Chapter 1 The Cruelest Birthday Gift

• POV Luna Hartley
• The Blackwood mansion ballroom was filled with werewolves from every pack on the continent. Crystal chandeliers reflected golden light on guests dressed in their finest, and the scent of white roses—my favorite flowers—filled the air.
• It was supposed to be the happiest night of my life.
• My eighteenth birthday. The night I would finally make my first transformation and discover who my bonded mate was. Of course, I already knew. Everyone knew.
• Dominic Blackwood.
• The most powerful Alpha in North America. Billionaire CEO of Blackwood Enterprises. And the most beautiful man I'd ever laid eyes on Earth.
• My heart raced as I saw him crossing the room toward me. Tall, broad-shouldered beneath a perfectly tailored Italian tuxedo, his black hair slicked back to reveal a face so chiseled it looked like it had been created by the gods. But it was his eyes—stormy gray with gold rims—that always took my breath away.
• "Luna." His deep voice echoed, hushing the entire room.
• I smoothed my pale pink dress, the same one Mom had worn to her own coming-out ball. It wasn't as elegant as the designer gowns the other women wore, but it was special to me.
• "Dominic." I smiled, feeling my cheeks flush. "You came."
• He didn't smile back.
• Something was wrong. His eyes, usually so intense when he looked at me, were... empty. Cold. As if I were a stranger.
• "Happy birthday, Luna." The words came out mechanically, emotionless.
• "I... thank you." My voice trembled. "Dominic, are you okay?"
• "I'm fine." He reached into his inside jacket pocket. "Actually, I came to deliver your birthday present."
• My heart leaped. A present. From Dominic. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe he was just nervous, like me.
• "You didn't have to..."
• "Oh, but I did." Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "This gift is long overdue."
• He pulled a white envelope from his pocket and held it between us. I reached out, confused, and took the paper. It was heavy. Official.
• "Open it." It wasn't a request. It was an order.
• With trembling fingers, I opened the envelope and removed the documents. Words leaped from the page: "Formal Declaration of Rejection," "Dissolution of Mate Bond," "Dominic Blackwood, Alpha of the Black Moon Pack."
• The world spun.
• "What... what is this?" I whispered, staring at him.
• "Exactly what it sounds like." His voice was icy. "Read it out loud, Luna. For all to witness."
• "Dominic, please..." Tears burned my eyes. "Don't do this."
• "READ." The alpha command reverberated in his voice, and my body obeyed against my will.
• My hands shook so badly I could barely hold the paper.
• "I, Dominic Blackwood..." My voice broke.
• "Louder." He crossed his arms, impassive.
• I swallowed the sob that threatened to escape.
• "I, Dominic Blackwood, Alpha of the Black Moon Pack and CEO of Blackwood Enterprises, do hereby formally reject Luna Marie Hartley as my destined mate by the mate bond..."
• A shocked murmur rippled through the room. I heard my mother gasp somewhere behind me.
• "Continue." His voice was stony.
• "...I declare that she is unfit to be my Luna, nor to carry the title of Lady of the Black Moon Pack. This bond is, as of this moment, dissolved and of no effect."
• The paper fell from my hands. "Dominic..." I whispered, tears flowing freely now. "Why?"
• He stepped closer, so close I could feel the warmth of his body, the scent of cedar and mint that always made me dizzy. He leaned in, his mouth almost touching my ear.
• "Because you're too weak to be my Luna."
• The words were a knife to the heart.
• "Look at you." He pulled away, his eyes roaming my body with... disdain. "No wolf, no power, no bloodline. You're a dull Omega, Luna. I need a strong mate by my side. An Alpha. Not some pathetic girl who can barely defend herself."
• Every word was poison pouring through my veins.
• "But... the bond..." My legs buckled. "We are destined mates..."
• "Fate made a mistake." He shrugged, as if discussing the weather. "And I'm correcting it."
• That's when I felt it. A sharp, searing pain, ripping through my chest from the inside out. The bond of mates. It was breaking.
• I fell to my knees, a hand clutching my chest. It felt like someone was ripping my still-beating heart from my body.
• "Dominic!" I screamed, heedless of everyone watching. "Please, stop! It hurts!"
• "It should hurt." He looked down at me, without a shred of compassion. "It's the last time you'll ever feel anything for me."
• Through the haze of pain, I saw movement. A female figure approaching. High heels clicking against the marble.
• My stepsister.
• Chelsea.
• She looked stunning in a blood-red dress that hugged every curve of her perfect body. Blonde hair falling in flawless waves, makeup worthy of a magazine cover. Everything I would never be.
• "Poor Luna." She smiled, but her eyes were cruel. "It must be so hard to be rejected on your own birthday." She stopped beside Dominic, and my world fell apart completely when he wrapped his arm around her waist.
