I had heard bedtime stories all my life about mates. Until a wolf found their mate they were incomplete. They were lacking an essential part of their being. A mate was your other half, and no one could take that away. No one. They told me it was a love like something from a fairy book. They told me that someday I would find my prince. But my happy ending didn't come like I wanted it to. And there was a very good chance that it wouldn't come at all.

What if you found out you only had three years left to live...? Hayden Kavanar was next in line to be Beta of River pack. She really did have her life in order, graduating human High School, becoming second in command of her Pack. Until her heart gave out, nearly killing her. Hayden was born with a weak heart, but after getting in a fight at school, she's put in the hospital, rushed into surgery. Only to come to realize, she has a hole in her heart that has been growing for years, killing her. Her life spirals down when she learns she only has three years to live before the gaping hole in her heart will quit circulating blood to the rest of her body. . She's forced to relinquish her title as second in command, becoming just another body in her pack. Her own father ashamed of her, after noting she has no use in the pack anymore. So she runs away. Only to end up in a different Pack's territory on the edge of death, under the wrath of Alpha Abel, a strict leader with an even stricter temper. Accepting death for the second time, she's suddenly confused by him going to her, protecting her. When she realizes he's her Mate. She fights the love growing between them, hiding her illness from him and her new Pack. But how long can she hide her secret and deny her feelings for the stubborn man?

"These scars will always be here! You're stuck with someone who harms herself for release and is covered with old wounds! You deserve a beautiful, strong, amazing mate! Yet you force yourself to stay with me!" I shouted. He stepped forward until our foreheads were nearly touching. He gripped my right wrist. "For the rest of our lives together, these scars will always be here. I promise this to you: every morning I will kiss these scars. Every single one. Every night I will kiss them again. During every meal I will rub your stomach so you won't be insecure about it ever again. Every second of free time I have will be dedicated to you. To making you feel loved. More than anything, I promise to love you, through thick and thin. If you relapse, I'll be there. If you start skipping meals again, I'll be there. If you gag yourself, I'll be there. You're stuck with me babe. And I promise you right now, you won't need a blade to find release once I've gotten to you." Alice is the lowest ranked wolf in her pack. When it turns out that the Alpha is her mate, she assumes he likes her just as much as she does- not at all. When he finds out she's been harming herself and barely eating, he attempts to balance caring for his beloved and being responsible for his pack. The Alpha has a lot on his plate, what with his mate ready to run away and his pack demanding her to become the Luna. How will they ever manage? One simple answer: Together. *TRIGGER WARNING* self-harm, eating disorder, low self-worth.