Chapter 1

My Alpha mate postponed our marking ceremony 99 times for an omega. For the 100th, I rejected him instead.

"The manor expansion is on hold."

Damon didn't even look up as he signed another contract.

My eyes were glued to the blueprints on his desk—the plans for the Alpha’s manor that I had spent three months pouring my heart into.

It included the nursery for our future children.

"What do you mean?" My voice was a whisper, but my hands were shaking.

"The pack's resources are tight," he said, his tone casual, as if he were talking about the weather. "The expansion is too extravagant."

"Extravagant?" I stared at him in disbelief. "That was supposed to be our home, Damon. Where we agreed we'd raise our pups."

"Elena, don't be dramatic." He finally looked up, his eyes filled with impatience. "It's not the right time."

It felt like a sledgehammer to the chest.

We'd been mated for five years.

And still, he'd put off our official marking ceremony.

"Isabella is waiting for me for lunch," he said, standing and walking around his desk. "I have to go."

I was left alone in his office.

With the rejected blueprints.

My hand trembled as I picked up my phone.

Instagram's algorithm pushed a new post to the top of my feed.

It was from Isabella’s account.

In the photo, she was wearing a couture evening gown I’d never seen before, standing in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window.

The view outside was a panorama of the pack’s core territory—a view you could only get from the penthouse.

The room’s decor was breathtakingly lavish.

Italian marble floors, a crystal chandelier, and a vintage sofa that had to be worth a hundred thousand dollars.

Her caption read: Thanks to my Alpha for my new home! So much love in every detail.

Posted: Ten minutes ago.

The comment section was already on fire.

OMG! Is that the penthouse in the core territory?!

The Alpha is so good to you!

When's the Luna ceremony?

I'm so jealous!

My finger froze over the screen.

The penthouse.

The thirty-million-dollar luxury apartment.

And I had just been told our home expansion was "too extravagant."

I liked the post.

Just a single tap.

Twenty minutes later, the emergency summons echoed through the pack’s communication system.

In the council hall, the twelve Elders were already seated.

Damon stood on the main platform, his face a thunderous mask.

"Elena!" His roar shook the hall. "Are you proud of yourself?"

"What?"

"Do you have any idea what that single 'like' has caused?" His eyes began to glow with the golden light of his wolf. "The entire pack is questioning Isabella's status in the comments!"

The Elders began to whisper among themselves.

"It was a bit inappropriate..."

"As the future Luna, Elena should show more grace..."

"Isabella is a guest, after all..."

I scanned the faces of the Elders I once respected.

The ones who had witnessed the decade of my life I had dedicated to this pack.

"I just liked a post," I said, my voice deceptively calm.

"You did it to provoke me!" Damon slammed his fist on the lectern, and the wood splintered. "You're questioning my decisions!"

Questioning him?

I almost laughed.

"Isabella is an important member of this pack, and your actions led to her being harassed online!" Damon's voice grew colder. "That's a sign of disrespect to your Alpha's authority!"

A low growl rumbled in my throat.

His Alpha command washed over the room like a tidal wave, pressing down on me until it was hard to breathe.

Everyone in the room bowed their heads.

Everyone but me.

"As punishment, you are confined to the manor for one month," he announced, looking down on me. "You are not to leave the grounds or use any social media."

Confined.

Like a child being punished.

"Anything else to say?" A dangerous glint shone in Damon’s eyes.

I stood up.

The hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"I, Elena, reject you, Damon, as my mate."

The words hung in the air for a second before the room erupted in gasps.

A storm of energy exploded in the hall.

Every wolf felt the soul-tearing agony.

The excruciating pain of an Alpha’s mate bond being violently severed.

The crystal chandelier swung wildly, and glasses on the tables shattered.

The Elders clutched their chests, their faces ashen.

Damon’s face went white as a sheet, and he staggered back a step.

He let out a guttural howl, a sound thick with pain and rage.

"Get out!" His roar shook the foundations of the building. "Get out of my territory! I don't want to see your face for another second!"

His Alpha aura lashed out, raw and untamed, stealing the air from everyone's lungs.

I picked up my bag and walked toward the door without a backward glance.

In the underground garage, I started the engine of the black Mercedes—the birthday gift Damon had given me last year.

The engine's roar echoed through the empty space.

The car moved slowly toward the territory exit.

Just as I was about to pass through the main gate, a flash of red appeared in my rearview mirror.

A Ferrari, speeding right for me.

I had no time to react.

CRUNCH!

The massive impact ripped through the night.

My car was thrown from the road, slamming hard into the guardrail.

The airbag deployed, and my head smashed against the steering wheel.

Blood trickled down my forehead.

"Elena!"

I heard Damon’s frantic shout in the distance.

But he wasn't running to me.

He was running to the red Ferrari.

"Isabella! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I pushed open the warped car door and stumbled out.

My head was spinning, my vision blurry.

"I'm fine..." Isabella crawled out of the driver's seat, tears streaming down her face. "I was just trying to catch up to Elena, to convince her to come back... She must have been so distraught, she just sped off without looking..."

Wild with jealousy?

I hadn't even turned the wheel.

"Elena!" Damon finally ran to me, but his eyes held no concern, only accusation. "Look what you've done! You almost got Isabella killed!"

I looked at the fury in his eyes.

So real.

So blinding.

"Yeah," I wiped the blood from my face. "I'm wild with jealousy."

A taxi had been waiting by the side of the road for the last ten minutes.

I walked toward it.

"Elena, where are you going?" Damon yelled.

I didn't look back.

Once inside the taxi, I sent a message to Sera.

"I rejected him. I'm coming to your Crescent Moon Pack tomorrow."