Chapter 1

Chapter 1

​ISOLDE

​For weeks, I worked hard to gather support to clear more land in our area. Draven had been away often, negotiating with the Green Forest pack to join our alliance. I planned a party for our territory growth for tonight, and Draven promised he would be home for it.

I asked the Second Lunas, women we gave shelter to, for help. Even with the problems between us, I hoped the party would be a good distraction. That was my plan until the rumors started.

"Did you see poor Mave today?" Bianca asked, with a sneaky smile that showed she loved drama.

"Only at breakfast. She seemed very sad," Naia answered, while the other women carrying logs to the fire pit made sympathetic noises.

I was curious, so I asked, "What happened with Alpha Larkin and his mates?"

Bianca, who loved to share secrets, walked next to me with a grin. "Last month, Alpha Larkin visited other packs. His wife, Mave, acted like she was better than us and told us what to do. Suddenly, she started screaming. Her bad husband cheated on her and waited to mark his fated mate until after he had sex with her a few times. It is a way our Alphas show they are in charge."

I frowned, trying to understand the mean behavior. "Why would Alpha Larkin have sex with his fated mate before marking her just to hurt his first wife?"

"It is about power. My husband did the same thing. The pain makes us weak, just like a rejection does. They think it will force us to do what they want."

"That is awful! Why not just reject them and leave?"

"Leave?" Bianca laughed in a sad way. "If we reject them, it only works if they accept it, which they won't. Rejecting our mate makes the Alpha weak. After everything the Dark Wolves took from us, our packs would turn against us if we made them weaker. Thalia helped us see our position. It is not what we want, but it is our life."

I should not have been surprised to hear my sister's name. Thalia knew how to use people who were struggling.

"I am so sorry, Bianca. I did not know it was like this for all of you."

"You are still a first Luna, and Alpha Draven seems to care about you a lot. I hope he never finds his fated mate. You two are the strongest. Even if Draven wanted to, he could not reject his fated mate."

I stopped. "Why? The rejection would be fine if they do not mark each other."

Bianca shook her head. "That is not how it works with fated mates. Rejecting them makes our wolf weak. Your pack would force Draven to take his fated mate so we would not become weak."

I tried to stop feeling worried. "What is that place?" Naia asked, pointing to the scary house in the distance.

"That is the haunted house of the Voyena family," I explained. "The story says a bad force killed the whole family. Some people say if you stand by the iron gates, you can see a ghost of a sad woman looking for her daughters."

"Scary!" Bianca shivered.

"The North has its own scary stories," Naia added.

We kept picking up wood, and the talk kept my mind off the bad news. I had a bonfire to host, but first, I needed to talk to Draven about the trouble the Second Lunas were facing.

When I got home, I stopped moving. Draven was already home, but he was not alone.

"Amy, I told you never to come here again!" Draven yelled, sounding angry and in charge.

"I cannot wait anymore. Please do not make me hide. It is not fair," a woman begged.

"Alpha Draven!" he ordered. "I gave you a command, and you did not listen!"

"I am sorry," she whispered, shaking and crying. I was about to walk into the room when her next words made me stop.

"I just wanted to be near you, Alpha. I need you."

I froze, and my mind was racing. This could not be true.

"Do not cry, Amy. You and your father made me very angry. I am your Alpha!"

"Yes, Draven, you are my Alpha," she answered in a suggestive way.

"After what your father did, I should punish you for weeks."

"I came here to warn you that night!"

That night... It was not what I thought.

"And you almost showed us to Isolde," Draven growled.

Tears ran down my face. My life was falling apart.

"She is not your fated mate; I am," Amy whined.

"No, she is not, but she is my wife. Your punishment is to leave until I call for you. Do you understand?"

I took a deep breath and walked into the room. There she was, a woman with red hair on her knees in front of my husband.

"This is how a mate should please her Alpha," Draven growled, closing his eyes as she performed oral sex on him.

I stood there, crying as I watched Draven grab her head and finish in her mouth.

"Damn, Amy. You do not listen, but you are very good at that."

"Better than your wife?" she asked, wiping him from her lips.

She looked at me and smiled in a mean way. She wanted me to hear his answer.

"Isolde is nothing like you, sweetheart," Draven said, touching her face.

Nova rushed forward and growled. "I reject you, Draven, you bad Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack," I shouted, shocked that Nova finished the rejection.

"Isolde! No!" Draven yelled in pain, his eyes turning black with his wolf. He tried to grab me but tripped over his pants.

"You will die for this, Draven!" Nova promised.

I ran away, feeling the pain of the rejection. Nova wanted to kill him, but killing Draven would kill us too.

'I do not care! I want his blood!' Nova screamed, ignoring the pain.

I ran into the forest, trying to stay in control. 'We cannot kill him! We need to find another way!'

'I want him to hurt!' Nova insisted.

Finally, I fell down, feeling the strong pain of the rejection. 'Please, Nova, do not let us die for what he did.'

'He needs to hurt!' Nova growled but stopped fighting me. After an hour, I felt like myself again.

I stood up, fixed my clothes, and leaned against a tree. 'We will make him pay, but not by killing him ourselves. He needs to finish the rejection.'

'No excuses, Isolde! Make him reject us so we can be done with him forever.'

I went back to town, still hurting, with the betrayal feeling very real. My life was ruined, and I felt lost and confused.