LOGINNORA’S POV
I was stunned to my bones, too stunned to move. I gaped as the drama unfolded around me. My heart bled like someone was ripping it out of its cage.
For a few minutes, I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening. The world was spinning around me, and everyone seemed to be okay.
I was rejected in the same second, my best friend was pronounced the new Luna of Riverstone pack.
A lump gathered around my throat. “Celeste…”
Her signature gentle expression wore off. She rested one hand against her waist, and the other on her lower abdomen. “What do you think?” She began. “That, I’ll leave my man for you, because of some mate bond?”
“We’re best friends,”
Celeste snickered. Her calm demeanor rolling off. “Best friends don’t take what belongs to their best friend,” She spat. “Nora, you’ve always been a bad choice for Aiden, and I’m glad he realized it pretty fast,” she giggled, wrapped her hands around Aiden’s neck, and pulled him into a deep kiss.
Aiden smiled sheepishly, like a teenager in love. I was his wife, and fated mate, and the closest I’d seen him smile was a devious smirk, right before he did wicked things to me.
He was tossing me out, like a cheap distraction. Like I never mattered. Like the fated bond we shared was an illusion.
Celeste scrunched her nose. “Guess what, we’re having a baby!” She squealed.
The crowd erupted in cheers. Everyone rushed to them, almost knocking me over me. I watched with blurred vision as they congratulated the new couple.
Broken. Scared. Rejected. Betrayed. Weak.
All in a split second. My heart felt like it was getting ripped out of my ribcage. I spun around on my feet, with what was left of my strength, and started making my way out of the hall.
“Nora!” Aiden cried.
I stopped in my tracks, but didn’t turn to face him. I couldn’t let him see how broken I was. “One last thing, before you move to the maids quarters,” he said. “Sign this.”
“Don’t let us argue because of a mere signature,” Beta Austin snarled. He handed me a pen, and held out the file to my face.
Another round of heartbreak spread like poison through my blood, as my eyes scanned the content of the document.
DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS.
On the same day he’d rejected our bond. The pen trembled violently, as I scribbled my signature onto the paper. My tears dropped on it, earning me a low growl from Aiden.
“One more thing Nora, you have to move to the room down the hallway on Alpha Aiden’s floor,” Celeste began, “You cannot imagine how stressful it is to be pregnant with an Alpha pup. I need all the help I can get.” she added with a strained sigh.
Doris snickered. “She’s good for nothing,” she said, and quickly added. “You heard your Luna. She needs the help of an Omega, and you’re the perfect fit.” her tone was demeaning.
I simply turned, dragged my heavy legs towards the exit. My body numb, from the shock it’d been put through. For years, I’d endured the pain, and humiliation of a wolfless Orphan, in the same pack that once doted on me.
Enough!
I wasn’t going to stay back, and watch these traitors walk over me. I wiped the tears off my eyes, and made my way straight to Aiden’s suite.
I looked around the room, memories of Aiden etched like a nightmare in my brain. This was the room he made me a woman. He was going to share it with someone else.
I ran my hand over the king sized bed we shared every other night.
The sex had been rough, heck! A punishment to me. He relished in subduing me, even though I succumbed easily to his wolf.
Aiden derived pleasure in breaking me shred by shred. I was done this time. I was done lurking around a pack that avoided me like a plague. I turned my head sideways, staring at my reflection in the full-length mirror.
I ran my hands over my scar. It was ugly, but it didn’t take away my person. Who I truly was. Aiden might’ve dropped me like I was trash, to him I was.
It didn’t matter anymore. He made his choice.
I let out a laugh— a soft sound filled my empty heart. I ran my hands over the scar on my face, and my heart sank. I wasn’t going to stick around, and take in the disgrace.
I was done being hopeless. It was time to take powers into my hands. I shoved a few clothes into my bag.
“Goodbye ex-husband,” I said out loud even though I was the only one in the room.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Aiden’s steely voice entered my ears. I stopped in my tracks, clutching my hands tight against the strap of my bag.
Deafening silence stretched the air between us.
