For six years, I bled in the shadows for my Alpha mate, Liam.

He told me his wolf was crippled. I believed him.

On the eve of his ascension, I learned it was all a lie.

His wolf was never broken—he just didn't want to get his hands dirty.

Worse, he was planning to spend our mating night with a stray Omega named Elara.

Desperate to prove my worth, I rode into the dark forest to hunt the sacred Shadow Beast alone.

Liam followed me.

Not to help.

To steal my kill.

He put a silver arrow through my thigh and left me to bleed out in a ravine.

When I dragged myself back to the Pack a day later, they were already celebrating him as a hero.

Not a single soul had mourned me.

Then the terrifying Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack kicked down our doors

and declared me his true fated mate.

This time, I did not look back.

Chapter 1

Seraphina POV:

The cobblestone square of our Pack was not so much lit as it was scalded by the unsteady glare of a hundred torches.

Tonight was the eve of the Moon Goddess festival. The night air was clogged with the fumes of roasted meats and the cloying, sweet miasma of mead.

For as long as I could remember, the Pack was everything. It was the only shield we had against the feral, mateless wolves we called Rogues. And tomorrow, Liam was supposed to inherit that shield. He was taking the title of Alpha.

But our ancient laws dictated that an incoming Alpha must personally hunt and kill a Shadow Beast in the dark forest to prove his strength to the Moon Goddess.

For the past six years, I had been the one pulling the bowstring and shedding blood in the mud for him.

Six years ago, Liam claimed his Inner Wolf—the primal spirit that lives inside every werewolf—was severely injured during a Rogue attack. He said he could no longer undergo the bone-breaking transformation of the Shift, nor could he hunt.

Because I believed we were fated by the Goddess to be together, I suppressed my own pride as a top-tier Warrior. I became his shadow, his sword, and his secret provider.

I walked toward the edge of the square, where my older sister Freya was laughing with her Beta husband. As second-in-command, the Betas managed the Pack's daily affairs. I needed to ask her husband a favor. I needed him to subtly herd a weakened Shadow Beast toward Liam's hunting path tomorrow, just to keep up appearances.

"Freya," I called out softly, stepping into the torchlight.

Freya turned, her cheeks flushed from the mead. She waved her hand dismissively, her corset rustling.

"Oh, Seraphina. Still planning the hunt for your poor, crippled mate?" she slurred, a mocking smile on her lips.

Before I could answer, she leaned in, her breath reeking of alcohol.

"You are so blind, sister. You think his wolf is broken? Liam's wolf is the most massive, terrifying beast in this entire territory. He just doesn't want to get his hands dirty for you."

A chill, sharp as needle-ice, pierced my blood. The torches seemed to shrink into faint, distant embers.

I turned on my heel and marched straight toward Liam's stone manor at the center of the Pack lands.

As I reached his heavy oak door, I paused. I didn't knock.

Instead, I tuned into the Mind-Link. The telepathic web connecting the Pack was usually a low hum of background noise. But tonight, Liam had left his mental channel slightly open.

Make sure you Betas claim every single Shadow Beast in the eastern quadrant, Liam's voice echoed in my mind, dripping with arrogance. I want her to come back with her quiver empty and her hands stained with nothing but mud.

A Beta's voice chuckled in response. But Alpha, won't that delay your Marking ceremony with her again? She has waited six years to be your Luna.

That is exactly the point, Liam sneered through the link. I need to delay the ceremony. I want to spend the festival night with Elara.

An iron band seemed to tighten around my ribs, squeezing the very air from my lungs.

But what about Seraphina's bloodline? the Beta asked nervously. They say she carries the blood of the White Wolf.

The White Wolf was a myth—a rare descendant of the Moon Goddess herself, possessing unimaginable power.

Liam's laughter boomed in my head, harsh and cruel. A White Wolf? Don't be stupid. She is just a brute. She smells like dirt and blood. She is rough, unrefined, and entirely disposable. As long as I keep playing the victim, she will wait like a dumb, loyal hound.

I stood frozen on the stone steps. My hands curled into fists until my nails bit into my palms, drawing warm blood.

I did not kick the door down. I did not scream.

The betrayal tasted like ash in my mouth. I simply turned away and walked toward the Elder's tower.

Elder Silas was my father. He was the keeper of the old laws, a man whose word could overrule even an Alpha in matters of tradition.

I pushed open the heavy wooden doors of his study. He was sitting behind his mahogany desk, counting sovereigns.

"Father," I said, my voice eerily calm. "I am no longer hunting the Shadow Beast for Liam."

