Chapter 1

I ran my fingers over the polished mahogany of Marcus's safe, my heart racing with anticipation. Annie's coming-of-age ceremony was just weeks away, and I needed the ancestral blessing scrolls to prepare. The safe clicked open under my touch—one of the few privileges I enjoyed as Luna of the Silvermoon Pack.

"Should be right on top," I murmured to myself, rifling through the neatly organized documents.

My fingers froze as I noticed something odd. The mate bond certificate—the sacred document that should have been prominently displayed in our quarters—was missing. Eight years married, and I'd never thought to question why it wasn't framed on our wall like most mated pairs.

I dug deeper, my breath catching when I found a folder of correspondence with the Lycan Council. The most recent letter was dated just last month.

'Alpha Marcus of Silvermoon Pack,' it read, 'This is our final notice regarding the registration of your mate bond with Luna Aria. As per Lycan Law, all Alpha mate bonds must be officially registered. Your continued failure to submit proper documentation raises concerns...'

The paper trembled in my hands. Eight years. Eight years of believing I was his true mate, his Luna, the mother of his heir. Eight years of lies.

'This can't be right,' I whispered, my inner wolf stirring with unease.

I quickly replaced everything except the council letter, which I slipped into my pocket. I needed more evidence before confronting Marcus. If our bond wasn't registered, what exactly was I to him?

That evening, I sat in our bedroom with Marcus's laptop. He was away at a border meeting, giving me the perfect opportunity to search for answers. Annie's ceremony preparations were my excuse if anyone questioned me.

I clicked through folders of pack documents, finding nothing unusual until I opened a hidden folder labeled only with the date—eight years ago, the day before our supposed mate ceremony.

My finger hovered over a video file. Something told me this would change everything.

The video began playing, and my world collapsed.

There stood Marcus, younger but unmistakable, his arm wrapped possessively around a woman I recognized as Rebecca, his childhood friend. They were standing before Selene, the High Priestess of the Moon Goddess.

"We present our true mate bond certificate," Marcus's voice rang clear through the speakers, his face alight with pride as he held up an ornate document bearing the Moon Goddess's sacred seal. "Blessed by the Goddess herself through her chosen vessel."

Rebecca leaned into him, her face triumphant. "As true mates, bound by fate and blessed by the Goddess."

The priestess nodded solemnly. "Your bond is recorded in the sacred texts. May the Goddess bless your union."

I slammed the laptop shut, bile rising in my throat. My hands shook uncontrollably as the truth crashed over me in merciless waves. I wasn't his true mate. I never had been. I was just... what? A convenient Luna? A broodmare for his heir?

Inside me, my wolf howled in anguish, the sound echoing through my mind with such force I feared it might escape my human form. The pain was physical—a tearing sensation in my chest as though the mate bond I'd believed in was being ripped away.

"Mommy?" Annie's small voice came from the doorway. "Are you okay? I heard crying."

I hadn't even realized I was weeping. I quickly wiped my tears and forced a smile. "Just some dust in my eyes, sweetheart. Go back to bed."

After tucking her in again, I returned to our bedroom and locked the door. The howling in my mind had quieted to a cold, determined growl. Eight years of devotion, of building his pack, of raising his daughter—all based on a lie.

I wouldn't confront him. Not yet. A direct confrontation would only give him the chance to spin more lies, to manipulate me as he had for years.

No, this required something more calculated.

I retrieved my private phone and composed a message to a pack messenger I knew was discreet. 'Deliver to Alpha Ryan of Nightfall Pack. Request meeting at neutral border territory tomorrow at noon. Urgent and confidential. —Luna Aria of Silvermoon.'

My former packmate. My potential ally. My path to revenge.

As I sent the message, something inside me hardened. The trusting, loving Luna was gone, replaced by a woman with ice in her veins and vengeance in her heart.

Marcus thought he had all the power. He was about to learn how wrong he was.