Chapter 1: Forsaken

"Finally awake, huh?"

The man sneered into my ear before my eyes could fully open. A burning pain throbbed at my temple, and the stench of blood was the first thing that greeted me.

I awoke in darkness. Cold ground pressed against my cheek—damp, foul-smelling. My hands were bound behind my back with iron chains laced with wolfsbane—a poison to werewolves like me. It burned, searing down to the bone.

"Where... am I?" My voice came out hoarse and raspy, barely audible.

A rough hand gripped my chin, forcing me to look at a man with pale yellow eyes and a mocking grin. "At our mercy. If you can still call this mercy."

I frowned, trying to look around. There were five of them. All men. All reeking of bloodlust and madness. They weren’t from the Blood Moon Pack. They were rogues. And this place—this was unfamiliar. A cave, maybe, or some forgotten ruin swallowed by the forest.

"Let me go!" I screamed, my voice cracking as the wolfsbane scraped my skin, setting my wrists on fire.

They only grinned—yellowing teeth, wild eyes, the stench of blood and sweat radiating off their bodies like smoke from flames.

"Not so fierce now, are you, Luna?" one of them whispered near my ear, his breath reeking and foul.

Luna.

The title now felt like ashes on my tongue.

The wolfsbane pressed deeper into my skin as they dragged me across the muddy floor. My silver hair—once a symbol of power and pride—was now matted and streaked with blood.

I tried to resist, but my body wouldn't respond. My wolf side… once again, she refused to answer my call. The wolfsbane, of course, played a part in sealing my strength. But even before I was chained like this, I hadn’t felt my wolf’s power in a long time.

I wasn’t always like this.

Once, I stood above everyone else. I led Moonveil with courage and strength that surpassed all expectations. I was the only female Alpha in the history of the North. Warriors bowed when I entered the hall. Enemies trembled at the mere sound of my name.

Elara.

But that was before I gave everything up—my title, my power, even myself—for a peace treaty wrapped in a political marriage. With Kaelus. My mate. Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. A man I once trusted and loved.

A man who also… destroyed me.

"You were too easy to catch," another mocked, his voice dripping with contempt. "Wandering alone like a lost pup."

Their laughter echoed against the stone walls.

I tried to remember. I had walked into the forest, trying to escape the suffocating breath of Luna life—a life that was supposed to be my light, but instead had consumed me.

I remembered the night wind and mist brushing past the trees. Then footsteps behind me.

I turned. And saw them ready to strike.

I held my ground, prepared to fight. My muscles tensed like they used to. But no strength followed. Not like before.

My Alpha aura didn’t flare. My claws didn’t ignite. My breath caught. Something was wrong.

I tried summoning my power again, but only emptiness responded. My body refused my commands.

What’s happening to me?

When one of them asked if I was scared, I stayed silent. Honestly, I was... confused. Too silent. Too still.

Then I remembered a whisper—an old legend I never believed. That if an Alpha marries another Alpha, their powers would devour one another. And the weaker would lose everything.

It wasn’t that I was weaker than Kaelus. But ever since I handed him my territory, I felt my strength slipping into slumber. And I had lost. Not just my lands and title. I had lost myself.

I only realized it when they slammed me to the ground.

I fought back. Of course I did. But I wasn’t only fighting them. I was fighting my own failing body.

I bit. I scratched. I kicked. But nothing I did was strong enough to knock them back.

"This is the Luna who was said to have taken down five Alphas at once?" sneered the grey-haired one, laughing at me. His words snapped me out of my haze.

"At this point, I doubt she could take down a pup," he added, slamming his fist into my ribs and stealing the breath from my lungs.

I didn't know what hurt more—the bruises they left on my body, or the insults that cut deeper than claws.

Only one thought haunted me—Where is Kaelus?

If he felt our bond, why wasn’t he coming? If I was still his Luna, why was I here, alone?

But those questions echoed only inside my head.

I pulled at the chains, pain flaring from my wrists. But I didn’t care. I had to escape. I had to survive.

A hard kick landed on my side.

I collapsed, choking on the pain.

"Stay still, bitch!"

Another kick nearly hit me, but a single word stopped him.

"Enough!" barked their leader. He stood tall, eyes sharp. "We need her alive. Break her just enough."

One of them stepped forward with a phone. "How about we send a message to her beloved Alpha?"

Panic surged in my chest.

"No—!" I forced my voice out. "He won’t come."

"He won’t come?" Their leader crouched, sneering. "Are you sure? You won’t know until we try."

My hair was yanked back, forcing my gaze to the cave’s ceiling. The phone's light turned on. My face was bruised, blood trickling down my temple.

"Record her," the rough voice commanded. "If we send Kaelus a video of his Luna’s broken face, he’ll come."

I wanted to laugh. Out of despair. Or maybe irony.

They thought Kaelus would come. They didn’t know. Kaelus didn’t even flinch when I bled.

The camera then started recording. I was forced upright, hands still bound. The light blinded me, and laughter echoed around me like a pack of demons.

"Alpha Kaelus," one rogue mocked, aiming the camera at me. "We have a gift for you tonight. Perhaps you’d like to see it before she breaks further."

