For eight long years, married under the full moon to Ryder Hale, the supreme and dominant Alpha of Ravenwood, I endured countless trials and tribulations.

My foster Alpha father, drowning in debts to Ravenwood Pack, had nothing left to offer as payment. Instead of silver or gold, he gave me, his adopted daughter, as a mate to Ryder, the Alpha I despise. It wasn't the Moon Goddess who bound us, but a deal struck in desperation.

On our mateship anniversary, out of the blue, he gifted me lilies. Little did he know, it wasn't what I needed then. I was left to suffer in silence, battling for my survival.

As I left Ravenwood infirmary, I mind-linked Alpha Ryder, asking him to cut ties and reject me as his mate.

As soon as Alpha Ryder called, I braced to hear his cold voice. But instead, I was met with his concubine's sobs on the other end, pleading, "Luna Aria, it is my fault. Please don't hold it against the Alpha."

In the background, I heard Alpha Ryder soothing her before saying, "If that's what you want, I'll grant it to you as soon as possible."

It deeply wounded me, but at the same time, I was on cloud nine. At last, I could end this mateship I was pushed into.

Two weeks passed, and Alpha Ryder came home, where we had been living together since our mateship.

Seeing the dining table bare of breakfast, Alpha Ryder shouted at the top of his lungs, issued a command for me to cook, and headed straight into the bathroom.

In the next few minutes, Alpha Ryder descended the stairs, his serious gaze locking onto me as I sat in the living room, doing nothing but completely silent.

In this pack, I was brought in as Alpha Ryder's mate and hailed as Luna, not as his servant.

Forced into a union under the full moon, we had no real bonds at first.

But as the years rolled by, we began to feel the pull of our mate bond.

However, everything crashed when Selene Vale, his childhood sweetheart, reappeared on the scene, slowly shattering our bond.

In the past, Alpha Ryder had bent over backward to grant me every wish. But things had taken a turn, and now he merely handed me dull gifts, hoping to smooth over our old grudges.

When he asked if I liked the lilies he gave, I kept my lips sealed and asked him instead, "Alpha, when will you get around to cutting our ties and rejecting me as your mate?"

As Luna, I understood how overwhelmed he was as an Alpha. He barely had time for anyone, including me. He didn't even take a moment to pick out a gift for our mateship anniversary. Instead, he had his female warrior pick it out for me.

"Stop it, Aria. Selene doesn't know you hate flowers. I won't let her choose next time," he reasoned.

It was no surprise that Alpha Ryder prioritized Selene and his duties over me.

Gossip had it that Selene Vale had been Alpha Ryder's childhood sweetheart, deeply infatuated with him since she was just a pup.

She underwent rigorous training after finishing her degree at the prestigious university in town.

It was well-known that Selene had returned to Ravenwood Pack to serve Alpha Ryder as his female warrior, sticking by his side through thick and thin.

Selene and Alpha Ryder were inseparable, attending gatherings in neighboring packs and sharing the same room, roles I was meant to fill.

With those thoughts flooding my mind, tears streamed down my face. I quickly brushed them away, refusing to let him see me cry.

When Alpha Ryder inquired about our seven-year-old son Zion's recent training, I could only shake my head in confusion.

I never intended to be an out-of-the-loop Luna and mother, but the plain truth was that I knew nothing about our son's achievement.

It didn't mean I wasn't doing my duties as a mother; I was. But Alpha Ryder, his parents, and the elders took Zion out of my hands.

As the successor to the Alpha title, Zion was kept under the wing of the main pack house.

From a young age, he faced tough training and was sent to school to be groomed for greatness as an Alpha someday.

It was almost a real crack-up how rarely I saw Zion, my son. The pack guards at the main house kept me at arm's length, claiming I was a distraction from his training.

All I did was burst into tears, plead, and cause a stir, but no one gave a second thought to my feelings, not even Alpha Ryder, who just called me selfish.

With a sigh, Alpha Ryder shook his head in disappointment and said, "If this keeps up, I'm afraid Selene will end up being more of a mother to him than you."

Right. He reminded me of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see my son. As a mother, I eagerly went, waiting patiently outside the school.

But soon after, Selene called to inform me that the elders had decided she should pick Zion up instead, claiming I was a weak Luna to safeguard him from a rogue's attack.

Despite my position as Luna, Alpha Ryder still sided with her. I even overheard his voice on the other line, asking Selene what she wanted to eat when he was supposed to be on his Alpha duties.

With all that weighing on me, I smiled and retorted, "That's what you want. I'll leave now. Let your new mate handle it."

Alpha Ryder fell silent before suddenly erupting in anger.

