Chapter 1

"You're nothing but a useless wolf who can't shift," Scarlett Hayes sneered, her heel grinding into my hand as she loomed over me.

At the Silvermoon Pack's coming-of-age ceremony, she had captivated everyone with her beautiful wolf form, including my mate, Damian Grey.

He didn't push her away. Instead, he stood by and let her taunt me, the weak, wolfless Omega.

"Sierra, she is better suited to handle the upcoming war with other packs." Damian stripped me of my Luna status in front of the entire pack.

In that moment, I heard the mate bond in my chest snap clean in two.

I didn't cry or beg. I turned and walked into the Darkwood Forest, swallowing the fatal potion designed to sever my bond with Damian.

They assumed I'd gone to die. None of them knew the agony of the broken bond would shatter the seal locked inside me.

Pure white fur tore through my skin, and the legendary white wolf's power roared across the forest.

Seven days later, at the full moon ceremony, Damian was about to crown Scarlett as the new Luna.

They still had no idea that the Moon Goddess's Chosen One was about to storm the entire pack.

*****

"Hold out your hand," Scarlett ordered, shifting back into her human form.

She walked barefoot across the altar's silver stone steps, her gown stained with my blood from earlier.

I sat on the ground, two raw gashes torn across the back of my hand. I pressed my palm flat against the stone, refusing to lift it.

"Sierra, don't keep everyone waiting," Damian called from the center of the altar, his Alpha cloak draped over his shoulders, his voice calm and certain.

I looked up at him.

The mate bond still burned faintly in my chest, a fraying thread making me hope he would grant me a shred of dignity.

I tucked my injured hand behind my back. "Give me three days," I said.

"The coming-of-age ceremony is over," Damian replied, looking down at me with cold eyes, the silver pack crest pressed against his chest. "You failed to shift. The Silvermoon pack can't have a Luna who cannot protect our pups or defend our borders."

Whispers spread through the elder seats.

"She's the former Alpha's daughter."

"But she is wolfless."

"The Moon Goddess chose her as the Alpha's mate. Maybe there's still hope."

Scarlett heard the elder's words and bent down to pick up the laurel crown I'd dropped.

It was the very one my mother had worn for her ceremony. Scarlett twirled the silver leaves between her fingers, utterly dismissive.

"Hope?" she scoffed, placing the crown atop her own head. "I can shift. I can fight. I can take rogue attacks for Damian. What can Sierra do? Tend wounds? Pray? Or cower behind the healers?"

I pushed myself unsteadily to my feet, my knees aching from the failed ritual. "That crown doesn't belong to you."

Scarlett shot Damian a sideways look. "Alpha, is she ordering me around?"

Damian didn't glance at the crown. His eyes locked on mine, final and unmerciful. "Sierra, give her the crown," he said.

My hand stopped midair. "This was my mother's."

"Now, it belongs to the Luna of this pack," Damian said, stepping forward as the whole pack fell silent. "You are temporarily stripped of your title."

"Temporarily?" I let out a quiet laugh. "In fifteen days, you will crown her officially. You've given her my chambers, my authority, my pack mark. You call this temporary?"

Scarlett adjusted the crown and traced the silver leaves with her fingers. "Don't play the victim. Damian could have banished you. Be grateful he didn't."

She stepped closer, glowing with smugness. "I'll assign you simple chores from now on, like scrubbing my training gear and cleaning my wolf paws after runs."

A few people laughed under their breath.

I turned to Damian. "You agree with her?"

His jaw went tight. "Scarlett's harsh, but she's not wrong. It's time you faced where you stand."

"Where I stand?"

"You'll be sent to the Omega servant quarters." He lifted his hand, the Alpha ring glinting in the candlelight. "You're moving out of the Alpha suite tonight.

"You are forbidden from entering the council hall, accessing border defenses, or issuing orders under the Luna name without my permission."

The mate bond tugged sharply in my chest, nearly unbalancing me, but I refused to reach for him.

"Damian, did you forget what you promised me before the ceremony? You said even if I never shifted, you'd keep me at your side," I said.

Damian turned his face away. "That was before we had a war to fight."

"So now that we're at war, I'm the first one you toss aside?"

"It's what's best for the pack."

"For the pack. Right. And for her."

Scarlett immediately moved to his side, looping her arm through his. "Sierra, stop making this ugly. An Alpha needs a capable Luna, not an emotional burden."

My eyes went to her hand, then to Damian. Instead of pulling away, he let her hang onto him.

The mate bond burned in my chest. "Damian, if you're going to sever the mind-link between us, at least say it to my face."

His brow furrowed at my words. "You're not fit to carry my link."

"Look at me and say it, Damian."

Everyone at the altar was watching.

After a long moment, Damian finally turned his head. "Sierra, as Alpha of the Silvermoon Pack, I am ordering you to accept this arrangement."