Chapter 1

“Mate”

That was the word that turned my beautiful and almost perfect life upside down. My breath hitched, and my heart raced at a top car speed as the realisation that my chosen mate had found his fated mate, this truth pierced deep like a silver stake.

“Calm down, Raven; don’t forget so easily. Damien loves us, and he sure as hell remembers the laws.” I hear Ava, my wolf, say in a low whisper. Ignoring the chaos ravaging my mind, I put up my mental walls, which I had built over the years, and I forced a smile.

“Relax, Raven, deep breaths, slowly—that's it. We already knew this day would come sooner or later, and here we are. We are brave; we are strong; we are Luna.” My wolf Ava says in a hushed tone, giving life to my numb knees and strengthening me.

I lift my head to catch Damien frozen in his place, eyes fixed on the beautiful lady in front of him. They were both lost in each other's eyes, their passion obscuring the world around them.

Despite my aching heart and the tears welling up in my eyes, I reach for Damien’s shoulder with a gentle pat before nudging him forward toward her.

Damien got my cue and floundered towards her; he threw his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, his hands ruffling through her hair before placing a loving kiss on her forehead, their hands intertwined.

Thrown off balance with the outright display of affection with his fated mate in the gathering of the Alphas, I try to repress a gasp. I presumed he was going to introduce himself and make known the current situation with me as his Luna; however, seeing him mesmerised in another woman's embrace made my heart break in a million different ways as my mind went hazy with worry.

Today, I have been so engrossed in coming up with a solution to our rogue problem, and now I am faced with the harsh reality of my life, one that cannot be changed or tampered with.

After what seemed to be forever, I finally got a grip on myself, and as my breath steadied, I threw my gaze elsewhere, anywhere away from the romantic, sensational scene right before me to attend to the Alphas who had gathered but were now staring with a mask of confusion as the events unfolded.

“Um, um, I clear my throat. In a bid to get everyone's attention, can we all go to the meeting room and begin our conference? We have a lot to discuss. Let’s give them some privacy.” I say in the calmest voice possible and go ahead to feign a smile, ignoring my fast-beating heart. Looking up, I am greeted with pitiful eyes, which suddenly makes me stand up tall and tighten my countenance as I gesture toward the heavy marble door. “Come, there's a lot to be done,” I uttered firmly despite the stabbing pain in my chest.

As I make my way to the meeting hall, I see Jess, who stares at me with wide eyes, attempting to communicate with me, “Not now, Jessica, please. Can you get refreshments ready for everyone?” I tell her via the mind link.

Her face falls into a gloom as her eyes soften, and with a nod,, she heads toward the kitchen, making me grateful she didn't push further; in truth, I had no explanation to offer right now.

With my shoulder straight and feigning deaf ears to the gossip and whisper hovering over me, I take my seat at the right side of the table directly beside where Damien would normally sit as I try to gather my thoughts. “He didn't even notice us, Ava,” I blurted out sadly to my wolf, and she kept mute.

Arranging the documents in front of me, I managed to inhale and exhale unnoticed before finally lifting my head to address everyone.

“As Alpha Damien is getting acclimated to his fated mate, we shall begin without him, and I will head the meeting. If you have any objections, speak now or forever hold that thought.” My voice comes out steady, exactly as intended. The hall goes quiet, and an atmosphere of tension hangs heavy in the air.

“Wonderful, let’s proceed. As we all know the reason why we have gathered here, we have enjoyed peace for the past 7 years, and we had no threat of war until one month ago.

It began with kidnapping our young ones, and now killing our guards stationed at the borders, we've been able to retaliate by killing five rogue soldiers and taking two captives for interrogation, where they admitted to the passing of their rogue king, and his son has now been crowned. The reason behind these attacks is to supposedly take back what rightfully belongs to them.

“These attacks have become a recurrence, and their threats are increasing with intensity day after day. Reports have been made of rogues infiltrating our pack as well as some of them spotted scouting the borders of our neighbouring packs, Crescent Moon and Night Howl. If I may stop now for the Alphas to speak.”

Alpha Orion of the Crescent Moon Pack was the first to speak,” Thank you so much, Luna of the Silent Shadow Pack. We’ve had 4 reports in 2 weeks about groups of suspected rogue wolves in groups of 7 to 8 scouting our borders from time to time, but they have made sure to stay outside our borders and have not posed any threats yet nor shown signs of violence beyond our territory.

Last Friday, my attention was brought to a group camping just at the southern end of our base territory, one of whom requested to speak with me, and I obliged. A rogue who goes by Beta Lesley enquired about a She-wolf with the name Dianna Knight, and once I told him that there was no one with such a name among the Pack, he thanked me and quickly retreated.

“Was more information provided about who this She-wolf is and why she is wanted?” A voice interrupted amongst the gathered crowd. Alpha Orion’s countenance bristled, his deep, pale eyes turning bright red with anger as he groped at the man who had dared to interrupt him. “And who the hell are you?”

“Raiden, head warrior guard of the Blackmoon Pack.” He lowered his head in respect.

Alpha Orion scoffs.

“Next time, ensure you do not interrupt me.” Alpha Orion stated loudly with a hint of anger etched in his voice. His Alpha wolf was pissed at the lack of respect and disregard. As I was saying, there was no more for us to converse; the meeting was rather too short, shorter than expected, but he sensed no form of deceit from my end and figured there was no use.

