Chapter 1
Rain battered the city, turning this rogue-unfriendly place into a predator waiting to devour the weak.
I knelt on the greasy floor, scrubbing stubborn stains in every corner of the diner with a frayed, dirty rag.
Ever since Alpha Greyson cut our bond and banished me from the Silvermoon Pack, this had been my life.
Without a pack’s protection, my wolf had grown frail, slipping into dormancy more often than not.
“Order of roast beef, please.” A voice I knew in my soul sounded above me.
My body stiffened as I slowly looked up.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I saw a black Maybach at the curb.
Greyson stood at the entrance in his bespoke suit, looking so untouchable it was as if even the rain dared not fall on him.
Despite the thick smell of grease and frying oil, I could still catch that dominant scent of cedar and frost—unique to a top-tier Alpha.
It carried authority. Oppression. Absolute control.
I instinctively tried to avoid him, but fate was cruel. While taking out the trash in the alley, I walked straight into him.
His deep-set, steel-blue eyes were cold, filled with nothing but contempt.
“You’ve sunken so low without my protection? Pathetic. Even a low-rank Omega lives better than this.”
His icy voice sliced through the storm like a blade, piercing my ears, sharp enough to wound.
I shoved down the dying embers of my wolf and forced a professional, customer-service smile.
“Sir, you ordered roast beef, correct?”
Greyson let out a cold laugh, his eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of revenge.
“This is your karma, Elena.”
He stepped closer. His Alpha aura pressed down on me so heavily that I could barely breathe.
My knees trembled, threatening to give out.
“You committed so many sins just to become my Luna, and look at you now. Do you ever regret it?”
My fingers tightened around my sour-smelling apron until my nails dug into my palms. A bitter smile curved my lips.
Regret it?
Of course I did.
What I regretted most was using my father’s power as an elder to force him into signing that mating contract during the Full Moon Ritual when I was eighteen—all to compete with his fated mate, my half-sister, Sera Hurley.
“Not going to answer?”
He suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist, dragging me toward his car despite my desperate struggle.
“Since you love being a miserable wretch so much, let me show you how well Silvermoon is doing without you. I want you to see exactly how irrelevant you’ve become.”
