Chapter 1

On the night of the Blood Moon Ritual,my older brother Kael and my fated mate Damian dressed me up like prey,all to amuse my stepsister Selena.

Selena cackled as she tore my clothes to shreds.

She daubed runes across my face with blood and paint,then kicked me straight down into the rot pit filled with decaying corpses.

When I was hauled back out,clan members held up their phones,filming every humiliating detail of my state.

Kael waved his hand in open disgust.

Selena grinned.“Happy Blood Moon Ritual,Ilara.”

Damian shrugged it off carelessly.“It was nothing but a game.”

Overnight,the footage of me naked and ruined spread all across the werewolf clan.

Kael blamed me for disgracing the Silvermoon Wolf Clan and drove me out of the cabin.

Damian ripped up our fated mate bond contract without a second thought.

I simply nodded once,not a single word of argument slipping past my lips.

They had no idea the vengeance pact I’d sealed with my ancestral spirits only had three days left to run.

…

In the courtyard,my father,the pack's Alpha—Alistair—whipped me with a silver-laced whip.

“Shameless!Filthy trash!”

I didn't explain.I just bit my lip.

In a wolf pack,arguing only leads to harsher“discipline.”

Just a few days after being found and returned to the pack,Selena accused me of stealing her“Tear of the Moon God”necklace.

My parents ordered a search of my den,and my brother Kyle tore my clothes off in front of everyone for a humiliating inspection.

They found nothing.

I thought I might get an apology.

Instead,Kyle slapped me so hard one of my canines came loose.

“You must have sold Selena's necklace to another pack!Where are the goods you traded it for?”

My den was tiny.I had nothing on me to trade.

I tried to explain,but he just hit me harder,yelling that I was unrepentant.

I cowered in the corner as he kicked me with his giant wolf paws until I spat up blood.

Suddenly,Selena gasped,“I found it.”

The gem necklace sparkled in her hand.The sight of it was blinding.

I looked at Kyle.There was no guilt on his face.He just said flatly,

“It was a small misunderstanding.Forget about it.”

“I'm Selena's brother.I trust her completely.”