Chapter 1Five years. My Alpha mate never even touched me.
He said marking could wait. So I waited.
Waited until he marked my twin sister right in front of everyone—the one who ran away from her mating ceremony five years ago.
She cried in his arms while my three brothers rushed over to comfort her, like she was the one the whole world abandoned.
And me?
I just stood there and laughed.
Next day, I bought an island.
If nobody wanted me, then I didn't want anybody either.
---
My twin sister Sable's back.
Three years ago, the night she ditched her own mating ceremony, I figured I'd never see her again.
She was in that fancy custom dress when she ran off with some Alpha from another pack, totally screwing over both the Ashcroft and Thornridge packs. I thought that was it. I thought I could finally—
Doesn't matter.
Now she's right there in the middle of the hall, wearing a white dress, crying all over Malakai.
Malakai. The Thornridge pack Alpha. My mate.
Well, my mate on paper anyway.
Three years ago, the night Sable took off, he showed up at my room completely wasted and just... slid that ring onto my finger—the ring that was supposed to be hers.
He said, "You look just like her. Be my Luna."
I said yes. Because I'd been in love with him for eight years.
From the second I saw him at a pack meeting, I knew he was my fated mate.
But he never once looked at me—only Sable. Not until she left. That's when he finally noticed me.
For three years, I did everything. Ran pack stuff, went to alliance meetings, made sure he ate, took care of him.
He was nice to me—got me jewelry, had dinner with me, stayed up all night when I was sick.
Everyone said Malakai had changed. Said he actually saw me as his Luna.
I thought so too.
Until today.
The elders are all here in the hall, and right in front of everyone, he just signed a bond contract with Sable.
I'm standing by the door, staring at their backs. Sable's shaking as she cries, hanging onto his sleeve.
"Did you only say yes because I got cursed with wolfsbane? Do you actually love Elowen now?"
Malakai doesn't say anything for way too long.
Long enough for blood from my nails to drip onto the floor.
"No," he says. "Never."
Then he leans down and kisses her.
My wolf screams inside me—raw and broken. I'm using everything I've got not to completely lose it right here.
"Elowen?"
Corvin's voice comes from behind me.
I turn around and see three huge guys standing at the other end of the hall—my three brothers: Alaric, Bastian, Corvin.
They showed up too.
"Sable!" Corvin spots her first, his whole face lights up.
Sable pulls away from Malakai, and when she sees them, she just cries harder. She stumbles over and throws herself at Corvin. "I thought... I thought you all gave up on me..."
Alaric frowns but keeps quiet.
Bastian pats her back, sounding kind of tired. "Stop crying. You're home. That's what matters."
"I knew you wouldn't leave me." Sable wipes her tears and hooks her arm through Alaric's like it's nothing. "Where's... Elowen? Is she still mad at me?"
Only now does she act like she just remembered I exist. Her eyes scan the room until they find me.
I stand there, staring right back at her.
Her eyes are all red and puffy, face super pale, lips white—yeah, wolfsbane poisoning looks like that. But there's something in her eyes, just for a split second, that makes my blood run cold.
"Elowen." Malakai finally turns to look at me. "Sable got hit with wolfsbane poisoning. She needs to recover here. She's staying at the Alpha villa."
Not asking. Telling.
"Fine," I say.
He clearly wasn't expecting me to just agree. He pauses, then nods. "Okay. That's settled then."
He turns back to Sable and says something quiet. She smiles through her tears, gets on her tiptoes, and kisses his cheek.
My three brothers crowd around her—one hands her tissues, one rubs her back, one's asking what she's been up to.
They all head toward the dining hall.
Nobody calls for me.
I watch them walk away, and suddenly it's just... funny.
Three years ago, they told me I was their only sister now.
Three years ago, Malakai said, "Be my Luna. You're my only mate."
Turns out they were full of shit.
The second Sable comes back, everything goes right back to how it was.
I'm still just the backup. The one nobody actually cares.
I lean against the wall and slide down to the floor. Pull my knees up, bury my face. My wolf's whimpering in my chest like some lost puppy.
That's it.
I'm done.
I get up, walk out of the hall, down the hallway, and push open the door to the pack office. The pack clerk working there is going through files. When he sees me, he jumps.
"Luna? What's—"
"Get me the manager for the border territories."
"Which one?"
"The one that's the farthest out. Eclipse Reach. No cell service, no roads, supplies show up like once every three months. That one."
The pack clerk opens his mouth—probably gonna ask why—but takes one look at my face and shuts up.
Half an hour later, the territory manager's call comes through. Some wolf in his fifties, gray hair, sharp eyes.
"Miss Ashcroft, you sure about this? That place has been dead for over twenty years. No pack, no markers, not even a real road. You go out there, you're basically off the grid."
"I know."
"So why—"
"Let's just do the paperwork. Now."
