I walked into the pack’s vaulted jeweler. And there it was—my mate ring, on another she-wolf’s hand. And Silas—my mate, the Alpha of the Ironwood Pack—was holding her hand, looking at her like she hung the moon. The second he caught my scent, his expression went stone-cold. “Celine needs a showstopper for the Pack Alliance Gathering tonight,” he said, tone dismissive. “She’s the face of the Ironwood Pack, and she needs to project power.” “As for you… for the mate ceremony next week, just pick another ring off the rack and stop making a scene.” My bandaged fingertip throbbing. The moonstone ring…For a year, every single night, I bled onto it until my head spun and my hands shook—all so it would glow at our mate ceremony. Ended up…a battery for his mistress to flaunt. Celine smirked, pointing toward a dusty display case in the back. “What about that iron ring? Silas picked it for you. It suits your rugged personality much better.” My…rugged personality? I looked at my reflection in the mirror. To help Elias manage his pack, I had spent the last five years tethered to this wild. Border diplomacy, supply lines, territory patrols—I exhausted myself for him until I barely recognized the woman in the mirror. And now, in his eyes, I was nothing. I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. In a wolf pack, tears are the scent of prey—they invite the hunt. Slowly, I unclasped the silver pendant from my neck—the symbol of Ironwood Pack’s Luna—and dropped it into the bin. “You’re right, Silas. ” I said, looking him straight in his arrogant wolf eyes, “Off-the-rack sounds lovely. I’ll wear it to mate with an Alpha who actually deserves me.” “The mate ceremony is off. ” … The silence that followed was suffocating. Silas turned slowly, his Alpha aura flaring—trying to crush me with the sheer weight of his power. “Elora Thorne,” he growled, the vibration rattling the windows. “What did you just say to me?” “I said the mate ceremony is off.” Celine let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “Oh my god, Elora. Stop being so thirsty for attention.” She stepped toward me, still wearing my moonstone ring. “Silas and I are doing this for the good of the pack. This ring has more value on a high-ranking she-wolf like me than it ever would on a… whatever you are. ” “You’re usually so understanding. What happened?” Understanding? I don’t owe understanding to a wolf who betrayed me and his mistress. “Take it off,” I commanded. Celine flinched, shrinking behind Silas as her eyes welled with performative tears. “Silas, she’s scaring me. Her scent… it’s turning aggressive.” Silas’ face went dark. He stepped in front of her, shielding her from me as if I were a rogue. Then he glared at me. Jaw tight. “Elora, are you done making a scene?” “Celine is our biggest asset. I invest in her because I’m investing in the future of the Ironwood Pack. And you?” He looked me up and down, his eyes full of contempt for my plain attire. “You don’t even have a single combat mark on your record. You’re just a litter-sitter with a desk. Who would you even wear a moonstone ring for? ” He smirked. “The scouts who couldn’t make warrior?” Something in my chest pulled tight. He’d forgotten who walked into that battlefield alone and dragged his broken, barely-breathing body out five years ago. He’d forgotten who quietly cleared the path for his pack’s expansion. Then he stepped closer, and the scent of him hit my lungs like ash. “Get your facts straight, Elora. “He jabbed a finger toward my shoulder, laughing jagged and cruel. “I paid for the moonstone ring. Your apartment? Your haute couture dresses? The food in your mouth? It all comes from the Ironwood coffers.” “You’re nothing without me.” I looked at this arrogant wolf in front of me. He thought I was a dog groveling at his feet. He had no idea I was the backbone of his entire pack. But none of that matters now. He’s not worth my time anymore. I turned toward the door. “Did I give you permission to leave?” His hand clamped around my wrist like a vice. Bone groaned under his grip. “Let go, Silas!” Pain shot up my arm. “Don’t be ungrateful. “He yanked me back, his lips hovering inches from my ear, his voice dropping to a low, menacing snarl. “The ceremony is in five days, now go to the back and wear that iron ring. ” “After Celine finishes the Gathering, I’ll take you to the southern coast for a weekend. I’ll make it up to you then.” “But if you walk out that door right now…” His grip tightened, bruising the skin, his eyes glowing a predatory gold. “I’ll blackball you from every pack in the Blackridge Territory. You’ll be a Rogue by sunset. No one will take you in. No one will even look at you.” I didn’t flinch. I ripped my arm free and looked him dead in his eyes. “Silas, you make me sick.” I walked away. Behind me, I heard him chuckle—a dark, arrogant sound. And then— Bang. The heavy steel door slammed shut in front me. Silas stood there, a smirk playing on his lips. “I said you’re not going anywhere until I say so, Elora. A Luna needs to learn how to heel.”
