Prologue

Prologue: The Mark of Betrayal

(Nayla’s POV — First Person)

There are moments when the heart doesn’t just break.

It shatters.

Splinters into so many pieces you know you’ll never find them all again.

Tonight was one of those moments.

I stood at the edge of the gathering circle, fingers twisted into the fabric of my dress, holding on like it was the only thing keeping me upright.

The bonfire burned high and golden in the center, crackling under the night sky, its smoke tangling with the sweet scent of crushed grass and turned earth.

The whole pack was here.

Witnesses to the ceremony that would crown their future.

Their Luna.

Their Alpha.

And their betrayal.

I could feel every stare prickling against my skin.

Every murmured whisper cutting deeper than claws.

But I didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Didn’t breathe.

I just watched.

Watched him—

Nikolai, the boy I’d loved since the moment we collided at the border woods at thirteen years old.

The boy who’d whispered promises against my mouth under the stars.

The boy who told me, again and again, it’s you, Nayla. It’s always been you.

He stood now at the heart of the circle, strong and sure, the black jacket of ceremony cutting sharp lines against his broad shoulders.

And he wasn’t looking at me.

Not once.

Not even when he took Alara’s hand—perfect, polished Alara—and lifted it to his lips.

Not even when the elder handed him the ceremonial dagger, gleaming cold under the moonlight.

Not even when he pressed the blade to the hollow of Alara’s throat and marked her.

Marked her as Luna.

As his.

The gasps from the crowd were swallowed by the roar of my blood rushing in my ears.

My wolf, Sky, whimpered inside me—a broken sound I could barely stand to hear.

We didn’t understand.

We couldn’t understand.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to end.

I had been nothing before Nikolai.

No family name.

No bloodline of renown.

An orphaned wolf, shuffled between foster packs too busy surviving to care about strays.

But he made me something.

He made me his.

Or so I thought.

I felt the betrayal slice through me with every heartbeat.

Hot.

Ugly.

Unforgiving.

And still, I didn’t cry.

I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.

I straightened slowly, feeling the tremble in my legs, the tightness in my throat.

No one tried to stop me as I turned.

No one called after me.

I wasn’t important enough for that.

Not anymore.

Sky whimpered again, low and broken, before she fell silent.

Dead silent.

I walked away from the bonfire, from the cheers, from the life I thought was waiting for me.

Walked away from the dreams I’d built like castles in the sand.

Walked away from the boy who had chosen power over love.

I didn’t look back.

Not even once.

Because deep down, even through the wreckage of my soul—

I knew.

This was only the beginning.

And fate wasn’t done with me yet.

Not even close.

.