He stares at me for a second, doesn't push it, and sends the documents over.
My hand doesn't shake when I sign. Every letter clear and steady.
When I finish the last one, I put the pen down and smile a little at the window.
You want her? Go ahead. She's all yours.
I'm out.
Chapter 2
The territory manager worked fast. Took one look at my red eyes, didn't ask a thing, just slid the papers over.
"Three days. I'll let you know when to leave."
I calmly took out my card, gave it to him, and accepted the documents.
My wolf had gone completely quiet inside me. Like she'd just... given up.
When I walked out of the council hall, it was already dark. Heavy clouds hung low, the air thick and wet—like it could pour any second.
I headed back to the villa and pushed open the door—
Malakai was sitting on the couch, peeling an orange for Sable.
His fingers moved slow and careful, pulling off each piece of peel like it was some kind of delicate art.
My three brothers crowded around her—Bastian holding water, Alaric with medicine, Corvin just standing there like a guard on duty.
"Sable," Bastian said softly. "Time for your medicine."
"It's so bitter..." Sable whined, voice all soft and whiny.
Corvin immediately pulled out a piece of chocolate. "Your favorite. I always keep some on me."
I stood in the doorway, without saying a word.
"Elowen?"
Malakai saw me first. He put down the orange and walked over. "Where've you been all day? Haven't seen you."
His voice was so gentle. Like he hadn't just signed a bond contract with Sable in front of the elders this morning.
I didn't answer. My eyes moved past him and landed on Sable.
Malakai followed my gaze, then explained quietly, "Sable got cursed with wolfsbane. She needs to recover here. I know what she did back then wasn't right, but she's still your sister. For her sake—"
"Is that it?" My laugh came out cold. "Or you just never got over her?"
His face went stiff.
"Elowen." Alaric walked over, reached out like he was gonna ruffle my hair, but stopped halfway and patted my shoulder instead. "Sable doesn't have much time left. The pack can handle this."
"She had it rough out there," Bastian added. "She knows she messed up. We're family."
"You're the reasonable one, right?" Corvin's voice came from behind me, pressing down hard.
I bit down. My wolf was thrashing inside my chest, desperate to tear everything apart—but I couldn't find a way out.
"Fine," I heard myself say.
Relief washed over their faces. Like a weight lifted off them.
"Go talk to Sable," Malakai said. "We'll get her room ready."
They went upstairs.
Just me and Sable left.
She stood up slowly from the couch, face pale, but her eyes were bright. That smug kind of bright.
"Elowen, it's been three years." She smiled at me. "I brought you a gift."
Every instinct screamed at me to run. Couldn't explain why, but every hair on my body stood on end.
She pressed a small box tied with black ribbon into my hands. Then—so thoughtfully—she lifted the lid for me.
Zing!—!
A silver needle shot out. Stabbed straight into my wrist.
Pain exploded. It burned from my wrist all the way up to my shoulder, screaming through my bones. I almost cried out, throwing the box away on instinct—
The box hit Sable's shoulder.
She screamed and collapsed to the floor.
"It hurts! It hurts so bad—!"
Footsteps pounded down the stairs. Four men rushed in.
Sable was on the floor sobbing, tears streaming, while I stood there in a puddle of blood, two holes in my wrist leaking poison.
"What did you do?!" Malakai roared and shoved me hard.
I stumbled back and slammed into the coffee table. My ribs cracked against the edge, pain making everything go dark for a second.
"She hid a needle..." My voice came out hoarse, barely a whisper.
"Bullshit!" Corvin's yell made my ears ring. "Sable's barely hanging on! How could she hurt you?!"
"Malakai... Alaric..." Sable crawled into Bastian's arms, sobbing. "I just wanted to make up with her... I don't know why she thinks I'd do this..."
Ice crawled up from my feet. Freezing my whole body like I'd been dumped in a frozen lake.
I struggled to look for the box—to prove I wasn't lying—but Malakai grabbed my injured wrist and yanked me back.
"Enough!" He threw me off hard. I hit the ground, elbow cracking against the stone floor.
"She's your own sister! This is how you treat her?!"
They picked up Sable and carried her upstairs. Didn't look back once.
I knelt there on the floor. Poison spread fast through my veins—burning, twisting. My vision blurred. My ears buzzed like a swarm of bees was smashing around inside my head.
Someone was screaming.
"Luna! Luna!"
Briony, the cleaning maid. I forced my eyes open and could only see the ceiling. She dragged me up and ran.
When we got to the medical room, I heard—
"Sorry. All the healers are treating Miss Sable right now. Her curse flared up. Orders from the Alpha—she's the only patient today."
I laughed. Blood surged up my throat and I choked on it, coughing hard.
Briony started crying, yelling at the healer. "Luna's dying! If she dies, I'm reporting all of you to the council!"