“That’s false imprisonment, Silas. Open the door,” I said, my voice deceptively calm. “Imprisonment?” Silas sauntered back to the velvet sofa and sat down, crossing one buffed leather boot over his knee. “I’m just giving my future Luna some much-needed ‘meditation’ time. You’re clearly overwrought.” Celine leaned into his shoulder, shooting me a look of pure triumph. “Just give it up, Elora. He’s only doing this because he cares about your reputation. You’d look so foolish wandering the pack in this state.” I didn’t answer her. Didn’t even turn my head. She wasn’t worth the eye movement. Silas pulled out his phone. Didn’t even try to hide it. “Bank of Blackridge? This is Alpha Silas Vane. Freeze all secondary cards on the Thorne account. Effective immediately.” “Ironwood Housing? Terminate the lease on the 5th Street flat. Clear the furniture by morning.” “Pack Security? Put out a Grey-Alert on Elora Thorne. If she tries to cross the border, detain her. And tell the local transport unions—anybody who gives her a ride is an enemy of the Ironwood Pack.” He hung up and tapped the oak table with a rhythmic, mocking sound. Tap. Tap. Tap. It sounded like a dead countdown. “You’re nothing without me, Elora. Not even a place to sleep tonight.” He leaned back, the picture of ease. “I’ll give you two hours to think about how cold the woods get at night. When you’re ready to apologize, you can do it on your knees in front of Celine.” Then he flicked his wrist at the guards by the door. “Throw her out the back. Let her see what the world looks like without my protection.” They hauled me to the service entrance and shoved me into the alleyway. Bang. The door slammed behind me before I even had my footing. The sky was that ugly purple-gray. Wind ripped through the pines, and then the rain came down—freezing, violent, unrelenting. I stood there in the mud, soaked through in seconds. My phone started buzzing in my pocket. Notification: Your account has been suspended. Buzz. Notification: Access to Ironwood Territory denied. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Of course. Of course he’d done all of it. He wasn’t just posturing. He was trying to break me down to nothing so I’d crawl back and beg for scraps. But Silas Vane made one mistake. One big, stupid, arrogant mistake. He forgot that before I was his mate, I had a name that used to mean something. I pulled out my phone. Punched in a number. “Macy,” I said, rain streaming down my face, dripping off my chin. “I need a pickup. Back alley of the Ironwood pack’s Vault boutique.” On the other end, Macy’s voice cracked. “Elora… oh god, I can’t. Silas called my father. He said if any member of the Silver-Paw pack helps you, he’ll initiate a trade war. He’ll bankrupt us, Elora.” She took a shaky breath. “My dad took my keys. He’s got the house on lockdown. Please, Elora… just tell him you’re sorry. You know how he is. He’s just… he’s an Alpha. He needs to win.” My stomach dropped. Right through the floor. He’d even gone after the people I cared. I can’t believe this is the person I’ve loved for five years. Through the rain-streaked window, I could see Silas swirling his wine, watching me like I was a reality show he’d tuned in for laughs. Celine was kneeling at his feet, working her hands up his calves like she was trying to earn a tip. Something inside me snapped. Not broke. A release—All the cages I’d put myself in to fit into his sad, tiny world just… fell apart. I turned my back on the light and walked into the dark. SCREECH— A black Maybach skidded to a stop inches from me. Mud and gutter water splashed up, soaking my legs. Silas’s beta, Miller, stepped out with an umbrella. He held it over himself, not me. Looked me up and down like I was something he’d scraped off his shoe. “Here,” he said, dropping a garment bag into the mud at my feet. “Alpha’s feeling merciful.” The zipper was half-open. I caught a glimpse of cheap polyester. A bridesmaid’s dress from three seasons ago. Stained with something dark. Wine, probably. Miller kept his chin high, looking down his nose at me. “Alpha says Celine needs someone to carry her train at the Gathering tonight. You put this on and do the job, he’ll restore your credits by morning. And the