CHAPTER ONE: BETRAYED

SYLLA

"I, Alpha Noah Sterling of the Iron Crest Pack, formally reject you, Sylla, as my mate."

The pain comes before I can even register his words. It begins at the base of my spine before exploding through my chest, racing toward my heart like wildfire. My breath catches as though invisible claws have wrapped around my lungs and are crushing them without mercy.

My knees slam against the marble floor, a cry tearing from my throat before I can stop it, and tears blurring my vision until the faces surrounding me become nothing more than distorted shadows.

I had heard stories about mate rejection. Every wolf had. They all said the pain was unbearable, especially when the rejection came from an Alpha.

None of them ever spoke about what happened when an Alpha rejected a mate he had already marked. This pain is beyond anything words can describe. It feels like my soul is being ripped apart piece by piece.

I do not beg, nor do I scream. I cannot find the strength to do any, especially since it would prove useless.

I simply raise my eyes and look at the people gathered inside the throne room, watching to see To them I am no longer their Luna. To them I am merely a thief, a murderer and a traitor.

Some stare at me with pity while others look at me with open disgust. A few do not even bother hiding the satisfaction in their eyes. They always believed an Omega never deserved to become Luna.

Perhaps this only confirms every prejudice they ever had.

"You cannot do this, Noah." Emma rushes forward and drops beside me, wrapping an arm around my trembling shoulders. "She is carrying your pup."

Noah's expression does not change. It stays cold and detached, as though the woman kneeling before him is nothing more than a stranger.

"A traitor and a whore will never be the mother of my heir," he says without hesitation. "I refuse to allow my bloodline to be tainted by someone as filthy as her." His gaze shifts toward the High Priestess. "Begin the trial."

The ceremonial bell echoes through the throne room. Its heavy sound carries beyond the palace walls, announcing to the entire pack that justice is about to be served.

Justice! The word almost makes me laugh.The verdict was decided the moment they dragged me into this room, this is merely a formality.

The High Priestess steps forward, leaning heavily on her carved staff. "Sylla Sterling, you stand accused of leaking confidential pack information to the witch coven and orchestrating the murder of Rowan Sterling. What do you have to say in your defense?"

My lips part, but nothing comes out. My tongue feels numb and my body burns hotter by the second.

"There are also photographs placing you inside several hotels with multiple men," she continues. "Would you like to explain them?"

"She is innocent." Emma's voice rings through the hall. "She is not a murderer and she is certainly not sleeping around."

I gently squeeze her hand. She has already risked too much for me, just by standing against the Alpha. If she were someone other than his sister, she would have been headed already.

"I did not do any of it," I whisper.My own voice sounds foreign to my ears, weak and broken. The room begins sway and I'd fall if not for Emma holding me.

A sharp pain twists through my stomach, forcing me to clutch it.

Three days. That is how long they kept me locked away without food. I can endure hunger, but my child cannot..

"She has a fever," Emma cries after touching my forehead. "She needs a healer."

"Who cares?" Isabella's sweet voice slices through the room from where she is comfortably seated beside Noah, on the Luna's throne. "Traitors deserve worse."

They look perfect together. The Alpha and the woman destined to replace the wife everyone now despises. Tomorrow every newspaper will celebrate their united front while painting me as the monster who destroyed the Sterling family.

"Do you have any final words before the council delivers its verdict?" the High Priestess asks.

Using every ounce of strength left inside me, I pull away from Emma and force myself to stand. My legs threaten to give out beneath me, still, I lift my eyes to Noah, silently pleading with him to believe in our bond. But is that even useful when said bond is almost broken?

I search desperately for the man who once promised to love me for the rest of our lives. He's nowhere to be found. Only a ruthless person who now despises me.

"Noah." My voice barely reaches him. "I know you hate me. I know nothing I say will change your mind. But please..." Fresh tears spill down my cheeks. "Our pup is innocent. Please Save our baby."

His expression hardens."The child of a traitor is no child of mine."

Every word lands like another blade driven into my heart.

"I should never have allowed something so impure to grow inside you." He raises his hand. "Guards."

Rough hands seize my arms before I can react. Emma tries to fight them, but she's still young and weak.

She is dragged away while I am forced onto my knees before the Alpha who once called me his moon.

"I will leave," I sob. "I will disappear forever. I will never return to Iron Crest. Please... just let my baby live."

For one brief second, silence fills the throne room. Noah looks down at me, his eyes revealing nothing of how he feels.

"Carry out the sentence."

The executioner steps forward. I do not even have the strength to struggle anymore, as pain crashes through my body like relentless waves.

Everything around me fades into distant voices. My heartbeat slows, and so does my breathing. The bond that once connected my soul to Noah's begins to fracture.

Crack. Another crack. Then another.

I feel my wolf dying inside me as my vision darkens.

"If there is another life..." I whisper, tasting blood on my lips. "I will never love you again. I will make you regret the day you destroyed me."

The last thread of our mate bond snap, followed by a terrible silence.

"No." Noah's voice cuts through the throne room. Not cold, not commanding, terrified. His chair crashes against the floor as he rushes toward me. "Sylla."

Strong arms catch me before my body hits the marble. His hands shake as he cradles my face.

"Call the healers." Nobody moves. "I said call the fucking healers!"

His roar shakes the palace walls, and for or the first time since this nightmare began, I see fear in his eyes.

Real fear.

His breathing becomes uneven as he presses trembling fingers against my neck.

"No... no..." He looks at me as though he cannot understand what is happening. As though he never expected this.

Why? Was this not what he wanted?

The last thing I see before darkness swallows me is Noah's face twisted in horror, his silver eyes glistening with tears he never lets fall.