Chapter 1
The wedding guests gasped. My mate—my husband of three hours—ripped his mark from my neck in front of everyone. Blood ran down my collarbone. And beside him, wearing my veil, stood my sister.
"I, Alpha Dominic Hale, reject you, Sera Whitmore, as my mate and Luna," he declared, his voice cold enough to freeze the bond between us.
The pack hall went silent. Three hundred wolves watched me bleed on white marble, and not a single one moved.
I couldn't breathe. The rejection burned through my chest like acid dissolving bone. My wolf howled inside me—a sound so broken it didn't feel like mine anymore.
"Dom…" I whispered, my voice cracking. "What are you doing?"
He didn't even look at me. His arm was around Vanessa—my younger sister, my blood—and she pressed against him with a smile so sweet it made me sick.
"I never wanted you, Sera," Dominic said. "The elders forced this mating. But Vanessa is the one I choose. She's stronger, more beautiful, more worthy of standing beside me."
Vanessa tilted her chin, her green eyes gleaming with triumph. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, sis. Just accept it and leave quietly."
My knees hit the floor. The bond was tearing apart inside me—every thread of connection snapping like piano wire. I tasted blood in my mouth. My wolf was clawing at my insides, desperate and dying.
"You planned this," I breathed, staring at them. "Both of you."
Dominic's jaw tightened. "Guards. Escort her out. She's no longer part of this pack."
Two warriors grabbed my arms, hauling me up like I was nothing. Like I was garbage being thrown out. The guests watched—some with pity, most with relief. I'd always been the weak one. The wolfless daughter of a dead Beta. No one would fight for me.
As they dragged me toward the doors, I heard Vanessa's laughter—light and musical and cruel.
"Don't worry," she called out. "I'll take good care of your husband."
The doors slammed behind me. Rain hit my face. I was barefoot, still in my wedding dress, blood soaking through the white silk.
I ran.
I don't know how long or how far. The forest blurred around me—trees, mud, rain, darkness. My body was shutting down. The severed mate bond was killing me slowly, and without a wolf to heal me, I had nothing left.
I collapsed at the edge of a river, my body finally giving out. The water was freezing against my skin, but I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Could barely breathe.
The last thing I saw before darkness took me was a pair of silver eyes watching me from the shadows—cold, ancient, and burning with something I couldn't name.
Then nothing.
"I, Alpha Dominic Hale, reject you, Sera Whitmore, as my mate and Luna," he declared, his voice cold enough to freeze the bond between us.
The pack hall went silent. Three hundred wolves watched me bleed on white marble, and not a single one moved.
I couldn't breathe. The rejection burned through my chest like acid dissolving bone. My wolf howled inside me—a sound so broken it didn't feel like mine anymore.
"Dom…" I whispered, my voice cracking. "What are you doing?"
He didn't even look at me. His arm was around Vanessa—my younger sister, my blood—and she pressed against him with a smile so sweet it made me sick.
"I never wanted you, Sera," Dominic said. "The elders forced this mating. But Vanessa is the one I choose. She's stronger, more beautiful, more worthy of standing beside me."
Vanessa tilted her chin, her green eyes gleaming with triumph. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, sis. Just accept it and leave quietly."
My knees hit the floor. The bond was tearing apart inside me—every thread of connection snapping like piano wire. I tasted blood in my mouth. My wolf was clawing at my insides, desperate and dying.
"You planned this," I breathed, staring at them. "Both of you."
Dominic's jaw tightened. "Guards. Escort her out. She's no longer part of this pack."
Two warriors grabbed my arms, hauling me up like I was nothing. Like I was garbage being thrown out. The guests watched—some with pity, most with relief. I'd always been the weak one. The wolfless daughter of a dead Beta. No one would fight for me.
As they dragged me toward the doors, I heard Vanessa's laughter—light and musical and cruel.
"Don't worry," she called out. "I'll take good care of your husband."
The doors slammed behind me. Rain hit my face. I was barefoot, still in my wedding dress, blood soaking through the white silk.
I ran.
I don't know how long or how far. The forest blurred around me—trees, mud, rain, darkness. My body was shutting down. The severed mate bond was killing me slowly, and without a wolf to heal me, I had nothing left.
I collapsed at the edge of a river, my body finally giving out. The water was freezing against my skin, but I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Could barely breathe.
The last thing I saw before darkness took me was a pair of silver eyes watching me from the shadows—cold, ancient, and burning with something I couldn't name.
Then nothing.