"There's a limit to my patience, Aria. Stop causing trouble," he warned, rising to his feet and taking two steps forward.

I responded coldly, "It's too easy for you to say that. Alpha, did you even know how I suffered and how I had a miscarriage with our second child?"

A month ago

That same night, Alpha Ryder received a mind link from Selene, reporting rogue sightings near the pack; the excruciating pain in me made me rush into the infirmary alone.

While rushing, I ran into Rowan Crest, the dominating Alpha of Bloodstone and a close friend of Alpha Ryder, who had come to visit the pack.

Rowan helped me to the infirmary, which was when it should have been my mate.

Right there and then, the pack doctor broke the shocking news, "Luna Aria, it is with a heavy heart that I will announce you are pregnant, yet the baby's heart has stopped beating."

Oddly enough, after hearing the news, I was on cloud nine, relieved. As I left the infirmary, I knew it was time to sever our broken bond.

In a blink of an eye, I returned to my senses, seeing Alpha Ryder's stare darkened on me.

He never dared ask why I did it; he knew how often I tried to mind-link him only to be ignored and neglected.

"Well, that just proves how bad you are as a mother," he reasoned.

Then Alpha Ryder stood up, walked upstairs to his study, and shut the door.

For eight long years, I endured this forced mateship. We argued countless times, but it was always me who swallowed my pride and made amends.

Well, not anymore. I was tired and pleaded with the Moon Goddess to let all my sufferings end and let our bond be shattered.

Flashback.

The news dropped like a bombshell and astounded me to the core. When Ravenwood Pack's current Alpha threatened my father to be killed, as well as besieging our pack, we were terrified out of our wits.

"If none of you want to bite the dust, then I'll only ask for one thing," Alpha Ryder's father said, turning to me. "Let your goddess-like daughter be shoved into a mateship with my son, Ryder."

To prevent it from happening, he saw me as the solution, forcing me to mate with Ryder. I, Aria Steele, the trailblazing Luna of Moonshadow, had to endure my Alpha father's ill-conceived strategy.

When my father said, "Drink this potion, and you'll feel a powerful bond with Alpha Ryder."

Stunned, I was ready to flee the pack, but my Alpha father ordered the warriors to restrain me while forcing me to drink the potion in one gulp.

Instantly, my loathing for Ryder began to turn into affection. Despite my struggle to maintain my hatred, the forced bond ultimately made us mates.

Since then, my father reminded me, "Just accept your fate. Think of this as Moon Goddess' plan for your dream perfect future that I couldn't give you as a father."

Since then, I began to despise him and dreamed of meeting my real parents to learn my true story and avoid this fate.

At that moment, they sent me to Ravenwood Pack, heavily guarded and scared stiff that I might escape the pack.

Given our situation, the pack members and Alpha Ryder's parents didn't welcome me with open arms. Instead, they mocked me, believing I deserved to be treated as a slave rather than a mate.

Despite everything, the acceptance ceremony went ahead. With the elder's lead, I recited, "I, Aria Steele, Luna of Moonshadow, accept Alpha Ryder as my mate."

When I seized the moment to escape Ravenwood, I returned to our pack in the shadows to confront my father. Unfortunately, our argument ended with me being battered and brushed while he was drunk.

When Alpha Ryder sensed I was in torment, he rushed to rescue me now that we were mated. He scooped me up and brought me back to his pack, racing to the infirmary.

As the pack healer tended to my wounds, Alpha Ryder turned his back, his shoulders shaking and his hand constantly rubbing his face. The amused and baffled healer asked, "Alpha, it's not you who's been hurt; why are you so torn up?"

Shaking his head, he reasoned, "I know, but her pain is mine as well. We're mates. What do you expect me to feel?"

In the ward, Alpha Ryder awkwardly peeled an apple and said, "I don't want to feel this way anymore. Aria, please don't get hurt again. I'm begging you."

End of flashback.

In the present, I brushed it aside and didn't dwell on the burdens of this mateship. Instead, I threw myself into my duties as Luna, pushing forward with programs despite lacking full support from the Alpha and the Council of Elders.

Everyone doubted me because I was seated as Luna, and since then, no one dared to back me; only a few did.

All thanks to Alpha Rowan, who regularly dropped by our pack for Alpha Ryder and took the time to check in on me and see how I was holding up.

He always supported me wholeheartedly, even asking, "When will you end your mateship with Alpha Ryder? Don't be fooled."

However, I always replied, "When the time comes, my true fated mate arrives."

No one could rescue me from this trap, not even myself. The idea of rejecting this bond and stepping down as Luna felt like a distant dream.

When he once said, "I'm here to rescue you from all your suffering," I blushed but shook it off.

