Chapter 1

Elara's POV

Everyone in the Midnight Pack knew just how madly I loved Adrian.

I was proud of it.

Adrian was the youngest Alpha the Midnight Pack had ever seen, every she-wolf's ultimate fantasy.

And at my eighteenth birthday party, he caught my scent for the first time.

Me. A cursed wolf who had been abandoned at birth, adopted into a family where my adoptive father later died. Somehow, impossibly, I was his fated mate.

He took my hand that night and led me away from the birthday party, away from the adoptive mother who took pleasure in humiliating me. He brought me to his estate.

He told me that as long as he was there, no wolf would ever hurt me again.

From that day on, my life belonged to Adrian, and I gave it willingly.

Even when he vanished from our marking ceremonies again and again because of Marielle Parker.

Even when every wolf in the pack believed I was unworthy of him.

I still believed he would mark me, just like he promised on my eighteenth birthday.

Today was the ninety-ninth marking ceremony between Adrian and me.

In the Midnight Pack, a marking ceremony was meant to be sacred and public. After ninety-eight failures, the pack had turned it into entertainment.

Wolves watched me closely, whispering to one another, as if waiting for my humiliation was the only joy left in their lives.

I ignored them.

Last night, Adrian and I had made love with a hunger that left me breathless. His sweat had dripped onto my skin. He had kissed my ear and promised me that this time, he would finish the mark.

For today, I had deliberately worn a human wedding dress.

My only friend, Cora Evans, said it would bring me luck.

Adrian looked into my eyes. In the reflection of his striking red eyes, I saw my own flushed face staring back at him.

Everything felt perfect.

When he bared his fangs, I leaned forward without thinking and offered him my neck.

From this moment on, I would be the only mate ever marked by Adrian. I would become the Luna of the Midnight Pack.

Under the gaze of the Moon Goddess, we would receive her blessing. An eternal bond would bind our lives together.

Then the shrill ringing shattered everything.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

It was Adrian's phone.

I stood rooted to the spot, as if I had been frozen in place. I instinctively prayed.

'Please, not her.'

Adrian frowned and pulled his phone from his pocket.

At the same time, I grabbed his wrist and shook my head. "Adrian, don't answer. You promised me..."

He didn't look at me, and his gaze stayed fixed on the screen.

I lowered my voice and leaned close to his ear. "Is it her? Is it her again?"

He glanced at me coldly. "Elara, now's not the time for you to be difficult."

My voice nearly broke. "Adrian, everyone is watching us. Please."

"Elara." He snapped his fingers once. "Enough. Be quiet. Stand properly."

The gesture was sharp and dismissive, like he was correcting a misbehaving pet. Laughter rippled through the crowd around us.

My face flushed hot with shame. The wedding dress felt like it was hurting me instead of protecting me. There was no doubt about it. I had given it to the wrong man.

I said frantically, "But you promised me you would finish the marking today—"

He patted my shoulder, his voice slow and stern. "Elara, it's because you still can't get pregnant that we've delayed the marking for so long."

I choked on his words, too stunned to answer.

For years, I had been unable to conceive. No matter how hard I tried, my body seemed to betray me. It rejected the idea of carrying Adrian's child completely.

I clung to his arm, desperate. "Give me another chance, Adrian. I can do it. I'll get pregnant..."

Adrian looked at me. His palm covered mine gently, then he slowly and deliberately slid my hand away from his body. "Elara, don't forget. Everything you have today exists because I caught your scent.."

His words sounded like a death sentence.

It made everything I had just said feel like a sharp slap across my face, burning my cheeks.

In that moment, I finally understood.

He had never cared. Not once.

I grabbed his sleeve, tears pooling in my eyes. "If you leave now, I'll never let you leave a mark on me. Ever."

Adrian stopped.

He turned back slowly, as if he had just heard the punchline to a terrible joke. "What did you say?"

"I said..." My voice trembled. "If you walk away again, I will not let you leave a single mark on me. Never."

He blinked, genuinely surprised. "Elara, do you really think that would be a loss for me?"

He cast me one cold glance, then turned away and answered the call.

"I am coming now," he said quietly.

Again, his words sounded like a death sentence to me.

Every insult I had ever endured meant nothing compared to that one sentence.

When he left, I drew in a shaky breath and turned to face the pack. "I am sorry. The ceremony is canceled."

For the first time, the hall fell silent. Then the mocking looks and whispers closed in around me, swallowing me whole.

Across the crowd, I saw my adoptive mother's lips curl into a satisfied smile. I heard her voice clearly.

"You'll spend your whole life being abandoned. That is your fate. No one will ever love you."

I shut the door behind me and slid down the wall, my heart hammering in my chest.

Red bled into my vision. My wolf, Vera, roared inside my head, furious and in agony.

The phone rang.

Adrian's name flashed across the screen.

My hands shook as I answered.

"Who told you to cancel the ceremony?" His accusation hit me like a blow. "I told you to wait. Since when do you get to make decisions for me?"

I forced myself to breathe. "I already told you, Adrian. If you leave, I won't let you mark me."

"Enough, Elara. You are really terrible at jokes." He paused, his tone was casual, like he was simply commenting on the weather. "Maybe this time we were not ready. Next time—"

"There will be no next time," I cut in.

His voice turned sharp with anger. "Then when exactly do you plan on finding a way to give me a child? You should be grateful I'm still keeping a useless thing like you instead of throwing you away completely!"

"Am I nothing more than something meant to bear children for you?" I clenched the phone so hard the plastic creaked. "You never cared about everything I am or my entire existence, did you?"

"That's all your fault, Elara. It's been seven years, and you still haven't gotten pregnant!"

I opened my mouth to respond. But before I could speak, a woman's soft gasp came through the phone.

"Adrian, you said you would stay with me tonight..."

I recognized the voice instantly.

It was Marielle, the woman who truly held his heart.

For her, Adrian had walked out on our marking ceremony more times than I could count.

Adrian murmured. "I'll be right there. Wait for me, baby."

Then through the phone came the sound of clothes rustling and wet kisses.

My stomach twisted.

Beep!

The line went dead.

At the ninety-ninth marking ceremony, my Alpha had finally admitted that I meant nothing to him.

I sucked in a breath and tapped the screen with shaking fingers.

The call connected after one ring.

"Hey, babe! Is the marking ceremony over? Wait, I should be calling you Luna Elara now."

It was Cora Evans, my only friend.

"No." My voice cracked, something deep inside me finally splitting apart. "It's over."

The cheer drained from her tone. "Elara... what happened?"

"I was abandoned again," I whispered, my throat tight. "By my birth parents. By my adoptive father. And now, by Adrian."

I swallowed hard, my whole body trembling. "Why is it always me?"