Silas's head remained bowed. The scratching of his quill in the ledger did not pause for even a half-beat. His gaze was nailed to the coin he was turning between his thumb and forefinger, utterly ignoring the blood from my palm that had begun to drip onto the polished mahogany.

Instead, a greedy smile spread across his wrinkled face.

"Excellent," he said, slamming his ledger shut. "Then you have failed your duty to your future Alpha."

He stood up and walked over to a glass cabinet. He reached inside and pulled out the Moon-Baton.

The Moon-Baton was a staff carved from ancient white oak, topped with a glowing moonstone. It was the ultimate symbol of the Luna's honor and authority.

"Since you are so selfish and useless," Silas announced coldly, "I am giving the Moon-Baton to Elara."

I stared at him, my breathing hitching.

Elara was a Stray Omega. Omegas are the lowest ranking wolves, weak and submissive. She had wandered into our territory a year ago, crying and begging for shelter.

"You are giving the legacy of our ancestors to an outsider?" I whispered, a tremor of rage vibrating in my throat.

"Elara knows her place," Silas spat, his eyes gleaming with a cold, mercantile calculation. "She is soft. She is malleable. You, Seraphina, cast too long a shadow. A Pack cannot be ruled by an Alpha who is constantly outshined by his Luna's combat skills. Giving her the Moon-Baton secures Liam's authority, and by extension, mine."

A bitter memory flashed in my mind.

Six years ago, Liam and I had prayed beneath the sacred Moon Tree, asking the Goddess to bless us as Mates.

Silas had caught us. He said we violated the ancestral rules by praying before we were of age.

His punishment was swift. He locked me in the silver dungeon.

Silver is the only substance on earth that can truly harm a werewolf. It burns our flesh like acid and poisons our blood.

I starved in that silver cage for seven days, my skin blistering against the bars, while Elara now broke every rule and was rewarded with the Luna's staff.

I looked at the beautiful silk dress draped over the chair in the corner of the study.

It was the Luna coronation gown. I recognized every stitch.

Now, Silas was packing it into a wooden box to send to Elara.

I said nothing. The scar tissue on my fingertips throbbed once, a quiet pulse of memory I had learned to ignore.

The heavy door creaked open behind me.

Liam walked in. He was leaning heavily on a cane, dragging his left leg in a pathetic, exaggerated limp.

"Seraphina, my love," he pleaded, his face twisted into a mask of fake sorrow. "Please. Just wait for me for one more moon cycle. My wolf is almost healed."

Several Betas and Warriors had gathered in the hallway, drawn by the commotion.

"Just be generous, Seraphina," a Warrior muttered. "He is injured. A true Pack member sacrifices for her Alpha."

I turned slowly, looking at the faces of the people I had bled for. I had fought off Rogue ambushes to keep these very people safe.

Now, they looked at me like I was the villain.

A wave of nausea rose from my gut, and the foul taste of iron filled my throat, forcing me to swallow hard to keep from being sick.

I looked Liam dead in the eyes and shook my head.

"No." I was done being their hound. Tonight, I would become the hunter.

Seraphina POV:

The single word hung in the dusty air of the Elder's study like a drawn blade.

Before Liam could respond, the sharp screech of a night owl echoed through the open window.

The bird landed on the windowsill, dropping a parchment scroll sealed with black wax. It was a message from the neighboring territory.

Liam snatched the scroll, scanning it quickly. His eyes darted toward me, calculating and sly.

"The eastern borders are restless," Liam announced, his voice suddenly loud enough for the gathering crowd in the hallway to hear. "Rogues have been spotted massing near the ravine."

He leaned heavily on his cane, his gaze fixing upon me with an assumption of ownership so profound it was a physical weight.

"The Pack needs stability, Seraphina. You must wait until after the hunt to complete our Marking ceremony. It is your duty."

The Marking was the final step of mating-the soul-binding bite that claimed a wolf forever.

I stood tall, squaring my shoulders.

"There will be no Marking," I said, my voice ringing with the clarity of struck steel. "This bond, this hollowed-out charade, is finished."

Gasps rippled through the gathered Warriors and Betas.

Liam's face flushed with anger. The pitiful mask fell away for a second, and his jaw clenched hard enough to crack stone.

"How dare you?" he hissed. "You lack the basic devotion of a Pack member. You are selfish, Seraphina. You only care about your own glory."

Just then, the crowd parted.

Elara walked into the room.

