Chapter 1
I’m Sybella, future Luna of the Winsor Pack. Since childhood, everyone believed I was fated to be Alpha Gabriel’s mate.
On the night of my eighteenth birthday, I saw him for the first time under the moonlight. Tall. Cold. Eyes glowing faintly gold.
He stared at me too. Deep in my soul, I heard his voice, as clear as a mind-link:
“You’re the one.”
My wolf, Alice, howled low inside me:
“He’s ours.”
It was instinct. A knowing that came from my blood and bones. From the bond of the soul.
I thought it was the Moon Goddess’s will. Our one true fate.
But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The first time Gabriel cheated, he dragged the woman in front of me. His eyes were bloodshot. His voice hoarse:
“You deal with her.”
I loved him deeply. So I forgave him.
Alice roared in my mind:
“He betrayed us! Sybella, don’t trust him again!”
I forced myself to stay calm. Told myself it was just a mistake.
The second time, I handled it coldly. Sent that female wolf to the Northern Border. Banned her from ever stepping into the Central Lands again.
That was the boundary of our pack. Anyone who crossed it would be punished.
Three years ago, on Christmas Eve, snow was falling when he clasped a custom necklace around my neck. Rose-gold vines wrapped around a heart-shaped pendant. My name engraved in the center.
He whispered,
“This belongs to Sybella and no one else.”
I once thought it was a token of our bond.
But when I saw the exact same necklace around Linda’s neck, I understood.
His gentleness... it was fake. A copy of the way he treated Linda. A memory, replayed for me.
The night we bonded, Gabriel grabbed my throat. Pressed a silver dagger hard against my belly.
The silver burned through my skin. Liquid fire roared inside me. I almost couldn’t shift back into my wolf form.
Alice cried out from deep within:
“Silver... he used silver on us. He’s killing me.”
His eyes turned red, feral.
“Where’s Linda? She’s pregnant. Did you know?”
“It was my fault—I couldn’t control myself. If you’re mad, be mad at me. Don’t blame her. She’s just a girl. Please, let the child be born safely. I’ll never see her again if that’s what you want.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Didn’t you say I was scared of childbirth? So we’re just keeping Linda’s child instead?”
“Don’t worry. The child will only recognize their fated mother, right? Is this your final promise to me?”
His hand trembled.
“What are you saying?”
“What am I saying?” I stared into his golden-red eyes. My voice felt like a torn wound.
“Can you swear you never promised her anything? That every time you cried in your sleep, saying ‘I’m sorry, Linda,’ it wasn’t true?”
He said nothing.
The silver blade cut into my skin. I felt the burn near my womb. My hands shook, but I still smiled and told him where Linda was.
He slammed the door shut.
I collapsed in a pool of blood. Shivering, I dialed a familiar number.
A deep voice answered on the other end.
“You were right this time. Can you help me again?”
Hale’s voice was laced with frustration.
“Why didn’t you say earlier? I left the Blackthorn Pack two years ago. How do you expect me to help?”
“I know I screwed up. But if you help me now, I’ll make sure my Silverfang Pack helps you reclaim your territory.”
Hale was once the Alpha of Blackthorn. He was exiled. Later, he became Alpha of Blackwood, and now he’s the biggest rival to the Alpha King.
He paused, then said with interest,
“Send the time. Send the place. I’ll be there.”
I forwarded the entire ritual plan.
He replied,
“OK.”
The house I once prepared for my wedding with Gabriel... now looked like ruins after war. Just like my shattered heart.
I bandaged my wounds alone. Then stumbled out of the villa, checking into the nearest werewolf-friendly hotel.
Just after I finished checking in, the communicator rang again. It was Gabriel.
His voice came through, muffled under the roar of an aircraft.
“Sybella, I’m flying to the Northern Territory tonight. I can’t be with you... I’m sorry. I lost control earlier. Are you badly hurt? Should I send a pack doctor to check on you—”
“No need.” I cut him off coldly.
Alice whispered,
“He has no right to care about us.”
He was silent for a second. Then his voice hardened.
“I told you, what happened with Linda was an accident. I was drugged. I thought she was you. Now it’s done. Do you really want the next Alpha of Winsor to be born in another pack?”
“You forgave me once before. Why can’t you do it again?”
I stared at Hale’s message.
“No need. I won’t bond with you again.”
Gabriel roared,
“Are you crazy? The announcement’s out! The whole pack’s waiting for the ceremony! Now you want to back out?”
“Sybella! We grew up together. You know what you mean to me! I won’t let you go!”
I laughed.
“Alpha Gabriel, I told you. I don’t tolerate sand in my eyes.”
Alice growled in my head,
“Well said, Sybella. We don’t need an Alpha who can’t even guard our back.”
“Once the child is born, I swear Linda will disappear forever. I’ll give you anything, just don’t break our bond—”
I threw the communicator far, far away.
