The crown is cold against my palms. I stand at the altar in front of five hundred wolves, wearing white silk that cost more than most pack members earn in a year. The Luna crown—silver and moonstone, ancient and heavy—waits on the velvet pillow between Kael's hands and mine. This is supposed to be the happiest moment of my life. Kael Thorne, Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack, stands across from me. His jaw is carved from stone. His eyes are the color of winter storms. Three months ago, he told me I was his fated mate. Three months ago, he marked me in the darkness of his bedroom, his teeth breaking my skin, the bond snapping into place like a lock finding its key. I felt it. The mate bond. Real and electric and undeniable. Now, he won't look at me. "Kael?" I whisper. The Elder raises his hands. "We gather under the full moon to witness the crowning of our Luna. Sera Ashwood, do you accept this bond? Do you vow to lead beside your Alpha, to protect this pack with your life, to bear the heirs of Silvercrest?" "I do," I say. My voice shakes. The Elder turns to Kael. "And do you, Alpha Kael Thorne, accept this bond? Do you claim Sera Ashwood as your Luna, your mate, your equal in all things?" Silence. The kind of silence that drowns. Kael's hands drop from the crown. He steps back. "No," he says. The word echoes through the ceremony hall. Someone gasps. My mother makes a sound like she's been stabbed. "What?" I can barely breathe. Kael finally looks at me. His expression is empty. "I reject you, Sera Ashwood. I reject this bond." The pain hits me like a physical blow. The mate bond—already formed, already sealed—tears inside my chest. I stumble backward. My hand flies to my neck, to his mark, which suddenly burns like acid. "You can't," I choke out. "You already marked me. The bond is—" "Broken," he says coldly. "I, Kael Thorne, Alpha of Silvercrest, sever the mate bond with Sera Ashwood. I reject her as my Luna." The formal words have power. Magic. The bond shreds inside me, ripping through my chest, my stomach, my soul. I fall to my knees. The white dress pools around me like a surrender flag. "Why?" I gasp. He doesn't answer. Instead, he turns to the crowd. "I claim another." The doors at the back of the hall open. She walks in like she owns the world. Lyanna Frost. Daughter of the Frost Pack Alpha. Beautiful in the way that weapons are beautiful—sharp and cold and deadly. Her dress is red. Blood red. She walks straight to Kael and takes his hand. "This is my chosen mate," Kael announces. "Lyanna Frost will be your Luna." The crowd erupts. Shouting. Confusion. My father is on his feet, rage contorting his face. My mother is crying. My best friend Mira is trying to push through the crowd to reach me. But I can't move. I can't breathe. Lyanna looks down at me. She smiles. "Poor thing," she says sweetly. "Did you really think he'd choose you?" Kael's hand is on her waist. Possessive. The same way he used to touch me. "Get her out of here," he says to his Beta. Marcus, Kael's second-in-command, approaches me carefully. His eyes are full of pity. "Sera, come on. Let me help you—" "Don't touch me." I force myself to stand. My legs shake. The bond is still tearing, still burning, still dying inside me. I look at Kael one last time. "You marked me," I say. "You told me I was yours. You said—" "I lied," he says simply. The words are a knife between my ribs. I turn and run. I run through the crowd, through the judging eyes and the whispers and the pity. I run out of the ceremony hall, into the night, into the forest that borders the pack grounds. Behind me, I hear Kael's voice, amplified by Alpha command: "Let the ceremony continue. Tonight, I claim Lyanna Frost as my Luna." I run until my lungs burn. I run until I can't hear the cheering anymore. I run until I collapse against a tree, sobbing so hard I think I might die from it. The mate bond is gone. Severed. In its place is a wound that feels like it will never heal. I press my hand to my stomach. And I feel it. The flutter. The tiny spark of life. I'm pregnant. With Kael's child. The child he doesn't know exists. The heir to Silvercrest that he just threw away when he threw me away. I look up at the full moon through the trees. My wolf howls inside me, broken and grieving. "I'll protect you," I whisper to the life growing inside me. "I swear it. He'll never know. He'll never hurt you the way he hurt me." I stand on shaking legs. I have to leave. Tonight. Before anyone finds out. Before Kael discovers what I'm carrying. Because if he knew about this baby, he'd take it from me. And I'd rather die than let that happen. I take one last look at the pack grounds in the distance. At the only home I've ever known. Then I turn my back on it all and disappear into the darkness. ---