Moon-Scarred Vow

Three months pregnant, and right before our mating ceremony, I found out my mate betrayed me.

I stood at the edge of the woods, my heart hammering in my chest. Tomorrow was my Silver Moon Ceremony. I was supposed to officially become Luna of the Night-fang pack, Kaelen's forever mate.

But now, everything was a mess.

"I know this isn't easy, Lyra, but it's my duty," Kaelen's voice, deep and firm, drifted from the sacred grove.

I crept closer, hiding behind an ancient oak. Moonlight dappled the ground through the leaves. In the center of a small stone circle, my mate, the powerful Alpha of our pack, was on one knee, his hands supporting a red-haired she-wolf.

Lyra Thorne.

Tears streamed down her pale face; she looked so fragile, so helpless. But there was something else in her amber eyes, a flicker of something hidden – not fear, but… scheming.

"Alpha, my cub won't survive without you," she choked out, one hand protectively on her slightly rounded belly. "This bloodline… your bloodline… needs your protection."

I felt something inside me shatter.

A sharp pain shot through our mate bond, and I had to bite the back of my hand to keep from crying out.

"The blood bond ritual has to be done tonight, when the full moon is brightest," Kaelen replied, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it. "Otherwise, the cub might die because its bloodline isn't stable."

"But tomorrow is your Silver Moon Ceremony with Sera…" Lyra bit her lip. "She'll hate me."

"It's not your fault." Kaelen's hand moved to Lyra's stomach. I watched as his palm glowed with Alpha power over her slight bump, the golden light almost blinding under the moonlight. "I'll handle Sera."

I couldn't take it anymore. Fury replaced the shock and pain. I turned and slipped away, my steps so light they barely stirred the air.

Back in our den, the place I thought was filled with love, I pulled out the pack's oldest book. My fingers traced the records about mate bonds until I found the chapter I never thought I'd need: 'The Moon Eclipse Unbinding.'

Right then, I made my decision. If Kaelen could betray our vows without a second thought, then I, Seraphina Moonridge, could be just as decisive.

My fingers tightened around the silver amulet my mother's pack had given me. Its moonstone glowed faintly blue in the dark. A wolf howled in the distance, but the love I used to hear in it was gone.

I'd been expecting tomorrow to be the best day of my life. Now, all I wanted was to start an ancient ritual that would tear us apart forever.

"On the night of the full moon," I whispered, "I'll sever it completely."