Chapter one

Christina's Pov

I learned early that silence was safer than defense.

In Riverstone Pack, being a wolfless omega already made me invisible. Being noticed usually meant pain, and pain was never quick. It lingered, followed you, waited until you were tired enough to stop fighting it.

I kept my head down as I crossed the inner courtyard, arms wrapped around myself against the early evening chill. The stone beneath my bare feet was cold, but I didn’t slow. Stopping only gave people time to notice you. To whisper. To decide what they wanted to take out on you that day.

“Hey. Omega.”

My shoulders tensed, but I didn’t turn. I pretended I hadn’t heard, the way I always did.

“Did you hear me?” the voice sneered behind me. “I said”

“Leave her.”

The command cut through the courtyard, sharp and absolute.

I froze.

I knew that voice.

I turned slowly, my heart already hammering as I faced Alpha Kael standing near the pack hall steps. His broad shoulders were squared, his posture rigid, his presence alone enough to make the air feel heavier. Wolves straightened instinctively when he appeared, lowering their gazes, adjusting their stances without thinking.

Three months ago, during the mating ceremony, I had felt that same pull in my chest. Violent. Consuming. Undeniable.

Mate.

My mate.

And yet his gaze slid past me like I wasn’t there at all.

The omega who had been harassing me scoffed under her breath and walked away, clearly displeased but unwilling to challenge him. I remained where I was, fingers curling into the thin fabric of my dress as I tried to steady my breathing.

“Alpha,” I murmured automatically, bowing my head.

He didn’t acknowledge the greeting. His attention was fixed on the pack hall doors as they opened.

Caitlin Pierce stepped out.

She looked like she belonged at his side. Tall and elegant, dressed in cream and gold that hugged every curve perfectly, her long hair shimmering under the courtyard lights. Her smile was soft in a way that made wolves stupid, the kind that made people want to please her without realizing it.

She was the Luna the elders had chosen. The perfect arranged mate.

I stared at her longer than I should have, the knot in my chest growing tighter with every second my gaze lingered. When her eyes flicked to me, they were sharp and calculating, stripping me down in a single glance before she slid her arm through Kael’s.

He didn’t pull away.

I swallowed hard.

I told myself it didn’t hurt anymore. I told myself I was used to it. But the bond didn’t care about logic or lies I told myself at night. Every time he touched another woman, it twisted inside me, confusion and rejection pressing together until it was hard to breathe.

Caitlin leaned closer to him and said something too quiet for me to hear.

Kael nodded once.

Then his gaze snapped to me.

For one brief, terrible second, I thought maybe this was it. Maybe he would finally speak to me. Maybe he would explain why he had never acknowledged the bond, why the ceremony had ended with me standing alone while whispers tore through the crowd.

Instead, his expression hardened.

“Christina Black,” he said coldly. “Come with us.”

My heart dropped into my stomach.

People were watching now. Wolves paused mid-conversation, heads turning in my direction. A few exchanged looks that made my skin crawl. Nothing good ever followed an omega being summoned like that.

“Yes, Alpha,” I said softly.

I followed them into the pack hall, my steps echoing far too loudly in the sudden silence. Every sound felt magnified, like the walls themselves were listening.

The council chamber was already full.

Elders sat along the long stone table with grim expressions, their eyes heavy with judgment. Betas and enforcers lined the walls. The air was thick with tension, with something darker beneath it that made my stomach twist. Fear. Anger.

I stopped just inside the doorway.

“Stand there,” Beta Harrow ordered, pointing to the center of the room.

My stomach tightened, but I obeyed.

Kael moved to the head of the table. Caitlin took the seat beside him without hesitation, her presence unquestioned. No one challenged it. No one even looked surprised.

That hurt more than I wanted to admit.

“Christina Black,” Kael began, his voice carrying easily through the chamber, “you have been accused of treason against the Riverstone Pack.”

The words struck me like a slap.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”

A murmur rippled through the room, low and restless.

“Three nights ago,” Kael continued, his tone unchanged, “a rogue unit breached our eastern border. They knew our patrol routes. They knew our weak points.”

I shook my head slowly, dread crawling up my spine. “I don’t understand.”

“You were seen near the border earlier that evening,” one of the elders said. “Speaking with someone.”

“I wasn’t,” I said immediately. “I swear. I was gathering herbs by the lower ridge. I was alone.”

Caitlin laughed softly.

It wasn’t loud, but it cut through the room all the same.

“Alone?” she repeated, tilting her head as she looked at me. “You expect us to believe that? You barely leave the servant quarters.”

Heat rushed to my face.

“I don’t speak to rogues,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “I don’t even leave pack land.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“We also found this,” he said, sliding a small leather pouch onto the table.

I recognized it instantly.

My breath caught. “That’s mine.”

“Exactly,” Caitlin said smoothly. “It was found in the rogue camp, along with maps of our patrol routes.”

The room erupted.

Shouts filled the chamber, accusations thrown without restraint.

“Traitor.”

“Wolfless trash.”

“She sold us out.”

My ears rang as the noise pressed in from all sides.

“That pouch was stolen,” I cried. “I lost it weeks ago. Please, Alpha, you know me. I would never do this.”

Kael stood abruptly, slamming his palm against the table.

“Enough.”

Silence fell.

“Evidence says otherwise,” he said.

The words hurt more than the accusations.

My chest tightened, my breath turning shallow as the bond stirred restlessly, confused and aching, tugging painfully inside me.

He looked at me then. Really looked at me.

And I saw it. Not uncertainty. Not conflict.

Resolve.

“I gave you the benefit of doubt,” he said. “I wanted to believe this was a misunderstanding.”

My heart fluttered painfully.

“But the evidence is clear.”

Something inside me broke.

“You’re lying,” I whispered. “You know I’d never hurt this pack.”

“This pack?” Caitlin echoed softly. “Funny. You’ve never belonged here.”

She stepped closer, her voice lowering. “There’s also the matter of the mating bond. A bond that should never have formed.”

My stomach dropped.

“A wolfless omega as Luna would weaken Riverstone,” she continued calmly. “Our allies would see it as an insult.”

Anger finally cut through the fear. I turned toward her. “You don’t get to”

Kael raised his hand.

“Christina Black, by the authority vested in me as Alpha of Riverstone, I reject you as my mate.”

The bond screamed.

Pain tore through my chest so violently my knees buckled. I barely managed to stay upright as the world blurred, gasps echoing around the chamber.

“Kael,” I breathed.

“This rejection is lawful,” he continued, his voice merciless. “Effective immediately.”

The last thread snapped.

I collapsed to my knees.

The rejection didn’t sever the bond completely. Something resisted, clung stubbornly, but it hollowed me out all the same, leaving me gasping as if something vital had been ripped away.

Caitlin smiled.

Kael didn’t look at me again.

“For your crimes,” he said, “you will be punished.”

My head snapped up. “Banished?” I whispered.

He looked at my pitiful figure on the floor, hesitation flickered in his eyes.

Caitlin noticed, she leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

Whatever she said hardened his expression.

“No,” he said quietly. “Not banishment.”