Chapter 1

PROLOGUE 

Sara Lockwood bit down on her bottom lip to keep her teeth from chattering because of the biting cold.  

She was just eleven years old, the only child among the adult women giving their wolf essence to save their mates.  

It was the All-Packs War, and while the men fought, their mates stayed behind to channel their wolf essence to them, strengthening their wolves.  

Sara’s mate was a thirteen-year-old boy, who, of course, hadn’t gone off to war. It was a miracle that they had discovered their mate bond so early, but Sara had been told it happened occasionally among fated mates.  

She closed her eyes and placed her hand on the moonstone, trying not to cry out as she felt her wolf drain from her. Her mate didn’t really need the essence, since he was not at war, but Sara wanted to give her all to the boy she would spend the rest of her life with.  

She smiled proudly as his icon shone brightly in the dark night, signifying her wolf draining into him.  

Finally, Sara pulled her hand off the moonstone, feeling weak. She was about to turn around when she spotted another icon. It belonged to an Alpha.  

The icon stood out, bereft and alone, and though Sara didn’t know him, she wondered who this Alpha could be that no one loved enough to channel their essence to him.  

Sucking in a breath, she pressed her hand to the moonstone again, channeling her essence to the unknown Alpha.  

“Everyone deserves a little love,” she whispered softly as she finally withdrew her hand. 

ONE

SARA’S POV 

Eight years later….. 

I stood at the corner of my new clinic, taking it all in. It was everything I had hoped for, spacious, with modern furnishing, and state of the art machinery. So why was I still feeling—lost?  

After eight years away from the pack, Twilight Zone no longer felt like home, and if I was being honest, no other place did either.  

It was like I belonged nowhere, to nothing, to no one—no one except Tristan.  

“Sara! When I heard that Alpha Tristan asked you to come, I thought it was just a rumor, but here you are in the flesh!”  

“Claudia,” I said with a smile, turning around to face my best friend. I could recognize her voice anywhere—I guess some things never changed.  

I had only a moment to take in her appearance, a petit yet curvy body encased in a beautiful, silver, flowing gown, before she hurtled into my arms, giving me a bear hug.  

Leaning into the hug for a while, I drew in her familiar scent, fighting the strange urge to cry. “I’ve missed you, Claudia,” I murmured.  

She huffed, pulling out of my arms. “Oh, I doubt you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you, considering that you left without a goodbye—but enough of the past. Please tell me, how on earth did you manage to become the official pack healer, and on your first day of moving back in?”  

I shrugged, but a smile tugged at my lips. Something about her over-exuberance was comforting—the fact that she hadn’t changed at all.  

I didn’t tell her that after my parents had died in the All-Packs War, I just couldn’t stay. I had to flee. That I had made sure the Beta who brought news of my father’s death told me exactly who killed him. That I had written down the name of my father’s killer, Alpha Rune, over and over again, until I was consumed by a burning desire for vengeance.  

Instead, I smiled and said, “Tristan offered me the position as pack healer after he saw the mountain of recommendations I had.”  

Claudia frowned a bit, then her expression relaxed into a smile. “However you did it, I’m happy for you. Please tell me, what are you wearing to the full moon party tonight?”  

I blushed. The full moon party that Tristan was hosting! I was finally going to be reunited with my mate after so many years. I even had the feeling he would claim me officially, in front of everyone.  

“Earth to Sara,” Claudia said, snapping her fingers. “I asked what you’re wearing to the party tonight—it’s starting in an hour, you know.”  

“This, Cee,” I answered finally. “This little red dress doubles as professional healer’s attire and a party dress.”  

Claudia rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, a woman stepped in, carrying a small, whimpering child on her hip.  

“Are—are you the new pack healer?” she asked tentatively, stepping further in and placing her daughter on the table.  

I nodded, just as Claudia edged toward the door. “Don’t be late, Sara,” she warned as she bounded off, already spooked by the possibility of seeing blood.  

A while later, I glanced at the wall clock, noting that I was already running late as I wound a bandage around the little girl’s injured foot, trying my best not to think of Tristan, of what would happen after he claimed me, if we would finally get to make love.

 Finally done, I set the girl’s foot down. “Although there’s nothing life-threatening about her wound, we still treat injuries on a full moon as a pretty serious issue, because of the threat of wolfbane. Please bring her back if she complains of any slight relapsing pain,” I said. 

Her mother nodded, gratitude shining in her eyes. “Thank you very much, Sara.” She shot a look at her little girl who echoed “Fank yu Sara,” her bright smile showing several missing teeth. 

