Chapter 2

The pack mind-link hummed to life without warning, flooding my consciousness with images that weren't mine. I'd been curled on my bed, still wearing the ruined ceremonial gown, when the connection sparked—someone sharing their joy with the entire Silver Moon Pack.

Moonlight. Water cascading over ancient stones. Two wolves racing through the mist.

My heart seized. I knew those falls. Sacred Moonlight Falls, where generations of mated pairs had run together beneath the blessing of the full moon. Where Ethan had promised to take me after our ceremony.

*"Just wait, little moon,"* he'd whispered last winter, tracing the spot on my neck where his mark would go. *"When we run there together, the whole pack will know you're mine."*

But the smaller wolf in the vision wasn't mine. Honey-gold fur caught the moonlight as she leaped from stone to stone, playful and free. The massive black wolf behind her—Ethan's wolf, Onyx—followed with a devotion that stabbed through me like silver.

They paused at the Moon Pool, that sacred basin where the falls collected. The very place Ethan had described in fevered whispers, where he'd planned to reaffirm our bond. Grace's wolf dipped her muzzle to drink, and Ethan's wolf curved around her, protective and possessive.

The vision shattered as I slammed my mental walls up, but the damage was done. Every wolf in our pack had seen it. Had witnessed their Alpha claiming our most sacred site with another.

My stomach heaved. I barely made it to the bathroom before losing what little I'd managed to eat. Luna whimpered inside me, her essence still fragile from the binding ceremony. The foreign wolf spirit within us recoiled at the betrayal, making my bones ache.

*He gave her our place. Our moment. Our future.*

Three days later, I forced myself to attend the pack's formal dinner. My father had insisted—Beta's daughters didn't hide from humiliation. We faced it with chin high and spine straight.

The dining hall fell silent as I entered. Two hundred pairs of eyes tracked my movement to the Beta's table, whispers following like smoke. I kept my gaze fixed ahead, though every instinct screamed to run.

"Olivia, darling!" Grace's voice rang out, sweet as poisoned honey. "Come sit with us. We saved you a seat."

She stood at the Alpha's table—my table—draped in a dress of moonlight silk that looked suspiciously like one from my own closet. The mate pendant gleamed at her throat, catching the light with every calculated movement.

"I'm fine here," I managed, sinking into my chair beside my father.

But Grace wasn't finished. She'd never finished since claiming my life.

"Delta Morrison," she called out, voice carrying across the hall. "I heard you questioned my right to lead morning training. Perhaps you'd like to settle this properly?"

The Delta, a fierce she-wolf with russet fur, stood slowly. "I said the Beta's daughter had trained for years to lead those sessions. I stand by it."

"Then stand by it in the circle."

The challenge hung in the air like lightning before a storm. Formal challenges were rare, bloody affairs. For a Luna to issue one...

Ethan should have stopped it. An Alpha's first duty was preventing unnecessary pack violence. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, eyes hooded with interest.

They moved to the challenge circle in the courtyard, pack members flowing after them like water. I tried to stay seated, but my father's hand on my shoulder guided me outside. "You need to see this," he murmured. "All of it."

The fight was brutal and swift. Morrison was skilled, but Grace fought like something possessed, all flashing teeth and vicious swipes. When Morrison's claws finally found purchase, raking deep grooves across Grace's ribs, the new Luna's scream pierced the night.

"Enough!" Ethan's Alpha command stopped Morrison mid-strike. He was beside Grace in an instant, cradling her against his chest as blood soaked through her dress.

"She needs healing," he barked. "Now."

The pack healer rushed forward, but Grace whimpered, pushing him away. "It burns," she gasped. "Something's wrong. The wound—it won't stop bleeding."

A lie. I could smell it beneath the copper tang of blood. But Ethan was already turning, his eyes finding mine across the circle.

"Olivia." Not a request. A command, laced with Alpha power. "She needs wolf energy. The same type that saved you."

My knees locked. "I'm still recovering. The healer said—"

"Your healer isn't here." His voice dropped to a growl. "Your Luna is bleeding. You'll help her. Now."

The Alpha command hit like a physical blow. My weakened wolf couldn't resist it, even as my mind screamed refusal. I found myself kneeling beside Grace, hands trembling as I placed them over her wounds.

The transfer was agony. What little energy I'd rebuilt since my ceremony flowed out like water through a sieve. Grace's eyes met mine over Ethan's shoulder, and for just a moment, her pained expression shifted.

She winked.

Then the pain hit harder, draining me until darkness crept in from the edges. The last thing I heard was my father's roar of fury as I collapsed.

I woke in the healer's den, weaker than I'd been since the original binding. But I was alone—blessedly, mercifully alone. I waited until the healer stepped out before struggling to my feet. I needed air. Space. Distance from the suffocating reality of my new life.

The packhouse was quiet as I slipped through the halls, most wolves still at the challenge grounds. I was passing the Luna's study when voices froze me in place.

"—played it perfectly." Grace's voice, strong and clear. No trace of pain. "You should have seen her face when he commanded her. Like a kicked puppy."

Another voice laughed, one I recognized as her friend from a neighboring pack. "And Morrison?"

"Took the bait exactly as planned. Though I hadn't expected her claws to actually connect. Still, it worked better this way. Ethan's practically vibrating with protective instincts now."

"You're playing with fire, Grace. What if he figures it out?"

"He won't." Confidence dripped from every word. "He's too busy playing mighty Alpha to see what's right in front of him. Besides, every time little Olivia weakens, I get stronger. Her wolf energy is quite potent, even diluted as it is."

"And when there's none left?"

A pause. Then Grace's voice, cold as winter moonlight: "Then she'll be of no use to anyone, will she? Even her precious father won't be able to protect a wolfless daughter. She'll leave in shame, or..."

The words trailed off, but the implication hung heavy.

I pressed myself against the wall, hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing. Every instinct screamed to run, but I forced myself to stay. To listen. To learn.

But the voices had gone quiet. Too quiet.

The door swung open, and Grace stood there, fully healed and smiling. Behind her, the friend melted into shadows and disappeared. But Grace's eyes held mine, bright with malicious triumph.

"Oh, Olivia," she purred. "Were you looking for something?"