Chapter 1

Werewolves were born with a natural bond to their fated mates. When that bond broke, the pain was devastating. It haunted them, gnawing at their hearts and souls.

My parents died fighting for the Alpha. They left me behind, and I was raised like a slave.

I took a wolfsbane arrow for Adrian Blackwood, the Alpha's son. He held me close and swore I would be his one and only Luna.

Then came the night of my awakening. Vivian Thorn, my so-called sister, slipped me a forbidden drug. So my awakening failed, and everyone thought I was useless.

But fate had a cruel sense of humor. My fated mate was none other than Adrian.

He rejected me in front of the whole pack. I coughed up blood and collapsed on the ground. He didn't even look at me and cast me out.

On the edge of death, I awakened the Silvermoon bloodline, which hadn't appeared in three hundred years. And the Moon Goddess gave me a second fated Alpha, Kyle Ashford.

Vivian's wedding and mine fell on the same full moon night.

At her ceremony, Adrian watched my new Alpha claim me. The backlash tore through him. He refused to marry Vivian, ripped up the century-old treaty right there, and started a war between the packs.

But he forgot one thing: I haven't formally accepted the break yet. Once the bond finally shattered for both of them, his real suffering would begin.

*****

It was the night of the full moon, the awakening night. I was eighteen now, and this was my last chance.

I lifted my right hand, my fingertips trembling in the moonlight.

With my left hand, I gripped my own knuckles until the pain dulled. That was the wolfsbane aftereffect. Every full moon, the moonlight made my body relive the agony of that arrow.

I closed my eyes and touched the rough Moonbond Cord around my neck. The fibers pressed against my pulse.

I'd already made up my mind. If my inner wolf didn't awaken tonight, I'd leave the pack and leave him.

A girlish squeal rang out right by my ear, and the next second, cold liquid soaked the front of my shirt. Vivian popped up in front of me. "Selene, why didn't you move out of the way?"

She didn't wait for me to answer. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I always forget you haven't awakened yet. Your senses are basically human. You don't mind, right?"

She spun her almost-empty wine glass in her hand. The moonstone necklace around her neck glowed blue in the dark, like a frozen tear from the Moon Goddess.

I stared at that moonstone, my throat tight. That was all I had left of my mother.

"What's up? Are you checking out my necklace?" She tilted her head like she was really thinking about it.

She tilted her head like she was really thinking about it, then her gaze landed on my neck and she gave a little laugh.

Then she looked at my neck and smiled gently, "Oh, Selene, don't you already have Adrian's Moonbond Cord? He tied it on you himself. How romantic. But wait, why are you wearing it again tonight? You don't actually think you're going to awaken, do you?"

She put on a worried look, her voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"Give me a break, Vivian. Her? She thinks she's good enough for our new Alpha?"

"She actually believes she could be Luna? She doesn't even have an inner wolf, and she's still fantasizing about being Luna. That's pathetic."

"Lord Adrian's put up with her way longer than she deserves."

"An Omega standing here with us? Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl."

"Everyone knows she took that arrow for Lord Adrian on purpose. She's been cashing in on that ever since."

I ignored them, my eyes locked on the moonstone necklace around Vivian's neck. "That's not yours, Vivian. It never was. It's a family heirloom. You were adopted. If Adrian hadn't given it to you, you never would have touched it."

Vivian, apparently furious, slapped me across the face without a second thought.

She'd awakened her inner wolf at sixteen, and she was way stronger than me. The moment I felt the rush of air, I was on the ground, my cheek burning and my head ringing.

Before I could even get up, she yanked the necklace off and slammed it onto the stones in front of me. The moonstone broke off the chain and shattered. The blue light died instantly.

I couldn't breathe. I pushed myself up slowly, my eyes locked on the broken pieces. Then I looked at her and lunged.

Just then, an overwhelming Alpha aura crashed over me, making it almost impossible to breathe. My body froze, and something primal stirred restlessly in my veins.

"Adrian, you're just in time. You have to see what Selene did," Vivian said, her tone turning soft with a hint of grievance. "She claimed the necklace was hers, ripped it off my neck, and smashed it.

"I was only trying to protect the gift you gave me. You gave it to me yourself, and she didn't even care. Isn't that too much?"