Chapter 1

The guards reported a commotion where my Alpha mate was during the werewolves' most important Blood Moon Alliance meeting. I rushed over to maintain order, only to see Rowan, the man who claimed to love me, protecting a female Omega behind his back.

…

"Luna! We have an emergency!"

Marcus was the captain of the guards, and he called out to me using the mind-link. It interrupted my prayers to the Moon Goddess.

My eyes snapped open as the silver moonlight shone on me from the dome of the Holy Temple.

It was the Blood Moon Alliance meeting tonight. Every werewolf elite from North Amoria would be gathered here for the most holy ritual held annually.

"What happened?" I replied.

"There's commotion on the outskirts where the Alpha is. The elders are requesting that you head over to handle it."

My heart sank.

What was Rowan doing?

I quickly got up as my long moonlight-colored Luna's robe billowed in the air.

As the Luna of the pack, my duty was to keep the order, especially during an important meeting like this. I passed through the crowd and heard arguing.

"According to the pack's rules, she has to stand trial in front of the elders for stealing the Moon Essence!"

"She's just an Omega with a pup. What do you mean by pushing her to the corner?"

It was Rowan's voice.

I quickened my pace as I pushed away the crowd surrounding him. What I saw stunned me.

Rowan was standing next to the Moonlight Spring, which was the core area of the ritual, while protecting a frail woman behind his back. That woman had a five-year-old boy in her arms. She was trembling while sobbing.

Three elders were surrounding them in a half-circle with stern looks on their faces.

"Alpha Rowan, this Omega was found hiding Moon Essence. According to the pack's rules—"

"That's enough!" Rowan interrupted the elder. "Riley did nothing wrong! All she wanted was some hope of treating her pup's illness."

Riley.

I had never heard of the name before this.

"Rowan." I stepped forward. My voice was calm, but not without the air of a respected Luna. "What's going on?"

He turned to look at me with a complicated look in his eyes.

"You came at the right time, Stella." He sounded a little frustrated. "The elders are bullying a helpless mother."

Elder Aldric grunted coldly. "Luna, this Omega has been secretly collecting Moon Essence from the Moon Goddess' Holy Spring and was caught red-handed by the guards. According to the pack's rules, this is a serious crime."

I looked at the woman called Riley. She did look pitiful. Her small and weak body was trembling while Rowan protected her. The pup in her arms looked pale. It was obvious that he was seriously ill.

However, rules were rules.

"If she has indeed gone against the pack's rules, we should handle this accordingly," I said.

The look in Rowan's eyes suddenly turned sharp. "Stella!"

His voice contained the Alpha's dominance, and the air around us froze.

I looked at him in disbelief. He was using the Alpha's dominance on me in public.

"Are you warning me?" My voice was soft, but every word I spoke was clear to hear.

"I'm trying to stop you from making a mistake." Rowan refused to back down. "All Riley wanted to do was save her pup. What's wrong with that?"

Everyone around us started to whisper amongst themselves. It was unprecedented humiliation for an Alpha to use his dominance on his Luna during the Blood Moon Alliance meeting.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest. It was a distress signal from the mate bond.

"This is all my fault," Riley suddenly said. Her voice was soft and fragile. "Please don't let the Alpha and Luna fall out because of me. I'm willing to accept any punishment."

Tears streamed down her face while she spoke.

Rowan turned to comfort her. "No, you did nothing wrong, Riley. I failed to protect you and your son."

He turned to look at me with disappointment after that. "Stella, your jealousy has tainted your status as Luna. A real Luna should have mercy in her heart, not be ruthless to the weak."

Jealousy?

Tainted my status as Luna?

My blood began to boil.

The pack members surrounding us looked at me. Some had pity in their eyes, others were shaking their heads.

They were waiting for me to react and take care of the situation.

I took a deep breath. I tried hard to maintain my remaining voice of reason.

It was only in the last full moon that Rowan had me in an embrace while swearing in front of the Moon Goddess, "My loyalty belongs only to you, my one and only Luna."

His vow still echoed in my ears, but reality was right in front of me.

"The Alpha has made his decision." My voice was frighteningly calm. "There is nothing more for me to say."