Chapter 1: THE UNWANTED MATE

Elena’s POV

I never used to believe in true mates.

That was until the day I met Trent.

I thought the moon goddess must have smiled at me. He was larger than life, tall and large. The kind of wolf that was able to carry an entire room with the weight of his gaze alone.

He was everything I ever thought I needed in a mate – bold, commanding and handsome. Everything an alpha should be.

For a while, I thought I had made it. I thought I was the lucky girl – the princess in a love story, the chosen Luna.

Well, I was wrong.

Now when I wake up, I count my bruises.

I tugged my sleeves down my long arms, the fresh mark of last night’s abuse already beginning to redden around my wrist. The streaks of scars stood out against my pale skin, all reminders of my life since the very moment I said yes to him.

I ran my palms over my chest as I sat up from the bed, inhaling deeply, trying but failing to calm down the wolf within me.

Just like me, she hated this life, hated who I had become.

“Luna,” a voice sneered from outside the room. The voice was laced with venom and spite.

I got up from bed and walked to the door, already dreading the minutes I knew were about to follow.

Standing in front of the door was Elaine Black, Trent’s mother.

The true power of the pack and one of my worst tormentors. Her sickly silver hair was tied behind her in a bun. She had never once addressed me by my name.

To her, I wasn’t Elena, just Luna, spoken with a disgust so visceral, it made my stomach spin in disgust.

Her cold eyes swept over me with raw disgust, her gaze lingered briefly on my long sleeves, no doubt already aware of the red scars beneath them.

She smirked as she met my gaze. “Are you covering up again?” she mocked, “How many times am I going to tell you not to bother. Everyone knows my son made a mistake by choosing you as his mate. You are never going to be her.”

Her.

Sloane Viscount.

Trent’s first love. The woman who I still hadn’t met but had haunted my entire life since I came into the pack. A woman whose face was plastered across the corridors and hallways of my home.

I was told that she was the perfect luna – wolf, warrior and hero. To the people of this pack, she was everything I never was. They still told stories about her like she was heavenly.

I was just the woman who came after she left, the placeholder, the second choice.

I left my chin lifted even though Elaine’s words disgusted me, I had no choice.

“The council is arriving later today.” I answered, my voice low and soft as I tried to deflect the question,

Elaine’s smile sharpened as she once again looked me over, “Yes, I know, that is exactly why I am here.” she answered, “Do not embarrass us Luna, we do not want them thinking our Alpha married a fragile little bitch.”

The words burned but I held my tongue. That was my trick to surviving, making sure that the words didn’t bite as much as they were intended to. I swallowed the poison and pretended it didn’t sting.

Even though it did.

I left her with a soft smile and hurried towards the kitchen, my eyes already watering up as the thought of Trent’s face when he found out that I overslept flickered through my mind.

When I passed through the kitchen and entered the dining hall, my stomach dropped.

Nothing was prepared, and the council was going to be convening in an hour. There were no table settings, no steaming pots, no centerpieces, absolutely nothing.

“Shit.” I whispered as I immediately got to work.

I rushed back to the kitchen, panic etched on my face as I rushed towards the cooks.

None of them even spared me a glance as I stumbled towards them. “The council will be here soon,” I hissed, trying to hurry them along, “We need the meal prepared.”

“We’ve already done that ma’am,” one of the cooks interrupted with a smirk on the corner of her lips. “Alpha Trent personally ordered it himself earlier this morning.”

My chest squeezed as a pang of fear rushed through me.

Of course, he had. Trent always knew I would slip. It was like he waited for it, every single mistake I made was just fuel for his fury towards me.

I forced a smile and let the cooks work.

When the tell-tale black sedans of the council rolled up the driveway, I was already outside, dressed in my best gown – red and long, to both hide my scars and to also offset my odd coloring.

I forced a smile on my face, even as my stomach dropped further.

The council members stepped out, all musty old wolves in fine clothes, their sharp gazes flickered away from Trent for a moment and rested on me.

I bowed low and whispered the practiced greeting.

“May the goddess bless you.”

They nodded, not deigning to reply.

Just like everyone else who came to the pack, they had already pushed me to the back of their minds,

In the dining hall,

Conversation filled the air, I lingered at Trent’s side, just like he preferred, my head bowed low as I oversaw the serving of the food.

As I stood, I kept on muttering my mantra, be silent, be present, and be still.

Until I failed,

The soup came out cold. I had ordered the cooks to warm it, but they hadn’t, and I already knew I was about to be blamed for it.

“Elena.” Trent said dangerously. For the first time since I woke up, he turned to face me.

The entire table fell silent,

I gulped as I stepped forward, towards my mate, my back already drenched in fear.

“Yes, Alpha.”

He tilted his head, “Is this all you could manage for a council of our elders?” he growled, “Cold, hard soup?”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean – ”

His hand slammed hard against the table, the sound of the crack echoed across the dining hall, making me flinch.

“You didn’t mean for our elders to eat like peasants?” he growled as he stood up,

“I-” my lips parted,

His fingers clamped around my wrist, hard, and then, he jerked me forward.

Pain wracked my body. A couple of the councilmen shifted but none of them said anything.

“This…” he spat as he addressed the room, his heavy grip already beginning to form a red bruise around my arm, “… is what happens when an alpha marries a weak woman. A woman who can not fight or even lead. She makes me ashamed to even call her my luna.”

Then, he shoved me.

It wasn’t hard, but it had enough force behind it to knock me off balance. My knees slammed hard into the marble.

I pressed my palms flat, bowing as I prepared to stand up, already anticipating the next words that were going to leave his lips.

I kept my chin down, afraid to meet his eyes,

“Get out,” Trent said coldly,

I nodded once and fled,

The hall blurred around me as I hurried down it. My body trembled, not just with pain, but with anger.

I made it to the end of the hall before the tears broke free from my grasp,

Once upon a time, Trent used to be kind,

Now, I was just the shadow of Sloane Viscount.

A Luna no one wanted,

And goddess help me, because deep down, some part of me still loved him.

But that part of me was dying every day, and when it died off.

I was going to have to make a decision.

To Leave or to Stay.