With that, he gestured to the Alpha of the Greathound Pack, Alpha Khael, who took his cue to speak.

“We’ve also had a very similar altercation with the rogues; there was no aggression in sight. I had an encounter with Beta Lesley upon the border by the east. He had the same question to ask, and my answer was the same as that of Alpha Orion; he quickly retreated, and since then, there has been no report of illegal scouts crossing the border. This happened on Thursday.” His piercing sea-blue eyes now turned to face me, indicating that he was done talking.

“Thank you so much for letting us in on that information. I still can’t figure out why they are being hostile and aggressive towards our pack; they may have assumed the she-wolf lives amongst our pack since they haven’t requested any meeting with us; however, I strongly assure you all that there is no she-wolf under the name Dianna Knight sworn into our pack.“ I stated firmly.

I would like to request a meeting with this rogue Beta Lesley, which should signify a unified strength as part of our peace offerings if Alpha Khael and Alpha Orion would be so kind as to accompany me. I intended to release one of the captured rogue soldiers with a message requesting the meeting on our border; however, that plan wouldn’t fly anymore since we woke up this morning to the sudden news of their demise within their prison cells.

With further investigation, it has been ascertained that these rogues were injected with a strong wolfsbane that led to their deaths, which leaves the question on everyone’s lips. Who could have possibly done this?

This could only be a manipulation from the witch; we might have an unwanted visitor in our midst, probably working for the rogues, trying to prevent us from getting any information out of them. Argh!

I winced in pain, unable to hold back the throbbing ache in my spine; another groan escaped my lips as a shock of pain escaped my stomach. I clutched my stomach gently, hoping the pain would subside, as I bit hard on my lips in an attempt to suppress further screams from escaping my lips.

“Inhale, Raven, deep breaths. I’m right here, Raven. I’m right here.” Ava muttered. While I had been able to fight with the emotional pains that lurched in my heart over and over, it now felt as if my abdomen had been turned into a punching bag as frequently as possible; the physical pain combined with the emotional turmoil made it hard for me to keep my composure.

“These idiots’ I let out a low growl through gritted teeth as shock after shock of tidal waves of pain surges through my entirety, making my shoulder burn from Damien’s harsh sting of betrayal.

“Would you like this meeting to be adjourned, Luna Raven?” Alpha Orion asked with a hushed tone, his voice calm and soft. I managed to meet his gaze, and I could see the mask of concern flitting across his deep brown eyes, which quickly vanished as it was quickly replaced with an unreadable expression, putting his Alpha mask back on.

“I mean, we can talk to our Betas and resume this meeting at a later date, or even over dinner if that would be convenient. I personally have no problem with your request, but as you have mentioned, a witch may be involved, so we need to tread carefully and ensure our pack's safety because there is a high probability that you are right about all of this. We need to come up with the best solution and the way forward as allies.”

As the discomfort momentarily faded away and I managed to catch my breath, I offered a minute smile of appreciation before straightening my back, with my head held high and speaking. “Thank you for your patience and your concern. Alpha Orion, dinner will commence at 7:00 pm in the dining hall. There we will discuss how to move further with the plans on the ground. If you don’t mind, I beg to take my leave; I would like to freshen up and inform the chefs of the new dinner arrangement.

Jess is behind the door; she will take you to the guest rooms, which have already been readied for you all.” My voice was firm yet concise, indicating the meeting had been dismissed. Everyone began making their way towards Jess, a flitting feeling of sympathy on their faces as they stared at me with pity. Having a little time to myself, I fell onto the chair, leaned back, and couldn't stop my tears from falling freely down my chin. “He was never meant for us.” Ava whispered.

I know Ava; I had waited for this day for so long. I knew it would come, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. We have grown so fond of this man, and we have come to love him, and now, just like a flash, his love towards us will be gone. I need some time to accept my new reality, I murmured.

“I understand, Raven; I'm sure he will come running to us soon. Once he has explained the mate bond agreement, we can proceed with the rituals and break the mate bond we created to avert all this pain.” Ava just has a way of soothing me with her words. I regained strength and got to my feet to exit the room.

Holding my head high, with a broad smile radiating on my face, ensuring I walk as elegantly as ever, hiding how devastated and frustrated I really felt. I make my way to outer space; however, before I could get to my destination, a searing pain burnt through my abdomen, causing me to groan loudly in discomfort and hurt as tears welled up in my eyes. Trying to double over the piercing pain, but it only got worse, the sharp pain struck without warning, seizing my entirety as if a blade had dug deep, twisting mercilessly.

I crumpled to the ground, gasping, hands pressing against my sides as though I could hold myself together. The world blurred around the edges, but it was the ache in my chest, heavier than the physical pain, that stole my breath.

He hadn’t even thought of me. Lost in his own desires, he didn't realise the damage; it was how easily his passion got in the way; it tore through me.

I hear Ava growl in anger at the realisation of his betrayal; through clenched teeth, I call out for Jess silently, “Jess… help me, please. It hurts,” gritting my teeth to prevent my screams from escaping my mouth. I groaned, hot tears streaming down my face.

“Luna... Luna!!!” I heard Jess’s voice before I felt a strong arm lift me up, and I gave in to the still darkness that enveloped me.