Chapter 1

Moments before my Mating Ceremony, the guards shoved me from the altar.

I watched, paralyzed, as another she-wolf in a pristine white gown took my place. My mate, Beta Seth, didn't even flinch.

He took her hand—the hand of his childhood sweetheart, Brielle.

And in that silence, his voice echoed in my head through the mind link.

"Brielle is pregnant with a rogue's pup. She's mateless. I have to claim her, give her a home in the pack. It's to protect the child. I won't actually mark her. When this is all over, you'll still be my only one."

I almost believed his bullshit.

Until I saw Seth's hand stroking Brielle's waist after the ceremony. And Brielle, pulling him in for a kiss.

In that moment, my eyes burned, and I was rooted to the spot.

Seth thought I'd wait. Everyone who watched me pine for him thought I'd come crawling back, begging him to complete our bond.

After all, we were fated mates. I'd been waiting for this ceremony for five years.

But they had no idea. I turned my back on the pack and left.

The moment that failed ceremony ended, I bonded with Lucian. The most powerful Vampire Prince.

Three years later, I came back.

Lucian called for a truce with the werewolves—all for me. As his mate, I returned to my former pack lands to witness the treaty.

But the first thing my arrogant ex-fated mate did was rip the huge moonstone pendant off my neck.

"That's the Vampire Prince's moonstone. He bought it for his blood-bonded mate years ago. Where did you get that cheap knock-off? A street stall?"

"Enough with the tantrum. Come back. Brielle's kid is three. You can have a cot in the utility closet and clean up after him. Now take that cheap thing off your neck. Don't screw up the peace treaty."

I just stood there, rubbing the sore spot on my neck where the chain had scraped, and let out a quiet sigh.

He didn’t know that the moment anyone tried to rip this pendant from my throat, Lucian would feel it.

And the only thing that would greet them… was his world-ending fury.

...

The moment I stepped into the great hall of the Twilight Trading Post, I saw them: a delegation of pack warriors in uniform, waiting to greet the Vampire Prince's mate.

This was neutral ground, a chaotic crossroads where werewolves, vampires, and humans mingled.

I hadn't set foot on this land in three years. I thought seeing my own kind again would feel… new.

But my breath caught when I recognized the man at the head of the line. I froze.

Seth.

My ex-fated mate. The man I hadn't spoken to in three years. The pack's Beta.

Three years. He looked stronger, a gleaming Beta pin on his tailored suit. He was full of himself.

Plastered to his side was a woman—Brielle. Blood-red nails, stiletto heels, her hips pressed deliberately against his.

"Oh my Gods, isn't that Ember?"

A sharp, female voice sliced through the air. Mira, one of Seth's warriors.

She pointed at me, her voice dripping with scorn.

"Gods, isn't that the pathetic stray Seth dumped three years ago? What is she doing back?"

The commotion made Seth turn. His eyes locked onto mine.

For a split second, a storm of emotions crossed his face. But it was quickly replaced by a cruel smirk.

"Just as I thought. Life out there was too hard, so you came crawling back to me."

Before I could even speak, the wolves with Seth started to jeer.

"We had a betting pool going. I wagered she'd be back within three years, begging Seth to complete their bond. He's the most respected Beta now. She must have heard the news and gotten desperate."

"Look how pale she is. And that black ribbon on her wrist… Isn't that the mark low-level vampires use on their blood thralls? She actually stooped so low as to become a blood thrall!"

I glanced down at the black silk band tied around my wrist.

Simple. Plain. No markings.

They had no idea it was a gift from my blood-bonded mate, the Vampire Prince Lucian. He had tied it himself, using the priceless shadow-spun silk from his ancient castle.

Beneath the soft fabric was my skin, which had become sensitive to most metals due to my pregnancy. Lucian, fearing a normal bracelet might irritate it, had chosen this gentle way to adorn my wrist.

As for my pale complexion? Just a normal side effect of nourishing a powerful hybrid fetus in my first trimester.

A smile played on my lips.

In their eyes, I had become a pathetic blood thrall, selling my life force to survive.

As for whether Seth still cared… I couldn't care less.

I had seen the truth three years ago, at our failed mating ceremony.

My dear blood-bonded mate would never hurt me for someone else, not like Seth. He always puts my needs first. He senses my moods before I even speak. Sometimes, I think he knows me as well as my own wolf.

So let them mock me. It had nothing to do with me anymore.

Besides, they clearly had no idea that I was the Vampire Prince's mate they were here to greet.

My silence slowly killed their jeers.

Awkwardness began to fill the air.

"Why isn't she fighting back? This is no fun," I heard someone whisper.

Finally, Alisa, a friend I used to be close with, spoke up. "Ember, it's good you're back. You have no idea… Seth's been looking for you all these years. He never stopped."

Before I could even react to that, Seth's expression soured.

"Enough." He waved a hand for silence. "Ember, I don't care what you've been through for three years. You're back, and that proves you still feel our bond. I can offer you a chance at purification."

His voice dripped with condescending charity. "I'll take you to a witch. She can break your bond with whatever low-life vampire you've latched onto. After that, Brielle needs help with the child. You can have the storage room and do some chores."

Break my bond? A nanny? A storage room?

He was still so arrogant. So full of himself.

Too bad I wasn't that girl anymore. The one who lived for his approval, whose eyes saw only him.

"I am—" I started to declare my identity, but Brielle cut me off again.

"That's a fitting arrangement," Brielle said with a show of false kindness. "You can re-learn the pure ways of our pack, get a taste of motherhood. You must have had a hard time as a blood thrall. At least in a storage room, you won't have to sell your own blood anymore."

Her words were laced with undisguised venom and superiority, exactly as I remembered.

The crowd around them erupted in laughter.

"Haha, a stray wolf who stooped so low as to become a blood thrall should definitely learn how to be a good nanny."

"Brielle is so kind, still willing to give her a chance."

"Ember should be on her knees thanking her."

I listened to them, feeling nothing.

If Lucian heard someone talking to his pregnant, blood-bonded mate like this—

The last person who mocked me at a banquet for being a different species spent a full month in the vampire dungeons. When he got out, he couldn't even spell his own name.

"Well?" Seth was waiting for my answer, his tone light, as if I should be groveling in gratitude. "You threw a tantrum and left over nothing. I’m giving you a chance to come back. You should take it."

My wolf sneered at him.

I just stared at the face I once loved, unable to believe the man I knew was gone so completely.

I remembered him holding my hand under the moonlight, whispering, "Ember, you'll be the most dazzling she-wolf in this pack, second only to the Luna. I'll give you everything."

Now he stood here, offering me a storage room and a nanny job like it was a prize.

My hand instinctively went to my stomach.

It was still flat, but I could feel the new life inside.

Thank the Goddess I wasn't trapped in this anymore.

I had a new life.

And this child—a hybrid of royal vampire and werewolf blood—would be born with the power to shatter the world.