Chapter 1Five years ago, the Darkfang Pack expelled me. Their accusation? I'd seduced my own stepbrother.
Five years later, I'm standing here again.
My stepfather clasps my hand. "Back then, we had no other choice... But Alaric's Luna Ceremony is next week. How perfect that you're here."
I understand. He wants me to witness his son take a Luna. To remind me of my place.
I raise my glass. "Congratulations."
My stepbrother doesn't even hear me. He's fixated on my left hand.
The future Luna's voice cuts in, sharp. "Rhiannon. Who gave you that ring?"
I take a slow, unhurried sip.
"Oh, that? My mate."
"You might know him—the Alpha King."
---
Five years after leaving the Darkfang Pack, I finally came back for the Blood Moon Ceremony.
The first person I saw was Alaric Darkfang—my brother in name only.
We locked eyes for a second, then both looked away. Neither of us knew what to say.
During the gathering, my old adoptive father, Ulric, gave my shoulder a light pat.
"Rhiannon, letting you go back then... it wasn't an easy call. I hope you don't hold it against us."
He cleared his throat. "Good thing you're here now, though. Alaric's Luna Ceremony is next week."
I knew exactly what he was getting at.
Keeping my face blank, I raised my glass toward Alaric. "Congratulations. May the Moon Goddess bless your union."
But Alaric wasn't looking at me. His eyes had dropped to the moonstone ring on my left hand. He went completely still.
Selene, sitting next to him, leaned in with obvious curiosity. "Rhiannon, that's a beautiful ring. Where'd you get it?"
I glanced around at their faces before letting a small smile slip through. "Guess I forgot to mention—I completed my mate bond five years ago."
Ulric's eyebrows shot up. "Five years? You were only eighteen. Who the hell did you bond with? That's reckless!"
"We raised you for fifteen years. How could you not tell us about something this important?"
Five years ago, they'd asked me to leave—nicely, on the surface.
In reality, I'd been kicked out for supposedly trying to seduce my brother.
That's why I never told anyone in the Darkfang Pack about my bonding.
Still, Ulric and Selene had taken care of me for fifteen years. I couldn't bring myself to hate them.
I met Ulric's eyes calmly. "That's exactly why I brought my mate back this time. So you could finally meet him."
Selene, sensing the tension, jumped in quickly. "That's sweet of you, really. We appreciate it. But where is he right now?"
I kept my smile polite. "Something came up last minute. He'll be here in about two hours."
Throughout the night, as people drank and talked, I could feel Alaric watching me constantly.
Eventually, he seemed to lose patience. "Mom, Dad—Esme should be done with her dress fitting by now. I'm gonna go get her."
Then he tapped the table in front of me. "You haven't met Esme yet. Come with me."
I was about to say no.
But with Ulric and Selene both staring at me, I gave in.
They were still worried I hadn't gotten over my feelings for Alaric. That much was obvious.
On the way to the garage, Alaric broke the silence first.
"So... how've you been? All these years?"
I didn't even glance at him. "Fine."
His steps slowed for a second. He looked like he wanted to say more but held back, then sped up to catch up with me.
When we got to the car, Alaric reached for the passenger door—like it was automatic.
I ignored him and slid straight into the back seat.
His jaw tightened. "What, you treating me like your driver now?"
I turned toward the window. "Aren't you supposed to be picking up your fiancée? Let's go."
Alaric let out a long breath and got behind the wheel. "You can just call her Esme, you know."
I stared out at the passing scenery and said nothing.
The rest of the drive was silent. Soon, we pulled up in front of the bridal shop.
The second the car stopped, my door opened from outside.
"Took you long enough," a woman in a dark red coat said as she climbed into the front seat. "Alaric, I'm exhausted. Trying on wedding dresses is way harder than I thought."
She looked at him with a pout. "You're coming with me again tomorrow, right? I still can't pick one."
Alaric leaned over to buckle her seatbelt, his expression softening completely. "Of course, babe. Let's get you home. I had the kitchen make something special for you."
They went back and forth like that for a while, totally wrapped up in each other, before Esme finally noticed me in the back.
Alaric gestured toward me. "This is Rhiannon, my little sister. Rhiannon, this is Esme—my Luna-to-be."
I nodded politely. "Nice to meet you, Esme."
Esme didn't say anything at first. She just looked me up and down. "Oh, so you're the sister who used to have a crush on him?"
