Chapter 1

"My true mate isn't Valora. And tonight, I’m replacing my Luna."

Alpha Graydon Bracken spoke. His words hit the room like an executioner's axe.

I sat at the end of the long table. My face was expressionless.

Around us sat the people who had built this empire with me.

Not one of them spoke.

"I've lost my bond with Valora. The Moon Goddess gave me my true mate, Seren." Graydon continued.

He sounded calm. Too calm. Like he was announcing a business meeting instead of ending a three-hundred-year marriage.

Seren wore a simple cream sweater. She looked innocent. Tears pooled in her lashes.

"Valora, I never wanted your place," she whispered. Her voice trembled.

"I begged Graydon to ignore the bond. But we can't fight destiny."

"Therefore," Graydon said, looking down at me. "Valora... hand over the crown."

The room went dead silent.

For three hundred years, I had been the backbone of this pack.

I was their protector. I used my power to keep their borders safe.

I gave everything to Graydon’s crumbling family.

Now, he was trading me in.

"Valora..." Elder Esmay warned.

I raised a hand to silence her.

I stood up slowly. I took off the silver Moon Crown and placed it in front of Seren.

"It’s yours," I said.

Seren looked up. Her teary eyes flashed with victory.

She leaned in close, pretending to thank me.

"Three hundred years?" she whispered, so only I could hear. "No wonder he got bored."

Then she turned back to the room and whimpered.

"Valora, please know you’ll always have a place here. I'll take care of you."

Graydon nodded. The elders also nodded. They believed him. Not one of them defended me.

A cold laugh caught in my throat.

"Since the bond is dead, let's make it official," I said, stepping into the center of the room.

Graydon frowned. "We can do the paperwork next week—"

"No," I interrupted.

I looked him dead in the eye.

"I, Valora Ashby, reject you, Alpha Graydon Bracken, as my mate."

The elders gasped. Graydon froze.

The rejection snapped through the air like a whip. The invisible tether between us broke.

Graydon clutched his chest, gasping as his power flickered and weakened.

"I’ll be gone by midnight," I said, turning away.

"Wait, Valora!" Graydon called out, rushing down the steps.

"You don't have to leave the territory. We still need you to bless the warriors every week..."

I stopped at the doors and looked back with a smile.

"Isn't that her job now, Graydon? Or is your true mate useless?"

Behind him, Seren was already sitting on my throne.

She was clumsily trying to adjust the heavy silver crown.

I turned back to the door.

"Good luck surviving the Blood Moon without me."