"Just close your eyes, Isabella. I will be right here when you wake up."

Ethan Blackwood’s large hand engulfed mine. As the future Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, his touch usually carried absolute authority. Today, it offered nothing but comfort.

"Are you scared?" Ethan tilted his head, his gaze softening.

"A little." I stared up at the harsh hospital lights. "But Sophia needs this. Her body is failing."

"You are brave, Isabella. Braver than anyone in this pack."

"I just want my stepsister to be healthy. I want us to be a real family."

"You will have a family. With me." Ethan leaned over the railing of the gurney. "Once the doctors finish, I will prepare the stage. The Blackwood Pack needs its Luna. We hold the Mate Ceremony tonight."

"Tonight?" I frowned. "But I will be recovering."

"You only need to stand by my side. I will handle the rest. You are going to be my only Luna."

"Promise?"

"I swear it." He pressed his lips against my forehead.

I smiled, letting the anesthesia pull me under.

***

A sharp sting in my side dragged me back to consciousness.

"Thank the Goddess it is finally over."

The voice belonged to Margaret Ashford, my stepmother. It sounded harsh, completely lacking her usual sugary sweetness.

"Margaret, keep your voice down." My father, Richard Ashford, paced near the foot of my bed. "The nurses are just outside."

I kept my eyes shut. My mouth felt dry as sand.

"Let them hear." Margaret scoffed. "I am exhausted, Richard. Do you know how hard it is to smile at that girl every single day?"

"She saved Sophia's life."

"She did what she was born to do. I only tolerated that illegitimate brat in my house because her tissue matched our daughter's. Now that Sophia has her kidney, I refuse to play mother to a bastard."

My chest squeezed. The monitor beside my bed beeped a steady rhythm, masking the sudden pounding of my heart.

"Margaret, calm down."

"Do not tell me to calm down, Richard! For years, I had to watch you feed and clothe the result of your infidelity. I had to pretend she was part of this family."

"You do not have to anymore." Richard stopped pacing. His voice held zero sympathy for me. "Her greatest value was the transplant. Now, we focus on Sophia."

"Sophia is the one who truly deserves to be Luna." Margaret’s tone sharpened. "Not this useless spare part."

"Ethan knows what to do. Come on, let's go check on Sophia."

The heavy wooden door clicked shut.

I opened my eyes to an empty room. My own father. He only saw me as an organ donor for his legitimate child.

I ripped the thin hospital blanket off. Pain flared across my stitched abdomen, but I ignored it. I yanked the IV needle from my vein. A drop of blood hit the white tile floor.

I needed Ethan. He was my fated mate. He would protect me from them.

***

I found him in the pack house corridor. He wore his ceremonial black suit, adjusting his cuffs under the dim hallway lights.

"Ethan!"

He spun around. His brow furrowed. "Isabella? What are you doing out of bed? You are bleeding."

I stumbled forward, gripping his sleeve. "My parents. They lied about everything."

"Calm down. You are hysterical."

"Do not tell me to calm down!" I shouted. "I heard them in the hospital room. Margaret said she only kept me around for my organs. She called me a bastard."

Ethan did not pull me into his arms. He gently pried my fingers off his jacket.

"She is just tired, Isabella."

"She said Sophia should be your Luna, Ethan! My own father agreed with her."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Defend me! You are my mate."

"I am the future Alpha." His tone turned flat, devoid of the warmth he showed before the operation. "I do not get involved in petty family gossip. Margaret cared for you when she didn't have to."

"She fed me so I would be healthy enough to be harvested!"

"Do not speak about her that way." Ethan’s eyes flashed with annoyance. "She spent months agonizing over Sophia’s illness. If she vented some frustration today, you should be understanding."

"Understanding?" I stared at him, searching his face for any sign of the man who kissed my forehead hours ago. "I owe her? I just gave up half my kidney!"

"Go back to your room, Isabella. You are making a scene."

"Are we still having the ceremony tonight?"

"The ceremony is happening." He stepped back, creating a physical distance between us. "Now go rest."

I swallowed the bitter taste on my tongue. I pressed a hand to my aching side. He was just stressed about the event. Once he announced me as his mate tonight, Margaret’s cruel words would not matter. I had to trust the bond.

***

Torches illuminated the pack square. Hundreds of wolves gathered, their voices blending into a loud hum of excitement.

I stood in the front row. I wore the traditional white gown, the silk fabric brushing against my bandages. Every breath sent a jolt of pain through my torso.

Ethan stepped onto the wooden platform. The crowd instantly fell silent.

"Alpha Ethan!" a man shouted from the back. "Give us our Luna!"

