Chapter 1

Aria's POV

“Aria, don’t be scared. It’s just like falling asleep.” Caleb’s warm hand wrapped around my icy fingers.

“The silver toxicity damaged the pup’s development. It won’t survive. If we let it be born… it could kill you, too.”

“No…” I shook my head, tears splashing onto the cold steel table. “I don’t feel any effects! Caleb, please, just check one more time! We’ve wanted this baby for two years!”

“Shh, it’s okay.” Caleb leaned down, his lips trembling as he kissed away my tears. His gaze was deep enough to drown in. “I have to do this. For you.”

He glanced at the healer beside him. He nodded.

“Forgive me, Aria.”

Rowan pushed a cold syringe of fluid into my vein.

It felt like a thousand red-hot knives churning through my blood.

My wolf howled.

Pain ripped through me. I coughed, a spray of blood leaving my lips before my world went black.

As I faded, all I could see was the night of my ceremony.

The Silvermoon pack has a sacred vow. Once you are marked at the full moon ceremony, the bond is absolute. A blessing from the Moon Goddess herself. Stronger even than a fated bond.

That night, I waited for Rowan. My childhood sweetheart. My healer.

Instead, my Alpha, Caleb, marked me by force.

He claimed it was love at first sight. That his wolf knew I was the one.

Everyone thought he was obsessed with me.

He personally taught me how to manage pack affairs. When I got sick, he drove hundreds of miles to bring in a top specialist. Last year, he even deployed his Alpha Guard to rebuild my greenhouse after a storm.

Everyone said it was a miracle. A blessing from the Moon Goddess that a common Omega like me could become Luna. That I would be the most powerful woman in the territory when he joined the North American Werewolf Council.

And I was naive enough to believe he loved me to the bone.

Until today. Until he killed our pup with his own hands.

…

When I woke up, the room was dead silent.

My hand trembled as I laid it on my flat stomach.

Empty.

It was all gone.

A piece of my heart had been carved out.

I ripped the IV from my hand and stumbled out of the room, desperate to escape the smell of blood.

But just outside the master bedroom, a dull thud echoed in the hall.

“Even if there were rumors, even if you had doubts, that was your own flesh and blood! How could you use silver exposure as an excuse to force her to terminate?!”

It was Rowan. His voice was a low, furious growl.

I froze, clamping a hand over my mouth.

“The rumors of them being alone for three months were too dirty. I will not have people pointing at Chloe’s mate, laughing at him for having an old flame with a bastard child!” Caleb’s voice was low, but ice-cold with logic.

I felt like I’d been plunged into ice water. My blood froze.

Chloe.

Caleb’s spoiled, fragile little sister.

“So you killed Aria’s child?!” Rowan’s voice was a choked snarl.

“Don’t forget why I marked her in the first place!” Caleb shot back. “You and Chloe had feelings for each other, but you were too weak to let Aria go. I only stepped in to clear the path for you two! I don’t care if that child was mine or not. It couldn’t be born. It would have been a stain on Chloe’s future!”

Dead silence filled the hallway.

The truth shattered what was left of my pride, my love.

Two years.

Two years of devotion. Two years of deep, tender love.

All of it fake.

All of it to pave the way for another woman.

“...I’ll prepare the best recovery tonics for Aria.” After a long moment, Rowan’s distant voice returned, laced with shameful surrender.

“Save your pity. And stay away from my mate,” Caleb cut him off with a cold laugh. “Just remember Chloe’s coming-of-age ceremony is in a few days. Be ready to mark her at the full moon celebration.”

The wolfsbane trauma and the collapse of my soul hit me at once.

My vision went black, and I passed out again.

…

When I woke, it was daylight.

The door opened and Caleb walked in, holding a glass of herbal tonic.

He sat on the bed and pulled me gently into his arms. The movement was so familiar it made me sick.

“You’re awake? I’ve been watching over you all day.” His voice was soft, his eyes so full of love you’d never know he was the monster who’d killed our pup with a lie.

I leaned stiffly against his chest, my stomach churning.

“I’m heartbroken about the pup, too. But the toxicity was too risky. For your safety, it was the only way.” He kissed my hair, his comfort feeling like a handout. “The pup was still small. The loss won’t cause too much damage. I promise, once you’ve recovered, we’ll have another one. A healthy one.”

What a joke.

What a pathetic, fake performance.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry.

I just stared at him, my voice flat and empty as I said one word.

“Okay.”

Caleb froze. He clearly hadn’t expected me to be so compliant. A flash of shock and discomfort crossed his face.

Just then, Chloe’s sweet voice called from downstairs. “Caleb! You’re supposed to take me shopping for my full moon ceremony dress!”

A flicker of urgency appeared in Caleb’s eyes. He immediately let go of me and stood, straightening his suit.

“You get some rest. I’ll check on you later.”

He left without a backward glance.

Listening to his footsteps hurrying down the stairs, I forced my aching body to move, throwing back the covers.

“Luna! You need to rest! You just lost the pup!” The maid, Tessa, rushed in with tears in her eyes, trying to help me.

I pushed her hand away and grabbed a black coat, draping it over my shoulders.

My world had collapsed, but I wasn’t going to rot in the ruins with the rest of the trash.

I tucked my messy hair behind my ear, my voice soft but unbreakable.

“Take me to the Elder’s Council. To the Pack Registry.”

“I’m severing the bond.”