Chapter One

Lena’s POV

Tonight was supposed to be a night of triumph. A night where I stood beside my mate, the man the Moon Goddess had fated me to, as he ascended to his rightful place as Alpha. Instead, I stood at the edge of the grand ballroom, my hands clenched at my sides, my throat tight with humiliation.

The hall was dazzling, chandeliers bathed the room in warm light, casting a golden glow over the guests who laughed, drank, and celebrated. It should have been a perfect night. But the moment my husband stepped onto the stage, the atmosphere stirred.

Damian looked every bit the Alpha in his tailored black suit, his piercing green eyes sweeping over the crowd with authority. His presence commanded attention, his dark hair perfectly styled, his lips curled in a smirk that made the she-wolves in the room sigh in admiration. And yet, despite being his Luna, the woman who had stood by his side through blood and sacrifice, he hadn’t even looked at me.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat as an Elder raised a glass to toast him. “To the future of the Bloodthorn pack! To our new   Alpha, Damian Stormborn!” The hall erupted in cheers, glasses clinking, voices chanting praises to him.

Tradition dictated that as the newly crowned Alpha,  Damian would turn to me, and acknowledge my role together in leading the pack. But he didn’t.

Instead, Damian, smirk widened, and he reached out—not for me, but for her.

Vivian.

The hall fell silent as he pulled her onto the stage, his arm wrapping around her waist with a possessiveness that he had never shown me in public. The blonde she-wolf’s lips curled in satisfaction as she leaned into his touch, her violet dress clinging to her perfect figure.

“Damian—” My voice came out barely above a whisper, but he didn’t even flinch.

Instead, he turned to the crowd, his voice strong and unwavering. “This night is about celebrating not just my leadership, but the people who have stood by me. The ones who truly matter.” He glanced down at Vivian, staring at her with admiration. 

“I wouldn’t be standing here today without her, she has been my backbone and my greatest support” 

A murmur rippled through the room. My heart twisted painfully as I stared at them, at how naturally she fit against his side, at how the pack accepted it.

Vivian lifted her chin, her smug gaze flickering to me for a split second before she turned back to Damian, feigning humility. “Damian, you give me too much credit.”

He chuckled, tightening his grip on her waist. “Never, you deserve everything, you have been so helpful to me”

A sharp pain lanced through my chest as if our mate bond itself was splintering apart. It wasn’t just the public humiliation, it was the realization that Damian had never planned to honor me. That I was merely an obligation to him, while Vivian was his choice.

The pack’s Elder shifted uncomfortably, his gaze darting toward me as if expecting me to make a scene. But what was I supposed to do? Fight for a place at my own mate’s side when he had just declared, in front of our entire pack, that someone else was more deserving?

My fingers trembled at my sides, but I refused to let my pain show.

Damian turned back to the pack, raising his glass. “To a new era. To strength, power, and the future of Bloodthorn.”

“To Bloodthorn!” The pack echoed, unaware of the pain that tightened my chest.

I couldn't recognize Damian anymore, where were those soft eyes that had always looked at me with love?

How about the soft lips that had whispered lovely words of affirmation to me at night?

I couldn't find all of this, they were replaced with stern eyes and lips that sang praises to another woman.

And then, just when I thought the night couldn’t get worse, Damian did something unforgivable.

"Lena Nightshade,"  Damian’s voice boomed, echoing through the open-air arena. "You are a disgrace to this pack. A faithless, lying mate who doesn't deserve the title of my Luna."

A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd. I could feel the stares piercing my skin, the judgment, the whispers. My wolf weakened and barely responsive, curled into herself in my mind.

"Damian, please," I whispered, stepping closer. "Don't do this here. Whatever you want to say, we can… settle at home”

"Silence!" He snarled, eyes flashing with Alpha dominance, forcing my legs to tremble. He turned to the pack, his expression filled with contempt. 

"You all know in this pack, we cherish loyalty. Our mates are supposed to be our fated halves, our destiny. And yet, this woman—" He lifted a trembling hand and pointed at me as if I were filth. 

"This woman is a whore."

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

My stomach plummeted.

"Damian —what are you—?"

And then the screen behind him flickered to life.

I turned just in time to see the worst moment of my life playing before hundreds of eyes.

It was me, stark naked and vulnerable, entangled in the arms of another man.

A strangled sob clawed up my throat.

"No—no, this isn’t me"

The crowd's reaction was filled with shock and outrage.

"Disgusting!"

"A Luna should be pure!"

"She betrayed the Alpha!"

I stumbled back, shaking my head wildly.

"I didn't—this isn't real!" My voice cracked, but it didn't matter. 

He leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to Vivian’s temple.

“Will you be my Luna?” He pulled a ring out and knelt before Vivian, 

She beamed in excitement, her face filled with smug smiles as she stole victorious glances at me.

I clenched my fists tight as I struggled to keep the tears that flooded my eyes from dropping down.

I was not going to cry anymore, not after the countless times I had cried and begged him to start loving me the right way, the way I truly deserved.

The hall grew noisy from the shouts of pack members.

“Say yes, Say yes” their voices echoed, urging Vivian to accept the marriage proposal.

My chest tightened with despair as tears welled up my eyes. I knew Kieran had been cheating on me all these while but did he decide to openly disgrace me?

I couldn't believe he asked me to follow him here just to humiliate and make jest of me.

The people that are meant to protect me were also shoving me away?

Supporting Vivian, my husband's mistress, and rejecting me?

That was just too much for me to handle in a single day.

“I think I should leave, now” I whispered to myself as I made to turn back not until a hand gripped me.

It was Damian.

“You can't go now!” He commanded, his voice laced with authority. Just when I thought I had been tortured enough, Beta Aldric made his way through the crowd, a pack of files clasped tightly in his hands.

He handed over a file to me, as he stared directly into my face.

“Sign this!”

My heart skipped a beat as I glanced at the papers.

“Divorce?”

“Damian, what the hell is all this about?” I questioned, my voice cracking with pain.

“Haven't you tortured me enough?” I protested, causing the crowd to explode into murmurs.

“He is also divorcing her” a voice cut through the crowd, making my chest tighten.

“I knew she had always been a burden to him,” another added.

“She is not fit to be Luna, I had always known that” they supported.

“You are just a pathetic burden to me, Lena, you aren't fit to be my Luna and today, I, Alpha Damian reject you, Lena Leon as my mate, your position as Luna has been denounced”.

His words confirmed my fears, Damian had just rejected me and that was the end.

“You can sign the papers now” he ordered, his voice cold and icy, lacking no flicker of regret.

I took hold of the papers, it was from the Council of Elders, and seeing Damian’s signature stamped on it, I knew that was the end.

There is no sort of reverse.

I gently scrawled my signature and name into it, my eyes burning with tears.

“Good”  Damian nodded immediately, and I handed over the paper to Beta Aldric.

“Now, I need only one more thing from you” Damian flicks his finger lazily, Vivian bursting into a round of hysterical laughter.

“I will reject the mate bond and leave the pack”

“What else?” I queried, as I struggled to stay strong.

My knees buckled as though unable to carry my weight any longer.

“No, Lena you aren't going anywhere, I may have divorced you but I still own you” he stated.

Before I could make sense of the whole situation, two gammas gripped me from behind.