Chapter 1
I smoothed down my emerald dress one last time before stepping into the grand hall, my heart hammering against my ribs. Three years. Three years of working double shifts at human establishments, of managing pack finances, of standing beside Derek through every challenge. Tonight was supposed to be our night—the night he would finally acknowledge me as his Luna before all the gathered Alphas.
The hall buzzed with conversation, crystal chandeliers casting warm light over the assembled pack leaders and their mates. I searched for Derek's familiar figure on the ceremonial platform, my wolf stirring restlessly beneath my skin. She'd been agitated all evening, whimpering in ways I didn't understand.
Then I saw him.
Derek stood behind the Luna's chair, his hands resting possessively on the shoulders of the woman seated there. Alexandria Bishop. Her golden hair caught the light like spun silk, her designer gown making my carefully chosen dress look like a rag. She sat in my chair—the chair that should have been mine.
My feet rooted to the marble floor. Pack members nearby glanced at me, then quickly looked away, their expressions ranging from pity to embarrassment. Whispers followed in my wake as I stood frozen, watching the man I'd devoted my life to smile down at another woman.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Derek's voice boomed across the hall, his Alpha presence commanding immediate silence. "Tonight marks not only our pack's elevation through this historic alliance, but also a personal celebration."
No. The word screamed through my mind, but my throat had closed completely.
"I am honored to announce my upcoming mate ceremony with Alexandria Bishop, daughter of Alpha Marcus Bishop of the Silver Moon Pack."
The hall erupted in cheers and applause. Derek pulled Alexandria to her feet, spinning her around before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss that sent daggers through my chest. My wolf howled in anguish, the sound echoing only in my head as the mate bond stretched and strained.
I wanted to run, to disappear, but my legs wouldn't obey. This couldn't be happening. Not after everything. Not after the sacrifices, the sleepless nights, the money I'd saved...
Derek's eyes found mine across the crowd, and for a moment, I saw something flicker there—guilt, maybe, or regret. But it vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by cold determination.
"However," he continued, his voice carrying easily over the dying applause, "before we can move forward, I must address a... complication from my past."
The crowd quieted, sensing drama. My wolf began to pace frantically, clawing at my consciousness with desperate warnings.
Derek stepped forward, his Alpha aura expanding to fill the room with suffocating authority. When he spoke, his words carried the weight of ancient ritual, each syllable driving nails into my soul.
"I, Derek Sullivan, Alpha of Crimson Ridge Pack, reject you, Lily Foster, as my mate and Luna."
The pain hit me like a physical blow. Fire raced through my veins, my wolf's anguished howl finally breaking free as a strangled cry that echoed through the silent hall. I doubled over, clutching my chest as the mate bond—three years of connection, of shared dreams and whispered promises—snapped like a severed rope.
Tears streamed down my face as I gasped for air, the rejection burning through every nerve ending. Around me, the crowd watched in fascinated horror, some pack members covering their children's eyes.
"Furthermore," Derek's voice cut through my agony like a blade, "the $300,000 in pack funds that were... misappropriated... will be redistributed to legitimate pack development projects."
My head snapped up, shock cutting through the physical pain. "That money—" I started, my voice cracking.
"Was earned through pack resources and belongs to the pack," Derek interrupted, his tone brooking no argument. "Ryan!"
Beta Ryan Mitchell stepped forward, his face carefully blank though I caught the flash of discomfort in his eyes. "Yes, Alpha?"
"Escort Ms. Foster and her mother off pack territory. Immediately. They are no longer under our protection or entitled to our medical facilities."
The words hit me like ice water. My mother—dying, depending on that money for her cancer treatment—would lose everything. Not just the savings, but access to the pack healers, the medical care that was keeping her alive.
"Derek, please," I whispered, my pride crumbling as desperation took hold. "My mother needs—"
"Is no longer my concern." His voice held no warmth, no trace of the man who had once held me through nightmares, who had promised we'd face everything together. "You have one hour to collect your belongings and leave."
Pack enforcers materialized beside me, their presence making it clear this wasn't a request. The crowd parted as they guided me toward the exit, their grip firm but not cruel. Behind me, the celebration resumed as if nothing had happened, as if three years of my life hadn't just been erased with a few cold words.
As the doors closed behind me, cutting off the sound of laughter and music, I pressed my father's Medal of Honor through the fabric of my dress. The metal was warm against my palm, a reminder of honor and sacrifice in a world that seemed to have forgotten both.
My wolf lay silent now, wounded and retreating deep within my consciousness. But somewhere beneath the pain and betrayal, something else stirred—a spark of the determination that had driven my father to his heroic sacrifice.
I had one hour to save my mother's life. And somehow, I would find a way.