"Tonight, the Blackwood Pack secures its future." Ethan’s voice boomed across the square. "A pack is only as strong as its leaders. And an Alpha is only as strong as his Luna. The woman who stands beside me must be pure of heart, strong in spirit, and worthy of your loyalty."

I took a step forward, waiting for him to call my name. My heart hammered against my ribs.

"I have made my choice." Ethan raised his chin. "A choice for the strength of our bloodline."

He did not look at me. His gaze locked onto the shadows near the edge of the stage.

Sophia Ashford stepped into the light. She wore a dress identical to mine. Her cheeks were flushed with color, showing absolutely no signs of the life-saving surgery we just shared.

"Sophia Ashford." Ethan reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her up onto the stage. "My chosen mate."

"No." I shook my head, the single word slipping past my lips.

The pack erupted into a deafening roar of approval.

"What is she doing up there?" a woman whispered next to me.

"Isn't Isabella his fated mate?" another asked.

Sophia smiled, stepping up beside him. Ethan pulled her waist flush against his and kissed her deeply in front of everyone.

A violent tear ripped through the center of my chest.

My wolf screamed. The sound echoed inside my skull, loud and agonizing. The mate bond snapped. It felt like someone reached into my ribs and crushed my heart with their bare hands.

My knees hit the dirt.

"Ethan!" I screamed over the cheering crowd.

He broke the kiss. His cold eyes found me kneeling in the dirt. He did not flinch. He did not care.

I clutched my stomach as fresh blood began to seep through my white dress. I had given away my kidney. I had given away my trust.

Sophia looked down at me, a victorious smirk playing on her lips.

My body trembled as the excruciating pain of the severed bond radiated through my veins. The man I loved stood on the stage holding the sister I saved.

I finally realized the truth. I had not just lost my wedding tonight. I had lost my entire future.

A heavy silence suddenly swept over the edges of the crowd. The cheering died down as a massive, unfamiliar shadow detached from the tree line, stepping into the torchlight.

I dragged myself up the stone steps of the pack temple. The cheering from the square still rang in my ears, mocking my shattered bond.

"Ethan!" I shoved the heavy oak doors open.

He stood at the altar, his arm wrapped tightly around Sophia’s waist. They turned.

"What are you doing here, Isabella?" Ethan frowned, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling.

"You swore a vow to me." I choked out the words, pressing a hand to my bleeding side. "You promised I would be your Luna."

Sophia stepped away from him. The sweet, fragile girl from the hospital vanished entirely. She looked me up and down, a sneer twisting her lips.

"A bastard Luna?" Sophia laughed. The sound was sharp and cruel. "Do you really think the pack would bow to an illegitimate mistake?"

"Shut up, Sophia." I glared at her.

"No, you listen." She crossed her arms, tilting her chin up. "You have no noble blood. You are a stain on this family. Putting you on that stage would pollute the entire werewolf race."

"I saved your life!" I stepped closer. The searing pain in my stitches flared, but I refused to stop.

I pointed a trembling finger at her stomach. "You are only standing here because of me! I gave you half my kidney so you wouldn't die!"

Ethan stepped in front of her, shielding her from my anger.

"Enough, Isabella," he commanded. "You did what a sister is supposed to do."

My jaw dropped. "What did you just say?"

"Sophia's body is weak," Ethan said, his expression completely blank. "She needs my protection and my care. You are strong. You will recover."

"I am your fated mate!" I screamed, the injustice burning my throat.

"Stop being unreasonable." He turned his back to me. "The ceremony is over. Go back to your room and stop embarrassing yourself."

I stared at his broad shoulders. My sacrifice meant absolutely nothing to him. It was just a convenient transaction.

I turned around and stumbled out of the temple.

The night passed in a blur of agony. I lay in my dark room, clutching my wounded abdomen, waiting for the dawn.

Shouting jolted me awake the next morning. Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway.

My bedroom door slammed open. Two pack guards marched in.

"Get up," the taller guard ordered.

"What is going on?" I struggled to sit up, wincing as my muscles pulled.

Margaret pushed past the guards. Her eyes darted around my small room with clear disgust.

"Search everything," she snapped.

The guards ripped my mattress off the frame. They threw my few clothes onto the floor, kicking my shoes into the walls.

"Stop!" I yelled, clutching the bedpost to stay upright. "What are you looking for?"

Sophia walked in, burying her face in Ethan's chest. She sobbed loudly.

"My necklace," Sophia wailed. "The Moon Goddess necklace. It's gone."

The heirloom. The silver pendant given only to the future Luna.

"I don't have it," I said, glaring at my stepmother.

