Chapter 1

Because my jealousy endangered his childhood sweetheart, my Alpha mate, Victor, took our son's advice. He sent me to the pack witch to have my memories erased.​

A long winter later, he woke me with the antidote.​

In the eyes of the pack, I became the perfect Luna.​

I organized the pack's winter stores flawlessly. I cataloged every last berry and pound of meat without breaking a sweat. I could even smile while delivering a blanket to Clara, Victor's precious sweetheart.​

But my Alpha and my pup, Rio, knew. I had changed.​

I no longer remembered how to soothe him on full moon nights, combing through his fur as he writhed in pain.​

When Rio fell in the snow and wailed, I calmly called for his nanny.​

Even when Victor returned late from a hunt, I offered only a cool nod. I never once reached for him through our mind-link.​

At first, he thought it was revenge. He didn't care.​

Until the night of the blizzard, when he and Rio followed me to the abandoned church.

Through the thin wood of the confessional, they heard my whisper.​

"Moon Goddess, what do I do when the memories are back but the love isn't?"​

"The witch gave me back what happened, but when I look at my Alpha and my pup... they're strangers to me."​

"I feel so tense and awkward just being in the same room. What am I supposed to do?"

Outside, the man and the boy just froze.

They finally understood. Some things, once broken, can never be fixed.​

...

Late that night, the door creaked open. Victor stood there, his handsome face etched with displeasure.​

"Why are you sleeping here?"​

I clutched the blanket tighter, forcing a distant smile. "My memory just came back. I'm not used to it yet."​

"Let's sleep separately for a while. I need to adjust."​

He nodded as if it didn't matter. "Do as you please."​

He turned to leave, then paused, asking casually,"You didn't link me tonight."​

I looked up, confused. "Link you? What for? There's no pack emergency."​

The air around him grew heavy. A dangerous glint flashed in his red eyes. "In the past, if I was out hunting for more than ten hours, you'd bombard me with mind-links."​

I remembered those frantic, desperate acts from my past, and my toes curled in embarrassment.​

"Sorry. It won't happen again."​

The reason my memories were erased was that I'd bombarded Victor with a forced mind-link while he was healing his precious Clara.​

My frantic screaming and accusations shattered his concentration. He fumbled the healing ritual, and Clara's condition worsened drastically.​

Victor's voice, when he took over the link, was chillingly calm. "I'm coming back now."​

I had cut the link, smugly believing I'd defended my position as Luna.​

But when he returned, he told me,"I'm taking Clara to the Moon Spring for three months. It will purify the wolfsbane and help her heal."​

Our pup, Rio, had cheered beside him. "I'm going too. I want to go with Clara. She gave me honey candy."​

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What about our Blood Oath Day celebration? I've been preparing for two weeks! It's our mating anniversary."​

"We're not going. Clara's condition is critical. I have to be with her."​

"I hate celebrations. They're boring. I like Clara more," Rio shouted.​

Of course, I refused. I screamed at him, argued hysterically. Annoyed, he shoved me away. Rio, copying his father, pushed me too.​

I stumbled backward, my back slamming hard into the corner of the stone hearth.​

A sharp pain shot through my abdomen. Warm blood gushed down my legs.​

I lost the second pup we had been trying for.​

And because he was afraid I'd cause more trouble, he took me to the pack witch while I was unconscious. He used forbidden magic to erase my memories and left me alone in that isolated hut.​

When I finally came back to myself, I made the promise again,"I'll never bother you with the mind-link."​

Victor's face only grew darker. After a long moment, he said with cold certainty,"Elena, you're just pouting."​

He turned and left, his final words hanging in the air like ice. "Throw your tantrum if you want. Just make sure my war room is organized."​

I watched him go, words dying on my lips.​

Finally, I just yawned, pulled out my phone, and started searching for a competent Beta to handle pack administration.​

I just couldn't be bothered. I had no interest in wasting my time on administrative chores.

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