C1

“Trust me! I will protect you and make you the most honored female in the whole pack!”

My breath caught. “No, stop… please…”

The powerful male pushed forward anyway, his raw alpha scent overwhelming my senses as pain ripped through me and everything went black.

When I woke up, the hidden alcove was empty, but the thick, musky smell of a dominant wolf still hung heavy in the air. The shredded fabric of my tunic scattered across the floor told the whole brutal story of the madness that had just happened.

I bit my lip until it bled, clutching the dirty furs as my eyes filled with tears.

I was his fated mate. I came to Moonveil International Port to finally greet my husband after years apart, but my virtue was stolen in the dark before I could even see his face.

What did this mean?

Was the sacred bond broken?

How could I ever look at my packmates again, or face my husband?

If I told him I came to the port to welcome him home, that the crowd grew wild, and in the chaos, a massive stranger dragged me into a dark room to claim me…

Would he believe me?

Would he still accept me as his mate?

Could our union survive this?

Tears spilled over my cheeks. I did not know what I did to deserve such a curse. I grew up unloved by Mr. Smith Loko and Mrs. Hela Loko, my life a complete disaster. I had hoped to change my path through training, but my foster parents forced me into this arrangement. It was my sister who was supposed to marry him, but because the alpha was rumored to be broken and crippled, they forced me to take her place.

They could not bear to see their own blood suffer, yet they greedily wanted the massive pack resources offered for the match.

From leaving my training to the forced ceremony, no one ever asked what I wanted.

No one cared if I was willing. They chose for me and ruined my entire future.

I had cried and screamed, but I had to give in to reality.

They told me a female gets a second chance at life through a new pack, and escaping that cold family was a blessing. Once the vows were made, I promised myself to be a loyal mate.

For two whole years, my husband Gali Blackmoor lived far away in Frostfang Hollow seeking a cure for his legs, leaving me alone in the pack house. I never once strayed. This marriage was all I had left, and I guarded it with my life.

But now, on the exact day of Gali’s return, this nightmare happened. What was I supposed to do?

My communication device suddenly buzzed, showing a message from the pack housekeeper.

“The alpha demands your immediate return to the pack house.”

My heart went fast, terror tightening my chest. “Is he already back at the estate?”

“Yes, luna. The alpha looked for you, and his temper flared when he found your chambers empty. He wants you back at Myhill CrestHALL right now to sever the bond. He is rejecting you.”

My mind went completely blank, like lightning had struck my head.

Gali wanted a rejection?

I knew he hated the forced arrangement. He did not even show up to our binding ceremony and stayed away ever since. We had been bound for two years without ever looking into each other’s eyes, without even knowing what the other looked like.

But during those two years, his pack resources always provided for me. When sickness struck my wolf, the pack doctors were ordered to heal me.

Even from a distance, I felt his protection. I believed Gali just hated the forced law, not me. I thought if I could just be a perfect luna, we could build a real life together in time.

But now…

“Do not be sad, luna,” the housekeeper said through the device. “The alpha is leaving you Blackmoor Crescent Keep and full access to the southern hunting grounds.”

I stared at the wall, the world spinning around me. How could I not be broken? He was casting me out, and I was carrying the scent of a shadow stranger.