Chapter 1 THE LUNA'S DOUBT
The night air was thick with pine and frost, and the moon hung low over the Silverfang territory like a silent witness.
Luna Aria Blackwood stood on the balcony of the Alpha mansion, her silver gown rippling softly in the breeze. The laughter and music from the grand hall behind her couldn’t drown out the unease clawing at her chest.
Her heart should’ve been light tonight.
It was the eve of the Blood Moon Festival, the night when the pack celebrates unity, loyalty, and the sacred bond between Alpha and Luna. Her bond. Her marriage.
But Kael hadn’t touched her hand once all evening.
Aria’s fingers trembled as she lifted the glass of wine to her lips. She could feel Kael across the room, surrounded by warriors and elders, with his deep voice commanding attention. That's her Alpha, her mate, the man who once made her world burn with devotion.
Lately, his fire had turned cold.
The link between them, that invisible bond that connects every mated pair is pulsing faintly in her chest, like a dying ember. Once, it had been a roar, wild and alive. Now it was just a whisper.
“Luna,” came a soft voice behind her.
It was Mira, her Beta and closest friend. Her expression was careful, too careful. “The Alpha’s asking for you. He says it’s time for the ceremonial toast.”
Aria smile softly. “Of course.”
As she entered the hall, every head turned. The music dimmed and the wolves bowed respectfully. The scent of roasted venison and burning cedar filled the air. Kael stood by the table, a tall, commanding figure dressed in black. His stormy gray eyes that are sharp as blades flicked to hers.
He looked at her the way an Alpha looks at his Luna before claiming her in front of the pack, but the warmth was gone. His stare was cold and distant.
“Brothers and sisters,” Kael began, his voice deep. “Tonight we honor the Blood Moon and the bond that keeps the Silverfangs pack united. We are strength. We are loyalty. And we are one pack.”
Applause followed, loud and proud. Aria lifted her glass beside him, while smiling through the hollow ache in her chest. Kael’s arm brushed hers. It was fleeting and impersonal.
The glasses clinked. The wine burned down her throat.
But even as cheers echoed, her wolf, Lyra, growled low in her mind.
'Something’s wrong'.
Aria’s gaze drifted over the crowd and she froze.
A young woman stood near the far column, half-hidden in the shadows. Long auburn hair, with eyes like molten gold, and a hand pressed over her stomach as if cradling a secret. Selene.
Kael’s Beta’s sister.
And when Kael’s gaze flicked briefly toward that same woman, for barely a second, but enough for Aria to feel the faint spark of the bond between her and her mate tremble and falter.
The glass slipped from her fingers and shattered against the marble floor.
The hall went silent.
Kael turned sharply, his jaw clenching. “Aria.” His voice carried quiet authority, not concern, not affection. Just command. “Are you well?”
Every eye was on her. The pack that adored her stared at their Luna who never faltered.
She steadied herself, while forcing her heart to still. “Just… dizzy, Alpha.” she murmured.
Mira rushed forward to help, but Aria lifted a hand. “I’m fine.”
Kael’s expression softened but barely. “Then rest. I’ll finish the ceremony.”
Rest?
Not come with me.
Not I’ll take care of you, my Luna.
Just rest.
Aria bowed her head to him and left the hall with her chest tight and her vision blurring. As the doors closed behind her, the laughter resumed.
Outside, under the cold light of the moon, Aria pressed a hand to her chest where the bond should’ve burned bright.
Instead, it flickered weakly, as if her mate’s heart no longer beat in rhythm with hers.
Her wolf snarled inside her. 'He’s hiding something'.
Aria’s breath trembled. “I know.”
She walked through the courtyard, the night heavy around her. Wolves passed by, bowing respectfully, unaware that their Luna’s world was cracking open.
When she reached the pack’s sacred pool, the place where she and Kael first swore their vows before the Moon Goddess, she stopped.
Moonlight shimmered over the water, bright and cold.
She remembered that night, his hand gripped hers, and he whispered his promise against her neck:
> “You are my forever, Aria. My moonlight, my mate, my equal.”
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. Equal.
What a beautiful lie.
Behind her, a twig snapped. She spun around and found Selene standing there. She looked pale and trembling with her eyes full of guilt.
“Luna,” Selene whispered, with her voice shaking. “Please… forgive me.”
The words struck like lightning. “For what?” Aria demanded, her voice sharp enough to cut through the night.
Tears welled in the girl’s eyes. She pressed a trembling hand to her stomach. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. The Alpha said...."
Aria’s world tilted. The bond in her chest pulsed once, violently, then went still.
Her breath hitched. “What did he say, Selene?”
“That he needed an heir,” Selene whispered, her voice breaking. “And the Moon chose me.”
For a moment, there was silence. Then the roar of Aria’s wolf ripped through her, it sounded with rage, heartbreak, disbelief.
Aria's knees hit the dirt as the power in her blood screamed to be unleashed. The bond between her and Kael burned and then snapped.
Somewhere far off, wolves howled in alarm.
Aria clutched her chest, the invisible string between teared apart, leaving her hollow.
The mark on her neck , Kael's mark, glowed faintly, then faded to ash.
The Moon above seemed to weep with her.
When she finally looked up, her tears had dried into fury and her eyes turned red.
“I gave him everything,” she whispered, voice low and deadly. “And he took everything from me.”
Selene backed away, fear flashing in her eyes. “Luna....”
“Don’t call me that.”
Just then, They heard footsteps approached them.
"What's going on here? Why did you roar Luna?" Kael appeared with the other pack members and asked.
"What have you done, Kael? How could you break our bond and cheat on me?" Aria asked tearfully.
"I needed an heir, Aria. I can't just sit back and wait for you to be fruitful." Kael said without no sign of remorse.
The wolves began to murmur and whisper amongst themselves. Aria's head starts spinning.
"So... this is how it is, right? You're just going to stand there and humiliate me? After cheating on me?" Aria rose and challenged him. "You cheated on me, yet you're acting as if I'm the one wrong."
'How dare him?' her wolf, Lyra snarled inside her.
