Chapter 1

1.

"Luna, are you certain you wish to proceed with the Bond Severance rite? Once it begins, the sacred connection between you and the Alpha will be permanently severed. Your power, your station, everything you hold within the pack―it will all be forfeit."

The aged she-wolf priestess held Faye's hands, her ancient eyes clouded with worry.

Faye nodded. Her voice was calm. Absolute.

"I'm certain."

The priestess tried once more. "This will bring you unimaginable pain. And the Alpha will suffer a crippling blow as well. You are the Moon's Heart of this pack, our very pulse. Please, reconsider."

"No need."

Faye took up a silver stylus, sliced open her fingertip, and pressed a blood print onto a consent form written in the Old Tongue. "Begin."

"Very well. After the rite, you will relinquish the name Faye. In return, the Moon Goddess will bestow upon you a new identity. You've chosen... Fern, is that correct?"

"Yes."

Fern. Fern, flying far away. A new life, reborn in the forest.

That was the future she had mapped out for herself.

She was going to leave this place for good. Leave this pack drowning in lies.

When the rite concluded, the priestess handed her a new set of human documents and a passport. "May I leave the territory now?"

"You may. The receipt slip carries the Moon Goddess's blessing. It will temporarily mask your scent, making it impossible for the Alpha to track you. But the effect lasts only one week."

Faye had prepared everything at top speed.

But the rest―the Luna's scepter, her name on the ancestral scrolls―she took none of it.

In a week, she would be gone, new passport in hand. The Luna's identity could be buried here forever. She didn't need it anymore.

She stepped out of the sanctuary, new passport in hand. Across from her stood Silvermoon City's landmark―the Apex Group tower.

The massive screen on the building's facade was broadcasting an interview with Alpha Kael.

The host, sharp enough to catch his small movements, smiled and asked, "Mr. Kael, I notice you keep touching your ring. But it seems to be just a very ordinary moonlace silver band. Is there something special about it?"

Kael's smile softened. He raised his hand for the camera. "This is my bond token. Moonlace silver is a special metal blessed by the Moon Goddess. Exceptionally pure. It causes us wolves no harm―on the contrary, it holds the power of the bond."

"Oh, forgive me. I assumed someone of your status would have a token set with ancient gemstones. Something far more ornate."

Kael said, "I made this myself the first time I successfully shifted. I forged it with my own hands for my Luna, using moonlace silver. I shaped it, polished it, and engraved our initials inside the band."

"Oh, there really are two sets of letters. K and..."

"S," Kael said. "My Luna's name is Faye."

"Goodness. Your Luna is a lucky woman. She must have saved the entire wolf race in a past life to be your fated mate."

Kael simply said, "Truthfully, I was the one who saved an entire galaxy in a past life. The Moon Goddess blessed me by making her my Luna."

Almost every voice in the passing crowd was full of envy.

All except the one person who actually mattered.

Faye.

A thin, sardonic smile touched her lips.

Her bond with Kael had been real once. From their first meeting under the moonlight as juveniles to becoming Alpha and Luna, they had walked fifteen years together.

In the eyes of every pack member, they were the Moon-blessed perfect pair.

Until two months ago.

Through the fated bond, she felt something. A violent surge of pleasure that came from Kael's body, but did not belong to her.

It was a strange, feral scent. And then, moments later, an anonymous magic-image arrived.

The young she-wolf in the image was Lila. She wore a seductive nightgown. From her neck to her chest, she was covered in bite marks and deep scratches―the unmistakable evidence of a brutal, recent coupling.

No guesswork required. She had just come from a "session."

She threw up a V-sign at the viewer.

And on her index finger, she wore a silver ring. It was a size too large, clearly a man's band.

Engraved on the ring was a line of letters: K & S.

Later, Faye met Lila in Kael's office.

Lila was Kael's newly promoted assistant.

In that moment, Faye's mind went somewhat blank.

She truly wanted to storm into Kael's office and ask him one question: "Does the Alpha's assistant's job description also cover satisfying his primal urges?"

But later, she let it go.

That image. The marks all over Lila's body. The raw sense of betrayal bleeding through the bond. The answers were already written there.

Faye turned and walked away from the gasps and envious murmurs of the crowd. She walked into an old jewelry workshop.

When she pulled the ring off her left ring finger, she felt as if a piece of her own soul had been ripped away.

"Ma'am, what work do you need done?"

"This ring. I want it melted down."

"This is a moonlace silver bond token. It has engravings on it. It must hold sacred meaning. Are you really sure you want it melted?"

"Yes. As quickly as possible, please."

Half an hour later, Faye returned home carrying a small box carved from obsidian, designed to seal away aura and scent.

It was deep into the night when Kael came back.

He held a bouquet of moonlace blossoms in his hand. "Sorry, Sera. Pack business has been overwhelming lately. I haven't had time for you. I brought your favorite moonlace flowers. Do you like them?"

He leaned in close. Faye caught a scent clinging to his body―a cloying, cheap sweetness that belonged to Lila.

She turned her head slightly and saw a small patch of teeth marks on his Adam's apple.

And on his shirt collar, a woman's lipstick stain.

Bright red. Unmistakable.

Faye let out a cold laugh to herself. Pack business? Or were you just busy plowing Lila's field?

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Faye pushed him away. "Just a little tired."

"Let me carry you to bed to rest?"

He crouched down, ready to scoop her up.

Faye pushed him away again. "You're tired too. Take a shower and get some rest."

Kael reached for her hand, then suddenly froze. "Sera, where's your bond token?"