She was already wearing the Luna coronation gown I had bled to sew. The silk clung to her delicate curves, but she had ruined it by tearing the hem to make herself look fragile.

The moment she stepped in, the air filled with her Omega scent.

It was a cloying sweetness, like peaches left to fester in sugar, a biological trick designed to trigger the protective instincts of stronger wolves.

Tears welled up in her large, doe-like eyes. She began her performance.

"Please, don't fight because of me," Elara sobbed, her voice trembling like a frightened rabbit.

She reached up, pretending to unbutton the dress.

"I will give the dress back to Seraphina. I will leave the territory tonight. I will become a Rogue and die in the forest, just so you two can be happy."

The Warriors in the room growled in distress, their minds clouded by her manipulative pheromones.

Liam rushed forward, dropping his cane completely. He grabbed Elara's hands, stopping her from taking off the dress.

"You will do no such thing!" Liam roared.

He turned to glare at me, his chest expanding as he drew in a deep breath.

"Submit!"

It was the Alpha's Command.

The vocal domination carried a supernatural weight, a pressure wave of sound designed to force lesser wolves to their knees.

The command struck me, a physical force attempting to buckle my shoulders and crush my will. But my Inner Wolf-the hidden, dormant White Wolf-snarled in the back of my mind. I planted my boots on the stone floor and stood perfectly straight, the pressure washing over me like water against a cliff.

Liam looked shocked that his Command had failed.

I stared at him, remembering a hunting trip three years ago.

Elara had deliberately wandered into a patch of Wolfsbane.

Wolfsbane is a deadly purple flower. Even touching its pollen can paralyze a werewolf's nervous system and stop their heart.

When a venomous swamp snake had bitten my leg during the chaos, Liam had looked right at me, bleeding and gasping for air.

Then he had turned his back on me to carry Elara, who only had a tiny scratch from a tree branch.

When we returned, Silas had taken the only Moon-grass-the rare antidote for Wolfsbane-and given it to Elara to soothe her "shock."

I had been locked in my room, forced to use a silver hunting knife to scrape the poisoned flesh and bone out of my own leg without any medicine.

"You should be ashamed, Seraphina!" Freya shouted, stepping out from the crowd.

"If you keep bullying this poor Omega, we will have the Elder strip your Warrior rank and throw you down to the Omega caste—the lowest station in this Pack, where you'll scrub floors and take orders from the wolves you once led!" a Warrior threatened, stepping protectively in front of Elara.

I looked at my own sister, and then at the Warriors I had trained. They were all standing against me, a solid wall of betrayal.

Silas stomped forward, his face purple with rage.

He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

The sharp crack echoed in the silent room. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

"You ungrateful wretch!" Silas spat, his eyes wide with a frantic need to reassert control over his most valuable asset. "You think your combat skills make you untouchable? You will never be as gentle and obedient as Elara! You will learn your place!"

I slowly turned my head back, wiping the blood from my lip with the back of my hand.

Elara peeked out from behind Liam's broad shoulder.

As she lifted her hand to wipe away her fake tears, she deliberately shifted the collar of her dress.

Resting against her collarbone was a silver Mate-pendant.

It was a sacred amulet. And carved deeply into the metal were two names: Liam & Elara.

She smirked at me, a vicious, victorious little smile that only I could see.

The last thread of my attachment to this Pack snapped.

I turned around and walked out of the tower, my boots hitting the cobblestones with heavy, rhythmic thuds.

I walked straight to the stables and threw the heavy leather saddle onto my massive roan warhorse.

The crowd had followed me out, watching in confused silence.

I swung myself up into the saddle, looking down at Liam and Silas.

"I don't need you, Liam," I declared, my voice echoing off the stone walls of the Pack House.

"I am going into the dark forest tonight. I will hunt the Shadow Beast myself. And I will prove that my honor as a Warrior does not depend on a coward."

I kicked my spurs into the horse's flanks.

The beast reared up with a powerful neigh, and we tore off into the consuming darkness of the forest. I did not look back. If I had, I might have seen the shadow of a much darker betrayal already riding after me.

Seraphina POV:

The wind howled past my ears as my warhorse galloped toward the tree line.

"Stop her!" Freya's shrill voice pierced the night air.

Several Warriors lunged forward to grab my horse's reins, but I cracked my leather riding crop through the air, forcing them to back away.

"Are you insane, Seraphina?" Freya screamed, her face pale in the moonlight. "You are throwing yourself at death just to get a man's attention! The forest is crawling with Rogues tonight!"