Since he was an Alpha and a friend of Ryder's, it was no shocker that he would also want to play with me.

"I endured lots of pain, Alpha Rowan. Don't string me along, too," I said, keeping zipping the fact that while he lent a hand to the infirmary, he was oblivious I lost my child.

With Alpha Ryder turning a blind eye to me, I had to put some distance between us and our home, opting to settle in a new rented apartment far from his shadow.

Even so, I didn't let my duties as Luna fall by the wayside. I kept serving the pack members while quietly devising a plan to reject him.

While I was away, Alpha Ryder never bothered to reach out through the mind-link to check on me. It seemed he was perfectly fine with my absence, but it raised eyebrows that he didn't have the guts to reject me.

On my third visit to the pack's infirmary since moving out of our home, the pack healer asked with concern, "Luna Aria, your condition seems to have worsened. Fret not; I'll prescribe some medicine for you."

Just as I was about to read the healer's prescription, Selene suddenly appeared, wandering around the infirmary.

Out of nowhere, the pack healer asked, "Luna Aria, given your situation, how is it that Alpha hasn't lifted a finger to be by your side?"

Selene stopped in her tracks, curiosity written all over her face. Before I could respond, she jumped in, explaining how hectic Alpha Ryder's schedule had been. Turning to face me, she added, "Luna Aria, I've heard about your situation from Alpha Ryder. You're still young, Luna Aria, and the Moon Goddess has blessed you with fertility."

Blessed or not, it had nothing to do with her.

That damn female warrior concubine still had the nerve to say that to me. She might have sounded concerned, but I knew deep down she was laughing her ass off.

"Worry less, as no more child is coming from me," I retorted hesitantly.

Unbeknownst to me, Alpha Ryder emerged, his eyes as dark as a stormy night. It's not surprising anymore. Alpha Ryder was there wherever his female warrior was, treating her like she was Luna while I was left in the dust.

Yet, it was too late for me to realize that the duel program I had created, intended to be led by me as their Luna, had been suddenly taken over by Alpha Ryder. He had handed it off to his trusted female warrior, Selene, believing she was far more suited for the role than I, a weak Luna who didn't even deserve the title.

As a result, Selene had been scratched by one of the pups under training, a fact the pack healer had tipped me off about. It was one of the reasons Alpha Ryder was on pins and needles, scared stiff that something worse might happen to her.

It was only a minor injury, but Alpha Ryder pulled out all the stops for her. At the same time, I, suffering from a severe illness due to a miscarriage, was left high and dry. Whether I was on my last legs or not, as long as his concubine was alive and kicking, it seemed he couldn't have cared less.

At that moment, it was my turn to pick up the medicine. As I held the bag, Alpha Ryder couldn't help but inquire, "Are you feeling unwell?"

When I turned a deaf ear to him and started to leave, he snatched the medicine from my hands and opened it to take a look.

"What on earth is this? When did you run into this trouble?" He demanded, acting like he was completely out of the loop about me, his mate. Not satisfied, he told me to stop dodging the question and demanded to know the truth.

Alpha Ryder thought fleeing from our mateship house was just a gimmick to buy time, but it wasn't. That's why, to this day, he had never bothered to ask where I was living or what I had been up to.

His cold and indifferent attitude drew curious glances from those around us.

I took the medicine from him and said quietly, "Everything you see is on the level. I'm fed up with our mateship. You weren't around when I needed you the most, and now that I'm on my own, holding the fort, you still have the nerve to blame me for wanting your attention. Alpha, don't forget I once asked for our bond to be shattered."

It was all true. Alpha Ryder was at a loss for words while Selene glared at me as if she were ready to shift into her wolf form and pounce at any moment.

When Alpha Ryder offered to drop me off at our mateship house while he took Selene to the warrior station, I declined, not wanting to be caught in the middle of their growing betrayal.

"Your Alpha duties are way more important than mine. No need. I can make my way home," I dismissed, even though he insisted.

I had no intention of returning, but when Alpha Rowan arrived and joined them, Alpha Ryder insisted I stay with Rowan. With the rogue threats, he wanted to be sure I was in safe hands.

Right then and there, Alpha Rowan accompanied me to my apartment. It was during this time that Rowan learned about all my suffering.

He became so furious with Alpha Ryder that he went through the roof, confronting him and questioning why he could turn a blind eye to my pain but couldn't stand to see Selene hurt.

His reaction left me puzzled. Since the day he kept visiting Ravenwood Pack, he had been unusually concerned about me. So I asked, "Who are you really, Alpha Rowan?"

Yet, he simply answered, "The Moon Goddess hears all your pleas. I'm here to lend a hand and help bring you back to your true mate."