strong, but I'll work hard. I'll become an Alpha worthy of you." He was so innocent back then, so driven. Every day, it was either class or training, desperately trying to get stronger. We had our mating ceremony the year we graduated. Asimple ceremony, just the two of us in a small chapel on a full moon night. Ethan's pack was too poor to afford a grand celebration.