Chapter 1

Elvira

I gasped for air, my throat burning as if I’d been screaming for hours. My wrists ached, the sharp bite of metal digging into my skin. I tried to move, but the clinking of chains told me I was trapped.

Where am I? It was dark, cold and suffocating.

The air smelled damp, like decay. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I struggled to piece together my last memory. Wolfbane…..I had been sent to Elder Marwen’s hut to retrieve the sacred vial that would seal my mate bond with Alpha Deric of Shadowfang Pack. I remembered the excitement thrumming in my veins, Deric and I had exchanged letters for months, planning this day.

My eighteenth birthday. The day I would finally meet my mate. But I never made it back.

I clenched my fists, wincing at the sting of cuts and bruises. My body ached, throbbing with pain I couldn’t remember earning. Something wasn’t right, how did i end up here? Suddenly, I heard muffled voices above me. The steady sound of a crowd. A ceremony.

My blood ran cold. A pack gathering? But why? I strained to listen, my body frozen in fear. Then, a familiar voice echoed through a microphone, clear and triumphant.

Felen, my stepmother.

"Tonight, we celebrate the sacred union between Shadowfang Pack and Bloodmoon Pack! A bond sealed by the Moon Goddess herself. Let us welcome Elyra to the stage!"

My breath caught in my throat. No. That wasn’t my name.

I struggled against the chains, my pulse hammering. Someone else was taking my place. Someone was pretending to be me.

"NO!" I tried to scream, but my voice was weak, barely audible. My throat was raw, my body too battered to fight.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hold back the panic climbing its way up my chest. How? How did this happen? Tears burned the back of my eyes as another name was called.

"Alpha Deric!"

A roar of approval followed. The mate bond flared inside me, hot and stinging, only to be replaced by a searing agony that shattered through my soul. My mate was bonding with someone else. The connection was breaking. My body convulsed, my bones aching as if they were about to snap under the weight of betrayal.

And still, no one heard me. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but the pain was unbearable. Every second felt like my soul was being ripped from my body. I wasn’t just forgotten, someone trapped me here to take my place.

Twelve Hours Ago…..

"Please, can I send Martha instead? The tailor called me earlier for the final fitting," I asked, keeping my voice careful, measured.

Felen stilled, then slowly lifted her gaze to me.

"Say that again," she murmured.

I hesitated. "I’m sorry—I just thought—"

Her hand shot out, grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at her. Her nails bit into my skin.

"You thought?" she repeated, her voice steel . "And who told you you were even allowed to question me, Elvira?"

My pulse pounded.

She stepped closer, studying me like I was something beneath her shoe.

"You forget your place so easily. Perhaps I should remind you."

My body locked up. I knew what reminders meant.

"I’ll deliver it," I rushed out, my voice barely audible.

She smiled, slow and satisfied, before releasing me with a little shove. "Good, and try not to embarrass the family while you’re at it.

I swallowed hard, clutching the package like a shield as I turned to leave, my legs trembling beneath me. Ever since my mother died thirteen years ago, I had become nothing more than a burden, a disgrace, a murderer to my family.

I was five when it happened. Too young to understand the consequences of my actions. But old enough to remember the hatred in my father’s eyes when he looked at me afterward. I lost my own father to my recklessness.

"Take the wolfbane from Elder Marwen and return immediately," she had ordered. "We don’t have time for your foolishness today."

Because, today was my mating ceremony. Despite being treated like an outcast, my marriage to Alpha Deric was inevitable. It had been arranged before I was even born, a strategic alliance between Bloodmoon Pack and Shadowfang Pack.

For the first time in years, I had hope. Alpha Deric wasn’t just my fated mate; he was a promise of something more. A new beginning away from here. A life where I wouldn’t be invisible.

So, I obeyed. I took the path through the dense forest, heading to Elder Marwen’s small hut on the outskirts of the packlands. I never made it back.

Now….

The chains rattled as I shifted, desperate to escape. I had to stop the ceremony before the bond was completely severed. Just then, another voice echoed above me.

"Do you, Elyra, accept Alpha Deric as your mate and Luna of Bloodmoon Pack?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping not to hear the final words.

"I do."

Pain slammed into me, a wave so violent I thought my heart had stopped beating. I gasped, choking on nothing.

It was over, the mate bond had been severed. My body collapsed against the cold ground, my limbs too weak to fight anymore.

Then, footsteps. Someone was coming. I turned my head, vision blurring as a door creaked open. A shadow stood at the entrance of the door, eyes glowing in the darkness.

I forced my lips to move, to beg, to scream. But only a whisper escaped.

"Help me, please."