Chapter 1
“Sienna, stop dreaming.”
Logan’s voice echoed across the crowded hall, cold and sharp enough to silence the whispers around him. He stood on the raised dais, holding another woman’s hand as though he had already forgotten I existed. Logan Silvermoon was the golden boy of the Silver Moon Pack, the future Alpha, and the heir everyone believed would lead the pack to glory. And me? I was nothing more than a powerless wolf who had never been able to summon a stable wolf form.
“My mate needs to be a true warrior,” Logan declared, lifting his chin so the entire pack could hear him. “Not a useless stray dragging down my royal bloodline.”
Beside him, Elena smirked. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant pack, beautiful and powerful, with everything Logan believed an Alpha’s mate should have. Apparently, I had finally been replaced by someone more suitable.
I squeezed my hands so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood. God, just looking at Logan’s arrogant face made my stomach turn. Still, I forced myself to lower my eyes and let my voice tremble. “Logan, we grew up together…”
“Enough!” Logan snapped, rolling his eyes. “Look, out of pity for our past, if you bow your head to Elena right now, I might let you stay as a low-rank servant. That’s my final mercy.”
Muffled laughter rippled through the crowd. People pointed at me and whispered about how useless I was, how lucky I should feel that Logan was even willing to keep me around. He stood there with an expression of smug anticipation, clearly waiting for tears, begging, and the sight of me crawling back to him like a beaten dog.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
I slowly straightened my back. The heartbreak disappeared from my face, replaced by a cold, almost amused smile. “A servant?” I looked Logan directly in the eye. “Logan, who the hell do you think you are?”
The hall fell silent.
Logan’s jaw tightened. “Sienna, you’re asking for a death wish.”
“I think I’ve been asking for one ever since I was born.”
Before he could say another word, I reached beneath my sleeve and pulled out a small silver blade. Without hesitation, I drew it across my palm. Fresh blood welled from the cut, but instead of falling to the floor, the droplets began to float in the air. Crimson lines twisted together above my hand, forming an ancient rune that none of the elders had expected to see.
A shocked murmur spread through the hall.
“That’s an ancient rejection seal…”
I didn't know how I knew how to use it. I had never been taught the ritual. Yet the words came naturally, as though I had been waiting my entire life to speak them.
I raised my bleeding hand and stared at Logan.
“Logan Silvermoon. In the name of the Moon Goddess, I, Sienna, reject you as my mate.”
BANG!
The blood rune shattered.
The force of the rejection exploded through the hall. Logan screamed as the severed mate bond tore through his soul, his knees buckling beneath him before he crashed onto the marble floor. Cold sweat poured down his face as he struggled to breathe, while the people around him stared in horror.
I walked toward him slowly. From where I stood, Logan looked strangely small, nothing like the powerful future Alpha he had seemed to be only moments ago.
I raised my hand and slapped him across the face.
SLAP!
The sound echoed through the hall.
“That’s for your delusion,” I said, looking down at him. “From this second on, I owe you and your pack nothing.”
I turned on my heel before he could answer, shoved the grand doors open, and walked straight into the blizzard outside.
The freezing wind immediately bit into my wounded palm, but I kept walking. I didn't care where I went. Anywhere was better than staying in a place where everyone had spent years convincing me that I was worthless.
I had barely reached the edge of the forest when low growls sounded behind me.
I stopped.
Crimson eyes glinted between the trees.
Elena's assassins.
I backed away one step at a time until my heel struck empty air. Behind me was the cliff overlooking the Forbidden Forest, and there was nowhere left to run.
One of the assassins smiled and raised his silver blade.
“Any last words, runt?”
He lunged.
Just before the blade reached my throat, a dark, terrifying roar tore through the night sky.
The assassin froze.
And for the first time that night, I realized there was something in this forest far more dangerous than the people hunting me.
