Chapter 1

The Silver Moon Pack had a peculiar engagement tradition.

An Alpha seeking to wed his future Luna had to steal into the bride's home under cover of night, carry her on his back, and fight his way past every obstacle in his path.

I waited three years for Damon. Three years—until the night he finally came, slipping into our territory with a company of Storm Pack soldiers at his back.

I was about to run to him when I heard what he said to his Beta:

"When things get chaotic, we grab Freya. She's fragile—we can't let her marry that vicious Alpha from the Crimson Fang Pack. It would destroy her."

"As for Serena, she had a temper as wild as the wolf inside her. She would fight to the bitter end before she ever submitted, determined to protect herself at all costs."

The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.

"Alpha, are you sure about this? You and Serena received the Moon Goddess's blessing at the Sacred Rite. If she finds out the truth, she won't let us off easy."

"She'll understand." His voice was cold when he said it. Distant. Like a stranger's.

"It'll be dark during the bride-snatching, and there'll be a crowd—mistaking one person for another is perfectly normal. A quick explanation afterward, and she'll forgive me."

"Besides, you all know that ceremony was a sham. And I made Freya a promise—I'd help her avoid this arranged marriage. Serena will just have to bear with it for now."

Behind the door, I heard every word. Every single one.

I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I just walked quietly back to my room.

They expected me to fly into a rage when I discovered the groom had been swapped—to throw a fit and chase the raiding party out, the way I always did.

But I simply climbed onto the stranger's back in silence and became another pack's Luna.

…

"Serena, I have a friend in the Storm Pack. She told me your Sacred Rite was fake—you and Damon never actually received the Moon Goddess's blessing…"

My friend had come to tell me this just a few days ago.

I hadn't believed her. I'd even gotten into a fight with her over it.

Now I sat on the bed and felt something in my chest crack—softly, quietly—into pieces.

Five years engaged to Damon.

For five years, no matter what I did, the Storm Pack's Council of Elders refused to accept me.

Damon's mother never once spoke my name in front of others. She only ever referred to me as "that girl from the Silver Moon Pack."

At their pack gatherings, I was always seated in the most remote corner.

Damon said he didn't want me to feel slighted, so he sent me back to Silver Moon first.

He said he wanted to do things properly—come for me according to our pack's traditions, carry me away in front of everyone.

I went back obediently.

We rarely saw each other after that, but to outsiders, we seemed like a couple very much in love.

I waited three years for him. Every single day, I'd looked forward to this moment.

And he came for another woman.

He had lied to me. Even the Sacred Rite had been a lie.

The one he truly wanted to steal away was my stepsister, Freya.

I looked at the woman in the mirror.

Expressionless. I couldn't tell if she was happy or furious.

The courtyard erupted into noise—the bride-snatching had begun.

People shouting with excitement, laughing, footsteps drawing closer, others blocking the way on purpose.

Firelight stained half the sky red, but the celebration belonged to them. It had nothing to do with me.

The other raiding party was from the Crimson Fang Pack.

They had come to take Freya.

According to Silver Moon tradition, if a bride didn't want to marry the one who came for her, she didn't have to stay in her room. She could hide somewhere else entirely, so they'd never find her.

But Freya hadn't hidden.

She'd been waiting in her room all along, waiting to be taken.

And the one she was waiting for—

Was supposed to be my mate.