Her bluntness caught me off guard. "No, I—"
A faint smile crossed her face. "Relax, I'm kidding. Unless... you still have feelings for him? That kind of messed-up attachment?"
I shook my head.
Then I raised my left hand, letting the moonstone catch the light.
"You've got it wrong, Esme," I said quietly but firmly.
"I've been bonded with my mate for five years now."
Chapter 2
The drive back felt like it stretched on forever.
I rested my head against the window, half-lost in thought as old memories began to surface.
Fifteen years ago, my parents were killed during a rogue wolf attack while trying to save Ulric.
After that, the Darkfang Pack took me in.
Those first few months, I cried myself to sleep every single night.
Alaric, who was two years older, would sit with me for hours, talking me through the worst of it until the grief started to fade.
That's when I started feeling something for him—this guy who wasn't even my real brother.
By the time I hit my teenage years, I'd convinced myself that what I felt was love. Real love, the kind you read about.
From that point on, I stuck to him like glue, wanting everyone to know how I felt.
Alaric never pushed me away. He'd just grin and say,
"Rhiannon, if you keep following me around like this, you're never gonna find your own mate."
And I'd always look him dead in the eye and say,
"I don't need to. You're gonna be my mate someday."
Then he'd hook his pinky around mine with a soft smile.
"Alright then, we'll see..."
That stupid promise still echoed in my head. But everything was different now.
When we got close to the pack house, I climbed out of the car and headed straight inside.
Selene met me at the door, her expression a little too eager. She hesitated before asking, "Rhiannon, have you met Esme yet?"
I nodded. "She seems nice. They're good together."
Selene visibly relaxed after watching my face for a moment. Her tone softened.
"Rhiannon, you may not be our blood, but we've always thought of you as our daughter. Still, there are some things..."
I reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Luna, let's just leave the past alone."
She let out a quiet breath, then pulled me toward the sitting room.
"You're right. No point dwelling on it. We got you something, actually. Since you're back this year."
Selene opened a small velvet case, revealing a deep blue sapphire necklace inside.
I didn't turn it down. I took it.
Even after five years apart, I knew Selene's affection for me had been real.
She smiled and lifted the necklace, holding it up near my collarbone to see how it would look.
I swept my hair over one shoulder.
Then a sharp voice rang out from the doorway.
"Hold on!"
Esme stood there, her face hard.
"Alaric spent thirty million on that necklace. How can you just give it to her like that?!"
She shot me a cold look. "My fiancé paid for it. I'd rather it not end up on some outsider."
Selene froze, her gaze darting between Esme and me, clearly caught off guard.
I gave Selene's shoulder a light pat, set the necklace back down, and turned to Esme with a small smile.
"Well, if it's his, I don't need it."
Esme let out a satisfied little hum. "At least you know your place."
"Some nobody who got kicked out of the Darkfang Pack—what right does she have to wear something like that?"
The room went dead silent. Her words hung there, ugly and raw.
The thing everyone had been avoiding all night was suddenly out in the open.
But honestly? It didn't touch me.
Five years had passed. Some things just didn't hurt anymore.
When Esme saw I wasn't reacting, she looked ready to keep going, but Ulric cut her off.
"It's a celebration. Let's not ruin the mood over a necklace."
With Ulric stepping in, Esme clamped her mouth shut, though her expression stayed sharp.
Ulric glanced around the room. "Alright, everyone's here now. Let's get ready and head to the hall."
The Blood Moon Ceremony was sacred to the Darkfang Pack—a ritual where we honored the Moon Goddess and renewed our pack bonds under her watchful gaze. It was always treated with respect.
I was about to stand and follow everyone when Esme spoke up again.
"Alpha Ulric, didn't Rhiannon say she's already bonded? Shouldn't we wait for her mate?"
Ulric paused, then nodded slowly. He looked at me with a serious expression.
"The Blood Moon Ceremony is important. Tradition says you should've brought him back in your first year together."
"How long until he gets here?"
I tried reaching out through the mind-link, but there was nothing—just silence.
I checked my phone and shook my head.
"I can't get through to him. We should start without him. No point holding everyone up on my account."
Esme tilted her head, feigning casual curiosity.
"Rhiannon, why are you so quick to tell us to start without him?"
"Unless... this mate of yours doesn't actually exist?"
Chapter 3
I kept my voice steady.
"He might've hit travel delays. Esme, you're reading too much into this. I just didn't want to hold up the ceremony…"
Before I could finish, Esme cut in.
