Chapter 1 · TheRejection

The word fell from my mate’s mouth like he was readinga grocery list.

“Rejected.”

One word. Four hundred wolves heard it.

I was pinnedto the obsidian floor, Rook’s hands heavy on my shoulders. I wasn’t going anywhere. Twelve hours ago, Valerius had his fingers tangled in my hair, his voice a low growl against my skin. Now? He stood six feet away, chin high, staring at the far wall. Like I was trash he was finally taking out.

“Say it again,”I challenged.

The room went dead. I could hear the damn candles flickering.

“Don’t,” Marawhispered behind me. My own sister-in-law. The woman who’d braided my hair for the solstice nowacting like I was contagious.

Valerius turned. Those gray eyes—empty. That killed me. I’dseen life there once, back in the clearing when the moon bond slammed into us and he’d actually laughed like a boy. That felt like a lifetime ago.

“Seraphina Vey,” he said, his voice coldas iron. “You’re weak. No alliance. No bloodline. No strength. I reject you as my Luna. I reject you as my mate.”

The bond snapped.

It wasn’t a cleanblade cut. It was a jagged, horrific ripping. Like someone reached into my ribs and tore out an organ that was still tryingto beat. I made a sound—a raw, ugly noise—and my hands slammed into the cold black stone.

My fingers brushed the plastic stick in my pocket. My hip bone dug into it.

Twolines.

I’d found out this morning. I’d kept it to myself, a secret I wantedto hold for a little longer.

I forced my head up. “Alpha,” I said, my voice shaking. “Before I go. There’s something you need to know.”

Rook’s grip tightened,bruising. Four hundred wolves leaned in. Chairs creaked. I grew up in this room; I’d scrubbedthese floors on my knees as a girl. Now, it was a graveyard.

Vane sat in the front row, toothpick inhis mouth, a smirk plastered on his face. “Careful. She’s gonna curse us. They always do.”

A few nervous laughs rippled through the crowd.

“Vane.” Valerius didn't yell. He didn't have to. The room went silent instantly. That was the nightmare of him—the world just stoppedfor his command.

I stood up. I kept my hand pressed hard over my pocket, burying that plastic stick intomy skin until the pain grounded me. I could’ve thrown it at his feet. Made them all watch the proofof what he’d just killed.

I didn’t. Not yet.

“Was it biology?” I asked.

Valerius stilled. “What?”

“That night in the clearing. Whenyou couldn’t breathe. When you told me I was the best thing that ever happened to you…” My voice cracked. Ihated them for hearing it. “Was that just biology? Or were you lying?”

Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence.

Valerius stepped off the dais. The pack scrambled back, clearing a path.He stopped right in front of me, smelling of cedar and cold, hard iron. I noticed a patch of stubbleunder his jaw. I hated that I noticed. I hated that my body still wanted to reach out.

Hishand shot up. I thought—idiot—I thought he’d touch my face.

He yanked the silver wolf-head pin from my shoulder instead. My coat hung loose.

“I’m taking back everything I gave you. The rooms. The pin. The name.” His gaze locked with mine. Fora split second, I saw a flicker of the man I loved behind those eyes. Then, he slammed the door shut.“You’re out before the moon sets. Take whatever you can carry.”

My mark began to burn.

It’s not like a cut. It’s like a branding iron being dragged backward inside your spine. Ithad been warm for weeks, like a constant touch. Now? It was dying. Like a coal doused in icewater.

My knees buckled. Rook stepped back, refusing to help.

“Don’t fall,” Mara hissed. “Get up. Walk out.”

“Give her the coat,” Vane calledout. “It’s the only dowry she brought.”

I hauled myself up. Slow.Deliberate.

I looked at Vane. “You’ve been circling that chair for three years.Get a better plan than a toothpick.”

His smirk faltered. Just for a heartbeat, but I sawit. That was my win.

I walked the length of the Tribunal. My boots clicked on the stone. Wolvesturned away, terrified of catching my rejection like a disease. My throat felt like it was closing, but I kept my spinestraight.

I reached the doors. The night air hit my face—freezing, sharp.

Istopped.

“Alpha.”

“Keep walking,” Rook snapped.

I turned. Valerius stood in the center of the room, clutching the pin he had no one left to give to.

“Youjust butchered your only heir,” I said.

The silence shattered. I watched the realization land on his face—thatdazed, confused look of a man who’d just realized he’d burned his own house down.

Hisbody went rigid. “What did you just—”

I didn’t wait. I walked out intothe dark.