My fated mate, Alpha Baton, had once shackled his bloodlust for me.

He’d built a corporate empire from the ashes of his bloody conquests, all to give me a civilized home.

Even when my father was framed for murdering the brother of his first love, Seraphina, he held me gently.

"Don't worry, Tricia. I'll face this with you."

But on the day of the trial, my father was condemned as a murderer and exiled to the North.

And Baton? He was celebrating, with his arm wrapped around Seraphina.

I hunted down the witness, demanding answers, only to find him trembling as he stared at Baton, who stood right behind me.

It was Baton. He had threatened the witness into lying.

He was willing to destroy my father, just to make Seraphina happy.

"Seraphina's brother is dead. Someone has to pay the price."

The mate bond between us didn't just snap—it shattered. Agony ripped through my soul.

If I meant nothing to him, our marking ceremony was a promise. And now, it was one I had to break.

I thought my mate, Alpha Baton, had renounced his savage ways for me. But right before our marking ceremony, he destroyed my father just to make his first love happy.

"He was only exiled, Tricia, not sentenced to death! Now drop it!"

I never thought Baton would speak to me like that.

I lunged forward, grabbing the collar of his shirt.

"That witness lied!" I clenched my fists. "Magnus told me he saw my father acting in self-de—"

Baton stood on the steps above me, his deep blue eyes—once filled with a warmth meant only for me—were now as cold as arctic ice.

"It doesn't matter," Baton cut me off. "The council has made its decision. Your father will be exiled."

I stared at him, the man who had sworn to protect me and my family.

"Why?" My voice trembled. "You know he's innocent. You're the Alpha King. You have the power to stop this!"

Baton was silent for a moment before walking slowly toward me.

"Because Seraphina needs justice." His words were daggers to my heart. "She lost her only brother. And that pain demands a price."

"A price?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "So you sacrifice my father? You sacrifice our vows?"

I took a step back.

"Baton, I am your Mate. You swore to the Moon Goddess that you would protect my family."

A flicker of something crossed his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came, replaced by that same cold mask.

"Some things are more important than personal feelings, Tricia."

A vise tightened around my chest.

This couldn't be real. It had to be a nightmare.

"I'll appeal to the Werewolf Alliance," I forced myself to stand tall. "I will prove my father's innocence."

Instantly, a crushing wave of his Alpha’s command slammed into me.

The air grew thick, heavy.

My knees went weak, and it became hard to breathe. It was an Alpha's command, an authority no wolf could defy.

"You're not going anywhere," his voice was a low, threatening growl. "This is over."

I struggled to fight back, but my body wouldn't obey. I could barely stay on my feet under the weight of his power.

Just then, I saw him. Magnus, hiding behind a pillar.

The witness who was supposed to defend my father was shaking, looking at us with wide, terrified eyes.

I understood.

"You threatened him," I managed to choke out. "You threatened Magnus and made him change his story."

Baton didn't deny it.

"Go home, Tricia. Be the good Luna you were meant to be. And know your place."

The Alpha pressure vanished, and I nearly collapsed.

Rage and despair burned through me.

I turned to leave, but then I saw Seraphina emerging from the main hall.

She looked at me, her face a mask of fake sympathy.

"Tricia, I'm so sorry…" she said softly. "But your father did do something wrong. Magnus's testimony was very clear."

I stared at her delicate face.

This woman, this Beta she-wolf who hid behind Baton and played the innocent victim.

"Shut up," I said coldly. "You think I don't know what you're doing?"

Seraphina's expression stiffened.

"What are you talking about?"

"You want my place," I said, taking a step toward her. "You want to be Baton's Luna. So you're getting rid of me and my family."

She backed away, then regained her composure.

"Tricia, you're being crazy. Baton and I are just friends—"

"Friends?" I scoffed. "What kind of 'friend' makes an Alpha betray his own Mate for her?"

"Enough!"

Baton was suddenly between us.

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His grip was painfully tight, and his Alpha dominance pressed down on me again.

"If you don't shut your mouth," his voice was colder than the winter wind, "I will drag your mother here myself and force her to kneel before Seraphina's family and beg for forgiveness on your father's behalf!"

I closed my eyes, Baton's threat echoing in my ears.

Suddenly, a memory flooded back.

Three years ago, on the night of the blood moon.

I met Baton for the first time during the territory war that nearly wiped out three packs.

He was covered in blood, his eyes filled with nothing but feral bloodlust.

Every other wolf was running for their lives. Except me.

I looked at him and held out my hand.

"Stop," I said softly.

My Omega scent surrounded him, soft and healing like moonlight.

The slaughter around him froze. Raw confusion flickered across his face.

"You're not afraid of me?" he asked.

"I see the pain in your eyes," I answered.

For me, this god of war had sheathed his claws.

He transformed his pack into a modern business empire.

He said it was to give me a more civilized world.

He once told me I was his salvation.

"Tricia."

Baton's voice pulled me back to the present.

"Tomorrow is the memorial for Seraphina's brother. You will be there."

I opened my eyes and looked at this stranger before me.

"I won't go."

"You will." He released my chin. "Or your mother will be gone by morning."

My blood ran cold.

"You wouldn't dare."

He didn't answer. He just turned and walked away.

As Seraphina passed me, she whispered, "It seems you don't know your 'beloved' as well as you thought."

The next day, I stood in the Blackwood Pack's great hall.

