Chapter One

Miranda knelt beside the stone altar where her father's body lay wrapped in ceremonial white cloth. She reached out with trembling fingers to touch his cold hand one final time.

"Rest in peace, Father," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I will take over the Moonstone Pack. I promise you that."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking into the delicate lace of her wedding dress. The dress she was supposed to wear for joy, not grief. Today should have been perfect. Instead, she was burying her father hours before becoming a bride.

The door creaked open behind her. Miranda turned to see Sasha rushing in, her best friend's face twisted in what looked like anguish. Right behind Sasha came Daniel, her fiancé, still wearing his ceremonial suit for the wedding that was supposed to happen at sunset.

"He's gone, Miranda," Sasha said, her voice thick. "Your father is really gone."

Miranda stood on shaking legs, and Sasha crossed the room in quick steps, pulling her into an embrace. Miranda collapsed against her friend's shoulder, sobbing openly now that someone else was here to share the weight of this nightmare.

"I don't know what I would have done without you, Sasha," Miranda choked out between gasps. "Without both of you. Thank god you are here with me."

She felt Daniel's hand on her back, supposedly comforting. For a moment, she let herself believe she was not alone in this horror. That her mate and her closest friend would help her through the darkest day of her life.

Then Sasha and Daniel looked at each other over Miranda's head.

They burst into laughter.

Miranda jerked back, confusion flooding through her grief. "What—"

"We did it, Sasha," Daniel said, his voice full of triumph. His hand that had been rubbing her back now shoved her hard. "We actually did it."

Miranda stumbled backward in her wedding gown, her heel catching on the hem. She crashed to the floor beside her father's altar, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. Pain shot through her hip, but that was nothing compared to the incomprehension tearing through her mind.

Sasha stepped forward, her face transformed. Gone was any trace of sympathy or friendship. Her eyes glittered with something cruel and victorious. She looked down at Miranda sprawled on the cold floor and smiled.

"Stupid bitch," Sasha said clearly, savoring each word. "Daniel and I are together now."

"What are you talking about?" Miranda tried to stand, but her dress tangled around her legs. "Sasha, what—"

Sasha grabbed Daniel's face and kissed him. Not a gentle kiss. Not an accidental brush of lips. She kissed him with passion, with ownership, with deliberate cruelty. Daniel responded immediately, his hands going to Sasha's waist, pulling her closer. They kissed like lovers who had done this a thousand times before.

Miranda's world tilted violently. She watched them, unable to process what her eyes were showing her. This could not be real. She was dreaming. She had fainted from grief and this was some twisted nightmare her mind had conjured.

But the cold floor beneath her was real. The ache in her hip was real. And when they finally broke apart, both breathless and grinning, that was real too.

Daniel reached into his jacket and pulled out a rolled parchment sealed with her father's official stamp. "I already have everything ready. Your father's decree naming me as Alpha successor. I will show it to the pack at the gathering."

"That is not possible," Miranda whispered. "My father would never—"

"Your father did not write it, you idiot," Sasha interrupted, examining her nails casually. "We did. Well, Daniel did. He has been practicing your father's handwriting for months. The seal was easy enough to steal from your father's office while you were too busy being the perfect daughter."

Miranda's mind reeled. "The pack will never believe—"

"They will believe exactly what we tell them," Daniel cut in. He crouched down to her level, and she saw a stranger wearing her fiancé's face. "And what we are going to tell them is that you are cursed, Miranda. That you killed your own father."

"That is insane!"

Sasha laughed, the sound sharp and bright. "Is it? Think about it. Your mother died when you were young. Now your father dies on your wedding day. You are death, Miranda. Everyone can see it. Everyone has whispered about it for years. We are just going to say it out loud."

"We are going to tell them everything," Daniel added, standing up. "How you betrayed our sacred laws. How you slept with a human man, broke your bond with me, brought shame to the pack. How your father died because the Moon Goddess punished him for raising such a disgraceful daughter."

"That is a lie!" Miranda finally managed to get to her feet, her wedding dress torn now from her fall. "No one will believe these lies!"

But even as she said it, doubt crept in. The pack had been wary of her lately. Whispers followed her after her mother's death years ago. Superstitious elders muttered about bad luck. She had ignored it because her father was Alpha, because Daniel loved her, because Sasha defended her.

Except Daniel did not love her. And Sasha had never defended her.

"They will believe us," Sasha said confidently. She walked to the door and opened it. The sound of pack members gathering outside drifted in. "Because we are going to give them exactly what they want. A reason for their Alpha's death. A villain to punish. And a new Alpha to follow."

Daniel moved to stand beside Sasha at the door. He looked back at Miranda with empty eyes. "The pack is already assembled. Sasha and I will go tell them about your crimes. About how you must be executed before you bring more death to Moonstone Pack."

"Execute her now!" A voice rose from outside, quickly joined by others. "Execute her now before she causes more death!"

The chant grew louder, more frenzied. Miranda stared at the doorway in horror. They had already turned the pack against her. Before she even knew she was being betrayed, they had poisoned everyone against her.

Sasha walked back toward Miranda, her steps slow and deliberate. When she got close, she leaned down and whispered, "Sorry, Miranda. Sorry, my dear friend. But this is the end of the road for you. I am tired of watching you have everything I ever wanted."

Miranda grabbed Sasha's wrist, finding some desperate strength. "If I go down, you will go down with me. I will tell them the truth. I will make them listen!"

Sasha looked at Miranda's hand on her wrist and laughed softly. "You are powerless now. See you in the other life, sweet friend."

She jerked her wrist free and pulled something from her pocket. A knife. The blade caught the sunlight streaming through the window, throwing bright reflections across the walls.

"The pack wants you burned for your crimes," Sasha said, testing the knife's edge with her thumb. "But I want to make sure you do not survive long enough to talk your way out of this. You always were good with words."

Miranda backed up against her father's altar, trapped. The chanting outside grew deafening. Daniel stood at the door, watching with his arms crossed, making no move to stop this.

Sasha stepped closer, raising the knife high above her head. Her eyes blazed with years of hidden jealousy finally unleashed. The blade gleamed as she prepared to bring it down.

"Goodbye, Miranda."