Chapter 1

"I, Alpha Kian, accept Isolde as my Luna. To stand by my side. To lead my Pack."

The vow echoed across the Pack’s moon altar.

I floated above them. Watching the whole sick joke unfold.

My soul was weightless. I felt nothing. Not the sting of a broken mate bond. Not the agony of a ripped-apart heart.

Because my body was miles away. Lying in a bloody heap at that abandoned lake house.

On the stage, Isolde wore the silver gown. The one meant for a Luna.

My gown.

A top designer had spent a year sewing it, stitch by stitch, to my measurements.

On her, the waist was too thick. The threads on the chest were stretched tight, ready to snap.

But no one in the crowd cared.

My parents were in the front row, clapping. Cheering.

My mother was even wiping away tears. Like Isolde was her life's greatest pride.

It was always like this.

If we both bled, the Pack Healer only rushed to Isolde.

When the elite wolf academy had one special opening, of course it went to her.

"Isolde is weak, Freya. You can get in on your own." That's what they always said.

And I just took it.

I fought my way up through the pack. Clawed my way to the top. I earned the most powerful Mate.

Then Isolde clutched her chest and collapsed.

She cried that her sickness was getting worse. That her wolf was fading.

And her 'dying wish'? To experience the glory of being an Alpha's mate before she died.

"Freya, can't you even lend your sister your Mate for a ceremony? Just be generous this once!"

My mother’s shriek in my mind-link was hysterical.

The cruelest joke was Kian.

Under the stars at the academy, he’d held me so tight. He swore he'd only ever be loyal to our mate bond.

And now he was betraying me too.

The ceremony ended with a roar of applause.

I followed them onto the private jet to the northern mountains.

A luxury ski-lodge vacation. Another one of Isolde's "dying wishes."

The snow was blindingly white.

Isolde clung to Kian’s arm, leaning almost all her weight on him.

"Kian..." Isolde choked out. Fake tears spilled down her cheeks. "Freya didn't even come to the ceremony. Is she really that mad at me? I'm so scared she hates me."

Kian kicked at the snow, distracted.

His brow was furrowed. He couldn't hide his worry. His frustration.

"Forget her," he mumbled, patting her hand. It was more for himself than for her. "Freya's reasonable. She'll understand. The lake house isn't far. She’s probably calmed down and gone back to the Pack House by now."

Reasonable? Calmed down?

I floated over their heads and let out a cold laugh.

Yeah, I won't be causing any more trouble.

Dead girls are very, very quiet.

That night, the family had an expensive dinner at a top-tier restaurant in the local pack’s territory.

Isolde, the girl supposedly so weak she couldn't walk, had a great appetite.

Back at the lodge, the air smelled of pine from the fireplace.

Isolde couldn't wait to change. She came out in a deep-V, silk nightgown. Wine-red.

Barefoot, she walked out to the balcony. She slid up behind Kian, her fingers tracing his abs.

"Kian, it's our wedding night…" Her voice was sickeningly sweet.

Kian stiffened.

His territorial instincts kicked in. He grabbed her hand, pushed her away. A flash of disgust in his eyes.

"The ceremony was for your sickness, Isolde. You know Freya is my only Mate."

Then he just stood there. Alone in the freezing wind. Gulping down whiskey. He was trying to find me, trying to feel me through the mate bond the ceremony had blocked.

It was useless.

I drifted through the wall into the guest room downstairs.

My mother tried to mind-link me. She found nothing but silence. The connection was gone.

Their faces fell.

They were used to this pattern. They'd give a harsh order, then a soft word of comfort.

When they reached out, that was my cue to get over it.

But this time, the link was dead.

"Freya is still Kian's true Mate! The future Luna! She’s not answering her mind-link or her phone. What if she's really lost it this time? What if she uses her Luna power to banish us all?!"

My mom's voice was laced with panic. Raw fear.