Chapter One

My eyes fluttered open, and I slowly took in my surroundings. Confusion filled my mind.

Why was I in the forest?

The full moon was high in the indigo blanket that was the sky. My eyes roamed around, trying to gauge where I was.

I was lying on a pile of stones; the hardness of it pierced into my skin. My breath quickened. What was going on?

I squirmed, trying to sit up. It was only then that I realized my arms were tightly bound to my body. In a panic, I brought my gaze to my legs. They were tied together. My heart rate quickened, and despite the chill in the air, sweat trickled down my spine.

“HELLO,” I called out, hoping there was somebody, anybody out there who could get me out of this. Silence responded back to me.

With wide eyes, my chest heaved up and down in panic as a chill ran through my entire being at the thought that I was in serious danger.

Not only that, I couldn't feel it. My powers. The familiar energy that I usually felt in my core was…gone.

Dread filled my bones.

A sound pulled me out of my thoughts, and I whipped my head to the source. Relief flooded through me when I saw that it was Damon. He was coming out from the shadows of the bushes, dressed in a black robe. That was odd.

I released a shaky breath. “Damon. What's going on? I was on the couch one minute, and as I opened my eyes, I found that I'm here.”

My mate moved closer, taking casual steps as he did. The breeze of the night tousled his blonde hair, and as he stepped closer, I saw it. The menacing look on his face.

My heart dropped. “D-Damon, what-”

“The almighty Irene Blackthorn,” he sneered. “Weak and useless, like you were always meant to be.”

My eyes widened as I took in shaky breaths. “What is going on?”

The scowl on his face deepened, his brown eyes empty. “I always hated you, Irene. You were just too blindsided by the mate bond and your love for me to see that.” His jaw clenched. “You were too annoyingly perfect, carrying the pack on your back as if it wasn't you, then no one else.”

My breath hitched with every word that left his mouth, as if they were venom.

“And to top it off, the moon goddess had to give you those powers of yours.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I bet you always felt like a god when you used them, huh? You always felt like you were untouchable, that no one could stop you, right?” The grin on his face stretched, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Tears were at the edge of my eyes as I took in every word he said, every word that pierced my heart like daggers. “Why are you doing this? Let me go, Damon, and we can talk this out.” My voice shook as I spoke.

He scoffed, “You think I'm stupid? This is a one-time chance for me, and I can't afford to waste it.” He removed a silver knife from beneath his cloak with a wicked smirk.

My head shook slowly as a tear dropped from my face. “You can't kill me. If you do, you'll die too because of the bond, Damon. We can talk about this?” I tried to let him see reason as the panic inside me welled stronger.

I closed my eyes to tap into the non-existent energy that was my power. Nothing. I opened my eyes, then shut them again, trying once more.

A dark chuckle escaped Damon's mouth. “Don't bother. Your powers are diminished. They're still there, but they're pretty much useless right now,” he said as he twirled the silver dagger in the air, the blade bouncing off the reflection of the moon.He looked into the distance and yelled, “You can come out now.”

Wide-eyed, I looked around, immediately noticing shifters coming out of the surrounding trees, all wearing black robes. The bitter taste of betrayal stung in my mouth when I realized they were my pack elders—the werewolves I had worked alongside to make the pack the strongest in the land.

Tears fell freely. “Why?” I asked, slowly shaking my head.

A woman I didn't recognize stepped forward, a wicked twinkle in her dark eyes and a menacing grin on her face. “It's time, Alpha,” she said to Damon as she watched me.

“It's time for what? IT'S TIME FOR WHAT?! DAMON, LISTEN TO ME!” I yelled as loud as I could, hoping my voice would penetrate the dark cloud around his heart and let me go.

The other werewolves formed a circle around me as strange words that sounded like spells came out of the woman's mouth.

My heart raced faster. A witch. She was a damn witch.

“Damon, please listen to me. Please.” My body trembled with fear as I cried out to him; the woman's voice grew louder with every spell she spat out of her mouth. Her eyes turned pale white as she spoke.

Immediately, my body vibrated, and a spike of pain rammed into my heart. I let out a blood-curdling scream just as Damon released a yell and dropped to the ground.

I was sure our voices could be heard from miles away.

The witch stopped speaking, and with a satisfied smirk, she said, “The bond has been broken.”

My wolf, who had been watching everything unfold quietly, was now curled up in pain inside me.

My chest heaved up and down as I released trembling breaths. “Please. Let me go. I would do anything you want me to do. Just let me go,” I said to the witch, my voice barely a whisper.

Beside me, Damon stood on the ground, a dark look in his eyes as he regarded me with disdain. “Do it.”

Confusion graced my features as the witch resumed her chanting. My heart rate spiked as a new wave of panic set in my bones.

A shifter stepped forward, retrieving a silver blade from his robe, and before I could blink, he stabbed it into my chest.

“ARGGGHHHH!” The pain sliced into my very being; I felt it dissect my thumping heart. Inside me, my wolf whimpered.

Another shifter stepped forward and did the same thing. My screams filled the night air, coupled with the incessant chanting of the witch in the background. The smell of copper was strong as blood-red liquid oozed out of the stab on my skin.

The other shifters took turns doing the same thing, and over and over again, I released the same blood-curdling scream until I could not anymore.

Numbness started to infiltrate my body, and I struggled to keep my eyes open.

Damon finally stepped forward, the blade glittering in his hands. And with a grunt, he jabbed the silver into my already bloodied body.

Blood splattered from my mouth, and I jerked forward at the impact. My eyes fluttered as I took in his wide smirk.

“With the help of Elara, your powers will now be mine, and I will continue the good work you started in the pack. Goodbye, Irene,” he sneered, “and good riddance.”

My eyes flickered closed; the image of my mate smirking down at me was my last memory, and I drifted into the unknown, my soul blazing with dark agony and a fire that somehow lit within me.

“I will be back. I promise.” Those were the words I whispered before peace took over.