Chapter 1
On the night of my engagement banquet, my fiancé poured wolfsbane wine down my throat, announced he loved my stepsister, and told three hundred guests I wasn't worthy of his last name.
My hands clawed at my burning throat. The wolfsbane scorched through me like liquid fire, shutting down my wolf, severing my ability to mindlink anyone.
Damien stood at the altar that was supposed to be ours, holding Serena's hand, smiling like he hadn't just tried to kill me.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Damien's voice boomed through the microphone, "I regret to inform you there's been a change of bride tonight. Serena is my true mate. Aria was just... a placeholder."
The crowd gasped — then laughed.
Three years. I'd spent three years planning this wedding with him. Three years of loving him with every broken piece of my heart.
And Serena — my stepsister — stood in a white dress that looked eerily similar to the one I'd designed for myself.
My knees buckled. I grabbed the edge of a table, knocking over crystal glasses.
"Damien—" I choked, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. "The wine... there was wolfsbane in the wine..."
Damien didn't even look at me.
Serena giggled, leaning into his arm. "Oh my God, she's doing it again. The dramatics. Damien, I told you she'd make a scene."
"Damien, please—" I crawled forward, my vision swimming. "I need a doctor. I'm dying."
He finally turned. His eyes held nothing but contempt.
"You're not dying, Aria. You're embarrassing yourself. Just like you always do."
Serena whispered something in his ear. He nodded, then addressed the crowd again.
"I apologize for the disruption. My ex-fiancée has always had a flair for the dramatic. Please, enjoy the evening."
The wolfsbane was destroying me from the inside. I could feel my organs shutting down one by one. My wolf howled somewhere deep and unreachable, trapped behind a wall of poison.
I fumbled for my phone in my clutch.
One call. I just needed to make one call.
My father would come. He always came.
He was the most powerful Alpha on this continent — the Blood Moon Alpha King, feared by every pack within a thousand miles. If he knew what was happening to me, he would raze this entire building to the ground.
My trembling fingers found my phone. I managed to unlock it, pulled up his contact—
A stiletto heel crushed my hand into the marble floor.
Serena ground her foot down, and I heard my fingers crack.
"Oops." She smiled sweetly. "Can't have you calling anyone to ruin my engagement party, can we?"
She picked up my phone and dropped it into a champagne flute.
"Serena—" I gasped, tears streaming. "I will die. The wolfsbane concentration—"
"God, you're exhausting." She rolled her eyes. "It's a tiny amount. You'll be fine in a few hours. Stop being such a baby."
It wasn't a tiny amount. I could taste the concentration. Whoever prepared this wanted me dead, or close to it.
Damien appeared above me, his shadow blocking the chandelier light. For one moment, I thought I saw worry in his eyes.
"Damien," I whispered. "Please. Feel our bond. You know I'm not faking."
His jaw clenched. He crouched down.
Hope flickered in my chest.
Then he ripped the engagement ring off my finger so roughly it tore skin.
"There is no bond, Aria. There never was. I felt nothing for you from the start."
He stood and walked back to Serena, slipping MY ring onto her finger.
The crowd applauded.
And I lay on the cold marble floor, poisoned, broken, watching my fiancé kiss my stepsister at what was supposed to be my wedding.
The last thing I saw before my vision went black was Serena looking down at me, mouthing two words:
*Stay down.*
My hands clawed at my burning throat. The wolfsbane scorched through me like liquid fire, shutting down my wolf, severing my ability to mindlink anyone.
Damien stood at the altar that was supposed to be ours, holding Serena's hand, smiling like he hadn't just tried to kill me.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Damien's voice boomed through the microphone, "I regret to inform you there's been a change of bride tonight. Serena is my true mate. Aria was just... a placeholder."
The crowd gasped — then laughed.
Three years. I'd spent three years planning this wedding with him. Three years of loving him with every broken piece of my heart.
And Serena — my stepsister — stood in a white dress that looked eerily similar to the one I'd designed for myself.
My knees buckled. I grabbed the edge of a table, knocking over crystal glasses.
"Damien—" I choked, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. "The wine... there was wolfsbane in the wine..."
Damien didn't even look at me.
Serena giggled, leaning into his arm. "Oh my God, she's doing it again. The dramatics. Damien, I told you she'd make a scene."
"Damien, please—" I crawled forward, my vision swimming. "I need a doctor. I'm dying."
He finally turned. His eyes held nothing but contempt.
"You're not dying, Aria. You're embarrassing yourself. Just like you always do."
Serena whispered something in his ear. He nodded, then addressed the crowd again.
"I apologize for the disruption. My ex-fiancée has always had a flair for the dramatic. Please, enjoy the evening."
The wolfsbane was destroying me from the inside. I could feel my organs shutting down one by one. My wolf howled somewhere deep and unreachable, trapped behind a wall of poison.
I fumbled for my phone in my clutch.
One call. I just needed to make one call.
My father would come. He always came.
He was the most powerful Alpha on this continent — the Blood Moon Alpha King, feared by every pack within a thousand miles. If he knew what was happening to me, he would raze this entire building to the ground.
My trembling fingers found my phone. I managed to unlock it, pulled up his contact—
A stiletto heel crushed my hand into the marble floor.
Serena ground her foot down, and I heard my fingers crack.
"Oops." She smiled sweetly. "Can't have you calling anyone to ruin my engagement party, can we?"
She picked up my phone and dropped it into a champagne flute.
"Serena—" I gasped, tears streaming. "I will die. The wolfsbane concentration—"
"God, you're exhausting." She rolled her eyes. "It's a tiny amount. You'll be fine in a few hours. Stop being such a baby."
It wasn't a tiny amount. I could taste the concentration. Whoever prepared this wanted me dead, or close to it.
Damien appeared above me, his shadow blocking the chandelier light. For one moment, I thought I saw worry in his eyes.
"Damien," I whispered. "Please. Feel our bond. You know I'm not faking."
His jaw clenched. He crouched down.
Hope flickered in my chest.
Then he ripped the engagement ring off my finger so roughly it tore skin.
"There is no bond, Aria. There never was. I felt nothing for you from the start."
He stood and walked back to Serena, slipping MY ring onto her finger.
The crowd applauded.
And I lay on the cold marble floor, poisoned, broken, watching my fiancé kiss my stepsister at what was supposed to be my wedding.
The last thing I saw before my vision went black was Serena looking down at me, mouthing two words:
*Stay down.*