Chapter 1

My mate and my own brother both fell for a low-born Omega.

My mate, Kael, kept delaying our Mating Ceremony. “Elara, you were born to be the perfect Luna. She… she has nothing. Just give it time, okay?”

My brother, Liam, broke the vow he made to our dying mother. “Dahlia is so helpless, Elara. My duty to protect you extends to her. She needs it more.”

On our birthday, Kael chose to comfort a hysterical Dahlia.

On the anniversary of my mother's death, Liam was with Dahlia, getting her newly adopted pet treated at the vet.

And when they stood on stage with her at the Wolf Summit, accepting the strategic planning award that was mine…

I severed my link to the pack and left for good.

But when they finally realized they could no longer feel my presence…

The two men who cast me aside for a lowborn Omega tore the world apart, desperate for just one trace of me.

...

Under the hazy lights of the rooftop party, I brought up our postponed Mating Ceremony to Kael for the last time.

It was the third time.

The air went sharp and cold. All sound vanished, sucked into a vacuum.

The chatter from the young wolves nearby died instantly. In its place were stifled snickers and stares dripping with pity and scorn—all aimed at me.

A clear look of annoyance crossed Kael’s handsome face. He tugged hard at his black tie.

“Everyone already accepts you as Luna. Do we really need the ceremony and the mark?”

He sighed, trying to placate me with the same tired excuse.

“We have a whole lifetime together. What’s the rush?”

His words were a knife, twisting slowly in my gut.

My wolf whimpered in pain. A sharp, tight pain bloomed in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

But what I couldn’t stand, what truly broke me, was the scent on Kael’s neck.

Beneath his familiar cedarwood was the cloyingly sweet scent of another she-wolf. An Omega.

It wasn’t my scent.

It was hers. It belonged to the low-born Omega—Dahlia.

“Alpha, I’m so sorry to bother you.”

A timid voice came from behind me.

I turned to see Dahlia in a waitress uniform, carefully approaching with a tray of champagne.

Her eyes were red and swollen. She had clearly just been crying.

The moment she saw me, she flinched, as if she’d seen some kind of monster.

“I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she whispered, her voice trembling, her eyes filled with fear.

I hadn’t done anything. I hadn’t even said a word.

But she acted as if I had been torturing her.

The scent of her fear hit Kael, and his face instantly darkened.

A wave of raw Alpha power rolled off him, forcing every wolf nearby to stumble back.

CRASH!

He crushed the crystal whiskey glass in his bare hand.

Liquor and glass shards flew everywhere.

A piece of glass sliced across my arm, leaving a thin, red line. A bead of blood welled up, followed by a sharp sting.

I stared down at the cut, a little dazed.

But Kael’s eyes never once landed on me.

He strode straight to Dahlia and roughly yanked off the frilly apron tied around her waist.

“Dahlia, haven’t I told you to stop working in places like this?”

His voice was low and furious, like he was fighting to hold back a storm of rage.

“I just don’t want to keep relying on you both…” Dahlia nodded meekly, tears streaming down her face.

“The Alpha and Liam have already given me so much. I can’t just do nothing.” Her voice was barely a whisper, full of grievance and helplessness.

Kael threw the apron on the floor in disgust.

“You’re leaving with me. Right now. And if I ever see you in a place like this again,” he snarled, “wherever you go, I’ll have my men burn that place to the ground.”

He suddenly whipped his head around, his gaze stabbing into me.

“And if anyone dares use their status to bully her again,” he snarled, “don't think our shared past will protect you.”

I clutched my bleeding arm.

Amid the chaos and the wreckage, I met his gaze with a blank expression.

This private club was my family’s business.

Kael thought I had arranged for Dahlia to work here just to humiliate her.

The idea was laughable.

Dahlia was now the apple of his and Liam’s eyes, protected like a fragile treasure.

The money in her bank account was more than she could ever spend.

Why would she lower herself to serve drinks here?

But I knew the truth didn't matter.

Even if I told him, even if I had the manager here confirm it, Kael wouldn’t believe me.

In his eyes, I was now the evil Luna who couldn’t stand a poor, helpless Omega. The cruel bully who used her bloodline to do whatever she wanted.

“Elara.”

Kael pulled Dahlia into his arms, shielding her with his body.

"A Luna like you, born with everything, has no idea what it means to care for the weak. Until you learn to care for every member of this pack, not just yourself, there will be no Mating Ceremony."

His words hung in the air, and the room fell into a dead silence.

Dahlia’s face went pale as she trembled and burrowed deeper into Kael’s arms.

Even a few of my own friends looked at me with wary eyes.

I suddenly wanted to laugh.

It was true. Ever since Dahlia showed up and got between Kael and me, I had broken down. I had caused scenes.

After all, the affection that had once been mine alone was now being poured out for that Omega.

How could a future Luna like me, who had been doted on her whole life, ever tolerate that?

But my crying and fighting only pushed everyone closer to Dahlia’s side.

And now, I was tired. So, so tired.

“Fine.”

I nodded, my voice strangely calm. I took a few slow steps forward.

Kael instinctively pulled Dahlia tighter behind him.

“Elara, whatever you’re going to do, do it to me.”

I didn’t look at him. I just held my bleeding arm out into the light.

Against my pale skin, the red gash was shockingly bright.

Kael’s lips pressed into a thin line. His gaze held a flicker of pity and pain.

But in that moment, Dahlia suddenly broke free from his embrace.

“Luna, please don’t make things hard for the Alpha.”