Rogues were wolves who had lost their minds and their humanity. Driven only by bloodlust, they tore lone travelers to shreds.

I looked past my sister and saw Liam pushing his way to the front of the crowd.

His face was pale, his eyes wide with a fear so raw I could smell the sour stench of it on the air.

But he wasn't afraid for my life.

He was terrified that I would actually kill a Shadow Beast.

If a female Warrior completed the sacred hunt alone, it would tear his fragile facade to ribbons. It would prove to the entire territory that he was a weak, incompetent Alpha.

"A female Warrior hunting alone is a violation of the Moon Goddess's teachings!" Elder Silas bellowed, waving his fists in the air.

"You are bringing shame and disgrace upon this entire Pack, Seraphina!"

I pulled hard on the reins, making my horse dance nervously in place. I looked down at my father with eyes as cold as ice.

"Then I will be the first to set a new precedent," I sneered.

I shifted my gaze to Liam, who was trembling slightly.

"And don't flatter yourself, Liam," I added, my voice dripping with venom. "This prey is not for you. You don't deserve the dirt under my boots."

Elara stepped forward, clutching her chest as if she might faint.

"Oh, please, Seraphina, it's too dangerous!" she cried, her Omega scent spiking to manipulate the crowd again.

Silas spat on the ground. "Let her go! I curse her to be torn apart by the Rogues! She is no daughter of mine!"

Freya frowned, looking slightly uncomfortable with our father's deadly curse, but she did nothing to stop him.

I didn't wait to hear another word. I spurred my horse and plunged into the terrifying blackness of the Gothic forest.

The trees here were ancient, their twisted branches blocking out the moonlight. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth, rotting leaves, and the distant, metallic tang of blood.

I unslung my silver-enchanted bow from my shoulder.

Suddenly, I heard the heavy thud of hooves behind me.

Liam had mounted his own horse and was chasing after me. He had completely forgotten to limp.

"Seraphina! Stop this madness!" Liam shouted, his horse pulling up alongside mine.

"Go back to your Omega, Liam," I growled, keeping my eyes scanning the dark underbrush for the glowing red eyes of a Shadow Beast.

"You are being irrational!" Liam argued, his voice taking on a honeyed, placating tone meant to twist my reason. "I know you are hurt, but this is not the way. You are a female. You are not built for this kind of slaughter. Let me protect you."

"Protect me?" I laughed harshly. "Like you protected me from the Wolfsbane?"

Seeing that his sweet words weren't working, Liam's face darkened. His true, ugly nature surfaced.

A Shadow Beast leaped from the bushes ahead of us, its dark fur smoking in the cool air.

I instantly drew an arrow, pulling the bowstring taut.

Just as I released the string, Liam violently yanked his horse's reins, steering his massive beast directly into my line of sight.

My arrow thumped harmlessly into the trunk of a dead oak tree.

"Oops," Liam mocked, a nasty smile twisting his lips. "My horse got spooked."

He did it again. And again.

Every time I tracked a beast and aimed, Liam would aggressively cut me off, using his horse to block my shots or making loud noises to scare the prey away.

Because of his malicious interference, the beasts scattered.

Through the Mind-Link, I could hear the other hunters from our Pack claiming the kills.

Got another in the western ravine! a Warrior cheered in my head.

That makes nineteen! another laughed. Hey, has anyone seen Seraphina? Heard she's out here throwing a tantrum.

Let her wander, Freya's husband chimed in through the link. She's just an unwanted she-wolf desperately trying to show off.

I stopped my horse in a small clearing. The silence of the forest pressed in on me.

I did the math in my head.

The Pack seers had predicted exactly twenty Shadow Beasts in the forest tonight. Nineteen had been claimed.

There was only one left.

I took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill my lungs. I was not going back without that beast. I would fight him to the death if I had to.

Suddenly, a frantic voice burst through the Mind-Link.

Alpha Liam! Alpha Liam!

It was one of the border guards.

What is it? Liam snapped back telepathically.

Alpha! That crazed Omega from the lowest caste, the one who's always staring at Elara... he found a dead Shadow Beast! He's dragging it toward the Great Hall right now! the guard panicked. He's shouting to everyone that he's going to use the beast to claim Elara as his mate!

*Liam's horse shifted restlessly, his knuckles white on the reins. That filth wouldn't dare! I'll tear him apart!

He's almost there, Alpha! The whole Pack is watching! the guard screamed. The thought of some lowly Omega making a public claim on his prize, using the very symbol of power he was supposed to provide, sent a jolt of pure fury through him.