• "No," I whispered. "No, no, no..."
• "Surprise, little sister." Chelsea snuggled against Dominic's chest, her fingers tracing the lapel of his suit jacket. "Dominic and I have been together for months."
• "Months?" The word came out as a moan.
• "Six months, to be exact." She examined her perfectly manicured nails. "Since that conference in Paris. You remember, don't you? When you were 'too sick' to go?"
• I did. I'd stayed home with a terrible flu while Chelsea took my place as the family's representative.
• "That's when we realized." Dominic stroked Chelsea's arm, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on her skin. "Chelsea is everything you're not, Luna. Strong. Confident. A true Alpha."
• "But she's my sister..." My voice was broken, unrecognizable. "Half-sister," Chelsea corrected with a venomous smile. "And not for long. Father has already agreed to disinherit you, Luna. You are no longer part of this family."
• The pain in my chest intensified. The bond was almost completely broken now. I could feel it, like a thread stretched to its limit, about to snap.
• "Dominic..." I tried one last time, reaching out with a trembling hand. "Please... I love you..."
• He looked at my hand as if it were something disgusting.
• "Don't touch me." His voice was ice. "You mean nothing to me. Never have."
• And then, in front of all the guests, in front of my crying mother, in front of my entire pack, Dominic Blackwood leaned down and kissed Chelsea.
• The thread snapped.
• The pain was so intense I thought I would die right there. Screams tore from my throat as the mate bond shattered into a thousand fragments inside my chest. It was as if my soul were being ripped apart.
• And when the pain finally began to subside, leaving only a hollow void where there had once been warmth and hope, I looked up.
• Dominic and Chelsea were still kissing. Deeply. Passionately.
• As if I didn't even exist.
• Laughter echoed through the room. Some wolves whispered. Others simply looked on in pity.
• I managed to stand on shaky legs, my vision blurred with tears. My mother tried to come closer, but I backed away.
• "Luna, darling…" She held out her hand.
• "No." My voice sounded strange, distant. "Don't touch me."
• I turned to leave, but Chelsea's voice stopped me.
• "Oh, Luna?" She pulled away from Dominic, wiping away the smeared lipstick with her thumb. "One last thing."
• I shouldn't have looked back. But I did.
• Chelsea was smiling. It was the cruelest smile I'd ever seen.
• "Happy birthday, little sister." She paused, savoring the moment. "I hope you liked your gift."
• Then she turned to Dominic and whispered something in his ear. Loud enough for me to hear.
• "She's finally gone. Now we can announce our engagement."
• The world spun again. Engagement.
• I ran.
• I ran from the ballroom, through the mansion's hallways, and out into the cold night. My bare feet bled on the gravel, but I didn't care. The physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my chest.
• I reached the woods surrounding the estate and collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.
• Eighteen years old. Eighteen years waiting for this moment. Dreaming of Dominic, imagining our life together, fantasizing about the day he would accept me as his Luna.
• And it was all a lie.
• I lay on the cold forest floor, curled into a fetal position, sobs racking my body. I don't know how long I lay there. Hours, maybe. Long enough for the lights in the mansion to dim. For the voices and music to cease.
• For the silence to consume everything.
• That's when I heard footsteps.
• I looked up, expecting to see my mother. Or maybe one of the pack wolves coming to get me.
• But it was Chelsea.
• And she wasn't alone.
• Four pack guards accompanied her, their expressions hard and merciless.
• "Well, well." Chelsea stopped a few feet away, looking at me like I was trash. "Look at that. The rejected Omega, crying in the woods. How cliché."
• I forced myself to sit up, wiping away the tears.
• "What do you want, Chelsea?"
• "You know what?" She tilted her head, pretending to think. "I came to finish what Dominic started."
• Something in her voice made me freeze.
• "What do you mean?" Chelsea smiled. There was no humanity in that smile.
• "Rejected omegas rarely survive, Luna. Did you know that?" She began circling me like a predator. "The pain of breaking the bond... usually kills them. Or drives them mad. Either way, they don't last long."
• "Chelsea..." My heart began to beat faster.
• "But you..." She stopped in front of me. "You're stubborn. Too strong for your own good. So I decided to help fate."
• One of the guards stepped forward.
• "No," I whispered, backing away. "Chelsea, don't..."
• "Kill her." The order came cold and clear from my stepsister's mouth.
• The guards advanced.
• And I, Luna Marie Hartley, rejected Omega with no wolf and no power, did the only thing I could.
• I ran.
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• AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for reading Chapter 1! Will Luna escape? What will Dominic do when he discovers the truth? Leave your comments! Chapter 2 will be published tomorrow at 7 p.m. Don't miss: "The Pain of Breaking the Bond."
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• To be continued...