She slipped her arm through Alaric's, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
"Babe, we can wait a bit longer for Rhiannon's mate, can't we?"
Alaric's eyes flicked toward me, something unreadable flickering in them.
"It's his first time here," he said slowly. "We should show some respect."
Then his expression shifted—something almost sad crossed his face.
"Besides… I want to meet whoever you ended up with."
The air in the room grew heavier.
I opened my mouth to respond, but Esme spoke over me.
"Rhiannon, are you seriously still making excuses? You look tense."
"Honestly, I'm starting to think you invented this whole mate thing."
I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Why the hell would I do that?"
Esme leaned in close, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Who knows? Maybe you're still hung up on your brother."
"After all, you didn't hold back back then—wolfsbane, aphrodisiacs, the whole deal. Everyone heard about it."
"That's why you got kicked out of the Darkfang Pack in the first place, isn't it?"
Looking at Esme's smug face, all the bitterness I'd buried five years ago came rushing back.
Five years ago, at the end of my birthday party, I told Alaric how I felt.
We were in the garden. I couldn't even look at him.
"Alaric, I know you've always seen me as a kid. But I'm eighteen now, and I know what I'm feeling."
"I really like you—not the way a sister should."
Alaric didn't answer. His face, already flushed from drinking, turned even redder.
I don't know how long the silence lasted before he finally spoke, his voice barely audible.
"Rhiannon, tell me I'm not imagining this."
Before I could say anything, his lips were on mine.
He tasted like whiskey, and for a second, I just stood there, frozen.
Then Alaric pulled me closer. When his mouth moved down to my neck, my legs went weak, and I forgot to push him away.
It wasn't until someone yanked us apart that I came back to myself.
A sharp sting exploded across my cheek as my head snapped to the side.
My face burned. I slowly looked up at the person who'd hit me.
Ulric stood there, his face red with fury, shouting something I couldn't fully process.
All I caught were fragments—words like "seduce" and "drugged."
A crowd of guests had gathered around by then, staring.
To them, I looked guilty as hell—clothes disheveled, lips swollen, hair a mess. A girl who'd tried to lure her own brother.
That night, Ulric dragged Alaric away immediately.
Selene arranged a room for me in the guest quarters.
After that, I wasn't allowed back at the pack house.
The story spread like wildfire through the entire territory.
My name got torn apart, twisted into something ugly. I became THAT girl—the one who'd tried to sleep with her brother.
The academy expelled me. Pack members I'd known my whole life turned their backs on me. The gossip and judgment were relentless.
I kept waiting for Alaric to say something, to tell the truth.
But he stayed silent.
In the end, the Darkfang Pack sent me to the Southern Territory and told me not to come back.
That was it. We were done.
Now, staring at Esme's hateful expression, all I felt was pity.
Was a guy with that little spine really worth all this devotion?
When I didn't respond, Esme's confidence grew.
"Do you have any idea how much shame you brought on the Darkfang Pack?"
"If I were you, I wouldn't have the nerve to show my face here!"
She looked down at me with a sneer. "You drag trouble everywhere you go."
"I heard your parents died in that rogue attack. Maybe you're the reason they're dead. Bad luck just follows you around."
The second she said that, something in me snapped.
I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.
Esme let out a sharp cry, staring at me in shock.
Pack members rushed over, surrounding us.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Rhiannon, no matter what she said, you can't just hit her!"
Esme wasted no time. She threw herself into Alaric's arms, crying.
Alaric's face darkened. "Rhiannon, whatever your problem is, Esme is my future Luna. You had no right to touch her."
I didn't care about keeping the peace anymore. I smiled coldly.
"Does being your future Luna give her the right to insult my dead parents?"
"And Alaric—you're not my brother. Not anymore!"
Alaric went quiet for a moment.
"If Esme said something out of line, I'll apologize for her."
Then his voice turned hard. "But you hit her. So you're going to apologize to Esme. Right now."
I met his eyes, my voice sharp and clear. "Not happening."
Alaric's expression twisted with disappointment. "Rhiannon, when did you turn into this?"
He stepped closer, his hand closing tight around my wrist.
"I don't care what went down. You're apologizing to Esme. Now!"
I tried to pull away, but Alaric's grip was too strong.
Then, out of nowhere, another hand shot out from behind me and pried Alaric's fingers off.
And then I heard it—the voice that always made me feel safe.
"If anyone's apologizing, it's your Luna."