I had a thousand things to say. More than anything, I wanted to curl my hands into a fist, and hit him so hard until he bled out.
‘Pleaseee. You’re too weak to stand up to an Alpha,’ ’ a voice echoed in my head.
Alpha Aiden Reynolds rounded me, and stood in front of me. His face contorted in amusement. “Aha! It seemed the caged bird finally decided to spread her wings.”
A vein pulsated in my neck. Instead of fear, and my lungs fighting for oxygen, anger spread like venom in my bloodstream.
Aiden Reynolds reached for my hair, and tugged at it. I pushed his hands away. His face was pale red, it was obvious he was still suffering from the bond that had snapped dead.
He groaned, “Nora, if you walk out of the borders of the pack tonight, you know what that means,” he growled. “If no pack takes you in before the next full moon, which I’m pretty sure of…” his voice trailed off.
My breath hitched. “I become a rogue.”
A flicker of shock touched his eyes, and died an instant death. “Nora, you won’t survive that, and you know it. No pack will take a subdued in.”
I locked contact with him, my eyes and a quality mix of pain, regret, and resignation. “Let that be my hell to burn in.” sidestepped him, and walked straight to the borders of Riverstone pack.
Every memory of my childhood, and the love I thought I would live, faded away with each step I took. The warriors that manned the borders looked at me with scorn.
The moonlight casted shadows against the warriors faces, obscuring half their faces. “She’s not gonna last for long, before she comes running back.” one said amidst laughter.
“We’ll pick her body up, and bury her ruins beside her parents.” another jeered.
I pressed my lips together. “I’ll be back…” I held my breath. I stepped past the borders of the Riverstone pack.
I was going to rewrite my fate, this time Aiden Reynolds and the entire Riverstone would collapse on their knees.
NORAGravel crunched loudly under the heavy tires as our convoy rolled into the Blackcrest courtyard.The rain had turned to a freezing, miserable mist, coating the stone walls in a thin layer of slick ice. Sitting in the back seat, the tension from the capital still sat heavily in my chest. Surviving the High Council tribunal was exhausting. But looking out the tinted window, a strange, suffocating silence hung over the estate.Usually, guards patrolled the perimeter with a steady, military rhythm. Today, the courtyard felt entirely too still."Where the fuck is the gate detail?" Kai demanded, throwing the SUV into park before it even fully stopped.Halil scanned the upper battlements, his dark eyes narrowing. "Something is wrong. The watchtowers are completely empty.""Gideon!" Kai barked, kicking his car door open and stepping out into the freezing mist. "Why is the front gate completely unstaffed?"General Gideon jogged over from the trailing vehicle. He looked just as confused. "
NORA"Silence in the chamber!"The heavy wooden gavel slammed down. The sound echoed violently against the high marble walls of the Continental High Council center.Sitting at the center of the accused table, my stomach twisted into a painful knot. Kai sat on my right, his massive shoulders completely rigid. Halil sat on my left, projecting a mask of absolute, icy calm."We are not here to debate your feelings, Alpha Kai," Chief Justice Thorne stated coldly from the raised podium. He adjusted his silver spectacles. "We are here to address a formal list of criminal charges brought against your mate.""The charges are complete bullshit," Kai fired back. He leaned over the polished wooden table. "You are reading a piece of paper filed by a coward.""I will hold you in contempt of this court!" Thorne warned, raising the gavel again."Try it," Kai challenged, his fangs extending just enough to catch the harsh overhead light."Alpha," Halil interrupted smoothly. He placed a firm hand on his
NORASunlight warmed the heavy oak table in the center of the study. Reviewing the updated border schedules, everything finally looked peaceful. Halil sat across from me, marking a trade map with a red pen. His dark hair was tied back, and he looked completely relaxed.Footsteps suddenly broke the quiet morning.General Gideon marched into the room. He didn't knock. Holding a thick, black envelope sealed with dark purple wax, his face looked carved from stone."A neutral courier just dropped this at the main gates," Gideon announced, walking straight to the table. He set the envelope down right in front of me. "He refused to wait for a reply. Said his orders were to deliver it directly to the Queen and leave immediately."Staring at the purple wax, my stomach tightened."That is a Continental High Council seal," Halil muttered. Dropping his pen, he leaned forward. "What does the supreme court want with us?""Open it," telling Gideon quietly.Sliding a silver letter opener under the fl
