ess. I spent years loving him in secret, certain he would fin
d used my own blood in a secret ritual to bind himself to her, a political ma
n two. He allowed his new bride to frame me for treason, destroy my home, and erase my history. He stood by while hi
Then he came to me in the ruins of my life and asked me to be h
a Luna in my own right, powerful and finally free. But my rejected mate's obsession festered. A year later, he lured me into a tr
pte
VANC
lmed my soul. Tonight, it did nothing to soothe the frantic beating of my heart. The
mony. The night our Alpha, Lucian Blac
he would finally announce
s I'd chosen. It wasn't as lavish as what the other she-wolves would wear, but I hoped he
ed to reach him through our mind-link, the connectio
coming to the k
e an eternity. "Busy,
He was an Alpha, the leader of the powerful Black Moon Pack. His responsib
wriggle in my gut. I needed reassu
ves of the Council of Elders. The official records of
over his spectacles. "Elara. What brings you here on a nig
anted to see something, Silas. To co
ated, then sighed and turned to a heavy, dark-red book on a pedestal
e read softly. "Mate:
ed in my throat. It felt like the world had tilted on
that's a mistake. I am his mat
at the entry. "The bond was formalized two months ago. A
onths
holding a small silver knife. "Just a drop of blood, my love," he'd murmured, his vo
eely, lovingly. I
r a contract I knew nothing about
I clutched my chest, trying to force air into my lungs. I reache
is this? What
h ice. Then, with a brutal finality, he severed the connection. The
voice barely a whisper.
ask of sorrow. "The formal bonding cerem
tole the air from my lungs. The future I had poured my entire soul into, the l
ing else rose from the depths: a hot,
n the shadows. He would not
g like a costume for a fool. I was going to that ceremony.
ing to deman
s, his silver hair gleaming in the twilight, his eyes sharp with a wisdom that missed nothing
d, his voice quiet. "And her stubborn