Chapter 1

Elena’s POV

Over 500 wolves just watched me, a weak omega, lose control of my own body and go into heat cycle in public like an animal. 

The heat hit me before I even understood what was happening.

My skin felt like it was burning from the inside out. My thoughts blurred at the edges. And right in front of me, my fated mate had his mouth on another woman while the entire pack watched and cheered.

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. All I could do was stand there and feel my own body betray me at the worst possible moment.

Today was supposed to be the day I celebrated the 25th birthday of my fated mate, Alpha Ryan of the Shadowfang Pack. 

I spent a whole week preparing to give him my first time. He gave himself to another woman instead.

“Shadowfang!” Ryan addressed the crowd, his proud smile growing larger as he pulled the she-wolf closer. “Meet Princess Fiona, my fiancée and your future Luna!” 

An intense pang pierced through my heart as I watched the couple cut the cake and laugh together.

The hall erupted into cheerful applause as the pack welcomed their soon-to-be Luna. I was the only one who didn't take the news well.

Everyone knew that Princess Fiona was the eldest daughter of the most powerful man in the realm, the Alpha King, Adrian Blackwood. He was famous for his absolute ruthlessness and his deep hatred for any females, with the exception of his precious daughters. Anyone who stood against him didn't survive to tell the tale.

I knew Ryan had always dreamed of becoming the next Alpha King, but I never imagined he would shatter my heart and step over it just for a title.

“He wouldn’t,” my wolf whimpered in agony, trying to fight the truth happening right before our eyes. “Our mate is not cruel. Go talk to him!”

Could she be right? Could this somehow be just a huge misunderstanding? Though my brain begged me to be wiser than that, my heart refused to believe Ryan would ever hurt me like this.

So I decided to listen to my wolf and hear what our mate had to say.

With a deep breath, I forced my feet to march forward. Yet before I could even reach the stage, an intentional shove made me lose my footing, sending me crashing into a tower of glasses filled with champagne.

The loud shatter made every head dart to me as the liquor soaked through my clothes.

The wet fabric clung to my skin, and that was when I felt it—

A wave of heat rolled through me so fast my knees nearly buckled. My pulse spiked. My skin felt unbearably sensitive, every brush of soaked fabric against my body sending a jolt through my nerve endings that had nothing to do with the cold champagne. My face burned. My breath came out shallow and unsteady.

No. No, no, no. Not here. Not now.

I knew what this was. Every unmated female in the pack had been warned about it. Your first heat could come without warning, and when it did, your body stopped caring about time or place or dignity. It just took over.

Mine had been chosen right now. In front of everyone. Soaked in champagne with my dress going translucent under the lights.

I folded my arms over my chest in an attempt to cover myself. The fabric rubbed against my skin and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep the sound in. My whole body felt like a live wire. I was shaking and I couldn't tell anymore if it was from humiliation or heat or both.

The comments came fast.

"Oh my god, is she seriously in heat right now?"

"Look at her. Dripping wet and panting in the middle of the Alpha's birthday party. Have you ever seen anything more pathetic?"

"She's been chasing Alpha Ryan for years. Delusional enough to think she had a chance, and now she's going into heat in front of his fiancée. The Moon Goddess really outdid herself with this one."

"Someone covers her up before she embarrasses herself further. Oh wait, I think we're already way past that."

The laughter spread through the room in waves. I couldn't look up. I couldn't move. I just stood there, arms crossed, trying to hold myself together while my own body worked against me in front of hundreds of people.

In a fit of despair, my eyes scoured through the room, looking for the one person who could help me through this. A pinch of relief settled inside me when I finally found Ryan, and for an instant, the heat threatening to send me over the edge seemed bearable. Until I noticed the look on his face.

There wasn’t a single hint of sympathy or pity in his expression. All I could see in his eyes was raw, plain disgust.

My heart sank. He used to always protect me. Why was he looking at me like this?

Despite the ache in my chest, I reached a trembling hand out to him. “Please…”

But instead of answering to my desperate plea, all he did was take a step back, further shattering my already broken heart.

“Ryan, dear, who is this shameless woman?” Fiona glared at me, her hands wrapped tightly around my mate’s arm as she leaned into him. “Who allowed such filth to tarnish our special night?”

Ryan's eyes lingered on mine for a second. For a moment, I thought I’d seen a flicker of the warmth they always carried for me. But it vanished before I could trust it.

“Don't mind her, my dear.” Ryan spoke at last, his voice full of disdain as he rubbed Fiona’s hand reassuringly. “She’s not worthy of a second of your attention. This one is just a mistake the Moon Goddess made.”

A sharp pain stabbed through my heart as the words registered. All my life, pack members had called me the Moon Goddess's mistake. It’d always hurt, but hearing my mate, the one who should love me beyond limit, call me that… It destroyed me on an entirely different level.

A satisfied smirk lit up Fiona’s face. “If that is the case, please make her go away. She’s ruining my mood,” she demanded.

At last, Ryan turned to her. “Of course, my love.”

Shooting one last mean glance at me, Fiona lifted her face to Ryan’s, kissing him deeply. It was a calculated move that she wanted to show me who he belonged to. But what really broke me was watching him kiss her back with more passion than he’d ever kissed me.

When they parted, Ryan looked down at me with nothing but coldness in his eyes. “Look at yourself... look how pathetic you are,” he snarled. “You should be grateful I'm not throwing you out of the pack for this scene. So let's put an end to all this once and for all, shall we?” 

I understood exactly what he meant.

“No, please! Don't do this, Ryan! I… I love you!” The words poured out of me in foolish desperation. I would have crawled forward and grabbed his feet if that's what it took to stop him. I loved him more than my own life.

But my devotion only seemed to enrage him.

Ryan crouched down and grabbed me by the hair. He yanked hard, ripping a whimper from me as he forced me to look straight into his eyes. I bit my lip, tears clouding my vision. A sinister smile spread across his face as he stood back up.

“I, Ryan Walter, Alpha of Shadowfang Pack, reject you, Elena Patrick, as my mate,” he declared. The words carved a hole through my chest before he even concluded, “You are not worthy of being my Luna.”

Then, letting go of my hair, he walked right back into Fiona’s waiting arms as if he hadn’t just torn my soul to shreds.

“Guards!” he called, and in a blink, three men surrounded me.

Without a single glance back, his voice rang through the silent room with finality as he commanded, “Take this trash out of my sight!”