All Chapters of The Pack Wanted A Bride, The Moon Wanted Revenge.: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

His hands are shaking.I notice it the moment our fingers intertwine. The slight tremble against my palm, the way his breath catches when the priestess begins to speak. This is not the steady, controlled Alpha I remember. This is not the man who watched me die with cold indifference in his eyes."Are you all right?" I whisper.Rhydian blinks, as if surprised I noticed. "I should be asking you that.""I asked first."A ghost of a smile crosses his lips. It disappears before I can decide if it was real. "I am fine. Just... this matters to me. More than you know."What does that mean? I want to demand answers. I want to shake him until he tells me the truth about everything. But the priestess is speaking, her voice ringing across the garden, and I have to focus."We gather beneath the light of the Moon Goddess to join two souls, two packs, two futures."I have heard these words before. In my past life, they felt like a promise. Now they feel like a cage."Do you, Vespera Vale, daughter o

The first letter is dated three years before my wedding.I know because I have memorized every detail of that day. The white roses. The trembling in my hands. The way Rhydian looked at me like I was the answer to a prayer he never dared to speak.But this letter was written long before any of that. Before the altar. Before the vows. Before I ever became his bride.I unfold it carefully. The paper is thin, brittle, yellowed at the edges. The ink is faded but still legible. Rhydian's handwriting. I would recognize it anywhere.Father,I am writing because I have no one else to turn to. I cannot speak of this to Torren. I cannot speak of it to anyone. You are the only one who might understand.Something is wrong with Virelle.The words blur before my eyes. I blink, forcing myself to focus.She says she is my fated mate. She says the Moon Goddess chose us for each other. But when I look at her, I do not feel the bond. I feel... nothing. And that terrifies me.At first I thought it was my

Third Person POVThe clearing smelled of pine and blood.Vespera noticed it the moment they crossed into the neutral territory. The metallic tang hung beneath the sweetness of the forest, subtle but unmistakable. Someone had died here recently. Perhaps more than one someone."Stay close to me," Rhydian murmured, his hand brushing her elbow. "Whatever happens, do not leave my side.""I am not a child.""No. You are my wife. And she will use you if she can."Vespera did not respond. She did not need to. They both knew what Virelle was capable of.The delegation emerged from the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. Twelve warriors, armed and watchful. And at their center, two figures who drew the eye like moths to flame.Darian Blackwood was massive, broad-shouldered and scarred, his face a mask of cold calculation. He was rumored to have killed his own father to take the Crimsonfang throne. Vespera believed it. There was something in his eyes that spoke of violence barely contain

Third Person POVTressa Morcant's hands were cold.Vespera felt them trembling against her skin as the old seer examined the mark on her chest. The fire in the hearth crackled and spat, casting dancing shadows across the cramped hut. Herbs hung from the rafters, filling the air with the scent of sage and something older, something that smelled like secrets."This is not possible," Tressa whispered."What is not possible?"The old woman pulled back, her ancient eyes wide with something Vespera had never seen in them before. Fear."This is the Mark of the Moon," Tressa said. "It is a symbol of the Moon Goddess's favor. Or her curse.""What does that mean?"Tressa did not answer immediately. She crossed to the fire and stood with her back to Vespera, her thin shoulders hunched. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible."The Moon Goddess gave you a second chance. But that chance came with a price. You are no longer entirely mortal. You are touched by the divine, marked by the

Third Person POV"She killed me."The words hung in the air between them, heavy and impossible. Rhydian stared at Vespera, his face frozen, his eyes wide with shock. For a long moment, he did not speak. He did not move. He barely seemed to breathe."What did you say?" His voice was barely a whisper.Vespera felt her heart pounding against her ribs. She had not meant to say it. The words had escaped before she could stop them, slipping out in the silence of their chambers like a confession she could not take back."I said she killed me." Her voice was steadier now. "In my first life. Virelle killed me."Rhydian shook his head slowly, as if trying to clear water from his ears. "Your first life? Vespera, what are you talking about?"She closed her eyes. This was it. The moment she had been dreading. The moment she had been avoiding for weeks."I died," she said. "Three years from now. Virelle drove a silver blade through my heart, and I died.""That is not possible.""It is the truth.""