Chapter 1

I am Alpha Dominic's fated mate. He used to marvel at how perfectly our bodies fit together, calling me a gift from the Moon Goddess.

That was until one week before our mating ceremony, when he had my grandmother thrown in the dungeon cells for his ex.

"Alpha! You have to do something! That old hag tried to poison me!"

Chloe's shrill voice sliced through the din of the feast. She was pale, leaning weakly against Dominic’s chest, her finger trembling as she pointed at the only family I had left—my grandmother.

I rushed forward, shielding my grandma with my own body. "You're lying! My grandma would never do that!"

My grandmother’s body trembled with fear behind me. She was a simple Omega, one who could barely even shift. How could she possibly harm Chloe?

Dominic, my Alpha, my fated mate, swept his cold, gray-blue eyes over me. There was no warmth in them. "Evelyn, Chloe saw her do it."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried the raw power of an Alpha's command, a weight that couldn't be defied, pressing down on me until my lungs burned for air.

"No, Dominic, please believe me..." The plea died in my throat.

"Guards," he ordered, not even sparing me another glance. "Take the old woman to the cells. Await my interrogation."

"Don't!" I tried to grab his arm, but his guards brutally pushed me away.

Dominic’s brow furrowed as he shot me a warning look. "Evelyn, our mating ceremony is a week away. Don't let this scandal ruin it."

I could only watch as they dragged my terrified grandmother away, her eyes filled with worry for me.

Dominic just turned back to gently soothe the "frightened" Chloe in his arms, as if the person being hauled off was a piece of trash to be discarded.

The dungeon cells were cold and damp, the air laced with silver dust—a poison that saps a werewolf's strength and spirit. My grandmother's health was already poor; she couldn't withstand that kind of torture.

By the time I was finally allowed to see her, she was barely breathing.

"Evelyn..." She gripped my hand, her breath shallow. "It was her... It was Chloe... She put the wolfsbane in her own glass..."

My mind went blank.

"I have to tell the Alpha myself... Don't, don't let me ruin your mating..."

I knew she was only thinking of me. I squeezed my eyes shut and reached out through our sacred mate bond, calling to him through our mind-link.

‘Dominic! Come back! Please, come see her one last time! She’s dying!’

On the other end of the link, I could feel him in a warm, lavish room. I could hear Chloe's delicate laughter right beside him.

‘Dominic! Listen to me!’

The next second, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through my head.

He had severed our mind-link himself, so Chloe wouldn't be disturbed.

BOOM—!

Outside, massive fireworks exploded in the night sky, their brilliant light illuminating my grandmother’s pale, lifeless face.

He'd set them off to make Chloe happy.

A news alert lit up my phone: [Silver Moon Alpha & Pure-Blood Heiress Chloe: Old Flame Burns Brighter Than Ever].

In the photo, they were nestled closely together, their smiles painfully bright.

My grandmother's hand slipped from mine.

"Evelyn, you have to be happy..."

Her breathing stopped.

"Grandma—" A desperate wail tore from my lungs. Something inside me, along with the warmth of my grandmother's body, died forever.

And even as she died, she was still worried about my future with him.

I lowered my head, whispering to her still, cold body, "Grandma, I refuse to be his Luna."

As my consciousness faded, I saw a vision of the first time I met Dominic.

He wasn't a powerful Alpha then. Just a young wolf, lost in the forest and on the verge of going feral.