Betrayed Luna's Rebirth

Synopsis

The morning air bit at my skin as I stepped out of my car at the Sterling Pack border gate. Dawn had barely broken, casting long shadows across the gravel parking area where pack members had gathered in anxious clusters. I smoothed down my black dress—the one Marcus had once said made me look elegant—and tried to ignore the knot of dread in my stomach. News had spread quickly through pack links: Alpha Marcus had been detained after a violent skirmish with rogue wolves. As his Luna—at least in title—I should have been informed immediately. Instead, I'd learned about it through whispers from the kitchen staff. "He'll be released soon," a warrior muttered nearby, not bothering to acknowledge my presence. "Alpha Marcus showed those rogues who controls this territory." I stood apart from the others, a familiar isolation settling over me like a second skin. No one met my eyes. No one offered information.