Chapter 1
At the mate confirmation ceremony held on the blood moon night, I, Evelyn Ashby, attended alongside Alex Sterling, the Alpha Heir, with my commoner maid, Selena Lupin.
When the silvery light of the Moon Goddess's Eye shone down on the three of us, the entire court erupted in cheers, urging the future Alpha to kiss his fated mate.
My cheeks flushed as I was about to tilt my head up, but Alex chuckled under the watchful eyes of the pack.
He turned aside and, amid the wild howls of the wolves, kissed Selena passionately.
As the silvery light faded, Alex let go of her, still savoring the moment.
Meeting my stunned gaze, he carelessly wiped away the lipstick at the corner of his mouth. "Sorry, it's my body reacting instinctively during the heat. Maybe it's because we've hooked up too many times on full moon nights."
Selena, standing nearby, covered the fresh moon mark on her neck and lowered her head in shame.
Alex stroked my hair gently to soothe me. "Your blood is too pure. I could never be rough with you. Selena's different. She's wild to the core and doesn't hold back."
He stared at me like his reasoning was plain common sense, his gaze warm and upright. "I give her my body, but I honor you as my Luna. That doesn't change the fact that you're the one my soul truly loves."
The mating imprint's backlash hit me so hard my blood nearly froze, and a sharp ringing stabbed through my nerves.
Amid the court's buzzing chatter, I fixed the pair huddled close together with an icy glare. "Alex, send the bond rejection request to the Council of Elders."
My voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the court's revelry like an invisible blade.
The howls stopped in an instant, and complete silence settled over the hall.
Countless glowing green wolf eyes fixed on me, their gazes full of shock, confusion, and undisguised mockery.
In the history of the court, no low-ranking pure-blood female had dared to reject the future Alpha at the mating ceremony.
Alex's hand, which had been gently stroking Selena's hair, froze for a second.
He turned, his deep, dark golden eyes narrowing as he looked down at me, sizing me up.
He didn't get mad. Instead, a smirk of indulgence played at the corner of his lips.
It was like my words weren't a soul-crushing breakup, but me throwing a fit to get his attention.
"Evelyn, quit it." His voice was low and lazy, with that husky tone he only used during mating. "I get that you feel hurt, but it's the nature of male wolves.
"I'm the Alpha Heir, the future Alpha. My inner wolf needs to burn off all that wild energy."
He stepped forward, his hand reaching for my cheek. "You're too delicate, Evelyn. Every full moon, my wolf form always ends up hurting you. I went to Selena to keep you safe."
I turned my face aside, refusing to let him touch me.
His hand hung awkwardly in the air, and his smile faded away.
"Keep me safe?" My lips twisted into a bitter smile, the sharp taste of blood flooding my throat. "So you dumped your fated first kiss meant for me on my maid in front of the whole pack, and you're calling that keeping me safe?"
The backlash from the mating imprint raged wildly inside me because the Moon Goddess's silvery light had declared us fated mates, but he'd betrayed that bond in the middle of the ceremony.
The spot on my neck where a golden wolf mark was supposed to pop up burned like a live coal.
Every vein cramped up badly, like piles of rusty needles were twisting away deep inside my bones.