"We will see about that," Margaret sneered. "Tear the closet apart."

A guard pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk. He reached under a stack of old notebooks. His hand emerged holding a glittering silver chain.

"Found it, Luna," the guard said, handing the jewelry to Sophia.

The room went dead silent.

"I didn't put that there," I said, my voice shaking. "Someone planted it!"

Sophia clutched the necklace to her chest. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, her bottom lip quivering perfectly.

"Sister, why?" Sophia choked out. "Do you want to be Luna that badly? You tried to ruin my ceremony last night, and now this?"

"You are lying!" I lunged toward her.

A guard shoved me hard in the chest. I fell back onto the bare bed frame, gasping as pain shot through my torso.

"Isabella, how could you?" Ethan glared at me. Disgust twisted his handsome features. "Stealing from your own sister?"

"I didn't do it, Ethan! You have to believe me!"

"She is lying, Alpha."

My father, Richard, stepped into the doorway. He wore a perfectly pressed suit, looking down at me with absolute contempt.

"Dad?" I whispered.

"Do not call me that," Richard said coldly. "I saw her do it."

My stomach plummeted. "What are you talking about?"

"I woke up early this morning," Richard addressed Ethan, completely ignoring my existence. "I saw Isabella sneaking out of Sophia's room. She had her hands shoved deep in her pockets."

"No!" I screamed. "I was in my bed all night! I couldn't even walk because of my stitches!"

"Are you calling your father a liar?" Margaret crossed her arms, a triumphant smirk flashing across her face.

I looked at Richard. The man who gave me life. The man who begged me on his knees to save his legitimate daughter.

He stared right through me. He was willing to destroy me just to secure Sophia's position.

"You set me up," I whispered. The crushing weight of betrayal suffocated me. "All of you."

Ethan shook his head. "I thought you were just jealous, Isabella. I didn't think you were a thief."

"Look at me, Ethan," I begged. "Look into my eyes and tell me you truly believe I did this."

Ethan met my gaze. His eyes held no warmth, no memory of our shared past.

"You are nothing but a jealous rogue to me now," he said.

"Ethan, please—"

"Silence!" His Alpha command rippled through the room, forcing my chin down to my chest.

"The punishment for stealing a sacred pack relic is banishment," Ethan declared.

I gasped, fighting the heavy pressure of his aura.

"Throw her in the dungeons," Ethan ordered the guards. "I will announce her sentence to the pack at sundown."

The guards grabbed my arms, hauling me to my feet. Pain ripped through my surgical wound, but I clamped my mouth shut. I refused to give them the satisfaction of my screams.

As they dragged me past my father, he leaned in close.

"You should have died on that operating table," Richard whispered.

The guards hauled me down the winding stone stairs. The air grew damp and freezing cold.

They tossed me into a cell and slammed the heavy iron door shut. The lock clicked, echoing in the pitch-black space.

I curled into a ball on the filthy floor, finally letting the tears fall.

Then, a low, rumbling growl vibrated from the darkest corner of the cell.

I froze.

Two glowing red eyes opened in the shadows.

I wasn't alone.

The glowing red eyes in my dark cell vanished the moment the heavy iron door swung open. The guards hauled me out of the freezing dungeon and dragged me straight back to the pack square.

"The sentence is exile to the Deadlands." Ethan’s voice rang out across the gathered crowd, cold and final.

"You didn't even investigate!" I shouted, fighting against the iron grip of the two men holding my arms. "You didn't check the security cameras!"

"The stolen necklace was found in your room, Isabella." Ethan stood on the wooden platform, his arms crossed over his broad chest. "The law is absolute."

"I saved your chosen mate's life!"

"And you tried to steal her future." He glared down at me. "Take her away."

"Wait." I ripped my right arm free and pointed at the dark, jagged tree line bordering our territory. "No one survives the Deadlands. The rogues and beasts tear everyone apart."

Ethan remained silent.

"Is that what you want?" Tears spilled over my cheeks, stinging the fresh scratches on my face. "Do you want me to die out there?"

He stepped off the stage. He walked until his polished shoes touched the hem of my ruined hospital gown.

"Of course," Ethan said.

I froze. "What?"

"If you live, someone will always doubt that Sophia is my truly recognized Luna," he stated. His tone held zero remorse. "Your death secures her place. It cleanses the Blackwood name."

He wanted me dead. The man who held my hand in the hospital room, the man who kissed my forehead and promised me a family. He wanted my blood to cement his power.

The final, frayed thread of our mate bond violently snapped.

An invisible blade sliced straight through my heart. I screamed. The sound tore my throat raw. My knees slammed into the hard dirt. I curled forward, gasping for air that refused to fill my lungs.

