1

On the eve of our mating ceremony，Asher, my Alpha, proposed to have one last night of freedom.

Asher had too much to drink.

His hands wouldn’t stay still, roaming all over Selena.

He looked like he wanted to ditch the bonfire right then and there, just to be alone with her.

And this, the night before our bonding ceremony—the night before I, Ella, was supposed to become his Luna.

The bonfire crackled.

Silver Pine alphas, Moon Shadow betas, and my Moon Shadow attendants all mingled together.

The aroma of roasted meat and mead hung heavy in the air, barely masking an undercurrent of primal tension.

Asher and Selena, his childhood sweetheart, were extremely close to each other.

Her cloyingly sweet scent mingled with his.

"See, Selena?" he slurred. "Even though we’d known each other since childhood, fate had other ideas." His eyes flickered toward me before he sighed deeply and gazed back at her.

"Tomorrow I bond with Ella," he whispered to Selena, loud enough for me to hear. "Don't you want to fight for something for yourself, my little firefly?"

Selena's normally bright eyes now brimmed with unshed tears. She seemed to shrink under a wave of bitter sadness.

"Fight for what?" she whispered. "Your heart has chosen her. What hope do I have?"

Asher stared at her intently, with an expression of painful tenderness, as if she were the only person in his world.

A performance, staged entirely for my benefit.

"Perhaps," he drawled, turning his gaze to me, "tonight, you can have all of me."

Selena's breath caught.

"How, Asher?"

Asher stared at me hard, and my heart sank with foreboding.

"Ella!" he called my name sharply, the Alpha command in his voice making me flinch involuntarily.

"Tomorrow, we unite our packs. I swear by the Moon Goddess, I will be your faithful Alpha until my dying breath."

His words dripped with mockery.

"But tonight, Ella, our last night before the mating ceremony... let's play a game. One night of absolute freedom. For both of us."

A wave of hushed murmurs rippled through the crowd, quickly erupting into excited howls.

I remained silent, my face expressionless.

The pack quieted, sensing the coming storm.

Asher's intention hung in the air like a foul stench. He wanted one final, wild romp with his old flame before the shackles of political marriage bound him.

One last rebellious howl before the collar settled around his neck.

He figured I’d have to agree.

Because my Moon Shadow Pack desperately needed this alliance, and I couldn't afford to refuse.

He believed I was captivated by his Alpha power, yearning to be his one and only Luna, unable to challenge any of his outrageous demands.

The funny thing was, he wasn't entirely wrong.

Smaller packs often seek protection from powerful Alphas, and I had felt that pressure before.

But not with him, and not like this, not as an object of public humiliation.

The lunar attendants beside me sensed the shift in the air, their scents sharpening with alertness as they nudged me gently.

"Ella, don't. This is madness."

I met Asher's gaze, clearly seeing his unwillingness to be questioned.

He intended to use this night to establish that from this point forward, he could dominate me absolutely.

I suddenly remembered the day I became Asher's destined partner.

Asher was surrounded by pack members, his smile radiant and confident, occasionally letting out powerful Alpha howls that sent ripples of cheers through the crowd.

Selena wove through the crowd with an airy grace, her laughter bright and clear.

The natural chemistry between them formed an invisible barrier that shut me out completely.

"Sister Ella," Selena approached me, swaying with a wooden cup full of mead, her overly sweet scent making me frown slightly. "You've just arrived at our Silver Pine territory, so you might not be accustomed to our liveliness yet. The females here are generally more... passionate and uninhibited."

She deliberately emphasized "passionate and uninhibited" while her gaze pointedly swept over my relatively conservative Moon Shadow attire.

"The energy of the Silver Pine Pack is indeed impressive," I tried to keep my voice calm.

"Is that so?" Selena took a sip of her drink, a glint of cunning flashing in her eyes. "Well, Sister Ella, vitality alone isn't enough. As the future Luna, you'll need to understand our Alpha's preferences. For instance, Alpha Asher prefers bold, decisive females who can fight alongside him, not delicate flowers who hide in the background."

Even the most oblivious woman would sense her deep connection with Asher.

Back then, I assumed her feelings for Asher were one-sided. Since Asher had agreed to mate with me, I thought he wouldn't share the others' hostility toward me.

When the spoils of the hunt were distributed, this sense of exclusion became even more obvious.

According to tradition, the choicest part of the prey—the head—symbolizing the Moon Goddess's status, should have been mine to distribute.

But with Asher's silent approval, Selena had already given that portion to one of her female subordinates, claiming "she was injured during patrol recently and needs the nutrition."

When I tried to raise an objection to Asher, he merely frowned, his tone tinged with impatience: "Ella, Selena means well. As the future Luna, you should demonstrate tolerance and generosity. Don't nitpick over such trivial matters and make a spectacle of yourself in front of the pack."

His words struck me like an invisible slap, leaving me speechless.

Just two days ago, when I went to his den to discuss preparations for the mating ceremony, I caught Selena passionately kissing him.

When Selena jealously mentioned me, he responded with contempt.

"Ella? If not for her relatively pure bloodline, how could she possibly be worthy of mating with me?"

"You, Selena, are the only one truly deserving to be Silver Pine's Luna in my heart."