Chapter 1

[Sylvia's POV]

I was staring at the mirror, suffocating in a dull, pastel pink dress that made me look like an obedient nun.

Little did I know, twenty minutes later, that same modest dress would be soaked entirely in my own black, poisoned blood.

Pink was always my future mate Carl's choice. 

'Ladies shouldn't draw too much attention. A true Luna is modest. You're dressing for me now.' he had said.

He was the future alpha of my neighbor pack. I fell for him for 4 years.

He had shifted days ago. He told me the Moon Goddess had confirmed I was his fated mate.

And he promised me a grand surprise by the lake at midnight.

Wanting to make him happy, wanting to be the perfect future Luna of his Demon Forest Pack, I slipped into the dull fabric, ignoring how it completely washed out my golden-brown hair and my rare amber eyes.

My father, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, always said my eyes were the exact mirror of my mother's, the woman who vanished without a trace ten years ago.

I sighed, glancing at the clock.

11:58 PM. I stepped into the cool night air. A sharp, electric jolt sparked down my spine.

"Hello, Sylvia. I'm Rose." The voice in my head was clear and vibrant.

I was officially twenty-one. I had a wolf.

If only my twin brother, Patrick, were here. If he hadn't died in that accident a year ago, we would be shifting together.

"Don't drown in the past, Via," Rose murmured, her tone fierce but comforting. "You have Freya, your best friend. You have Carl, your hot mate. He's waiting for us. Go get our mate."

She was right.

A breeze swept past, carrying a scent that made my knees weak.

Chocolate. Rich and intoxicating. I hiked up the ugly pink skirt and ran toward the White Star Lake.

The lake shore glowed faintly under the dim lamplight. Standing at the edge of the dock was a man with chestnut curls, 5'7”, his hands tucked behind his back. Carl.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," he smiled, his brown eyes crinkling.

"Carl, I felt it. The pull," I breathed out, practically throwing myself toward him. "You really are my mate."

I didn't care that the sky was pitch black with a new moon.

I didn't care about the rumors that shifting on a new moon was a bad omen.

The Goddess had given me the man I had loved for four years.

"I remember someone promising me a surprise," I teased, tilting my head and wrapping my arms loosely around his neck.

"And here it is."

Carl yanked me flush against his chest. His lips crashed down on mine. I closed my eyes, letting out a soft sigh, melting into the kiss.

Squelch.

The sound was wet. Sickening.

Before my brain could register the noise, a blinding, unnatural heat exploded in my chest. It wasn't the warmth of a mate bond. It was agony.

My eyes flew open. Carl pulled back, his warm smile replaced by a chilling, dead stare.

I looked down. The hilt of a silver dagger protruded right above my left breast. Black, oily liquid sizzled around the wound, eating away at my flesh.

Wolfsbane.

"What the f**k?!" Rose roared in my head, thrashing violently as the poison instantly started frying our nervous system.

My legs gave out. I collapsed onto the damp grass, gasping for air that wouldn't come. "C-Carl... why?" I choked out, blood bubbling past my lips.

He looked down at me, adjusting the cuffs of his expensive shirt—the shirt I bought him.

"Because you are useless, Sylvia," Carl sneered, his voice dripping with disgust. "No wolf until twenty-one? You're weak. The Demon Forest Pack needs a strong Luna, not a spoiled daddy's girl who only knows how to spend money. I've drained enough resources from your father. I don't need the dead weight."

He crouched down, grabbing my jaw with a bruising grip. "I, Carl Dodgson, future Alpha of the Demon Forest Pack, hereby reject you, Sylvia Amber Woodville, as my mate."

The rejection snapped the newly formed bond. It felt like a rusty wire being ripped out of my soul. I screamed, thrashing on the ground as the wolfsbane burned its way toward my heart.

"Honestly, darling, did you have to reject her before she died?" a sweet, sickeningly familiar voice chimed in.

I turned my heavy head. Dropping down from the low branches of an oak tree was Freya. My best friend.

She wore a skin-tight red dress. In her hands, she twirled two smaller silver daggers, the blades dripping with the same black poison.

She stepped over my bleeding body and kissed Carl deeply. 

He kissed her back with a hunger he had never shown me.

"A dead mate doesn't require a rejection, but I wanted to make sure the Goddess severs the tie completely," Carl said smoothly, his hand sliding down Freya's waist.

Suddenly, Freya crouched beside me, her green eyes wide with fake innocence.

"Oh, Via, don't look so sad. At least you'll get to see Patrick again. You know, he really shouldn't have been wandering around the cliffs that day. He overheard Carl and me planning your little 'accident.' He was so furious."

She giggled, a sound that made my stomach heave. "So, I pushed him."

Patrick. My sweet, protective brother. He didn't slip. He was murdered trying to protect me!!!

A wave of pure, unadulterated hatred drowned out the physical pain. I tasted copper. I forced my jaw open, my amber eyes locking onto Carl's.

"I, Sylvia Amber Woodville... accept your rejection," I spat, blood spraying onto Carl's polished shoes.

I reached for the dagger in my chest, desperate to pull it out, desperate to shift, to rip their throats out with my bare teeth.

But Carl slammed his boot down on my shoulder, pinning me to the earth.

Before I could move, Freya giggled again and slammed both her daggers straight through my wrists, pinning my arms to the grass.

Silver. Wolfsbane.

The pain shattered my consciousness. I shrieked, a horrific, broken sound that echoed over the lake. My hands were literally melting away.

"She's done. Let's go tell the doctor there was a rogue attack," Carl said, turning away without a second glance.

"Wait, honey," Freya purred, pulling him back. "The poison is keeping her heart beating just enough to suffer. F**k me right here. I want her to watch."

I lay there, paralyzed, my blood soaking the earth.

I stared at the starless sky, forced to listen to the wet sounds of their bodies slapping together, their moans mixing with my dying breaths.

"I'm sorry, Via. We're dying," Rose whimpered. Her voice was fading.

If I could live again... I would burn them to ash. I swore it to the dark sky. I would skin them alive.

After about 5 mins, the disgusting sounds finally stopped. Carl and Freya left my ruined body behind to rot.

My vision narrowed to a pinprick. The cold crept into my bones. The Moon Goddess had abandoned me.

Then... a snap of a twig.

Heavy, purposeful footsteps approached.

The air suddenly grew thick, crackling with an intimidating pressure. A calloused hand gently cupped my cheek. The scent hit me, richer chocolate, mixed with a brewing thunderstorm.

Someone pried my lips open. A pill, glowing with crimson heat, was forced down my throat by a pair of firm lips.

"You are going to be fine," a voice rumbled. It was impossibly deep, vibrating straight through my broken ribs and into my soul. "I will find you again, my mate."

My... mate?

Before I could process the words, a blinding red light engulfed the world, and I was violently pulled into the abyss.