Chapter 1

I was the Alpha's fated mate, chosen for him by the Moon Goddess. I spent years loving him in secret, certain he would finally announce me as his Luna at the pack's Ascension ceremony.

Instead, he stood on the dais and presented another woman. I discovered he had used my own blood in a secret ritual to bind himself to her, a political marriage he had planned for months while whispering promises to me in the dark.

In front of our entire pack, he publicly rejected me, a brutal act that shattered our sacred bond and tore my soul in two. He allowed his new bride to frame me for treason, destroy my home, and erase my history. He stood by while his warriors threw silver-laced stones at my head, then commanded me to kneel and apologize for a crime I didn't commit.

The man I would have died for broke me for power and ambition. Then he came to me in the ruins of my life and asked me to be his hidden mistress, his secret prize locked away from the world.

I refused. I escaped his tyranny, rebuilt myself from the ashes, and found a new love with a true Alpha who saw my worth. I became a Luna in my own right, powerful and finally free. But my rejected mate's obsession festered. A year later, he lured me into a trap. The last thing I remember is the sting of a needle in my neck and his chilling voice whispering, "It's time for us to go home."

Chapter 1

ELARA VANCE POV:

The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the air, a familiar comfort that usually calmed my soul. Tonight, it did nothing to soothe the frantic beating of my heart. The full moon was hours away from its peak, a silver promise hanging in the darkening sky.

It was the night of the Ascension ceremony. The night our Alpha, Lucian Blackwood, would formally address the pack.

And the night, I was sure, he would finally announce me as his mate. His Luna.

A thrill, sharp and sweet, raced through me. I smoothed down the simple cream-colored dress I'd chosen. It wasn't as lavish as what the other she-wolves would wear, but I hoped he would see me in it and remember the nights we'd spent by the creek, dreaming of our future.

He had been distant these past few weeks. When I tried to reach him through our mind-link, the connection we shared as mates, his replies were short, clipped.

"Lucian? Are you coming to the kitchens tonight?"

A pause that felt like an eternity. "Busy, Elara. Pack business."

The words were a stone wall, shutting me out. But I'd made excuses for him. He was an Alpha, the leader of the powerful Black Moon Pack. His responsibilities were immense. He carried the weight of us all on his broad shoulders.

Still, a worm of doubt had begun to wriggle in my gut. I needed reassurance. I needed to see it in writing.

That's what brought me here, to the quiet, dusty archives of the Council of Elders. The official records of the pack were kept here, bound in ancient leather tomes.

The old scribe, a gentle Omega named Silas, looked up at me over his spectacles. "Elara. What brings you here on a night like this? Shouldn't you be preparing for the ceremony?"

My hands felt clammy. "I just... I wanted to see something, Silas. To confirm it. The Alpha's mate registry."

His kind eyes filled with pity, a look I didn't understand. He hesitated, then sighed and turned to a heavy, dark-red book on a pedestal. He didn't need to look for the page. He knew exactly where it was.

"Lucian Blackwood," he read softly. "Mate: Lady Seraphina Vex."

The name hit me like a physical blow. My breath hitched in my throat. It felt like the world had tilted on its axis, sending me spinning into a cold, dark void.

"No," I whispered. "That's... that's a mistake. I am his mate. The Moon Goddess showed me."

Silas wouldn't meet my eyes. He pointed a trembling finger at the entry. "The bond was formalized two months ago. A secret blood rite, sanctioned by Alpha Blackwood himself."

Two months ago.

A memory flashed in my mind, so vivid it made me sick. Lucian, his dark eyes intense, holding a small silver knife. "Just a drop of blood, my love," he'd murmured, his voice a velvet caress. "A ritual of loyalty. To bind you to the pack. To bind you to me."

I had given it freely, lovingly. I had believed him.

My blood. He had used my blood for a contract I knew nothing about, to bind himself to another woman.

The pain was so immense, so consuming, that I couldn't breathe. I clutched my chest, trying to force air into my lungs. I reached for him through the mind-link, my thoughts a desperate scream.

"Lucian! What is this? What have you done?"

For a moment, I felt his presence, a familiar warmth now tainted with ice. Then, with a brutal finality, he severed the connection. The silence in my head was deafening, a hollow echo where he used to be.

"When?" I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. "When is he... with her?"

Silas finally looked at me, his face a mask of sorrow. "The formal bonding ceremony is tonight, Elara. At the Ascension."

The pieces clicked into place, forming a picture of betrayal so monstrous it stole the air from my lungs. The future I had poured my entire soul into, the love I had nurtured in secret, had been a lie. He had already given it all away.

The grief was a tidal wave, but something else rose from the depths: a hot, searing rage that burned away the tears.

He would not do this to me in the shadows. He would not discard me like a broken toy.

I turned and ran from the archives, my simple dress feeling like a costume for a fool. I was going to that ceremony. I was going to stand before my Alpha and the entire pack.

And I was going to demand the truth.

As I burst out into the cool night air, a tall figure stepped from the shadows. Elder Valerius, his silver hair gleaming in the twilight, his eyes sharp with a wisdom that missed nothing. He looked at me, and in his gaze, I saw a flicker of recognition, a shadow of an old sadness.

"You have your mother's fire," he said, his voice quiet. "And her stubborn heart. I see why he's afraid of you."