Chapter 1

Lane Conlay's POV

"Lane, in a few days, I'm going to mark Maris Duffy too."

When Alpha Ethan Blackwood said that, I was lying naked on his sweaty chest. I was still catching my breath after being with him. His voice felt like an ice pick striking my eardrums.

One year ago, on our marking night, he didn't even get the chance to mark me. An urgent order from the Alpha King dragged him off the bed and straight to the battlefield.

Tonight, he came home a hero. He burst into my room under the moonlight and pinned me to the bed without saying a word.

For two hours, he claimed me like I was a prize he had won back, leaving marks all over me. My neck was still throbbing and hot from where he bit me. And now he was saying he wanted to mark another she-wolf.

"Are you serious, Ethan?" My voice sounded raspy and strange. "If this is a joke ... it's disgusting."

I looked up, searching his gray-brown eyes for even the smallest hint that he was kidding.

But all I saw was calm, like everything he said was normal.

"Sorry, Lane."

He didn't even pull his arm away from my waist. His fingers traced the skin that had just been shaking under him.

"But don't worry. No matter what, you'll always be my first Luna. Your status, your honor—none of that will change."

First Luna?

I shoved his hand away, like I was shaking off a cold, venomous snake.

"No pack in our history has ever had two Lunas, Ethan! Even the lowest Rogues know they should stay loyal to their fated mate!"

"Then it starts with Blackwood Pack."

He sat up, his muscles looking cold and hard in the moonlight. "The Alpha King already approved it himself."

"You love her?" My voice was shaking.

"Yes. Very much."

The answer came fast, like a blade he'd sharpened days ago.

It suddenly felt hard to breathe.

I didn't get it. How could he finish claiming me, soak me in his scent, and then calmly, shamelessly tell me he was in love with someone else?

We were literally still in bed together! The room still smelled like us!

"Then why did you mark me?!"

I finally snapped, my voice cracking. "If you moved on, you could've broken our mate bond! Instead, you came back and rushed straight into my bed, making me moan like some clueless prostitute!!"

"Lane!"

Ethan's face darkened, and he let out a wave of Alpha pressure that made the air feel heavy.

"Don't be ungrateful. I marked you to protect you. Your parents and family are dead. Where would you go without me? Run into the wild, become a rogue, and get torn apart? Damn it."

He hopped out of bed and started putting his clothes back on. He didn't even look back.

"Listen, you're my fated mate. That won't change. I'm marrying Maris ... but I promise you'll always be the first Luna of the Blackwood Pack. No one can take your spot. That should be enough to make you feel better, right?"

He sounded like he was talking to a kid throwing a tantrum—annoyed and dismissive.

The burning anger and pain in my chest suddenly collapsed into cold ashes.

Why was I even arguing about loyalty with a guy who had already given his heart to someone else?

That would only insult myself.

"Do whatever you want."

I pulled the sheet around me. "I'm tired. I want to rest. Alpha, please leave."

"Lane! I said your Luna status won't change! What more do you want? Can't you be a little more understanding? Think about the pack, think about me—"

"Alpha!" I lifted my head, using the last bit of strength I had left to scream, "Get. Out. Now!"

"Damn it! You're impossible, Lane." He buckled his belt, looking totally fed up.

"I have to marry Maris. For the past year, she's been the one fighting by my side on the battlefield. I promised her she'd get everything she deserves, including my mark and a status!"

"You promised her? What about me?"

I forced a smile that felt more like a sob, and tears finally started pouring down my face.

"The night before you left for war, who was it that swore he'd love me forever, protect me, and give me the best of everything? Ethan, are your promises the cheapest lies in the whole pack?"

Ethan was quiet for a second, but he didn't look guilty. He just looked stubborn.

"I do love you, Lane. I marked you the second I got back because I wanted every wolf in Blackwood Pack to know you're the Luna I chose. Even if your wolf can fight, even if your whole family is gone, as long as I'm here, no one will dare look down on you."

"I promised your mother I would take care of you. I swear I won't let anyone kick you out. The Blackwood Pack will always be your home."

He actually thought he was being the "good guy" here.

I looked at him, and it felt like I was finally seeing who he really was behind that handsome face.

A wave of nausea hit me.

Pure disgust. I wanted to throw up.

"Your mother?" I held onto the last tiny bit of hope. "She agrees with this, too?"

"Yes. She's already met Maris. She likes her a lot." When he talked about Maris, his voice turned soft. "And ever since meeting her, my mother's health has gotten much better."

"It's because I stayed by her side all year, taking care of her!" I snapped.

"Maybe," he said, sounding like he didn't really care. "But happiness is the best medicine. Maris is cheerful and full of energy. She makes my mother happy. That's what matters, right?"

The last bit of light inside me went out.

"I want to see Maris," I said, my nails digging into my palms.

"No need."

He shut me down instantly. "Lane, you wouldn't get along with her. She's a warrior. She's straightforward and simple. She doesn't know how to talk to someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

I repeated his words, feeling so ridiculous I almost laughed.

"What exactly am I to you, Ethan? You seem to have forgotten that I am the daughter of the Silvermoon Pack's Alpha! My father and my five brothers were all legendary generals! I have the blood of warriors in my veins! I—"

"That's them," he cut me off coldly, his words snapping like a whip.

"But you, Lane—your wolf is too weak to fight. You'll never get how brutal the battlefield is, or what it means to trust someone with your life. Maris gets it. This conversation is over. Don't worry, you'll still handle the pack's internal affairs. She's not going to fight you for that."

Yeah, like I even cared about running the Blackwood Pack.

During my one year here, I was the one fixing the roads and bridges. I was the one paying for the schools and the training gear out of my own pocket, using the inheritance I brought from Silvermoon Pack. I even paid for his mother's expensive medicine!

And yet, he and his mother accepted another she-wolf just like that, then planned to make her Luna, equal to me.

He didn't even care enough to hide his affair.

Cold disappointment and burning anger inside me finally mixed into a calm resolve.

I threw the blanket aside and stood up in front of him, completely bare.

I wasn't hiding my scars or my feelings anymore. I looked at him the way my father used to look at his soldiers.

"Alpha Ethan Blackwood."

My voice was clear and cold, no shaking at all.

"End our mate bond. Right now."