Forest
Two rival packs, Black Moon and Bloodclaw, ruled the eastern werewolf territories, locked in a bitter feud over land.
I was a pureblood Alpha Female, raised by Elias Reed, Black Moon's Beta and my foster father.
Two years ago, I saved Gabriel Cross from a band of rogues who'd nearly beaten him to death.
Later, we discovered we were fated mates. Ours was the first union between the two packs in a century.
The two Alphas decided that once Gabriel and I completed our marking ceremony, they'd sign a peace treaty.
But on the day of the signing, Bloodclaw warriors were ambushed on their way there. All the evidence pointed to Sera Lyle, the woman Gabriel had secretly loved for years.
Yet he burned the evidence and let everyone blame me.
“Sera's an Omega. If she confesses, they'll execute her!
“You're an Alpha Female, and you're my mate. Even if you go on trial, the worst they'll do is banish you from the pack.”
Even the people around him thought that made perfect sense.
“Without Gabriel, who in Bloodclaw would ever accept you?”
I searched desperately for clues and fought to clear my name, but Gabriel put me in chains and handed me over to the Werewolf Court.
They were all waiting for me to confess.
Black Moon's Alpha, James Thorne, and Bloodclaw's Alpha Female, Audrey Vance, were both at the trial.
The moment they saw my face, they both shot to their feet.
Nobody in either pack knew they'd once been in love.
Or that I was their biological daughter, whom they'd left in the care of my foster father for 20 years.