Chapter 1

Luna Thorne, a werewolf, caught her husband, Aldric Blackwood, flirting with his mistress in their bedroom late at night.

Just as she was about to burst in, she heard Aldric say to his mistress, "My mating contract with that old hag is a sham. I've already smoothed things over with the Argent Conclave. She won't get a dime."

Luna didn't burst in. She turned and left, doing two things that night.

First, she went to the forbidden Blood Hallow.

Second, she went to see the one person Aldric least wanted to see.

The moon was bright tonight. A night for blood. A night for power.

*****

The bedroom door was thick, but Aldric's greasy, nauseating voice still slithered right into my ears. "Baby, what's the rush?"

A sultry voice chimed in, "Aldric, when are you finally going to divorce that woman?"

It was Sera Frost, a she-wolf who had made her way to the top by sticking close to the powerful.

"I will, I promise. I'll divorce her soon," Aldric said.

"You always say that," Sera snapped, her irritation obvious. "Last time, she dared to give me an attitude in public. She is only some wretch with a decaying bloodline. What gives her the right to be your wife?"

I stood outside the door, my blood running cold. My nails dug deep into my palms, the sharp pain keeping me from losing it.

Inside, Aldric let out a mocking laugh, full of arrogance and contempt. "Her? Don't worry. She won't be a problem much longer. I already had someone forge a fake mating contract. The real one? I destroyed it myself.

"I've already bought off the Argent Conclave. They'll rule our mating was never valid. When the time comes, she'll walk away with nothing, not a single red cent.

"That old she-wolf still thinks she's some highborn pureblood. She's only a stepping stone to power."

My world shattered in that moment.

Fake mating contract. Mating voided. Kicked out with nothing. Each word stabbed through three years of devotion, three years of a union I'd thought unbreakable, leaving nothing but broken fragments.

I thought we were the rare exception: two souls who'd found a true bond in an arranged mating. I believed the admiration and need in his eyes were real. But it was all a lie.

From beginning to end, it was nothing but a calculated scheme.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I forced them back.

Crying? That was weakness.

I didn't storm in like some lunatic to rip those cheating bastards apart.

That would've played right into Aldric's hands, giving him more reason to kick me to the curb like garbage.

I bit down on my lip until the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.

Turning away, I walked out of that sickening place, each step deliberate and silent, like a shadow slipping through the night.

The night wind slashed across my face, its chill biting deep into my skin.

I didn't return to our so-called home. Instead, I drove straight into the heart of pack territory, to the Blood Hallow, a place nearly everyone had forgotten.

My headlights cut through the darkness, casting light on the ancient, battered stone gate ahead.

This was the pack's forbidden ground, where the Progenitor was revered. No one entered unless the pack faced destruction. Intruders were killed on sight.

But I had no other choice.

Aldric thought money could buy him anything, that the Argent Conclave's paperwork was law.

He was dead wrong.

In this world, power stood above money. And above power stood bloodline and legacy.

He forgot one thing. I was Luna Thorne. My family might have fallen, but what flew in my veins was the oldest, purest blood of the Progenitor.

This bloodline could awaken ancient covenants that would bring the Argent Conclave to its knees.

Standing before the stone gate, I slipped out of my coat, left in nothing but a thin white dress.

Then I drew a silver dagger from my bag.

It was my mother's blade. She always said it could cut ties or guard a promise.

Tonight, I would use it to demand justice for my lost love and broken pride.

Without a second thought, I raised the dagger and pressed its tip to my palm.

The cold blade kissed my skin, but not a flicker of fear touched me.

Only one thought burned in my heart. Aldric had fooled me for three years with a forged mating contract. Now I would use my own blood to destroy him, to take everything from him until he was left with nothing.

I closed my eyes and slashed the dagger down hard.

Blood welled up instantly, then dripped onto the ancient stone steps.

The stone gate groaned as the blood touched it, slowly cracking open.

Behind the gate, there was a darkness deeper than night itself, like it could devour everything.

Should I go in?