Chapter 1: The Announcement

Tehila's POV

The pack meeting hall buzzed with excited voices as I pushed through the crowd. My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat reminding me why I had to do this today. The scent of sandalwood and earth filled my nostrils, mixed with the distinct smell of anxious wolves gathered in one place.

"Move," I muttered, squeezing past two elderly pack members who shot me disapproving looks. I didn't care. Not anymore.

At the front of the hall, Alpha Thorne stood tall on the raised platform, his gray hair catching the light from the overhead chandeliers. Beside him, my stomach twisted at the sight of Jade, my younger sister, wearing that innocent smile she'd perfected over the years. And there, standing with the other ranked wolves, was Dalton.

My mate. My betrayer.

His dark eyes found mine across the room, and for a moment, something flickered in them. Surprise? No, he couldn't have known I'd come. I'd been so careful to hide my plans.

"Today, we celebrate a momentous occasion," Alpha Thorne announced, his voice booming through the hall. "The union of two of our strongest bloodlines."

My feet moved before my brain caught up. I was walking toward the platform, past shocked faces and whispered questions. Each step felt like walking through quicksand, but I forced myself forward.

"Stop," I called out, my voice cutting through the Alpha's speech.

The entire hall fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Alpha Thorne frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Tehila? What is the meaning of this interruption?"

I climbed onto the platform, ignoring the gasps from the crowd. My legs shook, but I locked my knees to stay upright. "I have something to say."

Dalton stepped forward, his face a mask of confusion. "Tehila, what are you doing?"

"Something I should have done months ago." I turned to face the crowd, my voice growing stronger. "I, Tehila Morrison, reject the engagement announcement between Dalton Hayes and my sister Jade."

The silence exploded into chaos. Voices shouted over each other, questions flying like arrows. But I kept my eyes on Dalton, watching the color drain from his face.

"You can't do this," Jade whispered, but her quiet voice somehow reached me through the noise. "You have no right."

I laughed, the sound bitter on my tongue. "No right? He's my mate, Jade. My fated mate."

Another wave of gasps rippled through the crowd. Dalton's jaw clenched, his hands forming fists at his sides.

"That's impossible," Alpha Thorne growled. "Dalton would have told us if he'd found his mate."

"Would he?" I pulled up my sleeve, revealing the mate mark on my wrist – the one I'd hidden for three months. "Ask him why he's been meeting me in secret. Ask him why he marked me two full moons ago."

Jade's perfect mask slipped for just a second, revealing something dark underneath. But she recovered quickly, tears welling in her eyes. "Tehila, how could you? We're sisters."

"Yes, we are." I stepped closer to her. "Which is why I don't understand how you could do this to me."

"She's lying," Dalton finally spoke, his voice steady but his eyes betraying him. "Tehila and I... it was nothing. A mistake."

The words hit me like physical blows, but I'd expected them. I'd prepared for this.

"A mistake?" I pulled out my phone, my fingers surprisingly steady. "Then explain this."

I played the recording – Dalton's voice filling the hall, promising me forever, telling me he loved me, that we'd be together once he figured out how to break things off with Jade. The recording I'd made just last week, when I'd started suspecting something was wrong.

The hall erupted again. Pack members turned to each other, shocked voices rising. Alpha Thorne's face turned red with rage.

"Enough!" he roared, and everyone fell silent. His eyes bore into mine. "You dare bring this drama into my hall? You dare embarrass your sister and this pack?"

"I dare tell the truth," I shot back. "Or is honesty not valued in this pack anymore?"

"You're nothing but a jealous child," Jade said, tears streaming down her face now. She was good, I'd give her that. "You've always been jealous of me. Just because Dalton showed you kindness doesn't mean—"

"Kindness?" I laughed again. "Is that what you call mate bonds these days?"

I pulled down my collar slightly, showing the healing bite mark on my neck. The traditional mating mark that every wolf recognized.

Dalton paled further. "Tehila, please—"

"Please what? Please keep quiet while you marry my sister? Please pretend the bond between us doesn't exist?" My voice cracked, real emotion breaking through. "Please act like you didn't promise me everything?"

"You're overreacting," he said, stepping toward me. "What we had was... biological. The mate bond is just instinct. What Jade and I have is real love."

The words cut deeper than any claw could. But I saw something else – the way several pack members frowned, the way even Alpha Thorne looked uncomfortable. Rejecting a mate bond for another was almost unheard of. It went against everything we believed.

"Then reject me," I said simply. "Here, now, in front of everyone. Reject the mate bond."

Dalton froze. I watched him glance at Jade, then at Alpha Thorne. His mouth opened, then closed.

"I... that's not... Tehila, you don't understand—"

"I understand perfectly." I turned to address the crowd. "My mate chose my sister over our sacred bond. He marked me in secret while courting her in public. And now he won't even give me the dignity of a proper rejection."

"You manipulated him!" Jade suddenly shrieked, her composure finally cracking. "You've always been jealous, always trying to take what's mine!"

"What's yours?" I stepped closer to her. "He was mine first. The Moon Goddess made him mine."

"The Moon Goddess makes mistakes," she hissed.

Gasps echoed through the hall. To speak against the Moon Goddess was blasphemy.

Alpha Thorne grabbed Jade's arm. "Watch your tongue, girl."

But I saw it then – the look between Jade and Dalton. Quick, but there. They'd planned this. They'd known I would come.

"You knew I'd be here," I said slowly. "You wanted me to make a scene."

Jade's lips curved into the tiniest smile. "Did we?"

Before I could respond, the hall doors burst open. A figure strode in, power radiating from every step. The crowd parted like water.

My breath caught in my throat as I recognized him. Everyone knew who he was.

Zane Darius. The Rogue King. The wolf even Alphas feared.

His eyes scanned the room before landing on me. Something sparked in those dark depths.

"Am I interrupting something?" His voice was velvet over steel.

Alpha Thorne stepped forward, authority in every line of his body. "This is a private pack matter, Darius. You have no business here."

Zane smiled, and several wolves took involuntary steps back. "Actually, I do." His gaze never left mine. "I'm here for her."

He pointed directly at me.