"Get her out of my sight," Ethan ordered. He turned his back and walked toward Sophia.

"Stand up," the taller guard growled, hauling me to my feet by my hair.

I stumbled forward, my vision swimming with black spots. The crowd parted, watching in total silence as the guards dragged me away from the only home I ever knew.

The sun dipped below the horizon by the time we reached the deep woods. The air turned freezing. My bare feet bled against the sharp rocks and broken branches.

"Hold up," the shorter guard said. He wiped sweat from his forehead and looked around the empty forest. "We are far enough."

"The border is another mile," the tall guard argued.

"Who cares? Alpha Ethan just wants her gone." The short guard turned to me. A nasty smile stretched across his face. "He threw her away. She has no protection."

A cold knot formed in my stomach. "Keep walking. Do your job."

"I make my own job now." He unbuckled his leather belt. The metal buckle clinked in the quiet woods. "You used to walk around the pack house acting so high and mighty. The future Luna. Let's see how high and mighty you are now."

"Don't touch me," I warned, backing away. My stitched abdomen throbbed with every step.

"Grab her," the short guard barked.

The tall one lunged. His heavy hands clamped down on my shoulders, shoving me hard against the rough bark of an oak tree.

"Let me go!" I kicked his shin.

He grunted, slapping me hard across the jaw. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

The short guard stepped in close, grabbing the neckline of my torn dress. "Scream all you want. Nobody is coming for a banished thief."

I brought my knee up, aiming for his groin. He twisted away, but I caught his thigh. He cursed and punched me squarely in the stomach.

Right on my surgical wound.

A blinding, white-hot agony exploded in my gut. I collapsed into the dirt.

But the pain didn't stop at my stitches. It traveled lower, twisting my insides into a brutal knot. A sudden, violent cramp seized my pelvis.

"Get up," the tall guard kicked my side.

I couldn't move. I curled into a tight ball, clutching my lower stomach. Warm, thick liquid rushed down my thighs, soaking into the white fabric of my dress.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" the short guard asked.

I looked down. A massive pool of dark red blood stained the earth beneath me. It wasn't coming from my kidney incision.

"Oh Goddess," I whispered, my voice shaking.

The cramping intensified, ripping through me with the force of a chainsaw. I knew this pain. I had read about it in the pack medical journals.

I was pregnant. Ethan and I had spent one reckless night together before Sophia's surgery.

And now, my body was violently expelling the child.

"My baby," I sobbed, digging my fingernails into the mud. "Help me. Please."

"She's bleeding out," the tall guard backed away, his eyes wide with panic. "If Alpha finds out she was carrying his pup..."

"He told us he wanted her dead!" The short guard drew his hunting knife. "We finish this right now. We bury her here, and no one ever knows."

He raised the blade over his head.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the steel to pierce my chest. I had nothing left to fight for. My mate rejected me. My family framed me. My baby was gone.

A sickening crunch echoed through the trees.

Warm blood splattered across my face.

I opened my eyes. The short guard stood frozen, a silver sword protruding directly from the center of his chest.

He dropped the knife. His body tipped forward, hitting the forest floor with a heavy thud.

The tall guard spun around, drawing his weapon. "Who is there?"

A massive shadow detached from the bushes. A dire wolf, pitch black and twice the size of a normal werewolf, leaped through the air. Its jaws clamped onto the tall guard's neck. One brutal shake, and the guard's neck snapped.

The giant wolf dropped the dead man and shifted. A tall, muscular warrior stood in his place, wiping blood from his mouth.

More figures emerged from the dense fog. Ten men, all clad in heavy black armor, formed a tight circle around the clearing. They held swords coated in fresh blood.

A man walked through the center of the formation. He wore a dark cloak over his broad shoulders. His silver eyes locked onto me, glowing faintly in the dim light.

"Secure the perimeter," the cloaked man ordered. His voice was deep, commanding absolute obedience.

"Yes, Alpha," the warriors replied in unison.

He knelt in the mud beside me. He didn't flinch at the massive pool of blood spreading beneath my legs.

"Who..." I choked on a sob, my vision fading in and out. "Who are you?"

He didn't answer. He slipped one strong arm under my knees and the other behind my back, lifting me effortlessly against his chest. His armor felt ice-cold against my burning skin.

"You are losing too much blood," he said.

"Let me die," I whispered, resting my heavy head against his shoulder. "I have nothing."

He looked down at me. His jaw tightened.

"Bring the future Luna back to the castle," he commanded his men.

Before I could ask him what he meant, darkness swallowed me completely.