NORAStretching my legs, a deep, satisfying ache settled pleasantly in my bones, a vivid reminder of the absolute fire we burned through last night. Kai’s heavy arm rested securely across my waist, pinning me to the mattress. His face was buried deep in the pillows. On my other side, Halil was already awake. Propped up on one elbow, he traced slow, lazy circles on my bare shoulder."Morning, Queen," Halil murmured, his voice thick and raspy."Morning," shifting closer to his incredible warmth. "What time is it?""Early. The castle is just waking up.""We should get up. The meeting is at noon.""Five more minutes," Kai grunted blindly, pulling me even tighter against his broad chest. "I just married you. I am not sharing you with a bunch of military captains yet.""You have to," laughing softly, running my fingers through his messy dark hair. "We have to present the boys to the pack today. It is official pack business.""Fuck official business," Kai grumbled into the pillow. "Tell Gide
AUTHOR’S POV“MMM… fuck!”Nora's knees were burning against the cheap carpet, and she couldn't bring herself to care. Halil had her bent over the edge of his bed, one hand twisted in her hair, and he was ramming into her with a rhythm that had stopped being rough about ten minutes ago. The headboard knocked the wall with every thrust. "Halil…" His name came out of her throat broken, half-strangled."Yeah." He pulled her hair tighter, made her arch harder. "Say it again.""Halil." She pushed back into him, met him halfway, and his breath stuttered out of him like she'd punched him. Kai sat in the chair by the window, phone in his hand, not looking at it. His eyes tracked every inch of them, the way Halil's hips slammed into her, the way her spine curved when he bottomed out. His other hand moved slow over himself through his sweatpants."Look at her," Kai said, casual as a comment on the weather. "She's taking it so good." Halil growled something low and drove in harder. Nora's fing
NORASilence was much worse than the shouting.Sitting on the edge of the large mattress, cold drafts swept steadily over my bare feet. The heavy oak door of my bedroom remained firmly locked. Outside, muffled sounds of chanting and angry riots echoed persistently from the snowy courtyard.They hated me again.The sudden, miraculous appearance of Elara completely erased any fragile progress I made with the pack. Yesterday, they bowed to me. Today, they wanted me thrown out into the dead lands."Mom?" Kaelen’s small, quiet voice broke the heavy quiet.Looking up, my son stood in the doorway of the adjoining nursery. He clutched his wooden wolf toy tightly against his chest, his golden eyes looking entirely too serious for a toddler."Yes, baby," forcing a small, reassuring smile, patting the mattress next to me.Scrambling up onto the tall bed, Kaelen leaned his head against my arm. "Why are the men yelling outside the window?""They are just confused right now," brushing the dark, mes
AIDEN’S POV I did the right thing. I was sure of it. Nora was no good. She couldn’t even bear me a pup, not even a female. Her body was frail, and clearly cannot carry my seed. I tightened my grip around my pen, as I scribbled some words onto the document, my heart in a completely different place
KAI’S POV You’ve got to be kidding me. A stray. A fucking stray that had tinges of rejection all over her. To make it worse, she was wolfless. My eyes hovered all over her, and my heart boiled with a mixture of disgust. Why on earth would the moon goddess think she could link us to a stray as a s
HALIL’S POV I clenched my hand around the edge of the Ebony table, as surges of electric current splintered through my chest. Fucking hell! A devilish smirk lined the corner of my lips. “This might just be our chance at easing the grief.” I spat. Kai grunted, and didn’t say a word. My Gamma Chi
NORA’S POV. I groaned, struggling to pry my eyes open. “Our Luna decided to grace us with her consciousness.” A stern voice cut across the room. I made to sit up, but all my bones felt like they were crushed under the weight of a boulder. My eyes lingered around the room. It wasn’t like my room i