No one cared.
I fumbled for my phone and dialed Malakai. My voice was so faint I could barely hear myself.
"I got stabbed with a poison needle... send a healer..."
"Elowen!" His voice cut like ice. "Sable's curse flared up because you pushed her! You're still putting on an act?!"
"It wasn't me... it really wasn't..."
Beep—
He hung up.
I stared at the screen, stunned. Tears rolled down my face, silent.
Pain everywhere—my whole body on fire. The poison burned through every vein, every muscle spasming. But that wasn't the worst part.
It was my heart.
My wolf howled inside me, each cry sharper than the last, tearing me apart from the inside. But no one heard.
I slowly closed my eyes.
If I just died here... that'd be fine too.
Chapter 3
I woke up in pain.
The needle marks on my wrist burned like hell—sharp, then dull, then sharp again.
I opened my eyes to a blinding ceiling light and the bitter smell of herbs everywhere.
"Luna! You're awake!"
Briony's face appeared above me. Her freezing fingers grabbed my hand.
"What..." My throat was wrecked. Could barely talk.
"A healer passing through saved you." She wiped her face. "He saw the needle, realized you'd been poisoned. Said you'd be dead if he'd come any later."
I stared at the ceiling.
"I begged them." Her voice got quieter.
"Alpha Alaric said you were faking. Beta Bastian wouldn't see me. Gamma Corvin said you deserved it."
She paused. "Alpha Malakai... I got on my knees. Begged him to just look at you once! He said you were acting. That I was helping you lie."
I closed my eyes.
The words should've hurt, but they didn't anymore. You can only get stabbed so many times before there's nowhere left to bleed.
"Luna, why do you take this?!" Briony's voice cracked.
"Who took care of Alpha Alaric when he got drunk? Who paid off Beta Bastian's gambling debts? Who stayed up three nights when Gamma Corvin had a fever? You know everything about Alpha Malakai—his coffee, his ties—stuff his own mother doesn't remember."
She was shaking now. "So what, Sable comes back and suddenly she's their princess? The girl who bullied you your whole life? Who ditched her mating ceremony and humiliated everyone?"
Tears ran down my face into the pillow. Each one burned, but nothing compared to the hole in my chest.
"I'm fine," I whispered. "Go. I need to be alone."
She left, still crying.
After she was gone, I sat up slowly. My ribs ached from the table. The gauze on my wrist was stained dark brown with dried blood.
I pulled the phone from under my pillow.
The territory manager sent a text:
[The documents have all been submitted to the territory council for approval. I'll contact you as soon as it's approved.]
I sent back one word: Okay.
I shoved it back under the pillow and lay down, staring at nothing.
Soon. This'll all be over soon.
---
The next day, I walked into the main hall.
The music was so loud it was killing me.
Someone's birthday. Three-tier cake, all the lights blazing.
Sable stood there in a light blue dress, smiling wide. Malakai on her left, my three brothers around her.
I'd seen this my whole life. Except I used to wait in the corner, hoping someone would remember I existed.
Alaric saw me first. Pushed up his glasses. "Thought you were dying? You look fine."
Bastian didn't even glance up. "Can't you just give Sable a break? Just let it go."
Corvin scoffed. "Stop the act already."
Malakai walked over, smiling that gentle smile. "I know you're upset. But you're still my Luna. My mate."
I looked at him and almost laughed.
Yeah. I was the Luna. The mate. On paper.
But he signed a contract with her. Marked her. I just held the title while doing a stand-in's job.
"Malakai!" Sable called. "Come cut the cake!"
The wall projection flickered on. Birthday messages at first—then it went black.
Photos started appearing.
One. Two. Three.
All of Sable with that Alpha she ran off with. Different places, barely dressed, very intimate.
Everyone saw.
"Happy birthday." Blood-red letters on the screen.
"Turn it off!" Alaric roared.
Bastian yanked the power cord. Corvin grabbed at people's phones.
Sable's face went ghost white.
"Elowen, you took everything from me—" Her voice shook. "That's not enough? You have to humiliate me too?!"
She collapsed, sobbing.
Malakai rushed over and scooped her up. His face—I'd never seen him look like that. Panicked.
"Get a healer! Now!"
He carried her out. As he passed, he looked back at me.
Like I was a stranger.
Alaric grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise. "Elowen! Look what you did!"
"Wasn't me." My voice came out flat. "I didn't do it."
"Still lying?" Bastian's laugh was cold. "You know the pack rules. You mess up, you get punished!"
I looked at him.
When I was twelve, Sable pushed me down the stairs. He said it was an accident.
At eighteen, she smashed my birthday cake. Just playing around.
One winter, she locked me on the balcony all night—I almost froze to death. They said she was in a bad mood.
Now they wanted to punish me with pack laws.
