Chapter 1

"Liam. It's been three days."

Dominic's voice boomed through his lavish villa, an Alpha's command laced with raw frustration. "Drop the mind-link block on the isolation room. Let's see if she's ready to beg."

My ghostly form chilled as I watched the man I once loved with every fiber of my being.

His brows were knitted in a tight line, annoyed by my so-called "stubbornness."

He had no idea. He would never get his apology.

Because his Marina was already dead.

His Beta, Liam, answered respectfully, tapping on a tablet. "Yes, Alpha. Mind link is restored."

Dominic closed his eyes. His powerful mind reached for the room where he'd imprisoned me.

One second, two...

"What's going on? Why can't I feel her?"

"Maybe... the Luna is in some kind of trance? Her presence... it's just gone," Liam guessed.

"Meditating?" "That girl never learns," Dominic scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. "I bet she's blocking me on purpose, waiting for me to come crawling back."

Mistakes?

A sharp pain pierced my soul.

My only mistake was giving up the sea and my birthright... all to love a fool like you.

The memory flooded back.

That damned pack gala. The beginning of the end.

Three days ago. The Silver Moon Gala.

Beneath shimmering crystal chandeliers, the powerful elites of the werewolf world mingled.

I was on Dominic's arm, playing the part of his perfect Luna.

He held me possessively. His hot breath ghosted over my ear. "You're the greatest treasure here tonight, Marina," he whispered. "My treasure."

It was the first time he'd brought me to such a grand pack event.

Until his childhood friend, Harper, walked toward us, smiling.

"Marina, you look so beautiful tonight," she said, her voice sickly sweet.

I replied politely, "You look beautiful too, Harper."

"It's a shame I can never compare. After all, you're the Alpha's fated mate." A flicker of resentment crossed her eyes, gone in a flash. "And I'm just an ordinary she-wolf."

Just then, a server walked past with a tray of drinks.

Harper suddenly lurched forward, crashing to the polished floor in a heap.

Glass shattered. Blood trickled from her knee.

The entire hall went silent.

"Gods, are all the Silver Moon Pack's she-wolves this clumsy?"

"Can't even walk straight. How pathetic."

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

I instinctively reached for Harper, but she flinched away from my touch.

"Marina, don't touch me!" she cried, scrambling backward. "You've done enough!"

Done what? I hadn't done anything!

"Harper, what are you talking about?" Dominic asked, his voice low.

"I don't know... Ever since you got with Marina, I've been getting these headaches..." Harper clutched her forehead, her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at Dominic, full of hurt and dependence. "Just now... when Marina got close, it felt like a needle twisting in my head. My legs just... gave out from under me. Dom, I'm so scared... Is she mad? Because you're too nice to me? Did she use those strange powers of hers... to humiliate me in public?"

What?

I stared at her in shock. "Harper, I never..."

"She's jealous of how good you are to me," Harper sobbed, burying her face in Dominic's chest. "So she used her outsider curse to make me fall!"

Outsider curse?

The murmurs around us grew louder.

"So Alpha Dominic's mate isn't a wolf."

"Typical outsider. They're all savages."

"Why would our Alpha choose someone like that as his Luna?"

I felt every eye in the room on me, filled with contempt and disgust.

"Dominic, I really didn't..."

"Enough," he cut me off coldly. "We're leaving. Now."

Back at the villa, he flung me onto the sofa.

"Dominic, let me explain. I didn't hurt Harper, I was even going to—"

"Going to what? Get jealous?" He looked down at me, the disappointment in his eyes ready to swallow me whole. "Because I was kind to Harper? Because she's my pack-sister, the closest thing I have to family? So you used your pathetic little tricks to humiliate her? Marina, I spoil you, but not so you can take advantage of my love and bully my packmates!"

"I didn't!" The tears broke free. "You don't believe me?"

"The proof is right in front of you!" he roared. "Harper is sweet and simple. She doesn't lie."

Harper never lies... so that makes me what? A vicious liar? In your heart, Dominic, what am I to you?

"I've spoiled you," Dominic said, his gaze fixed on me. "And you're using your outsider powers to bully my people."

"I didn't bully anyone..."

"You need to think about what you've done," he interrupted. "Three days in the isolation room. You're going to think long and hard about what it means to be a Luna."

The isolation room?

My heart hammered in my chest.

"Dominic, no. I can't—"

"That was an order." His Alpha command crashed over me, paralyzing my will. "Three days. When you've learned your lesson, you will contact me through the mind link and apologize. Then I'll let you out."

The door to the isolation room opened. A thick, white smoke billowed out.

Sage.

Deadly poison for a mermaid.

I couldn't breathe. "Dominic, I can't be near that! The sage..."

"More excuses? Sage is for purification. It cleanses the spirit. This is the highest quality." He stared at me coldly. "Marina, the act is over."

"This isn't an act!" I screamed. "It will kill me! I will literally die in there!"

"It's just a few herbs." He shoved me inside without a second glance. "This is the best herb for cleansing a wolf's spirit. Marina, you need to adapt to our ways."

"Dominic, please, listen to me—"

SLAM!

The heavy door crashed shut.

I pounded on it frantically. "Dom! Open the door! I really can't breathe this in!"

The sage smoke grew thicker, the sharp scent burning my airways.

"Dominic!" I screamed through our mind link. "I can't breathe!"

Static. Then, silence.

He cut me off.

His cold voice came from the other side of the door. "Harper's fall made our pack a laughingstock at the gala. How can you be a Luna like this?"

I slid down the door, tears streaming down my face. "Dom, I love you. Why would I ever embarrass you on purpose—"

"It's just smoke." His voice was muffled, but every word was a dagger twisting in my heart. "When you've learned some humility, I'll consider letting you out."

I wanted to answer him. To tell him I had never been anything but humble.

I gave up my throne. My power. My home in the deep sea. I gave up everything for him.

But I couldn't form the words.

The toxic smoke filled my lungs. My vision blurred.

In my last moments of consciousness, I heard their footsteps fade away.

Then, everything went dark.

And now I float here, a ghost forced to watch my murderer's pathetic little drama unfold.

He thinks this is just another one of my desperate plays for his attention.

He'll never know. The moment that door slammed shut, he had already lost me forever.