Chapter 1

I broke with my entire pack to be with Damon Hale, pregnant before any mating ceremony.

Six months later, Damon rose to become the youngest Alpha ever named across the Northern Territories, and every wolf said I'd bet on the right male.

But the day before my labor, Damon still hadn't come.

That night, he called me.

"I'm taking my Luna tonight. Stay quiet. Don't contact me."

I stared down at the water that had just broken between my legs, stunned like a wolf struck by lightning.

His voice on the other end was light, almost cheerful.

"Seraphine waited three years for me. Now that I'm Alpha, I can finally make her my Luna."

My voice cracked as I forced the words out. "What about me and the pup?"

He sounded bored. "You'll still whelp it."

"I'll buy you a den somewhere, we'll raise him together. You'll stay with me either way. Where else can you go? Your pack cast you out."

A contraction tore through me. I nearly blacked out.

I forced one word through my teeth. "Fine."

I'm not going back to my pack. And I'm not staying with you either.

Almost at the same moment, a livestream link went up across the Hale Pack feed.

It was Damon, in a sharp black suit, looking happy.

He was leading Seraphine through the hall, toasting his warriors.

In the background his friends were shouting, "Congratulations, Alpha! You finally claimed your Luna!"

"Fated pair, at last!"

"Alpha and Luna, the real one!"

Every wolf was congratulating them on finally reaching the end.

The sterile bite of the pack infirmary, contractions hitting harder each time—none of it fit the warm, happy noise coming out of the livestream.

No one mentioned me.

The contractions got stronger. Sweat the size of beans dripped down my face.

I bit through the pain and typed a comment into the live feed.

"May you be bonded forever."

"But I'm going into labor. Can someone send help?"

A second later, the stream cut out.

Damon's call came through right after, already accusing me.

"Elara, what are you trying to pull? Did you come here just to disgust us?"

My voice shook through another contraction. "I'm not pulling anything. I'm in the infirmary. I'm about to whelp. I need someone with me."

Damon couldn't hear how weak I was. He'd already decided I was making trouble.

"Enough. You just want to ruin my ceremony with Seraphine. You want to make her uncomfortable."

"Elara, I'm telling you, Seraphine isn't like you. She's willing to accept you."

"Behave yourself, and Seraphine and I won't treat you badly."

He sighed. His voice was full of weary patience.

Listening to how calm he was, I almost laughed.

Was I supposed to thank him?

Thank him for taking another female as Luna? Thank his proper mate for being willing to accept me?

I'd always thought the ceremony didn't matter.

As long as the three of us were together, Damon wouldn't mistreat me.

But now the truth was lying there, raw and bloody.

He'd never meant to make me Luna. The pup and I were a joke.

The tears came out hot, everything that had been choking me pouring down my face.

"Damon, why! You said you loved me! You said you'd make me your Luna!"

There was a pause on the other end. Then he laughed, a short, sharp sound.

"Elara, you actually believed the things a male says to calm his female in bed?"

"You really don't know where you stand. How could I ever take a female who broke with her own pack as Luna?"

"Look, I do like you. Even without the ceremony I'll still take care of you."

He said it like he was right. Like I was the one being unreasonable.

"I'm done. My Luna's calling me—" The call cut dead.

Then the healer walked in, a look of disgust on her face.

She must have heard me on the call. She'd decided I was the mistress.

Her right hand went between my legs, rough, forcing me open, stirring again and again.

"Only three fingers open. What are you screaming for?"

"A mistress, howling this loud—"

"It hurts!" I couldn't hold it in. My whole body shook.

"Hurt's what you get. Trying to climb into a mate bond with a pup. Breaking up someone else's family. Serves you right!"

She dropped the words and slammed the door.

I held my phone.

I didn't know who to call.

I touched my swollen belly, and for the first time I hesitated about bringing him into the world.

Looking down at the string of red exclamation marks in the mind-link thread, I felt bitterness rise.

He was that afraid of me ruining his ceremony.

The contractions kept hitting, one worse than the last. I curled around my belly on the cot.

I looked at the moon-bond pendant he'd put around my neck last year.

I remembered that day. He'd knelt on one knee, looking up at me with pity in his eyes.

"Elara, you've worked so hard. I swear I'll become Alpha. I'll give you the life you deserve."

"When the pup comes, I'll throw you the grandest mating ceremony this territory has ever seen."

Before all of this, Damon had been a beam of light across my life.

He made me feel safe. He said he'd take care of me.

It had all been a hunt.