You Stole My Crown, i Took Your Pack

I'm the only sister of Ronan Mooncrest, Alpha of Mooncrest Pack. For as long as I can remember, Cassian, our Delta, Orion, our Gamma, and Nikolai, our Beta, swore they'd die before letting anyone hurt me. When I wanted the moon, they built me a tower. When the river was freezing and I refused to go home, they carried me across on their backs. I was their princess—the wolf they spoiled rotten and loved down to the bone. And of course, I loved them too. I was sure one of them had to be my mate. Then Dana came to Mooncrest. An outsider she-wolf. Bold. Gorgeous. Untouchable. No joke cracked her. No stare made her blush. On her first day, she challenged our pack warriors one by one. After that, Cassian started saying I was spoiled. The first time he left me shaking in a storm just to walk Dana home, Orion and Nikolai snapped at him. "Cassian, you're choosing her. Don't cry when you regret it." But soon, Orion got pulled in too. At my birthday party, I looked at the only one still beside me—Nikolai—and my eyes burned. "Nikolai... is this my fault?" He kissed my hair. "Don't go there. They're idiots. They don't know what they're losing." Then I saw him put the moonstone crown he'd promised me on Dana's head. Just to make her smile. Eyes red, chest wrecked, I knocked on Ronan's door. "Mooncrest is sending someone to Frostfang in three days. Let it be me."

After graduation, I spend a year interning with my mentor, a healer, out in the neutral lands—no packs, no laws, and no one to protect me. My brother, the Lycan Chairman of all werewolves, nearly loses his mind over it. He's terrified I'll fall for some Rogue and impulsively form a reckless mate bond. As such, he handpicks an arranged mate for me—Falcon Sterling, the Alpha of the strongest pack in Northmere. He's handsome and dangerous, a legendary figure. My brother orders me to come home for the mating ceremony, so I have no choice but to go pick out a Luna crown. At the jewelry shop, my eyes snap straight to a crown made of pure silver and covered in diamonds. Just as I reach out to take it, a sharp female voice cuts in. "I like the one she's holding. I'll take it. Hand it over." Before I can react, the clerk snatches the crown right out of my hands, nearly scraping my skin. I straighten up, forcing myself to stay calm. "Ever heard of 'first come, first served?' I saw it first. Is this how you do things here?" The she-wolf slowly turns toward me, casting me a long, mocking look. "This crown costs 300 thousand dollars. You sure you can afford it, peasant? I grew up with the Alpha of the Silvermoon pack, Falcon Sterling. Around here, I make the rules." I stare at her, almost laughing. Isn't that funny? Falcon just happens to be my arranged mate. I pull out my phone and press the call button. "Hey, Falcon. Your adorable childhood sweetheart just stole the Luna crown I'm supposed to wear for the mating ceremony. What do you think I should do about that?"

“I reject you… a man, as my mate. And I also reject you as my Luna.” Alpha Kane’s voice was cold. Just like that, he cast me aside, an Omega unworthy of him. No one had imagined that his destined mate would be a man. Worse, my father killed his father. I broke. There was nothing left to do but accept the bond he refused. But before I could even walk away, he turned, his eyes filled with hatred, and tried to kill me. Bleeding and broken, I collapsed deep in the forest, the world fading to black. Then the sunlight vanished. A towering figure stepped in front of me, blocking out the sky. “Who dares to hurt my mate?” The Lycan King’s voice was as cold as hell itself. Every pursuer dropped to their knees. Every single one except him. He stood tall, untouched by fear, and reached out his hand to me. My mind went blank. Mate? I… became the King’s mate? In an instant, I went from an Omega trampled underfoot to a Queen above all. Everyone who had ever humiliated me would pay the price.

My mate, Nolan, is the Alpha heir. He promised to return before the Moon Goddess Festival. We were supposed to have our mating ceremony. I promised him the Heart of the Pack. My parents’ legacy. It's the key to controlling our elite warriors—the Dire Wolves. It was to be my mating gift to him. But he came back with a rogue bitch draped all over him. A she-wolf with wild, hungry eyes. I waited for him at the festival, ready for our prayer. Instead, I watched him with her. Skylar. They were by the bonfire, nipping and teasing each other like no one else existed. I told him his behavior was improper for an heir. He laughed in my face. “Old-blood nobles are so boring. Not raw and real like Skylar.” He thinks getting the Heart of the Pack gives him the Dire Wolves. He has no idea. The Dire Wolves answer to my bloodline. Without me, the Heart of the Pack is just a rock.

In the Northern Alliance, the Claiming is an ancient tradition. On a Blood Moon, an Alpha must fight his way into the Omega quarters, carry his chosen mate on his back, and break through every obstacle to seal the bond. I waited five years for Joric. Tonight, he finally breached my courtyard with his Betas. My heart raced. I was about to run to him when I heard his hushed voice. "Grab Giselle in the chaos. She’s too fragile. I won't let that tyrant Alpha claim her. As for Faelan... she’s the strongest Omega we have. Practically a warrior. She can fend for herself." His Betas exchanged uneasy looks. "Alpha, is this a good idea? You and Faelan are practically mates already. If she finds out, she’ll raise hell!" "Let her," he brushed it off. "The Claiming is pure chaos. It’s easy to grab the wrong girl. I’ll smooth things over with her later. Besides, you all know I never officially filed our mating papers with the Council. Faelan will just have to deal with it for now." Behind the door, I heard every single word. My wolf didn't let out a tragic howl. I just quietly stepped back into my room. Everyone thought I’d bare my claws and fight to the death when a different Alpha came for me. Instead, I quietly climbed onto the back of a far more powerful Alpha. I became another pack's Luna.

My fated mate, Riven, was the Alpha of a pathetic pack on the brink of collapse. For five years, I was his shadow, his strategist. I built his pack from nothing until the Alliance finally recognized us, and we were set to move to the fertile lands. Riven promised we'd have our mating ceremony once we settled in the new territory. But at the celebration feast, the night before the move, he threw me in a cell. He publicly announced that Jenna—the she-wolf carrying his pup—would be the pack's Luna. I couldn't believe it. I screamed at him, but he just sneered and pointed to a crystal pulsing with dark magic. "Jenna already has proof of your betrayal! Sleeping with Alphas for their support. You make me sick!" I begged him. But he just sliced my cheek with the silver-edged rejection letter, formally casting me aside. But he didn't know who I really was. I am the Alpha King's daughter. The strategies, the power, the alliances—they weren't his. They were mine. So I took it all back.