Chapter 1

Something wasn't right. My wolf paced restlessly inside me, her anxiety bleeding into my consciousness as I climbed the stairs to the Silverpine Pack house. I'd returned early from my weekly visit to the pack's elderly members—a duty Ryan had grudgingly allowed me to maintain as Luna.

*Something's wrong. Go back. Now.*

My wolf's warning was urgent, her voice weaker than it had been months ago. I pressed my palm against my chest, feeling the familiar burn of heartburn—or was it the wolfsbane slowly poisoning my system? I couldn't tell anymore. The constant pain had become my companion over the eight years of my mating to Ryan.

The pack house was unusually quiet. Most members would be at their daily duties, but Ryan should have been in his office. As I reached the landing, a sound froze me in place—laughter. Female laughter, coming from our bedroom.

Vanessa.

My stomach twisted into knots as I crept forward, my footsteps silent on the plush carpet Ryan had insisted on installing last year. The door to our bedroom was slightly ajar, just enough for voices to filter through.

"When are you finally going to do it?" Vanessa's voice was playful, taunting. "The full moon ceremony is in three days. The whole pack will be there to witness it."

"Don't rush me." Ryan's voice was different with her—lighter, more genuine than the controlled tone he used with me. "I've waited eight years to be rid of her. I want to savor every moment of her humiliation."

I pressed my hand against my mouth to stifle a gasp. My wolf whimpered, curling into herself.

"The mating ceremony was never fully legal anyway," Ryan continued. "The elder who performed it wasn't properly sanctioned. I made sure of that. Makes the rejection easier."

"And what about her? Will she fight it?" Vanessa asked, her voice dripping with mock concern.

Ryan laughed, the sound slicing through me like a silver blade. "Isabella? Fight? She's been a doormat since the day I claimed her. She actually believes we're true mates. Can you imagine? As if the Moon Goddess would pair me with someone so... insignificant."

My legs trembled beneath me. Eight years. Eight years of broken ribs and bruised hopes. Eight years of believing that somewhere beneath his cruelty, he loved me because the Moon Goddess had decreed it.

"I almost feel sorry for her," Vanessa said, though her tone suggested anything but pity. "Almost."

"Don't waste your sympathy. After the rejection, she'll be nothing. Less than an Omega. She'll probably run off to live as a rogue, if her pathetic excuse for a wolf can even survive the separation."

I stumbled backward, my vision blurring with unshed tears. Our bond—the one I'd clung to through every beating, every cruel word—had been a lie from the beginning.

*We need to leave*, my wolf urged, her voice faint but determined. *Now.*

I descended the stairs on unsteady legs, clutching the banister for support as waves of nausea washed over me. The pain in my abdomen had intensified, sharp and insistent. Something was very wrong.

I made it to Healer Elara's quarters at the east wing of the pack house, my body moving on instinct rather than conscious thought. The elderly she-wolf looked up from her herbs, her eyes widening as she took in my appearance.

"Luna Isabella! What—"

My legs gave out beneath me, and I collapsed onto the cool stone floor. Elara was at my side in an instant, her weathered hands gentle as she helped me onto the examination table.

"How long have you been feeling unwell?" she asked, her fingers pressing lightly against my abdomen.

"Months," I whispered. "But worse today. Much worse."

Elara's face grew grave as she examined me, her hands moving with practiced precision. After what seemed like hours, she stepped back, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry, Luna," she said softly. "You've lost the pup. The stress on your body, on your bond..." She hesitated. "And there's more. You've been poisoned—wolfsbane, administered slowly over time. It's weakening your wolf, killing her by inches."

The world seemed to stop. A pup? I hadn't even known I was pregnant. And wolfsbane poisoning? My mind flashed to the special tea Ryan had insisted I drink each morning "for your health, Isabella."

As the full weight of the betrayal crashed down upon me, I felt something inside me break—not just my heart, but something deeper, more fundamental. The fragile thread connecting me to the man I'd believed was my mate, my destiny, snapped like a twig underfoot.

My wolf howled in anguish, her cry echoing through the hollow chambers of my soul.