Chapter Two

The next morning, Katherine woke to the scent of pine and fury still hanging in the air. The memories of the mating frenzy, a raw, uncontrolled clash of teeth and need flooded back. Before she could fully surface from her thoughts, a small, cold vial was pressed into her palm.

Her eyes snapped open. Charles stood over her, already dressed, his Alpha aura a crushing weight in the room. His canines seemed sharper than usual, his gaze glowing with a faint, residual gold.

"Drink it," he commanded, his voice a low growl that vibrated in her bones.

Katherine looked down. The vial contained a murky, silver-flecked liquid she recognized from pack lore: Moon Tea. A potent brew designed to prevent the conception of a wolf-shifter's child. A tremor of panic, sharp and primal, ran through her. The bond, the potential pup... this could poison it.

"Why are you hesitating?" Charles loomed closer, his shadow swallowing her. The impatience rolling off him was a physical force. "Do I need to pour it down your throat?"

Her wolf whimpered inside her. "Charles, last night, the moon was so close, our wolves—"

"Don't," he snarled, cutting her off. The contempt in his eyes was a blade. "Don't use the moon as an excuse. A pup with a she-wolf from a disgraced bloodline? The very idea is an insult to my lineage. Your wolf is not worthy of mixing with mine."

Each word was a rejection of her, her wolf, and the fragile bond they had forged under the moon's influence. The hope that last night might have changed something shattered completely.

Under the force of his Alpha command, her fingers moved against her will. She uncorked the vial. Bringing it to her lips, she pretended to take a large gulp, but let the bitter liquid pool secretly in the pouch of her cheek. She held her breath, praying he wouldn't scent the deception over his own anger.

Just then, a low, urgent howl echoed from the grounds below—a pack signal of distress. Charles’s head whipped toward the window, his entire body tensing. He pulled out his phone, barking into it. "What's happened? Is it Amelia?"

A frantic, feminine voice leaked from the speaker. "Charles, her scent is all over the western cliffs... she's so distressed! Her wolf is panicking!"

He ended the call and turned back to Katherine, his expression savage. "Amelia's wolf is threatening to leap. Her spirit is breaking because of the shame you brought upon her by forcing this bond."

A cold dread, colder than the Moon Tea, seeped into Katherine’s soul. She scrambled from the bed, her body aching from the frenzy, and pulled on the nearest tunic.

Charles was already astride his black motorcycle, the engine roaring like a beast. As he kicked it into gear, Katherine ran and grabbed his arm.

"Let me come," she pleaded. "I can help calm her wolf!"

He shook her off with a violent jerk. "Get your hands off me," he snapped, his eyes flashing fully gold. "Your presence is what drove her to this edge. Your wolf is a poison."

He revved the engine and sped off, gravel spraying behind him. Grief and determination warred within her. Katherine shifted in a flash of light and pain, her sleek grey wolf bursting from her clothes. She hit the ground running, her paws flying over the earth as she chased the scent of his exhaust and his rage.

She followed him to the base of the jagged western cliffs. A crowd of pack members had gathered, their worried murmurs filling the air. At the cliff's edge, Amelia stood in her human form, her shoulders shaking with sobs, the wind whipping her hair. Her wolf's anguish was a palpable scent in the air.

The moment Amelia saw Charles, she collapsed into his arms as he ran to her. "Charles! My wolf... it can't bear it," she cried, her voice a broken thing.

He held her tightly, his own wolf exuding a calming dominance. "I'm here. Your Alpha is here. No one will harm you again."

Watching them, Katherine felt her own wolf whine in despair. They were the perfect picture of an Alpha and his chosen Luna. She was the outcast, the interloper.

Shifting back, she wrapped the tunic around herself and approached. "Amelia, I'm sorry—"

"You vicious rogue!" a voice shrieked.

Katherine turned as Freya, Amelia's mother, charged toward her. The older she-wolf's hand connected with Katherine’s face in a crack that echoed off the stone. The force sent Katherine stumbling, the coppery taste of blood filling her mouth.

"How dare you!" Freya spat. "We took your mangy pup in when your own pack cast you out! This is how you repay us? By using moon-magic to seduce my daughter's destined mate?"

"It was the frenzy! It wasn't my choice!" Katherine tried to explain, her voice trembling.

But another slap landed, this time from her adoptive father, Jones. His face was a mask of cold pack justice. "Enough lies, Katherine. By the laws of this pack, we cast you out. You are Omega. You have no family, no pack, and no honor."

With those final, crushing words, he shoved her backward. Losing her footing on the loose stones, Katherine fell hard, the world spinning as she tumbled down the steep, rocky incline, the pack's condemning howls following her into the darkness.