Chapter 1

Chloe Lane's voice drifted through the crack in the door, trembling with tears yet soft enough to melt a heart.

"But… You already have a Luna…"

Damian Jones let out a soft, husky laugh, his voice rough with desire. "Doesn't it feel good?"

I smelled it.

The scent seeped through the narrow gap in the door, heavy and burning hot.

"My father would never allow me to be someone's bedmate! He would definitely—"

Chloe's protest cut off with a sharp gasp. What followed was the wet, hungry sound of him sucking at her skin.

My stomach lurched, and I shoved the door open.

Chloe was perched on Damian's lap, her skirt pushed up to her waist, sweat dampening the strands of her hair. The room reeked of salt and sweat, the sickly tang of lust hanging thick in the air.

It made my stomach turn.

And my destined mate, Damian, had his face buried against the flushed curve of her neck.

Hearing the door open, he slowly lifted his head to look at me.

His eyes were vicious, like a beast interrupted mid-meal.

There was no guilt in his eyes, no panic. Only irritation.

He didn't even release Chloe. Instead, he pulled her closer, pressing her deeper into his arms, using his body to shield her from my view.

In that instant, my world fell completely silent.

The only thing ringing in my ears was the vows he had made seven years ago.

"Eva is the treasure the Moon Goddess bestowed upon me. She's the only Luna I'll ever have. On the night of the Blood Moon, I'll mate with her and complete the mark. Only the most sacred marking ritual could ever honor my Luna."

Once, I believed those were the most beautiful words in the world.

Now I understood they were the cruelest lie.

My lips parted, and my voice was dry. "Why? Why would you betray our vows?"

Damian's gaze drifted languidly between Chloe and me.

Then he flashed a cruel smile and said, "She's younger than you."

With a soft sigh, he added, "You're getting old, Eva."

Those words hit me like a blade, driving deep into my mind.

Damian rose to his feet and gently helped Chloe fix her clothes.

Then he took her hand and began to walk past me, without sparing me a glance, until he stopped at my side.

He lowered his head, his hot breath brushing against my ear.

The scent of Chloe's sweet berry fragrance clung to him.

"I already said I'll mate with you during the Blood Moon. Are you really that desperate? Can't even hold yourself for a little longer?"

He spoke in a low, husky tone, each word carrying the weight of humiliation.

Those words set my blood on fire.

I grabbed his arm. "Didn't you say you were abstinent?"

My voice rose sharply with anger. "Didn't you say only the Blood Moon could trigger your heat?"

For the first time, Damian's expression shifted from mere annoyance.

It was contempt.

He shook off my hand and licked his lips. "The moment I smelled her, I went into heat.

I froze completely and felt my blood turn to ice.

That was impossible. I was his destined mate. His devotion to abstinence had always been strong enough to resist even the pull of my scent. There was no way he could lose control over Chloe.

He was lying again, and that lie was like a key, unlocking memories I had tried desperately to forget.

The Blackrock pack and the Silvermoon pack had been locked in war for years. Countless werewolves had died.

Damian, the Alpha of the Blackrock pack, had bowed before my father, Wayne Lopez, the Alpha of the Silvermoon pack, exposing his neck in submission.

Damian had only one condition. He wanted to marry me.

The two packs would form an alliance and bind their peace forever.

When my father asked for my opinion, I nodded with a shy blush.

That was because the Moon Goddess had told me he was my destined mate.

In the seven years we were bonded mates, he never once laid a hand on me, claiming a vow of abstinence.

He slept in the study, and I slept in the master bedroom. We kept as much distance between us as possible.

Six months ago, my father fell ill and died. The strength of the Silvermoon pack plummeted overnight.

Damian immediately tore up the peace treaty and launched the annexation war he had been preparing for all along.

My pack fell in rivers of blood across the battlefield.

When the war was nearly over, he came to find me.

He said that if I persuaded my pack to surrender, fewer lives would be lost.

To protect the survivors, I agreed through tears.

For the man I loved, I betrayed my father and became a traitor of the Silvermoon pack.

In return, he brought Chloe back from the battlefield.

Now, he held her close and disappeared down the hallway, never looking back.

I stood there, unmoving.

Moonlight spilled through the window and settled over my body, icy and heavy, chilling me like the sorrowful sigh of the Moon Goddess.