The First Male Luna Rose From Chains

Elian Valerius has never been called by his name in Dark River Pack. He is the male slave—the lowest thing, the easiest to step on. When Livia Draven, the Alpha's adopted daughter, steals his mother's pendant and frames him for theft, something shifts. It is his eighteenth birthday. That night, his wolf awakens and pulls him toward a scent he cannot resist. Kael Draven, the pack's future Alpha, stands with another in his arms. Kael's body recognizes Elian as his fated mate, but shame burns through him. A male slave. He rejects Elian on the spot. Elian accepts the rejection and speaks his true lineage—Silvermoon bloodline. Kael hears the truth he discarded: not a male slave, but a prince.

The next morning, Lycan Prince Anthony arrives to select candidates for royal training. His scent is colder than Kael's, stronger, more dangerous. When Livia accuses Elian of attacking her, Kael stays silent, and Elian is thrown into the arena as entertainment. They want him to crawl. Instead, he rises. The Silvermoon bloodline surges, and Anthony's wolf Zane accepts him before Anthony can speak. Anthony grants him a place on Lupus Isle. Before they leave, he reopens the theft case. Livia's necklace is found in her own room. She is forced to apologize and return the pendant. For the first time, Elian touches his mother again. On Lupus Isle, the battlefield expands. Nobles mock him. Valeria, a temple priestess, invokes a purification review to brand him corrupted by the Black Moon. Kael reappears, claiming he can accept Elian again. Elian refuses. At Mooncliff, someone has tampered with his safety rope. Elian hangs over the drop, and then Anthony's voice cuts through—calling his name for the first time, not as an order.