Chapter 1

At the coronation, the projection screen lit up.

What should have been a romantic video of the newly crowned Alpha King, Lucas Ashbourne, and me was replaced by a series of high-definition, scandalous photos.

The images showed a mark on the back of my neck. It was a mark I'd gotten five years ago when I saved an injured Lucas from a Rogue.

But right now, the caption read, "Elena Nightbloom consorts with a Rogue. A defiled werewolf is unfit to be Luna Queen!"

The thousands of werewolves in the audience instantly fell deathly silent before suddenly erupting into deafening roars.

"Traitor!"

"Shameless she-wolf!"

"Such filth doesn't deserve to be our Luna Queen!"

Lucas, dressed in the Alpha King's robes, looked down at me from his elevated position.

"Everyone, while Elena Nightbloom is my fated mate, I cannot accept a tainted she-wolf as the Luna Queen.

"For the honor of the Silvermoon Kingdom, I officially declare that I reject the bond with Elena Nightbloom and strip her of all titles!"

The crowd went wild.

"Well done, Alpha King!"

"For the sanctity of our Kingdom!"

Before I could even react, two warriors rushed forward and roughly pinned my shoulders down.

From behind Lucas stepped a she-wolf—Mia Starling.

She was wearing the gown that should've belonged to me and held a pair of scissors in her hand. Looking at her delicate face, I remembered that winter three years ago.

I had found her frozen in the snow.

She had been exiled from her pack, reduced to nothing but skin and bones, with sores all over her body.

I brought her home, treated her injuries, shared my food with her, and even let her sleep in my bed.

She had said to me, "Ellie, you're like my sister. I'll spend my life repaying you."

But now, she stood before me, looking down at me with the same air of superiority.

"Ellie, since you're no longer going to be the Luna Queen, there's no need to keep this hair that symbolizes that title."

With a loud snip, the scissors opened and closed.

The long hair that I'd grown for ten years was sheared off close to my scalp, falling onto the muddy ground. I looked like a mangy, bald mutt.

Mia laughed out loud, then whispered in a voice meant only for us, "Elena, thank you for your charity back then. But now, your bed is mine, and so is your mate."

"Stop!"

A furious roar came from the crowd.

Marcus Nightwood, my father and the former Alpha King, charged forward on his crippled leg—the one he had broken while protecting the Kingdom.

"Lucas, you're lying! Elena did it to save you! How can you repay her kindness with betrayal?" he yelled.

Lucas didn't even spare him a glance. With a wave of his hand, several burly warriors punched Dad in the stomach, then dragged the former Alpha King—who'd once shed blood for this Kingdom—out like a dead mutt.

"I've long had enough of you, you old bastard! If it weren't for you, my father wouldn't have died!

"Throw those two disgraces out! From today, they're demoted to the lowest Omega rank."

Lucas wrapped his arm around Mia's waist and turned to look at me, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust.

"Let them live in the abandoned ruins up north. They can fend for themselves."

…

The shelter in abandoned ruins was drafty from all sides, with moldy dry straw on the ground and ice forming in the corners.

Dad's old injuries had flared up after yesterday's beating, aggravated by the surge of anger and stress. He burned with fever, muttering deliriously, constantly murmuring my name and apologizing.

"Water… Water…" he moaned unconsciously.

I searched my whole body and found only three coins.

I ran to the Kingdom's healing center.

At the entrance, two young she-wolves—Mia's lackeys—blocked my way.