Chapter 1

*Betrayal*

Elara's POV:

"I, Alpha Harden Edmund of the Scorpio pack, accept Caitlin Graham of the Dawn pack as my Luna. She is my true mate." When those words echoed, I dropped the glass in my hand, drawing everyone's attention in the ballroom. I was stunned, unable to comprehend what I had just heard. My fingers quivered in shock.

Moments earlier, my loving and dotting boyfriend stood by my side on the balcony, professing his love for me and even mentioning he'd give up his position as Alpha of the Scorpio pack. I didn't expect this sudden change of heart when he publicly declared another woman as his true mate.

I had been so excited when I was invited to tag along to the Dawn pack for the bouquet, and thought of it as a way to escape my already cruel life, and probably breathe in fresh air different from the one I'm used to. Caitlin was the daughter of Alpha Nicolas Graham of the Dawn pack and she usually visited our pack house along with her father. Our friendship started after she saved me from getting punished by the Luna of our pack, Harden's mother, but she suddenly changed after she met Harden and found out that we were together. I never expected her to take my boyfriend away from me.

My emotions swirled as I stared at my boyfriend who had nothing but a pathetic look on his face, and his demanding mother who always made sure to show me my place at the pack house, then at every one of the guests who gawked at me like they'd seen a ghost, probably because of the broken glass. And then from Caitlin, and down to the mess I had created on the floor with the red wine. The hem of my off-white flora gown had taken in the stain.

In an instant, my whole world came crashing down, hot tears threatening to drop from my eyes but I held them back. No, I wouldn't cry, and I would never show my weakness to these people, Elara Williams was a strong woman and had always been and will always be strong. I had scaled through the hardest times of my life. After my father's sickness, he was demoted from his position as the beta of the pack. We had nothing to do other than to lean on the Alpha's family for support.

 I typically turned into a maid at the pack house so I wouldn't be cast out as a rogue barely a year after my first shift into my werewolf form.

Disorganized by this situation, I immediately ran out of the room, I didn't know where I was going but I knew I needed to breathe, I needed air different from the one in that horror room. As I began to run, the heels of my shoes broke, I guess I wouldn't be needing them anymore. I took the shoes off and cast them out, then I heard my name from him, he was calling.

I wasn't sure if I could face him, I didn't know how I'd react in front of him, he was still the alpha of the pack after all and we had a rule where everyone must respect the Alpha no matter the relationship.

 Harden had taken over from his father a few months ago and even with all the pressure from the elders, he promised me the position of his Luna as the love of his life and mate but now he betrayed our love and the only thing I could think of was how to get away from him and fast. I didn't stop in my sprint, my wolf began to speak to me.

"Let me out, Elara." She grunted. She sounded more furious than me, why wouldn't she? Our love has been betrayed. I wasn't in the best position of mind so I instinctively blocked her from taking over. As I continued running in the woods barefooted with my dress taking the dried leaves twines, and branches from the trees pricking my feet which I didn't bother about, my eyes caught something, the moon. I lifted my head to gaze up at our supposed goddess.

She's never been good to me, I have no memory of her goodness. First of all, she took my father away in shame, after all the great things he had done for the pack as the pack's omega and now she let my love get taken away from me.

As Harden caught up, his wolf's force causing me to stumble, he pleaded, "Elara, I can explain!"

"Elara, I can explain!" That was the first thing he said after our stumble. I managed to dust my butt off the ground, I must ignore him if I want to remain sane, I readied myself for another sprint further into the woods but he caught hold of my wrist. He shakes his head slowly with his eyes genuinely begging for time. Time which I couldn't give.

"I'm sorry, Elara, I didn't mean to betray you, please listen to what I have to say."

"Why? So that you can give me lame excuses? I don't want to hear it. Let me go." I replied.

"Don't do this, Elara. You know my parents have always wanted me to find my mate from a sophisticated family, Caitlin and I are the perfect match."

Sophisticated? Then what was I?

"If she's your true mate, Harden, what about us? What about the things we shared?!" I lashed out at him. I pushed my hair from my shoulder, revealing the bite mark he had given me when we were teens, "Does this look like a joke to you? If it does to you, it didn't look like one to me, I cherished it with all my life."

We started dating on my 18th birthday after being so close throughout our teenage years only for him to betray me, and with Caitlin?

"I'm sorry for making you feel this way, Elara. We are adults and we should settle things out. I'm sorry that I cannot marry you, I am drawn by my wolf to my true mate which is Caitlin." Hearing him confess his true feelings for that woman I was sure he'd only just met tonight made me want to go wild at him. I felt like tearing his heart out. My emotions were flying all over the place and it was hard to keep sane.

My eyes turned to his hand holding my wrist, he disgusted me, I peeled his hand away from mine, "Thank you for breaking my heart!" With this, I ran off.

As time went by, I was beginning to lose control over myself, my wolf, Snow was slowly taking over my body. The transformation came so quickly before I could decipher it, and for some reason, this transformation hurt as much as my first time did. I felt my bones break into pieces and then conjoined together again a thousand times. It felt like my wolf was going to tear herself out of me to part ways, the pain was so much that I screamed which turned into a howl, facing the moon, and then I heard something moving between the trees. My wolf became more sensitive, preparing to protect the both of us in case of a rogue before I blacked out.

I woke up in the morning, burdened by yesterday's events. Each passing moment reminded me of the rejection, the pain, and the cruel reminder of Harden and Caitlin's connection. Unconscious in the woods overnight, I dusted myself off the floor, surveying my surroundings. The day was bright; the party had ended, and everyone had left the Graham estate, so I made my way back North, to our pack house.

Upon my return, my mother greeted me with a slap.

 "You foolish girl! Where were you all night? We were short of servants." Her words struck me like a lash against my already bruised spirit. She didn't care how I felt, knowing my relationship with Harden.

I could barely reply, holding my face in agony. Her presence added to my misery. I often wondered why she despised me.

"Don't just stand there, foolish girl! Do you want me to hit you again?!" I shook my head quickly.

"Where were you, Elara?" Her scowl cut through me.

"I- I was outside, taking some time alone," I muttered, my voice barely audible, my hands nursing the stinging sensation on my cheek.

"Some time alone, you say? I am happy that Alpha Harden has declared Caitlin as his mate. Did you think you could rise in status? Become the Luna of the pack and get to tell us what to do. You wish." She scoffed, "Caitlin is different from you. She comes from an elite family, unlike you. She is an elegant woman whose presence increased the Alpha's status..." She went on and on, praising Caitlin.

Her words diminished me once more. It was just another instance in a series of her harsh treatment towards me.