Chapter One: The End Before the Beginning

The throne room smelled of smoke and betrayal.

Elara staggered backward, her bare feet slipping against the marble floor slick with blood. The once-golden banners of her family hung in tatters above her, edges charred from the fires that had raged through the palace. Her crown lay toppled near the dais steps, its silver band cracked, the emerald centerpiece split in two. It should have been her shield, her legacy, the mark of her future as Luna Queen. Instead, it mocked her with its silence.

Her hands trembled as she pressed them against her stomach, where warmth bled through her gown in deep crimson waves. Warriors surrounded her, yet none moved forward. Some looked away. Some smirked. None helped.

Her gaze fixed on the one person she thought she could trust. The Alpha she had once called her fated mate.

“Why?” Her voice broke, rough with disbelief, shaking as much as her body did. The mark on her neck still burned from where their bond had snapped only hours ago. It was as if the Moon Goddess herself had reached inside her chest and torn her soul in two.

The Alpha—her Alpha—looked down at her without flinching. His storm-gray eyes, once so warm and full of promises, had become shards of winter steel. “Because power doesn’t come to the weak,” he said flatly. “And you, Elara, were always too soft.

The words landed harder than the blade.

Her heart clenched so tight she thought it might shatter through her ribs. She had fought beside him in battles, dreamed beside him under the moon, trusted him with every secret her soul carried. She had pictured a future in which they ruled together, stronger as one. She had loved him with every breath. And still, he had chosen another.

The she-wolf who now stood smugly at his side wore her victory like a crown. Her lips curved into a smile that made Elara’s stomach twist, not from the pain of the wound, but from the knowledge that she had been replaced so easily.

“You loved me,” Elara whispered, the words more plea than accusation.

“I used you,” he corrected coldly. “And you were foolish enough to let me.”

Her throat tightened, a raw sound tearing from her lips. She wanted to scream, to fight, to claw her way back to what was stolen from her. But her body felt too heavy, her limbs numb

Memories flashed in her mind, unbidden:

A little girl racing through the palace gardens, her mother’s laughter ringing in the air.

Her first shift, the white wolf that made her father’s eyes shine with pride.

The day she met him—her mate—the bond snapping into place like lightning through her veins, her heart certain the Moon Goddess had chosen right.

Nights spent dreaming of a kingdom ruled with fairness, of love that would last lifetimes.

All of it… wasted.

A metallic tang filled her mouth. She tasted iron. The world tilted, vision dimming at the edges. Her breath came shallow, ragged, every inhale scraping against the weight in her chest.

Around her, the throne room blurred. The warriors she had once commanded stood silent, their faces masks of indifference. None met her eyes. None stepped forward. Cowards. Or perhaps, traitors too.

So this is how it ends, she thought bitterly. Not with a war cry, but with silence. Not with a crown on my head, but a knife in my back.

The blade came again, sliding between her ribs with brutal finality. Cold fire spread through her chest. She collapsed to her knees, fingers clawing at the marble, leaving streaks of red across the white stone.

Somewhere far above, thunder rumbled. The Moon herself seemed to weep behind the clouds.

Her vision narrowed, the world around her shrinking into shadows. She thought she heard whispers—soft, sorrowful, almost gentle.

This is not your end, child.

Her heart stuttered. She tried to lift her head.

Rise again. Rewrite your fate.

The voice was neither male nor female, but carried the weight of eternity. It pulsed through her soul, steadying her even as her body crumpled.

The last thing Elara saw before the darkness claimed her was the face of her betrayer—her mate, her curse—turning away from her as if she had never existed.

Darkness swallowed her whole.

But it was not the kind that kept her.

It was the kind that gave her back.