I found my mate, the Alpha, on his knees. But it wasn't for me, his Luna. He was tenderly massaging the swollen ankle of Isabella, his pregnant, widowed sister-in-law, with a look of concern I had never once received. For months, he had allowed her to live in our private den, letting her disrespect me at every turn. He cooked her favorite breakfast-a meal he knew would make me violently ill-and lied that it was a gift for me. The final betrayal came when I found her wearing my mother's sacred necklace, a sigil passed down through generations of my family's Lunas. When I confronted her, she let it slip from her fingers with a theatrical gasp, shattering my heritage on the marble floor. Something inside me snapped. I slapped her. Seeing his precious, grieving widow struck, my mate didn't hesitate. He slapped me back. The full force of an Alpha sent me crashing to the ground, my hand landing in the broken shards of my past. Lying there, bleeding, I looked up at the man I was bound to and spoke the forbidden words. "I, Selene of the Silvermoon Pack, reject you, Lycan of the Blackstone Pack, as my Mate." Then I sent a single, clear message through the mind-link to my oldest friend. "He hit me. Bring your warriors. I want this place torn down to the ground."
I found my mate, the Alpha, on his knees.
But it wasn't for me, his Luna. He was tenderly massaging the swollen ankle of Isabella, his pregnant, widowed sister-in-law, with a look of concern I had never once received.
For months, he had allowed her to live in our private den, letting her disrespect me at every turn. He cooked her favorite breakfast-a meal he knew would make me violently ill-and lied that it was a gift for me.
The final betrayal came when I found her wearing my mother's sacred necklace, a sigil passed down through generations of my family's Lunas.
When I confronted her, she let it slip from her fingers with a theatrical gasp, shattering my heritage on the marble floor.
Something inside me snapped. I slapped her.
Seeing his precious, grieving widow struck, my mate didn't hesitate.
He slapped me back.
The full force of an Alpha sent me crashing to the ground, my hand landing in the broken shards of my past.
Lying there, bleeding, I looked up at the man I was bound to and spoke the forbidden words.
"I, Selene of the Silvermoon Pack, reject you, Lycan of the Blackstone Pack, as my Mate."
Then I sent a single, clear message through the mind-link to my oldest friend.
"He hit me. Bring your warriors. I want this place torn down to the ground."
Chapter 1
Selene POV:
The piercing ache in my soul started the moment I saw him.
He was on one knee.
Not for me, his mate, his Luna.
He was kneeling for Isabella, his widowed sister-in-law, in the grand hall of our den. His large, strong hands, the hands of an Alpha, were gently massaging her swollen ankle. The look on his face was one of tender concern, a softness I had never, not once, been the recipient of.
A tremor went through me, a deep, foundational crack in the bond the Moon Goddess had supposedly forged for us. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't breathe the same air as this profound betrayal.
I closed my eyes, reaching out across the hundreds of miles that separated our packs.
"Father."
The connection, the Mind-Link that all pack members share, felt thin and frayed. It was the private channel between myself and my father, Alpha Marcus of the Silvermoon Pack.
"Selene? What is it, my little wolf? You sound... broken." His voice echoed in my mind, full of the warmth and power that an Alpha should possess.
Tears I didn't know I was holding back burned my eyes. "Father, I want to break the bond. I want to reject him."
A wave of pure, unadulterated shock crashed against me through the link. "My daughter, what are you saying? It was you who felt the pull of the Moon Goddess three years ago. You who insisted he was your one true mate."
He was right. Three years ago, at the inter-pack summit, the sight of Alpha Lycan of the Blackstone Pack had felt like a lightning strike. His scent-a storm brewing over a pine forest-had screamed to a primal part of my soul. My inner wolf had howled a single, possessive word: "Mine." But that felt like a lifetime ago.
"He's letting her live here, Father. In the Alpha's den," I sobbed silently, my voice a ragged whisper in our shared mental space. "Isabella. She uses her pregnancy as an excuse for everything. She wanders into our private wing, she knocks on our bedroom door late at night, wearing nothing but a silk robe, claiming she had a nightmare about his brother."
A low growl, the sound of a true Alpha's fury, rumbled through the link, so powerful it made my teeth vibrate.
"He dares? He dares to so openly humiliate the bloodline of Silvermoon?"
"He just now... he was on his knees for her, Father. Touching her." I couldn't bring myself to say more.
The rage that came back was a tidal wave. "Enough! Selene, prepare yourself. The Silvermoon Pack is severing all treaties with Blackstone. Every dollar of our investment will be pulled!"
The connection snapped shut, leaving a ringing silence in my head. The grief that had been choking me for months suddenly cooled, hardening into something cold and sharp.
I would not cry. I would not beg for the affection of a mate who so clearly had none to give me.
Turning my back on the scene in the hall, I walked back to my bedroom. Our bedroom. I calmly lit a bundle of dried moonpetal, the calming herb, and let the soft, floral smoke fill the air.
The door swung open without a knock.
Isabella stood there, a hand flying to her nose in an exaggerated gesture of disgust. "Oh, Moon Goddess, Selene. That smell. It can't be good for the baby."
For the first time in three years, I didn't shrink back. I didn't try to placate her.
I met her gaze, my voice as cold as a winter night. "Who gave you permission to enter the Luna's bedroom?"
Her eyes immediately welled with tears, her lower lip trembling. "I-I'm so sorry, Selene. I just... I was just coming to see if you were alright."
Then, a voice from the attached bathroom cut through the air, a voice that belonged to my mate. "Isabella, just wait for me outside for a moment."
The words were a physical blow. He didn't defend me. He didn't question her presence. He just... accepted it.
Lycan emerged, a towel slung low on his hips, water dripping from his dark hair. His eyes, the color of molten gold, narrowed when he saw the smoke. "Put that out."
"No," I said, my voice quiet but firm. "I am the Luna of this pack. This is my home. I will not be made to feel like a guest."
Isabella, ever the actress, stepped forward, placing a hand on Lycan's bare arm. "Lycan, please don't fight. It's my fault. I shouldn't have bothered you. Don't be upset with your sister, she just... she doesn't understand."
"Sister." The word was a calculated insult. I was his mate, not his "sister."
And he let her say it. He didn't even flinch.
The last flicker of hope in my heart died out, leaving nothing but cold, hard ash.
---
Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
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Chapter 3
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Chapter 4
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Chapter 5
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Chapter 6
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Chapter 7
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Chapter 8
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Chapter 9
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Chapter 10
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Chapter 11
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