Chapter 1

I understood then. The people I cherished most were the ones who wanted me dead.

I could only hope that once they got their wish, they would live to regret it when they finally learned the truth.

In my final moments, as the Rogue's claws tore open my chest, the force of the blow tore my spirit from my body.

I floated in the air, watching my own mutilated body lie on the forest floor, bathed in moonlight.

At that moment, my Alpha and fated mate, Damon, was kneeling beside my sister, Chloe.

His potent Alpha dominance radiated from him, thick with anxiety. "My sweetheart, open your eyes. Look at me. Tell me where it hurts."

His rough palm gently traced the shallow scratch on Chloe's cheek as if it were a fatal wound.

My brother, Leo, burst from the woods, his eyes flashing gold with fury. "If it weren't for that damned Omega Elena holding us back, how could a Rogue have even laid a claw on Chloe! The moment she's conscious, I'm going to teach her a lesson!"

My spirit shuddered, and agony tore through our mate bond.

Leo, you won't have to lift a finger.

Just as you all wished, I'm already dying.

Dying in the freezing chill of your indifference.

The pack's healer, Anya, knelt by my body, her hands emitting a faint healing glow.

She had quickly checked Chloe's injuries, a few superficial claw marks.

Only then did she dare to plead with Damon, her voice trembling, "Alpha, please, lend me your power. I need you to channel it through me. Only your power can keep her from slipping away."

Damon slowly rose to his feet, his face in the moonlight as cold as a winter blade.

He looked down at my dying body, his eyes holding no love for his mate, only deep disgust. "She's so weak she can't even handle a simple fight. She isn't worth my Alpha power."

He paused, a sharp, unexpected pang echoed through the mate bond.

He scowled, dismissing it. "Don't worry, she won't die. She's too stubborn for that."

I stared blankly at this man, my heart twisting as if pierced by a silver dagger.

The mate bond was still there. The Moon Goddess herself had chosen us. Could he truly not feel the agony of my death?

"But she did it to protect you..."

"Enough!" Damon's roar shook the very air. "A true Luna would never be caught in such a pathetic situation! Her incompetence is a humiliation!"

Suddenly, Damon took a deep breath, and his Alpha's dominance flared.

His voice traveled through the mind-link to the entire Dark Moon Pack, every member hearing his declaration.

"I, Damon, Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack, hereby officially reject you, Elena, as my mate and future Luna."

"You are a disgrace to this pack, a symbol of its weakness."

The mate bond inside me shrieked, a desperate, keening cry.

My spirit felt a tearing sensation unlike any I had ever known, as if a silver chain were tightening around my neck.

It was true. He had never truly accepted me.

It made sense, I suppose.

The moment the Rogue's blood-red eyes locked onto him, I had thrown myself forward without hesitation, using my own body to shield him from the fatal blow.

But the instant I fell, he ran straight to Chloe, who had only been spattered with blood.

How could he have any affection to spare for a "burden" like me?

Anya's healing light flared with her rage. "Alpha! Elena was torn apart by that Rogue to protect you! She traded her life for your safety!"

Damon, convinced I was faking, let out a low, guttural growl.

"Tell me, what did that waste of space promise you to go along with this little sympathy act? I never thought a failed Omega could be so manipulative."

Just as he finished speaking, Chloe, who had been feigning unconsciousness for some time, finally opened her eyes "weakly."

Her voice trembled, a pitiful, fragile sound designed to stir the protective instinct in every male werewolf present.

"Damon... is my sister okay? It's all my fault. If I had just been a little stronger, my sister wouldn't have..."

Damon looked at the delicate, helpless Chloe on the cot, and his gaze grew even more ruthless.

He turned to my dying body, his Alpha's dominance crashing down like a tidal wave.

"Elena! Can't you be more like your sister and have some damn dignity? She's only in this state because of your recklessness, and yet she's still worried about you! I'm giving you three seconds to accept my rejection. Otherwise, I'll sever our bond by force!"