I was surrounded by cold, accusing faces.

Seraphina sat in the front row, dressed in black mourning clothes, her eyes filled with tears.

She looked every bit the poor, grieving sister.

"For our fallen warrior, all will show their respects," a Beta warrior announced loudly.

The other wolves began to drop to one knee in the pack's traditional sign of mourning.

But when it was my turn, the warrior stopped me.

"Wait." He gave me a cruel smile. "The future Luna has a special custom to perform."

Several warriors surrounded me.

"The Kneeling," one of them said. "A sign of submission for the defeated and the rogue. After all, her father killed our brother."

I looked around, searching for Baton.

He was standing at the back of the hall, watching everything with a blank expression.

"Baton!" I called out.

He didn't move.

"Kneel," the warriors shoved me. "Or we can help you."

My knees slammed into the cold stone floor.

Tears of humiliation blurred my vision.

This ritual meant I was admitting my family's guilt, admitting we were lesser.

But that wasn't enough.

Baton finally spoke.

"Tricia."

I looked up, my heart filled with a desperate hope.

"Renounce your father," his voice was devoid of all emotion. "Tell them all he is a vile murderer."

The hall fell silent.

Everyone was waiting.

"If you don't," Baton continued, "your mother will be dead before the moon rises tonight."

My heart felt like it had stopped.

"I..." My voice shook. "I, Tricia Vance, future Luna, hereby declare..."

Tears streamed down my face.

"That I sever all blood ties with the murderer, Draven Vance."

A satisfied murmur went through the crowd.

"And I declare he is a..." My voice was barely a whisper. "Vile murderer."

A triumphant smile spread across Seraphina's face.

After the ceremony, the crowd began to leave.

Baton walked toward me and reached out to help me up.

But the moment his hand touched my shoulder, a wave of violent nausea hit me.

I wrenched away from him, turning and heaving against the wall.

His scent, the Alpha scent that once promised safety and warmth, now made my stomach churn and my soul recoil.

"What is the meaning of this?" Baton's voice was laced with fury.

I wiped my mouth and slowly got to my feet.

"Don't touch me," I said, each word sharp and clear. "Your scent disgusts me."

Instantly, the color drained from Baton's face.

He clutched his chest, doubling over in pain.

The violent backlash of our fractured mate bond tore through him.

A video of me shaming my father spread to every pack in North America within three hours.

My phone blew up with notifications.

"Princess of the Laurel Pack Admits Father is a Murderer."

"Future Luna Disowns Family in Public Ceremony."

"Draven Vance Betrayed by His Own Daughter."

My mother sat in the living room, her phone slipping from her trembling hands.

"Tricia..." her voice was broken. "Why did you..."

"I had to," I knelt before her, taking her cold hands in mine. "He would have killed you."

She shook her head, the light in her eyes dimming.

"Our family..." she murmured. "Three hundred years of honor..."

Just then, the phone rang.

It was a call from the detention center.

"Miss Vance, your father..." the voice on the other end was frantic. "He stabbed himself with a silver dagger. He's losing a lot of blood."

My blood froze.

"What?!"

"He's being rushed to the medical center now. You need to come quickly!"

I pulled my mother up and we ran for the door.

The medical center was in the heart of the Blackwood Pack territory. We raced there, arriving in a frantic ten minutes.

But the gates were locked.

Two Beta warriors stood guard.

"Let us in!" I yelled, running to the gate. "My father is in there!"

"Sorry, Luna," one of them said, blocking my path. "Alpha's orders. No one is allowed inside."

"What? Why?!"

"The champion warrior, Thunder, was injured during training," the warrior explained. "The Alpha said no one is to disturb the medics until Thunder is out of danger."

I couldn't believe it.

"My father is dying!"

"Orders are orders," he said, his face a stone mask.

My mother threw herself against the iron bars of the gate.

"Draven! Draven!" she screamed, her voice raw. "Let me in! Please!"

We could hear frantic footsteps and the beeping of medical equipment from inside.

But no one opened the gate.

I reached for Baton through our mind link, only to slam into a wall of solid ice. He had blocked me. I pulled out my phone and dialed his number again and again. No answer.

Time ticked by, each second an eternity.

The sounds from inside grew more frantic, then suddenly went quiet.

A terrible feeling washed over me.

"No..." I collapsed to the ground. "Please, no..."

Half an hour later, the gates finally opened.

A doctor walked out, pulling off his gloves.

"Miss Vance..." His eyes were full of pity. "I'm so sorry. We did everything we could."

My world shattered.

My mother and I rushed into the medical bay.

My father was lying on a bed, his face as white as a sheet. His chest was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.

"Dad..."

His eyes fluttered open. He saw us, and a flicker of relief crossed his face.

"Tricia..." he rasped. "My little moonbeam..."

"Don't talk," I sobbed, grabbing his hand. "The doctors will save you."

He shook his head, using his last bit of strength to squeeze my hand.

"Listen to me..." Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Don't... don't beg him for anything."

"Dad..."

"Contact... Caleb Reed of the River Shore Pack," his voice grew weaker. "He'll help you... get away from here."

"I'm not leaving! I'll get revenge for you!"

"No." The light in his eyes was pure fatherly love. "Live well. That is your victory. Promise me."

His hand went limp in mine.

The last breath rattled in his chest, and the light in his eyes went out.