Chapter 1
Selena's POV
The first thing I noticed was the blood. Not mine, but Vanessa’s lipstick stain on my mate’s throat.
My footsteps stopped outside the council chamber as a familiar, feminine laugh echoed through the half-open doors. My stomach tightened because Kael never laughed during council meetings.
The midnight wind howled through the stone corridors of the Silver Night Pack house, carrying Vanessa’s scent toward me, scent of jasmine and lies.
I forced myself to breathe. Maybe I was overthinking. Maybe… then I heard what froze my entire body.
A moan escaped from Vanessa. “No one can know yet,” she whispered breathlessly.
Kael’s deep voice answered, low and rough. “Selena won’t suspect a thing.”
The world tilted beneath my feet. I couldn’t move or breathe. My wolf whimpered painfully inside me, pacing against my ribs like she already knew the truth my heart refused to accept.
No, Kael would never do such a thing.
I pushed the doors open and the sight before me shattered me completely.
Kael stood beside the council table with Vanessa pressed against him, her dress half-fallen from her shoulder, while his hand rested possessively on her waist.
My best friend and my mate. Together!
The room became still.
Vanessa gasped dramatically and stepped back, though the smug smile pulling at her lips ruined the performance entirely.
Kael stared at me without guilt. Not even a single shame.
“Kael…?” My voice came out broken.
The bond between mates was supposed to be sacred and unbreakable because the Moon Goddess herself blessed it.
So why did mine suddenly feel like chains tightening around my throat?
Vanessa folded her arms slowly. “Well,” she mused, “this is awkward.”
I looked at her, then at Kael again, desperately waiting for him to explain. To deny it at least or tell me that this was a prank.
Instead he sighed, like I was a distraction.
“You weren’t supposed to find out this way,” he said calmly.
My heart cracked. “What… what is going on?” I whispered.
Kael walked toward me slowly, his silver eyes unreadable beneath the candlelight. The same eyes I once drowned in. The same eyes that looked at me with devotion when he marked me as his mate five years ago.
Now they looked emotionless.
“I know about your Lunar Essence, Selena.” He stated casually.
Blood drained from my face. Only a few people in history possessed Lunar Essence. It's a blessing from the Moon Goddess herself and it amplified an alpha’s strength when bonded through a true Luna.
It was also a dangerous knowledge, which was why I had hidden it my entire life.
“How…” My voice trembled. “How do you know that?”
Vanessa laughed softly behind him. “Because I told him.”
I turned toward her sharply, and her smile widened.
“I had kept your secret to myself for years now, don't you think you should reward me for that?” She grinned from ear to ear. “Honestly, Selena, you were always too trusting.”
Pain stabbed through my chest so violently that I nearly stumbled. Vanessa had been like a sister to me and I trusted her with everything.
Kael stepped closer. “With your essence, I can become stronger than any alpha alive.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”
“I’m not.” He said with a mean look.
“You would betray me for power?”
Regret flickered briefly across his face, but it vanished too quickly.
“You don’t understand what’s coming,” he said. “The northern packs are preparing for war, and I need strength to protect this pack.”
“So you sleep with my best friend?” I snapped, tears burning my eyes. “You destroy our bond for strength?”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Oh please, don’t act shocked. You were never enough for him.”
My wolf snarled inside me.
“No,” I whispered, stepping back. “No, this isn’t real.” But it was. I could smell Vanessa all over him.
Every memory we shared suddenly felt poisoned. The night he marked me beneath the moon, all his promises and the way he used to call me his heart.
All were lies!
Kael reached into his pocket slowly and pulled out a black ceremonial blade engraved with ancient runes.
Fear crawled down my spine. “What is that?”
“The Essence lies in your blood and only this blade can surge it out.” he answered. Realisation crashed into me so hard that my knees weakened.
“No, you can't do that!” My voice trembled as I shifted back.
“Selena…”
“No!” I screamed, backing away. “You can’t steal my Lunar Essence. The Goddess forbids it!”
Kael’s fist tightened around the knife. “She forbids weakness too.”
Then he grabbed me with force. Pain exploded through my wrist as he slammed me against the council table. I fought wildly, clawing at him, but he was too strong.
“Kael, please!” I cried. “Please don’t do this!” His hands shook slightly. For one horrible second, hope bloomed inside me.
But Vanessa walked forward and placed her hand over his. “Finish it,” she whispered.
Kael drove the blade straight into my chest. I screamed as agony ripped through me.
White light burst beneath my skin as the Lunar Essence awakened violently. Ancient silver markings spread across my arms while power surged out of me in waves.
It felt like my soul was being torn apart. My wolf howled in unbearable pain.
Kael held me down as the silver energy flowed from my body into his. I could feel myself breaking piece by piece.
Tears streamed down my face as I looked up at the man I loved.
“Why?” I choked out.
His breathing became uneven as power consumed him. “You were meant to save me,” he said hoarsely.
Darkness flashed across his silver eyes, and it dawned on me that the essence was corrupting him already.
When the ritual ended, I collapsed onto the cold stone floor, my body trembling helplessly.
My soul became weak and empty. I could barely feel my wolf anymore.
Vanessa crouched beside me, gripping my chin cruelly. “You know what your problem was, Selena?” she murmured. “You thought kindness made you special.”
I slapped her weakly, but she laughed instead. Kael stood behind her, his aura now terrifyingly powerful.
The council doors suddenly opened and pack elders entered. Warriors followed. They all stared at my broken self lying on the floor.
Vanessa’s voice rang out dramatically. “Selena Vale has betrayed the Silver Night Pack.”
I looked up in horror. “What?”
“She hid a dangerous power from the alpha,” She continued with determination. “She planned to use it against the pack.”
“That’s a lie!” I gasped. Kael stepped forward, his face cold as death.
“Selena Vale,” he declared before the entire council, “For misleading me, the Alpha, I hereby reject you as my mate and Luna.”
The mating bond snapped instantly and shattered in my chest. I screamed as an unfamiliar pain tore through me.
The elders looked away in discomfort, but still no one defended me.
Kael’s expression remained merciless. “And for your intending betrayal, you are hereby banished from the Silver Night Pack.”
Two warriors seized my arms.
I struggled weakly. “Kael… please…” But the man I loved was already gone.
They dragged me through the pack grounds toward the sacred Moon Cliff while rain poured from the sky above us.
This was the same cliff where Kael once promised he would love me forever.
How cruel love was.
Vanessa walked beside me with satisfaction glowing in her eyes.
“Look at your pathetic self, still begging even after everything,” she mocked with a satisfied smirk. My crushed heart burned painfully.
At the edge of the cliff, the warriors forced me onto my knees.
Below us, sharp rocks disappeared into darkness. It was terrifying to look.
Kael approached slowly. Rain soaked his black clothes while thunder cracked across the sky.
Vanessa placed a hand on his shoulder. “End it, Kael.”
Kael looked at me one last time, then he nodded at the warriors. They understood the message and shoved me backward.
I fell drastically, the wind screaming around me as darkness swallowed my body whole.
Tears slipped out of my eyes, not because I was dying, but because the man I loved watched me fall.
I closed my eyes as death rushed toward me. And with my final breath, I made a hopeless vow.
“If I get a second chance…” My voice vanished into the storm. “I’ll ruin you both!”
Then darkness consumed me.