Chapter 1

The thirty-ninth time my childhood Alpha mate, Aiden, abandoned me for "urgent pack business" was the day I signed the contract to stage my own death.

While Aiden was spending his nights with that Omega model, he had no idea that in two weeks, at their Luna coronation, he would be greeted by the perfect corpse of his mate.

"Miss Elara, please confirm the details."

"The target of the staged death is you. Please sign here."

I nodded, signing my name on the document. The ink was still wet when the cloaked Rogue snatched it from me.

Stepping out of the dark alley, I found the pack's central plaza bustling with werewolves.

A massive magical projection screen hovered in midair, looping the moment Aiden had proposed to me.

It was a moment the werewolf world had hailed as a "miracle."

In the projection, the powerful Alpha was on one knee. This man, usually so ruthless and decisive, held the moonstone ring with a hand that visibly trembled.

The moment I said "I do," his eyes welled up, as if he had just been given the entire world.

A few young she-wolves nearby hugged each other, their voices filled with envy. "Oh my Goddess! Alpha Aiden is so in love with Luna Elara!"

"I know, right? They're the perfect couple, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. I heard he recognized her as his mate when he was only seventeen and refused all arranged alliances for her."

"When he was twenty, he conquered three rival packs for her and forged a crown from the spoils, declaring she would always be his queen."

"How can one Alpha be so devoted!"

I tuned them out, lowering my gaze to hide the bitter smile on my lips.

Everyone envied the love Aiden and I shared. They all said we were the favored children of the Moon Goddess.

I used to believe it was love, too.

That was, until the mate bond ripped the bloody truth wide open before my very eyes.

No one could ever imagine that an Alpha like him would keep an Omega model as his secret mistress for three whole years.

Every time I felt him through our mate bond, tangled with Cassia on nights he claimed were for "pack business," my heart felt like it was being shredded by silver claws.

From then on, Aiden began to reek of some strange, dark magic.

I was born with a rare sensitivity to dark magic.

I once tried to soothe his agitation through our bond, only to be viciously repelled by that dark energy, injuring my own wolf in the process.

I had mentioned this to Aiden, but he dismissed my concerns, thinking I was just being petty and jealous.

As I stared at the provocative images she'd sent me, I suddenly remembered the night I turned fifteen.

Abandoned by my parents, I was curled up in the rain, waiting to die, when Aiden pushed open the door of the dilapidated shack, pulled me into his arms, and declared, "They don't want you, but I do."

He used to remember every little thing about me. Now, he was whispering "You're my goddess" to Cassia in bed while playing the part of a devoted mate in public.

Even as he slipped the engagement ring onto my finger, he had pleaded with me through tears, "Elara, you're my life. Don't you ever leave me, or I'll go insane."

He was the one who said he couldn't live without me, yet he was the first one to break our vows.

I wiped the moisture from the corner of my eye. Just as I was about to walk away, a black SUV screeched to a halt in front of me with a roar of its engine.

The door opened, and a tall figure emerged, his very presence overwhelming.

"Elara, didn't we agree you'd wait for me at home? I was going to pick you up for your Luna gown fitting after handling the territory dispute. Why are you out here on your own?"

Aiden grabbed my hand, his palm scorching.

It was the unique warmth of an Alpha, a warmth that had once brought me comfort but now only felt like a brand against my skin.

He took off his cedar-scented coat and wrapped it around my shoulders, his tone a mix of anxiety and reprimand. "Your hands are freezing. Are you trying to make my wolf's heart ache for you?"

I didn't speak, just watched him in silence.

The concern in his eyes looked so real. That was why I could never understand how he could claim to love me so deeply yet be so helplessly lost to that Omega's depraved touch.

"It's Alpha Aiden and Luna Elara!"

The she-wolves by the roadside recognized us and swarmed over, shrieking with excitement.

"Alpha! We're huge fans of you two as a couple! Can we get a picture?"

Their faces were flushed, their eyes filled with a longing for a love like ours.

Aiden usually hated such displays, but today, he tightened his arm, smoothly pulling me into his embrace and offering a doting smile for the cameras.

After the picture, the girls were still chattering. "May you grow old together and have beautiful pups soon! You must be the happiest couple in the history of our kind!"

I looked up at Aiden. The moment our eyes met, he curved his lips into an indulgent smile, his gaze softening into liquid warmth.

It was as if he agreed with every word of their blessing.

Only I knew we would never grow old together.

I had just stepped out of the car in front of the Luna gown atelier when the waiting designer rushed over, her voice laced with envy.

"Luna Elara, the twelve coronation gowns the Alpha commissioned for you are all ready. Every single one is embedded with true stardust diamonds."

I didn't move. I just watched the man beside me.

Aiden wasn't looking at the gowns.

He was staring at his phone.

The faint light from the screen illuminated his face, and that murky, irrepressible desire surfaced in his eyes again.

A sharp pain shot through our mate bond.

I was all too familiar with that look. In every one of the disgusting, private videos he'd made with Cassia, that was exactly how he looked at her.

Sensing my gaze, he quickly pocketed his phone, the desire in his eyes instantly replaced by an apologetic smile.

The switch was astonishingly fast.

"I'm sorry, Elara." He stroked my cheek, his thumb caressing my skin. "The border patrol just sent an urgent report. A few rogues have crossed the boundary, and I have to deal with it myself."

"Then go," I said flatly.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief and pressed a hot kiss to my forehead. "Be a good girl and try on the gowns. Pick whichever one you like. I'll have the driver take you home when you're done."

With that, he turned and got back in the car.

The engine roared. He sped away as if fleeing a plague, rushing toward his "border."

Or rather, toward Cassia's bed.

The designer approached, asking cautiously, "Luna Elara, shall we begin the fitting now?"

I drew my gaze back to the rows of impossibly lavish gowns, each one a symbol of supreme power.

I shook my head.

"No. I won't be trying them on."

"I don't want any of them."

It didn't matter. At the grand coronation, all they would have is a dead Luna.