Chapter 1

Erica's POV

"I-I didn't do anything!"

I screamed as I was forced to my knees on the cold stone ground.

I was covered in blood in the living room of the pack house of Nightfall Pack. A crowd gathered around, their eyes fixed on me.

The floor felt like ice against my skin. My whole body felt like it was on fire.

"Heh!" A girl's mocking laugh rang in my ears.

Then I felt a kick on my shoulder. My body hurled to the floor, only to feel a hard weight on my chest.

"So this is so-called pure and flawless Erica Wilson? The daughter of our respective gamma?" Nova Blackwood sneered, pressing her boot harder against my body.

I hissed, shutting my eyes in pain. Nova was our pack's former Beta,  Blake Blackwood's daughter. She accused me of killing her brother, the current beta of our pack.

I was an adopted daughter of the gamma of this pack. But it was not my only identity, I was the future Luna of this pack.

I lifted my head with pain. "Why? Why are you framing me?" I asked Nova hoarsely.

"Framing you?" Nova laughed coldly.

"How ridiculous! You slept with rogues and lured the whole group into our territory. You got my brother killed!" she yelled at me.

"NO!" I cried. "I didn't do anything! In fact, I had never met Beta Julias!"

I recalled how I came to this end as the flashbacks floated in my mind.

I was attacked at the border. I was all alone, fighting with the rogues. They didn't touch me, but they also did not show any mercy on me. It was as if I was their only enemy and they were there to kill me. But I didn't see Nova’s brother, nor did I kill him.

Everyone in the crowd looked at me with a disdainful look. Anger rose in their eyes as if they wanted to punish me right there.

At that moment…

There was only one man who could save me from this allegation. He was the only person I trusted blindly.

With my heart pounding, I moved my gaze past Nova, locking my eyes on the man standing silently behind her.

He was my mate, my boyfriend, my Alpha, and the love of my life...

Alpha Justin Reid.

I looked at him with teary eyes and whispered,

"Justin... you believe me, right?"

I was desperate to see the trust in his eyes. His handsome face remained perfectly calm, his jawline sharp and defined, while his tall frame stood before me like an unshakable pillar.

We had discovered each other as mates when I was sixteen and he was twenty. We secretly dated each other for two years. Justin was the one who had chased me, insisting that because we were destined mates, I had to be his. He was the one who had started it all.

I had been with him for two years. The love between us was deep and unbreakable.

My freedom depended on him—the one man I knew wouldn't let me down.

“Justin, say something,” his mother, Luna  Lydia, said.

She was a woman of honesty, yet I could see a suspicion in her eyes when Nova put false allegations on me.

The room felt cold to me. Everyone was waiting for Justin to speak.

I felt a shiver when I saw Justin was silent. His eyes were fixed on me. I stared at him with my teary eyes, begging him through my eyes to clear my name.

However, I shook from inside when I saw his eyes were empty. I blinked, feeling helpless.

His silence panicked me. So with pain in my body, I got to my feet, trying to reach him with my jumbling thoughts.

My feet stumbled. 'Please, Justin. Please, don't make me lose my last hope. Tell everyone that you trust me,' I prayed in my mind.

But when I reached for his hand, he stepped back, not letting me touch him as if I were dirty.

Tears escaped from my eyes. My hands froze in midair.

He gave me a cold glare. Even after seeing me in this condition, his expression turned dark and merciless.

He moved his gaze away from me and looked at the crowd. His voice was sharp when he spoke.

"The pack lost its beta, and I only believe in evidence. She is guilty."

I fell on my knees in shock.

My eyes widened. My heart shattered. I could not just believe my ears.

Only a month ago, at the annual ball, he revealed our matebond to everyone. His promises of that night echoed in my mind.

‘I will always protect you, Erica.’

Was everything a lie? Did that promise mean nothing?

My heart trembled like it bled inside. All those kisses, vows, and sweet talks—were those fake?

