From Rogue's Luna to Alpha's Queen

At twenty-nine, the mate bond I'd spent seven years building with Ethan Moonshadow finally became a joke.We fought our way from the house to the edge of pack territory and ended up facing each other by the cliffs. My wolf thrashed inside me, desperate to tear apart the man standing in front of me."Ethan!" I jabbed my finger at his chest. "Do you even deserve to be Alpha? I was seventeen when I let you mark me. I helped you build this pack from nothing when you were just a rogue, and now what? You turn around and chase after some Omega who just had her presentation? Does your wolf even recognize me as your Luna anymore?"His eyes flashed gold. I knew that look. It meant his wolf was surfacing. I used to love those eyes when they lit up for me. Now they were cold as ice."Elowen Silvertail, stop the act." His voice dropped to a low, dangerous tone. "You're the one who wanted to run away back then. You were seventeen and crawling into my bed, begging me to mark you. And now you want to

Standing in this rundown shack that used to be full of sweet memories, the air felt so thick with awkwardness that even my wolf was growling low in my chest."Back there at the cliff," Ethan cleared his throat, and his voice came out rough. "I was pissed off and running my mouth. Don't take it to heart."I stared at him and suddenly felt like this was all absurd.Years ago in this very place, he'd held me and said, "My Luna, I'm sorry you had to suffer. I promise I'll give you the best territory when I become Alpha."Back then, I believed he meant it.Just like when he humiliated me at the cliff's edge, I believed he meant that, too.The love was real, and so was the hate.Time had a way of grinding fated mates down into enemies.We sat on opposite ends of that broken bed, and neither of us said a word."Aria, since we're both back now..." Ethan started, but urgent pounding on the door cut him off.I got up to answer it.The moment I opened the door, I froze.My mother stood there—Lyra

On the drive home with Lyra, everything felt surreal, as if I were living someone else's memories. I leaned back against the seat and watched the streets blur past the window, and tears started sliding down my cheeks before I could stop them. In my past life, after I ran away with Ethan, we couldn't afford decent transportation. We had to shift and run everywhere on four legs, living like rogues with no pack and no home.Lyra was driving, but I could see her wiping her own tears, and she still managed to scold me between sniffles. "Now you're crying? Where was this when you decided to skip Alpha training and run off with some rogue? Do you have any idea how much shame you brought on me and your father?"Her familiar nagging made my chest feel warm despite everything."Mom, I'm sorry," I said quietly.Lyra froze and then slammed on the brakes so hard the car jerked to a stop on the side of the road. She twisted around and pulled me into her arms, sobbing so hard her whole body shook. "Y

At the celebration dinner, Kaden got drunk and grabbed my hand. "Elowen, I know I was hard on you before, but I just didn't want you going down the wrong path. Now you can find yourself a good Alpha and settle down.""I'm not looking for anyone." I poured him another drink. "I'm going to make money and take care of you both.""Silly girl, everyone finds their mate eventually."The whole evening was perfect, everyone laughing and talking, the pack celebrating together.When we were leaving, someone called out to me. "Elowen!"Ethan walked over in a full suit. I hadn't seen him in months, and he looked darker, bulkier, with that same cocky edge but worse. Sophie trailed behind him in a wedding dress and heavy makeup, strutting like a peacock showing off its feathers."Well, well, celebrating?" Ethan stopped right in front of us. "Mr. Silvertail, no need to look so pissed. I'm having my wedding reception in the hall next door, so why don't you all come have a drink before you go? I'm Elow