He moved closer—too close. His filthy hand touched my face. I turned away, but his grip was strong. His fingers wiped the blood beneath my eye and held it up to the camera—like a trophy. Proof that they had brought me down.

"Look at her now. The woman once called Alpha. Now? Just a helpless Luna."

Another hand followed. Not to hit—but worse. He tugged at my collar, revealing my skin to the lens. They laughed as I flinched, trying to shield myself.

I screamed. No one cared. I cried. My tears only entertained them more.

The video was recorded from every angle. My face. My tears. My wounds. And the comments—piercing my pride like nails.

Then they sent it to Kaelus.

I held my breath. Waiting. Hoping.

And praying.

Even if he no longer loved me, even if he didn’t want me anymore, surely, he still had enough heart to save his mate.

Three seconds. Five. Ten…

"He’s not replying," one rogue muttered.

Another laughed. "Maybe he has someone new."

And then, the phone rang.

Their leader checked the screen and answered, placing it on speaker.

"Kaelus…"

No reply. But I felt something—our bond stirred, faint but real. He saw the video.

"Elara."

Finally, his voice. Flat. Cold. No anger. No panic.

My lips trembled. "Please… Kaelus, they—"

"If you still consider yourself an Alpha…" he said, with a pause that tore through me, "fight them yourself."

Click.

The call ended.

The rogue stared at the phone. "He’s really not coming?"

They looked puzzled. So did their leader.

As for me—I was quiet for a long moment. Then I laughed. A broken laugh. A sound closer to a dying wolf’s howl than anything human. A laugh that turned to sobs. It hurt, like shattered glass in my chest.

I wasn’t laughing because it was funny. But because I finally understood. I wasn’t Luna. I was no one. Maybe I had never been anyone to him.

They exchanged glances. One of them asked, "Is he really your mate?"

I lowered my head.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t sure anymore.

I gave him everything.

My power.

My pack.

Myself.

For peace. For love. For him.

And now, I was nothing but a ghost in his eyes. Never seen. Never cared for.

***

Hours passed. I didn’t know how long I sat there, knees to chest, my body trembling in silence. The night mist thickened, the cold biting at my wounds. But none of it compared to the pain in my heart.

Kaelus had seen me. Heard me. And still chose not to care.

How could he be so cruel?

What did I do to deserve this?

I was lost in my thoughts. Even when one rogue slapped me, I didn’t move—like a statue incapable of pain.

Some of them began to lose interest in me. They thought I would keep crying, begging, pleading. But I didn’t. I only sat, eyes hollow, staring into the cave’s darkness. Maybe some of them even felt uncomfortable, seeing a woman who should be weak turn so eerily still.

"Hah. Maybe she’s gone mad," one of them muttered.

"Good. If she’s mad, we can dump the body later."

"No. Keep her. Who knows—maybe Kaelus changes his mind. Or… if he really doesn’t come, we’ll sell her to the lycan slavers down south."

Their voices buzzed like flies—meaningless. I couldn’t understand how cruelty came so easily from their mouths.

Seeing me like this, they eventually left me alone. Maybe out of pity. Maybe because even rogues had never seen a Luna like this. Or maybe, like Kaelus, they now saw me as worthless.

They lit a fire. Drank. Played cards. Laughing as if guilt didn’t exist. As if I didn’t exist.

Occasionally, they laughed in my direction. But my laughter—the one that burst from me without warning—was the one that scared them most. A laugh not born from power, but from devastation.

I closed my eyes, trying to reach out to our bond again. Just to be sure.

But it felt like a snapped thread. Still hanging—but lifeless.

Did he really sever it from me?

Time moved slowly. I didn’t know if it was the same night, or if a new day had come. All I felt was hunger and dizziness creeping in. The wound in my ribs throbbed, and my clothes clung to me, sticky with dried blood. I didn’t think my body would last much longer.

I wasn’t dead. But I wasn’t alive either.

Until I heard those footsteps.

Not the heavy ones of rogues. These were swift. Trained. And with them, came the growl of wolves.

The rogues panicked instantly.

The wind shifted. A shadow stepped into view.

"What’s that?" one rogue turned.

"Our patrol hasn’t returned."

"I don’t recognize the scent."

I turned slowly.

Through the chaos, I saw a silhouette standing at the cave’s entrance. Dark hair, broad shoulders. Behind him, four wolves in full form. Their jaws were bloodied, eyes glowing—wild and deadly.

Suddenly, one rogue was hurled against the wall. His body hit hard and fell, unmoving.

"What the—?!"

The others stood, shifting into wolf form.

But, too late.

They moved faster. No mercy. One’s claws tore through a rogue’s chest, piercing his heart.

Another fell. Then another. And another.

Only one rogue remained. He grabbed me, dragging my limp body, gripping my hair. With ragged breath and a knife to my throat, he roared, "She dies if you come closer!"

The steps didn’t stop.

In one leap, claws sank into the rogue’s chest and hurled him against the cave wall with brutal force. I heard bones snap. His final scream.

A second later, his body collapsed beside me. The knife clattered to the ground.

I froze. My breath caught in my throat.

He looked at me.

I knew those eyes.