Chapter 01

Evalina's pov

"Five more days, Evalina. In five days, you will be my wife."

Leo whispered those words to me last night under the old oak tree. I held on to them as I pushed open the door of my father's house.

Two years ago, I lost my wolf. I thought my life was over. Now, with my wedding so close, it felt like it was starting again.

But the house was not quiet. Someone was crying.

"Please, Father! I can't marry Alpha Magnus!"

My half-sister, Leah, was on her knees in the middle of the living room. Father sat in his big chair with his head in his hands. My stepmother, Patricia, stood behind Leah, rubbing her back.

Leo stood beside them.

My chest went tight. "Leo? Father? What is going on?"

Nobody answered me. Leah cried louder.

"Alpha Magnus of the Ironpeak Pack is cursed!" she sobbed. "Everyone knows it. He has a rage he can't control. They say he killed his old Alpha. They say he killed his own wife, too!"

"Leah, calm down," Father said.

"How can I calm down? He even hurt his own daughter! The poor child can hardly walk. That's why he hides up in those cold mountains, where nobody can stop him." She pressed a hand to her stomach. "If I go there, it won't only be my death. It will be the death of my baby too."

The room went silent.

I stared at her. "Your baby? Leah, you're pregnant?"

She looked up at me with wet eyes. Then she reached for Leo's hand.

"Yes," she said. "And Leo is the father. We love each other."

My legs felt weak. I turned to the man I was going to marry in five days.

"Leo, tell me she's lying."

He didn't look away. He didn't even look sorry.

"She's not lying. Leah is carrying my child."

"But we are chosen mates!" My voice cracked. "Our wedding is in five days! And you got my sister pregnant?"

Patricia laughed, a short, ugly sound. "Oh, Evalina. Don't act so shocked. Leo only agreed to marry you because nobody else wanted a wolfless Luna."

Her words hit me like a slap.

"I am wolfless because of him!" I pointed at Leo. "Ironpeak's old Alpha attacked him at the border. He was dying. I begged the river witch to save him, and she took my wolf as payment. I gave up my wolf for you, Leo!"

I remembered that night clearly. Leo had held my face in his hands after he woke up.

"I love you, Evalina," he had said. "When you turn twenty, I will marry you. And one day, we will make Ironpeak pay for what they took from you."

Now he just stood there, holding my sister's hand.

"Did you ever love me?" I asked quietly. "Or was it always Leah?"

Leo opened his mouth, but Patricia stepped in front of him.

"Do you really want to marry a man whose child is growing inside your sister?" she asked. "Leah is the one who was promised to Alpha Magnus. It's part of the peace deal between our packs. If he finds out she's pregnant, he will kill us all!"

"So this is my fault now?" I asked.

"Stop thinking only of yourself!" Patricia snapped. "Think about your sister. Think about her baby. Do you want them to die in those mountains?"

Father finally raised his head. He looked tired and old.

"I can't send Alpha Magnus a pregnant bride," he said slowly. Then his eyes moved to me. "But Evalina could take her place. She is my eldest daughter, after all."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Father, you would send me to him? A wolfless bride for a cursed Alpha?" I shook my head. "He won't want me either. He'll think it's an insult."

"Enough!" Father slammed his hand on the arm of his chair. "This family is tearing itself apart. There is only one fair way to settle this."

He stood up and walked to the old wooden cabinet in the corner. He took out something wrapped in white cloth. When he pulled the cloth away, a silver bowl shone in the lamplight.

"The Moon Bowl," Leah whispered.

Every girl in our pack knew about it. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had used it for years.

"Tonight is a full moon," Father said. "We will fill the bowl with spring water and set it under the moonlight. When a woman looks into it, the water shows the face of her true mate."

Hope rose in my chest. This was my chance.

Leo's wolf had chosen me the night I lost mine. I felt it. The bowl would show his face. It had to.

We went out to the back yard. Patricia poured the water while the full moon hung bright above us. The water went still and silver.

"Evalina," Father said. "You go first."

I nodded and stepped forward. My hands were shaking.

Behind me, Leah leaned close to her mother. I heard her whisper something, and Patricia smiled.

I looked down into the bowl.

The water rippled. A face slowly appeared. Dark hair. Cold gray eyes. A long scar across the cheek.

It was not Leo.

"Alpha Magnus," Patricia said loudly. "The bowl has spoken!"

I froze. I hadn't said a word about whose face I saw. Nobody else could see into the bowl from where they stood.

So how did she already know?

Then I saw it. A thin red line, floating at the very bottom of the water.

Blood.

My grandmother's warning came back to me. *The Moon Bowl doesn't show destiny, child. It only shows whatever face has been tied to it with blood.*

I lifted my head and looked at my stepmother's smiling face.

I had been set up!