mate ceremony goes on as planned.” Carry her train? For the woman wearing my mate ring? In a dress that belonged in a dumpster? I looked at the bag in the mud. My lips were blue, my whole body was shaking, but my spine was still straight. I stared at the bag in the dirt. My lips were blue, my body was shivering, but my spine was a rod of tempered steel. “Tell Silas,” I said, my voice cutting through the rain, “to go to hell.” A beat of silence. Then Miller’s face twisted into a snarl. He stepped forward, pointing a finger in my face. “Elora, don’t be ungrateful! You think you’re already Luna of Ironwood? You’re nothing now! ” “Without Alpha Silas, you’re just a stray waiting for torture. You can’t even afford a meal!” With that, he gestured. Two more guards jumped out of the car, flanking me. “What are you doing? Get your hands off me!” “The Alpha didn’t give you a choice, Elora,” Miller growled. “You’re going to that Gathering. One way or another.”
They shoved me into the back of the Maybach. Miller tossed the muddy bridesmaid dress onto my lap like he was disposing of roadkill. The air conditioner was blasting at sub-zero temperatures. My soaked clothes clung to me like a shroud. Miller watched me through the rearview mirror, a cigarette dangling from his lip. “Look at you, Elora. A little compliance would have kept you in silk. Now look at you—drowned and discarded.” I stared out at the rain-slicked streets. I didn’t say a word. What was there left to say? … Twenty minutes later, the car screeched to a halt at the Grand Hall’s backstage entrance. The air was thick with the scent of high-ranking wolves—pine, musk, and expensive cologne. They hauled me into a private dressing room. Celine was there, preening in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror. My Moonstone ring sat on her finger, pulsing with a frantic, silver light. Silas stood behind her, adjusting the strap of her gown. When he saw me—drenched, bruised, and clutching that filthy rag—his lip curled in disgust. “You look like a drowned rat,” he snapped. “Change. Now. The procession starts in ten minutes.” “I’m not wearing that, Silas,” I rasped, my voice cracking. “And I’m not playing servant to your mistress.” The air fell into dead silence. Silas’s eyes flashed a dangerous, predatory gold. The anger was unmistakable. But what did that matter now? He had nothing left to hold over me. For five years, the only thing that had kept me tethered to him was love — and that was gone. So when I saw him reach into his pocket, I didn’t expect what came next. He pulled out a small, velvet-lined box and opened it.. Inside lay a ruby-encrusted bracelet. The silver was tarnished with age, but the stones burned like embers. That was…My grandmother’s bracelet! My breath hitched. My hand shot out before my mind could catch up. But Silas lifted the box out of reach — high above my grasping fingers. I glared at him. “You said you lost that in the Ironwood fire.” “I lied,” Silas said, his smile sharp and cold. “This is the only thing you have left of your lineage, And you don’t want to see it destroyed, do you?” His face turned cold. “Then hold Celine’s train. Stand three paces behind her. If that ring doesn’t glow with the light you promised me, this goes into the flames.” He shifted his hand, until the bracelet hung suspended above the licking flames. The rubies caught the firelight. My breath stopped. “I’ll count to three.” “Three.” I looked at the moonstone ring on Celine’s hand—it was flickering, sensing my rage. “Two.” My nails cut into my palms. The humiliation was a physical weight, crushing the air from my lungs. “One.” “I’ll do it,” I choked out. The words came out like I was swallowing shards of sliver. Silas smirked, snapping the box shut. “Good girl. Go get dressed. Celine’s on in ten.” … I took the muddy dress and walked into the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror. Pale. Gaunt. A ghost staring back. Five years of hiding who I really was. Five years of playing small so he could feel big. I thought I’d found my fated mate. I’d just been feeding a monster. Silas Vane, you took everything from me. Now I’m going to take everything from you.
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