Prologue

RIVER BROWN

“The event is nothing but a formality, Mal. You know that, baby”

“You chose her to be your Luna, that doesn’t look like a ‘formality’ to me Landon. You chose her instead of me- “

“I love you”, Landon caresses her cheek, I watch with a knife stuck to my ribs as they make out, as they tear clothes off each other with lust, as they proceed to the bed reckless of my presence just by the door.

The bed dips to accumulate their bodies, the bed covers shift in abandon as they kiss like reincarnated lovers.

I’m still standing by the door, trying to take sharp inhales of the cloying air, trying to breath as if that would make the events in front of me sting a little less.

The irony isn’t lost on me that there are hundreds of people downstairs waiting for me and my mate.

The same mate who is rocking into a naked woman that happens to be my younger sister.

I open my mouth to say something, to call them out on their behavior but my voice balls in my throat traitorously refusing to come out.

If I talk, I’ll cry.

If I cry, I’ll give them some sort of satisfaction that they’ve hurt me.

If I call Landon’s name, all the memories of us together will haunt me till I’m nothing short of a crying mess and a melted puddle.

I’ll be forced to remember the first day I met him and felt our mate bond.

The first time this man with the amber brown hair, almond-shaped light blue eyes, high, straight nose, well defined cheekbones and a jaw so sharp it could cut through stone first came into our village.

How he, Landon O’Connor, Alpha of the Silver Bullet pack, chose me River Brown, a simple village girl at the age of twenty-one as his luna.

I’ll be forced to remember his smooth caress as he said he didn’t care that I hadn’t shifted into my wolf since I turned seventeen.

As I watch Malia scratch the naked hard ridges of his back moaning in pleasure, I’m left to wonder that maybe me not shifting is the root cause of all of this.

All this is my fault.

I cover my mouth with one of my shaking hands a sob erupting deep from my aching chest while the other hand lays cold on the door knob.

Close the door. Pretend you’ve seen nothing. Suck it up like a buttercup. Landon did you a favor for choosing a wolf-less woman like you.

Instead of listening to my haunting thoughts, I slam the door wide open.

The tears are freefalling from my cheeks now and I don’t give a hoot.

Malia shrieks covering her naked body-as if there’s something to look at in the first place.

Landon, always calm and composed, six feet tall with an athlete’s body, covers half his naked body.

To think I have never seen him naked. I have never been on the receiving end of what Malia just experienced minutes ago.

“River”, he’s standing in front of me now with Malia hiding behind him on the bed.

The tears in my eyes have escalated to fat chunks of water that pool and obscure my vision.

“H-how could you…how could you—with her? My sister?”

My voice cracks.

Landon remains quiet.

I can smell his scent. A scent distorted by Malia’s apricot perfume, sweat and the smell of sex.

Not holding back, I cross the threshold separating me and him and I do the one thing simple River Brown has never done.

I slap an Alpha.

“I hate you” Slap “I hate both of you” slap “You both disgust me. You deserve- “

“What did you think would happen, River? Come on, you can’t be this stupid”

His words wash over me like acid rain.

“W-What?”

He corners me, his gaze thunderous and his teeth gnashing in his mouth.

“You have no clue, do you? Do you think I would choose you to be my Luna willingly? A wolf-less Luna at that? I’m stuck with you because my father owed your dead father a debt of gratitude, I’m the subject of gossip because of you.

I’m tolerating you because I have to. So go downstairs, smile like the sun is shining from your ass and entertain our guests while I finish business here”

“No”

I stand up for myself. I bite down all the things he has said to me and the words I want to say lie heavy on my tongue.

‘I, River Brown, reject you…’

“No?” Landon laughs, “Why? Because your feelings are hurt? Wake up to the real world, sweetheart. I’m the only one willing to take you in. If I reject you, if you reject me, you know what’ll happen?

I’ll banish you; I’ll taint you so no beta, alpha or rogue for that matter will want you. Think long and hard about that before you say no to me again. Close the door on your way out”

_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_

“Smile, honey. All these people are here for you”, Aunt Tilda coos, a glass of wine in her right hand, her left hand straightening my sage-green ankle length dress.

“Tonight is your night. Tonight no one will look down on you because you’ll be the Luna to the most powerful pack”

Her words fuel my tears but I don’t cry.

I have run out of tears since Landon O’Connor showed his true colors.

“Where’s your sister? Goodness, I worry about how her mating ceremony will be like…that is if she ever finds a mate to tame her”

Ooh don’t worry, aunt. She’s found her mate. Yeah, right now as we are speaking my mate is sweating on top of her.

Speaking of mate, the cheers, the hooting of trumpets ring in the air announcing Landon’s presence.

He’s changed into a navy-blue suit and he’s coming right for me with a watt smile and a soft look on his face.

“Matilda”, he acknowledges my aunt before his arm swings around my back, snagging my thin waist to his stiff body.

Aunt Tilda blushes.

“We’ll be family now so it’s best to drop the formalities, Landon. Call me Tilda, aunt sounds a little bit old”

“Tilda, I have to steal my mate. It’s time”

“Of course. Take her away. Make her happy”

“Always”, Landon remarks and I don’t have enough time to react because he spins me around, his fingers digging into my back, his hand dangerously low on my butt and kisses me.

I’m busy trying to fight his lips off of me without drawing attention when gasps and tension fill the air like a bad storm.

Landon pulls away from me, I wipe my lips with the back of my palm.

The large crowd invited to witness my so-called ceremony start to retreat to the corners, the betas of Silver Bullet pack look terrified, the old elders are inches away from fainting and I?

I am as scared as the look on Landon’s face right now as we stare at the doorway.

A man…no he’s a beast…stands in the foyer. Six feet five, rough around the edges, dark hair like the night, he stands proud with a dark shirt clinging to every bulge in his muscles, black cargo pants and boots just as dark.

What’s terrifying though, is the blood on his right cheek. The blood we all know is not his.

If that scene isn’t horrendous enough, two men leap from behind him. Two men who look a little like the first man but different.

Tall, muscular, powerful…the three men all Alphas. All brothers.

They peruse the crowd and when all three pairs of eyes land on Landon, I see my mate crumble.

“A life for a life. You promised us that, O’Connor”, one of them growls, silence befalls us as we soak in that steel voice that quakes our insides. Or maybe my insides?

Landon cocks his head to the side, he stares at me then at them and says,

“Take her.

I, Landon O’Connor, Alpha of the Silver Bullet Pack, reject you, River Brown, as my mate. Do you accept my rejection?”

Wait, what?