Chapter 1
ASHLYN
Nomad Lands, Alaska
Come on, Ash, I tell myself. Just… just go out there and face fate.
I’m not this meek Omega. I’m a powerful seer. I… I don’t hide in bathrooms.
Except, the Alpha of my literal dreams is standing just outside the door.
My future mate.
My intended.
I only know that because of my oracle-like gifts, which are both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I can use them to help others. A curse because they never actually help me.
Ugh. Sometimes seeing the future really shoots stars.
Grabbing the marble counter, I close my eyes and fight the urge to growl.
I’ve been hiding in here since Grey deposited me in the bath an hour ago. But I can’t stop thinking about his strong arms, how they wrapped around me in protective bands as he shadowed me to one of his lairs.
Fates, I can’t believe this is finally happening…
I waited for Grey on the icy shores of Kodiak Sector for days. I almost worried he wouldn’t arrive.
But then he did.
And now we’re here.
With me hiding in his bathroom like a coward.
I wince.
Enough.
I am not this woman.
I’m a Z-Clan Omega who has survived hell.
I can survive this destiny, too.
Straightening my spine, I head toward the door, aware that all I’m wearing is a robe. But Grey didn’t give me any clothes. Probably because he doesn’t have any that will fit me.
I’m only five foot three.
Grey is… well, he’s at least a foot taller than me. Probably closer to six foot four. His Z-Clan genetics make him rather large.
I bet his wolf is huge, too.
And other parts of him.
I clear my throat. Don’t think about the Alpha’s knot, Ash. Or his beast. Just… just step through the threshold and—
A knock sounds at the door, making me jump a foot backward with a yelp.
“Ashlyn?” Grey’s deep tones easily carry through the wood. “Are you all right?”
“Um.” I close my eyes and take a breath.
This is ridiculous. Stop hiding and go face your fate, I tell myself.
Sighing, I return to the door and gingerly push it open.
“I’m… I’m fine,” I tell him. Just… just adjusting to the temperature change.” What a ridiculous statement. I’m a shifter. I was healed and fine within five minutes of arriving here. He knows that. I know that. But, fortunately, he doesn’t call me on it.
Instead, all he does is nod, like he understands, and takes a step back. “I made you some food.”
I blink at him, feeling even more like a lost fool. “Oh.” These are the types of things I typically foresee, but with Grey, my sight is… abnormal. “Thank you?”
He frowns at me, probably because my gratitude sounded like a question.
Because, well, I don’t know. “I’m sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “This is all just…” I pinch my lips to the side. “Can we start over?”
He arches a light-colored brow. “Start over?”
“Like… meet again?” I ask.
He leans against the wall, his thick arms folding and drawing my gaze down to his tight white shirt. It’s clean. Crisp. Smells like fresh snowfall on evergreens.
I frown. “I didn’t realize this lair had more than one shower.” In all my visions of this place, I only ever saw a single bedroom with an attached en-suite bathroom, as well as a small living area with a kitchenette and table.
Maybe this isn’t the lair from my visions? I think, glancing around again, frowning. No. No, this is definitely where it all happens…
Grey observes me with his glacial stare. “It doesn’t.”
“Oh.” There’s that word again. Super eloquent, Ash, I mutter to myself. You’re doing great.
“I took a dip outside,” Grey says, still scrutinizing me with his icy gaze.
“It was cold, but it got the job done.” He runs his fingers through his damp blond hair, the edges of which reach his massive shoulders.
“And no, little riddler. We can’t meet again.
” He pushes away from the wall. “Because we’ve never actually met. ”
I gape at his back as he heads toward the small table with two chairs. He pulls one out, then glances back at me.
“My name is Grey,” he murmurs. “I’m half V-Clan Alpha, half Z-Clan Alpha. I’m one of Prince Cael’s Elites from Lunar Sector. But, of course, you already know all that. It was on my Alpha candidate card for the mating program.”
He leaves the chair for me and takes the opposite one, his movements reminding me of a stealth panther more than a beastly polar bear.
Which is interesting because Z-Clan Alphas tend to be very large in wolf form—very bearlike. Not catlike.
“Hmm,” I hum, more to myself than to him, because I’m intrigued. I like this Alpha.
Of course, I’ve dreamt of him my whole life, our fates always destined to intertwine.
So I’m slightly biased in my favor.
Still, I appreciate him humoring me.
“I’m Ashlyn, Z-Clan Omega,” I tell him softly as I join him at the table. “I didn’t join the mating program to find a mate, but I suspect you already know that, too.”
“I do,” he murmurs. “Z-Clan wolves rely on fate.” It’s not a question, but a statement.
However, I still feel the need to reply, “Yes.”
He doesn’t immediately comment, instead picking up my bowl and spooning something on it from the pot between us.
Spaghetti, I realize, somewhat amused by his choice.
“You joined the mating pool because you knew something was going to happen to the other Omegas,” he says, again as a statement, not a question. “And to meet me.”
“Yes,” I admit. “But also no.”
That eyebrow of his lifts again, the color the same as his blond hair.
“I participated because I wanted to help the Omegas,” I clarify. “But I didn’t realize you would be there.” That’s why I fell into an icy lake the first time he appeared. That’s not how I predicted we would meet for the first time.
Not that we actually did meet… which he just pointed out.
We barely said anything to each other at all.
He simply jumped into the water and pulled me out of it, then Alpha Cillian escorted me back to the igloos in Glacier Sector.
Maybe that’s our thing, I think. Meeting in ice water.
“Lying is a trait I strongly dislike, Omega,” Grey informs me flatly.
“I’m not lying, Alpha,” I promise him.
His expression darkens, the air between us seeming to chill. “Princess Quinnlynn informed you of my intent to participate. You approved it.”