Just two days ago, everything was fine. He was perfect. He was the gentleman who pulled out my chair, the lover who knew my favorite drink, and the protector who wrapped his jacket around my shoulders.

Now… he didn't even want me to touch his hand!

But what happened now?

Where did that love go?

It all changed after that date, when Nova invited me for drinks.

I trusted her, but I ended up drinking too much until everything went black. When I finally regained consciousness, the happy day had turned into a horrific reality. I woke up completely alone at the border surrounded by rogues.

It was like I was trapped in a nightmare, forced to defend myself against a crime I knew nothing about.

"Yes, Alpha. You are right, " Nova spoke. Then she added, "You can't let her deceive you anymore. The evidence is clear."

I could not focus on Nova as my eyes were fixed on Justin. I stared at him with lost eyes.

When he looked back at me again, the air between us grew heavy and suffocating.

My heart tightened as our eyes met, but there was no warmth left in him. His cold gaze only rubbed salt on my pain mentally.

‘Why do they look unfamiliar to me now? Where are those eyes that used to smile whenever they looked at me?’

In front of me was not my boyfriend but a ruthless Alpha who created a wall between us. He could no longer see through me.

"Erica," Justin muttered, his voice sharp like a blade.

I flinched at his voice.

"Everything that happened is your fault. If you hadn't gone to the border on your own, no one would have died."

I closed my eyes, tears kept rolling on my cheeks. I shook my head. "But... They are framing me wrongly. There isn't enough evidence—"

Before I could say another word, the doors behind me slammed open, the sound echoing through the hall.

"She is innocent," a voice rang out, cutting through the heavy tension. "I can testify.”

I opened my eyes and turned my head. It was Salma, my nanny.

"I was with Erica in the forest last night. She was attacked. She fought rogues and passed out from injuries."

"Salma," I sobbed with the pain in my body.

Salma was the person who raised me and fed me in secret when my parents turned their backs. She was more of a mother than anyone else.

Nova glared at Salma and said, "Oh? So you are the one who brought the killers here?"

Salma kneeled down before Justin. "Arrest me, Alpha. But please let Erica go," she pleaded.

Guards immediately pinned Salma to the floor.

Seeing her forced down like a criminal made my chest arch to protest. I could not just stand there and let her suffer for trying to save me.

“No!”

I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat. "Leave her alone! It was me. I’m the one who brought the rogues," I lied, desperate to shield her from the guards.

Suddenly, a cold, mocking laugh rang out, sending a chill through the entire hall and freezing everyone.

The laughter died down, replaced by a low, dangerous growl that made the air feel heavy.

"So you are confessing, huh?" Justin said with a growl, raising a brow.

I shut my eyes tightly, taking a deep breath. "Y-Yes, I confess," I said firmly. "But release her. I will go to prison."

Justin arched his brow, looking down at me with a terrifying look, and then he grinned with a scoff.

"Loyal. How touching!"

His grin turned cruel. "But who said you are going to prison? Prison is far too comfortable for a slut like you."

Slut?

That word pierced my heart.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him in disbelief.

Did he just call me a slut?

All these times... he didn't know me a bit? How could he say that...? How could that word even cross his lips?

"You will go to Forbidden Mountain," Justin declared, gritting his teeth.

With hatred in his voice and disgust on his face, he added more loudly, "Three years. I guarantee Salma's safety."

A wave of shock ripped through the crowd.

'FORBIDDEN MOUNTAIN'

It was a place where most never survived. Eighteen hours of labor every day. Many died from exhaustion.

"Justin... are you sure? That place is merciless. She is still your mate. You will regret this." Luna Lydia stepped forward with a worried tone.

Justin's expression didn't change. It was clear that he was serious about it.

The man I trusted with my life betrayed me like this. Instead of protecting me, he was pushing me straight into the grave.

Every lingering spark of hope I had died right there. Looking at him, those two years we spent together felt like a total waste— nothing but a lie.