Chapter 1: Shattered Under the Full Moon

Mirael’s POV:

“You are nothing but a mistake I have been forced to live with for five years!”

Riven’s voice boomed through the Moon Festival hall. I stood frozen with my hand still reaching toward him. The glass of whiskey I had carried across the room for him slipped from my fingers. It shattered at my feet. Red liquid sprayed across the hem of my emerald gown.

Liora Kane burst out laughing. “Finally someone says what we all think.”

The music died. Pack members stopped dancing. Every eye turned to us. I swallowed hard. “Riven please. Not here. Not tonight of all nights.”

He stepped forward. His scar caught the moonlight and made his face look even colder. “Why not here Mirael? Let them all hear it. Five years of this arranged disaster and you have given me nothing I wanted.”

I knelt to pick up the biggest glass shards. A piece cut deep into my palm. Blood mixed with the spilled whiskey. “I have tried. Every single day I have tried to be what this pack needs.”

“Tried?” Riven towered over me. “You tried and failed. No heir. No real strength. Just reminders of the family feud your father started. You are a substitute bride, nothing more.”

Liora moved to his side and linked her arm with his. “Let her clean her mess Alpha. We have a festival to enjoy.”

An elder at the head table stood up slowly. “Alpha Riven, this is a serious step. The alliance.”

“Alliance?” Riven raised his voice louder. “The alliance died the day I was forced to mark her. I reject Mirael Lockwood as my Luna. I want the divorce papers ready before the moon sets tonight.”

Gasps filled the hall. A woman near me dropped her plate. It crashed loudly. I stayed on my knees picking up glass while blood dripped from my hand. “You can’t do this in front of everyone. I stood by you when Vesper disappeared. I helped you become Alpha.”

“Do not say her name.” Riven’s tone turned dangerous. “Vesper was my true match. You were the consolation prize the elders pushed on me. Look at yourself right now. On the floor like a servant while the pack watches.”

I looked up at him. Tears burned my eyes but I refused to let them fall yet. “I loved you Riven. Even when you spent nights away. Even when you brought Liora around and pretended I did not exist.”

Liora smirked. “Love? Please. You clung to him like a parasite.”

Riven waved at two warriors. “Get her out of my sight. Take her to the edge building. I don’t want her ruining the rest of the night.”

The warriors grabbed my arms and hauled me up. I stumbled between them. “Let go of me! This is humiliating enough.”

One warrior muttered “Orders are orders.” They dragged me through the parting crowd. People whispered as I passed. “About time.” “She lasted longer than expected.” “Weak blood always shows.”

Outside the cold night air hit me hard. They dropped me near the small medical building on the edge of pack lands. I collapsed against the stone wall. Sharp pain twisted low in my stomach. I pressed both hands there. Warm wetness soaked through my gown.

A healer rushed out when she heard me crying. “Mirael what happened?”

I could barely speak through the pain. “The festival. Riven rejected me publicly. Now this pain.”

She helped me inside and onto a cot. Her hands moved quickly cutting away parts of the ruined gown. “You are bleeding heavily. Stay still.”

I gripped the sides of the cot. “Tell me the truth. I need to know.”

She worked in silence for long minutes. Finally she stepped back with blood on her apron. “You were carrying a child. Very early. The stress from tonight. The public scene. I could not save it.”

The words crushed me. I turned my face into the thin pillow and let the sobs come. All those secret moments I had touched my stomach alone. The hope I had hidden while Riven ignored me night after night. Gone in hours.

“Why?” I whispered. “Why everything at once?”

The healer wiped her hands. “I’m sorry Mirael. Rest now. I will inform the Alpha.”

Time passed in a blur of pain and tears. When the door opened again, Riven stood there. He looked at me on the cot. Bandages covered my palm and lower stomach. His expression stayed flat.

“They told me about the child.” He crossed his arms. “It changes nothing.”

I pushed myself up despite the dizziness. “It changes everything. You rejected me in front of the whole pack and our baby paid for it with its life.”

Riven shrugged. “Your body was too weak anyway. Just like the rest of you.”

I laughed through the tears. The sound came out broken. “Weak? I carried this pack on my back while you chased memories of Vesper. I took the blame when your mother insulted me daily. I smiled through every time you chose Liora over coming home to me.”

He stepped closer. “The papers are almost ready. Sunrise. You leave Eclipse lands. Take what you can carry and go.”

I stared at him. My hand pressed against the bandage. “There is something else you should know before you throw me away completely.”

Riven raised an eyebrow. “More tears? More begging?”

I leaned forward. My voice dropped. “My family hid the truth about my bloodline. The real reason the elders forced this marriage is because there is power in it. Power that could have strengthened the pack. And you just destroyed any chance of accessing it.”

His face shifted. Real surprise showed for the first time. “What power? Explain yourself Mirael.”

Before I could answer, the healer burst back through the door. Her face was pale. “Alpha! Urgent news. Rogues crossed the southern border. Dozens of them. They are demanding the rejected Luna by name. They say they know about the child and the bloodline secret.”

Riven spun toward her. “What?”

I clutched the cot as another pain wave hit. My wolf stirred weakly inside me for the first time in over a year. She pushed one clear terrified thought forward.

They are coming to take what Riven just threw away.