“Well, yes, I did. However, the moment we first saw each other wasn’t the moment I saw in my visions,” I advise him.
“You stated that I joined the mating program to meet you. I corrected your assumption—I joined prior to learning you were participating. I did not anticipate meeting you during the program.”
His brow furrows. “Then when were we to meet?”
“In…” I close my eyes and sigh. “Off the shores of Kodiak Sector. That’s where my visions of you begin.”
He says nothing.
Then I hear him twirling noodles in his bowl with small, meticulous motions.
I peek at him through my lashes and find him still staring at me, but not with that dark expression anymore. He just looks interested now. “What else have you foreseen between us, Seer?”
“You want to know about your sister,” I translate.
“I want to know everything,” he corrects me. “And I would also like you to eat. Please.”
I look down at my bowl, my lips twisting a little.
“Don’t like spaghetti?” he asks.
“No, I do, it’s just…” I look at him. “The red sauce makes me think of the blood you were wearing when you picked me up from the water.” My nose crinkles. “I assume Prince Tadhg is dead?”
Prince Tadhg is the monster who shadowed me to Kodiak Sector and left me to be violated and killed by all of the Z-Clan Alphas.
That’s why I went into the ice water—to mask my scent while I waited for Grey to find me.
I was sure he would come, mostly because my visions had told me he would. But it took far longer than I expected.
However, we’re on our destined path now.
Which means we’re nearing the fated countdown.
“Didn’t you foresee his demise?” There’s a subtle sarcastic undertone in Grey’s voice as he brings me back to our discussion. “I assume that’s why you staged everything the way you did with those journals.”
My lips twist to the side. “I didn’t stage anything.
I just… tried to help.” It’s all I can do with my visions of the future.
If I explicitly share details of my foresight, then everything changes.
But over my last century of life, I’ve learned that writing down subtle hints can often influence the decisions of others.
When they read my words, anyway.
Something Grey clearly has done.
Because he’s here.
PPS: Our pasts make us stronger, not weaker. Remember that. Remember where you came from. And understand once and for all—you are not him. But sometimes you have to think like him to find the truth. To find… me.
That was the part of my diary entry I meant for him to see. Fortunately, he did. And, fortunately, we’re now here.
Well, unfortunately, too, I suppose.
Assuming my visions of what’s to come are correct.
I nearly sigh but busy myself with trying the food in front of me. The moment the flavor hits my tongue, I nearly groan with delight, my insides suddenly clenching with severe hunger pangs.
Oracle, when was the last time I ate? I know it’s been days. Maybe longer.
I was in Prince Tadhg’s “care” for… well, I’m not sure how long. It doesn’t matter. He didn’t assault me, saying he preferred to let the Z-Clan Alphas do the honors. “You’ll be a nice gift,” he told me before dropping me off. “Help firm up our alliance.”
“I’m glad he’s dead,” I say softly, not that Grey has actually confirmed it. However, I assume some of the blood he was wearing earlier was from Prince Tadhg. “He was a horrible Alpha.”
Grey doesn’t say anything for a long beat, then finally replies, “Cillian ripped his head off, then Cael handled the remains.”
I try to picture the grotesque scene, but while my mind can depict future episodes, I can’t really envision the past. It’s strange. But I’m pleased Grey provided confirmation of the Alpha Prince’s demise. “Will Hawk become the new Prince of Alpha Sector?”
Grey shrugs. “I don’t concern myself with politics.”
I raise a brow at him as I pick up the glass of water beside my bowl of food. “You’re second-in-command at Lunar Sector. That seems political to me, Alpha Grey.”
“It’s just Grey,” he corrects me softly. “And I thought you didn’t know anything about me?”
“I never said that,” I murmur, taking a sip of my drink and setting it down again. “I asked if we could start over with introductions since we’d never properly met. But I do, in fact, know a great deal about you, Alpha.”
“Grey,” he corrects again. “And pray tell, little riddler, what all have you seen?”
My lips twitch. “We both know it doesn’t work like that.”
“Do we?” he asks, leaning back in his chair. “From what I understand, if you share what you know, it’ll change the scope of everything. Does that mean you would prefer we stay on whatever our intended path is?”
And any form of amusement I may have felt… dies.
Because no, I really don’t want to walk this path at all.
I know how this ends.
With me being ripped apart by a pack of wild Alphas.
I swallow, my stomach no longer desiring any food.
“I’ll help you find Nikiski,” I tell Grey, aware that’s what he truly cares about. Why we’re actually here. It’s been his mission for years to find his little sister, and somehow, I’m going to help him.
If only I knew how I’m meant to help.
The visions are cloudy but murky. Which is strange because my sight is typically quite clear. However, my destiny with Grey has always resembled a cloud of potential outcomes.
None of them good.
“I assumed that was the point of all your cryptic notes.”
My brow furrows. “Cryptic notes?”
“Yes, about the Omega slave trade,” he says, his glacial gaze grabbing and holding mine. “You know where my sister is.”
“Actually, I—
He pushes away from the table so suddenly that I stop breathing, my words lost in the now frigid air as he looks directly at the cave wall. “Excuse me,” he says, vanishing from sight.
I flinch, my mind instantly recalling all the visions of him disappearing.
Leaving me to my fate.
Choosing her over me.
My shoulders sag, just for a moment, while I consider what I know will one day come.
Then I shake my head and pick up my water again. Pitying oneself doesn’t fix fate, Ash, I remind myself. Consider the positives. You’re going to save his sister one day.
It’ll be at a significant personal expense, but that’s why fate gave me this gift—to put others first.
Taking a sip of water, I consider what comes next. Then stand and grab another bowl. We’re about to have company.
And when he arrives, the countdown will officially begin.