Chapter 1

I'd been mated to Cain for three years. He was the Alpha of the strongest pack in the Southern Territory. Everyone envied the orphan who'd become his Luna. And yet there I was, walking into a witch's cottage to buy a potion that could sever a mate bond.

The witch slid an unremarkable glass vial across the table.

"One million dollars. You and your mate each drink half," she said. "It takes effect on the next full moon. The bond snaps on its own."

I didn't bargain. I poured the potion into the clay pot I'd brought — it looked like any other herbal brew.

The front door of the Blackwood manor stood wide open. The scene in the living room stopped me for three seconds.

Serena was wearing a nearly see-through silk slip, half her chest on full display, her entire body draped over Cain.

They were flipping through an old photo album. Serena's finger jabbed at a picture, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. "God, look at your face as a kid. You were so dumb I wanted to punch you."

Cain was laughing. One hand resting on the arm Serena had wrapped around his waist, eyes half-closed — like a wolf basking in the sun. Lazy. Content.

He was never like that with me.

Cain opened his eyes and saw me. No panic. Didn't push Serena away. Didn't even sit up.

"You're back."

That was it.

Serena turned her head, chin propped on Cain's shoulder, and smiled at me. "Ivy, want to look with us? Cain and I took so many photos as kids — they're hilarious."

I didn't look at her.

I walked up to Cain and held out the clay pot. "calming tonic. Simmered for three hours. It'll help your migraines."

Cain took it and sniffed. Didn't ask questions. He never asked.

I used to make him herbal remedies all the time — for insomnia, for inflammation, for old injuries.

He was used to drinking whatever I brought him.

Serena poked her head out from behind him. "Mmm, that smells amazing. I want a bowl too!"

Cain didn't even look up. "Ivy, make one for Serena."

"I'm out of herbs," I said. "Next time."

The moment I watched him finish the last drop, I turned and walked away.

When the door closed behind me, my hands were shaking.

The next full moon. Seventeen days. Then the bond would snap on its own.

I thought back to when I was fifteen. My father had thrown himself in front of old Alpha Alaric during an ambush — the enemy's claws tore open his chest. He died on the spot.

Alaric kept me in the pack. A dead driver's daughter with no bloodline, no backing. Just the old Alpha's word: "I'll raise this one."

How the pack treated me — I don't need to spell that out. A bloodline-less orphan growing up among wolves born into rigid hierarchy. Surviving at all was lucky.

Three years ago, I'd just turned eighteen. My first shift. Every bone in my body felt like it was being snapped one by one and pieced back together. I lay collapsed in the mud of the backyard, bruises from the young wolves' kicks still blooming across my skin.

Then Cain came home.

He'd come back from a border conflict, covered in blood, a deep gash running from his collarbone to his ribs on the left side. He found me in the backyard.

Didn't say a word. Went inside, came back with healing salve, crouched down, and tended to my wounds one by one. I cleaned the wound on his shoulder too. The moment my fingers touched his skin —

The bond hit us both. Like lightning striking bone.

That night, neither of us could stop ourselves.

Three weeks later, Cain declared me his Luna in front of the entire pack. Everyone shut up — at least to his face.

For a while, Cain did protect me. Someone mocked my background to my face — he dislocated that Beta's arm. Someone said I wasn't worthy behind my back — he announced at a pack meeting that "questioning the Luna is questioning the Alpha."

I really thought that was how my story would end. A good ending.

Until Serena came back.

Serena Carter. Cain's childhood sweetheart. She'd mated with another pack's Alpha and left three years ago. Everyone assumed she was gone for good. But her mate severed their bond, and just like that, she was back. With her tears and her honey-sweet voice, she slotted herself right back into Cain's life.

Cain started "patrolling the territory" every night. Rolling in at two or three in the morning, reeking of pine needles and another woman's scent.

A month ago — the full moon ceremony. The most important night for any pack. The Alpha and Luna were supposed to stand side by side on the ritual stone to lead the rites.

I stood alone the entire night.

From moonrise to moonset.

Beta Reid showed up close to dawn, a diamond necklace in his hand, looking uncomfortable. "The Alpha's handling an emergency with the Ashford situation. He asked me to give you this."

The next morning, I went to the stream to collect water. Two young she-wolves were crouched by the bank, whispering.

"Last night Serena twisted her ankle, so the Alpha stayed with her all night..."

"Seriously? He skipped the full moon ceremony?"

"Of course — Serena was the Luna the Alpha originally chose. If it hadn't been for..."

They spotted me and went silent. Their eyes held that particular mix of pity and schadenfreude.

I didn't say a word. Filled my water and left.

That night, I started asking around about the witch.

I sat on the windowsill in my room and tipped back the remaining half of the potion.

Seventeen days. Then I'd be free.