I caught myself smiling as the duo left, the mother carrying her already chattering daughter on her hip. Maybe – just maybe, I could learn to belong to Twilight Zone once again. 

My phone started blowing up just as I closed the clinic. I stared at the screen. “Claudia,” I answered with a sigh. “I’m on my way, trust me.”  

Claudia was my best friend, but she also doubled as a royal pain in the ass, and right now, I knew she was in her pain-in-the-ass role.  

“Oh, sometimes I wonder why I bother to hurry you, knowing you’ll end up royally late like you always do,” she snapped, but there was laughter in her voice, and there was an answering smile on my lips as I hung up. 

In the end, Claudia had been right. The hallway was already full, and Tristan was up on the podium addressing the crowd by the time I walked in.  

I smiled shyly, my eyes darting toward him. He stood tall and regal, addressing the small crowd that had gathered. I marveled at how easily he did it, how perfectly he fit into his role as Alpha.  

He was no longer the little boy who had gazed lovingly into my eyes when we were merely children. He was a grown man—powerful, ruthless—every inch the Alpha. And I would be his Luna…  

“Stop staring at him like you can’t wait to get him inside a room and—”  

“Claudia!” I squealed, spinning around to stare at her. I could feel heat rush up my cheeks. “Stop saying embarrassing things!”  

Claudia merely shrugged. “Well, I’m just saying the truth. Look at him! He’s tall, handsome, with a face that could rival the moon goddess herself! If he were my mate, I’d stare at him all day instead of staring at the moon.”  

“Claudia!” I chided again, but this time, my voice was a mere whisper. My eyes were pinned on my mate—on the way the wind danced in his hair. A little too long for the current fashion, it was such a dark color that it contrasted sharply with his eyes. He was dressed in the official all-white, loose-fitted shirt and trousers that seemed to mold to his lean, muscular frame, emphasizing just how powerful he was, and he’d grown hard edges to his once beautiful face, so that now, he looked sculptured, like the work of a famous artist, even his silver-grey eyes had changed, they held more secrets now. 

“And so, today, there is something important I need to announce to you all,” he was saying. “Sara Lockwood, come up here.”  

My heart started racing again. He was calling me up to the podium! Alpha Tristan was going to claim me as his mate in front of all these people.  

When Claudia nudged me, a wicked smile on her face, I hurried up, unable to look my mate in the eye as he took my hands. But then, his next words shattered me.  

“Sara Lockwood, before all the people of Twilight Zone Pack, I reject you as my mate and Luna on the grounds that you are a weak Omega and unfit to lead this pack as Luna.”  

I stared at him in shock, barely able to comprehend his words.  

None of this made any sense! Tristan couldn’t just reject me like that. Our bond was special—a bond we had both discovered since we were children.  

“Tristan,” I whispered, fighting the tears that filled my eyes. Somehow, it was as though crying would make this real, sealing my fate. “Tristan, we’re mates. You can’t just reject me like that.”  

His face scrunched in irritation. “That’s exactly what rejection is for—for discarding mates that are unwanted. You should never have transferred your wolf essence to me. Now you are too weak—a mere Omega. I wouldn’t have rejected you if you remained a Beta. I’m an Alpha now; I can’t afford to be with a weak Omega. It would weaken the pack’s defenses.”  

I shook my head, swallowing my sobs. Already, the crowd had begun to murmur:  

“An Omega is worthless…”  

“She’s delusional if she thinks she can be our Luna…”  

“Banished—she should be banished so that she doesn’t get any ideas…”  

I shook my head. This was just a nightmare—it had to be! There was no way I would be so broken again. After my parents died, I thought I’d already had my fair share of pain. Fate couldn’t be that wicked.  

And yet, I could already feel a bone-shattering pain coursing through my body as our mate bond severed. Through my haze of pain, I saw my nightmare wasn’t over yet. Tristan was not done talking.  

“In place of the Omega, Sara, I name Claudia Storm as my Luna. Not only is she fit for this position because she is a Beta, but after my mate so callously fled the pack, Claudia was there to comfort me, and I quickly developed feelings for her.  

“Claudia, love, come up here, please,” Tristan said gently. The stark difference in the tone he spoke to her with, compared to the one he used with me, cut straight through my heart.  

I struggled to breathe, choking on both emotional and physical pain as I watched my best friend walk up to kiss my ex-mate. Then I turned and fled.