Chapter 1

When I arrived at the bonfire gathering, the covenant ceremony was already underway.

That woman, Lily Brown , wore a bone crown on her head, the symbol of a Luna, standing beside Alpha Hall.

My parents stood at the very front of the crowd, beaming like it was their own daughter tying the knot.

I scanned the crowd from a distance. I did not make a move.

Finding Sia came first.

I slipped past the patrols and crept into the cabin she used to live in. Before I left, Hall had sent ten snow fox pelts and a chest of jewels as parting gifts. Now they were all gone.

A maid walked past the door. She paused when she saw me, then let out a cold laugh.

"Sia? You monster. How dare you sneak out of the Forbidden Grounds?"

She thought I was Sia. My eyes locked onto the wolf fang hanging around her neck. The charm I gave Sia.

Not wanting to alert the crowd farther out, I swallowed the fire in my chest and mimicked my sister's gentle tone. "Where did you get that charm?"

The maid took it off and dangled it in front of me, smirking. "The new Luna gave it to me. All your old jewelry, your clothes, they are Lily's now. She tosses out scraps, and it is still more than you will ever have."

I nodded, forcing my voice to be calm. "Take it off. Give it back."

The maid laughed like I had just told a joke. She shoved me and snapped, "It is the Alpha's covenant ceremony today. Get back to the Forbidden Grounds. If Lily sees your ugly, cursed face, you will get another beating for sure."

I stepped back half a pace and held my temper. "Another?"

The maid gave me a smug look. "Last month you disrespected Lily. The guards broke three of your ribs. Forgot already?"

Last month, when I was officially named Alpha of the Wintercrest Pack, a sharp pain had suddenly stabbed through my chest. I thought it was my old injury flaring up. Turns out it was Sia getting hurt.

The maid took my silence for fear. She pulled a dagger from her belt and lunged at me.

I stopped holding back. I caught her wrist mid-swing and looked her dead in the eye. "What did I do wrong? I was Hall's chosen mate. Why cancel the bond? Why lock me up in the Forbidden Grounds?"

The maid thrashed and screamed curses at me. "The witch said so! After your sister left, the curse passed to you! If Hall mated you, the whole pack would fall! Alpha did not have you killed. That is mercy enough!"

The guards outside heard the commotion and burst in. The lead guard drew his blade and shouted, "Sia, let her go, or I will cut you down right now."

The maid puffed up with confidence. She grabbed my hair with her free hand and shrieked, "A dying freak like you dares to touch me? I will finish you off today."

She wrenched free and drove the dagger at my chest. I sidestepped, took the blade from her, ripped the wolf fang charm off her neck, and grabbed her by the nape.

The guards roared and charged at me, blades swinging. I dodged, swept their legs out from under them, and sent them crashing to the ground.

The lead guard writhed on the floor, snarling in rage. "Are you insane? Luna and the witch will not let this slide! Your parents disowned you! They adopted Lily as their daughter! Nobody is on your side now! You just attacked pack guards. Are you declaring war on all of us?"

My foot pressed down harder. The guard gasped, crushed under the weight of the gap between us, and finally shut his mouth.

Three years ago, one casual word from the witch drove me out of the pack. Now she would not even leave Sia alone, stripping her of her status, her family, even her freedom.

I leaned down, looked the guard square in the face, and said in a voice flat as stone, "Didn't you tell me to go back to the Forbidden Grounds? I'm going right now. You, lead the way."

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