Chapter 1

“Your father arranged a mating for you years ago. Now that your health has stabilized, will you finally accept the bond?”

I did not hesitate.

“Yes,” I said, my voice steady despite the ache in my chest. “Tell Father I will honor the arrangement. If the Moon Goddess has already chosen my mate, I will not turn away from her will. There is only one thing I ask: I want no grand celebration. I am not doing this for romance. I am doing it because I intend to win.”

My mother was silent for a moment before she gave a quiet sigh.

“You sound very different from the girl who used to dream about marrying for love.”

“That girl was a fool.”

I ended the mindlink before she could answer.

It was supposed to be Sarah’s birthday, a weekend celebration aboard Joseph’s private vessel, surrounded by the sea and the wolves closest to our pack. Instead, I found myself standing beneath the moonlit sky, watching my best friend kiss my mate.

Joseph stood on the upper deck with his arms around Sarah’s waist, his mouth still curved into a smile when she pulled away. A smear of chocolate frosting rested against her cheek, and Joseph lifted his hand to wipe it away with a tenderness I had once believed belonged only to me.

His younger brother, Andrew, stood beside them, holding out a linen cloth for her.

Andrew had once been like an older brother to me. He had watched over me when I was young, teased me whenever Joseph and I quarreled, and sworn that no one would ever hurt me while he was around.

Now he looked at Sarah as though she were the only female wolf in the world.

Sarah had been my closest friend since we were nine. She had braided my hair beneath the old oak tree outside my childhood den and promised me that she would never take anything that belonged to me.

Apparently, promises meant very little once she decided she wanted something.

I watched Joseph bend his head toward her, and something inside me finally went quiet.

He had once told me that I was his future.

He had once bled protecting me from a rival pack.

He had once sworn before the Moonstone that no female wolf would ever stand between us.

Yet when I walked past him, he did not even look at me.

I did not cry. I did not make a scene.

I simply turned away and descended into the lower cabin, where the noise from the celebration faded into the sound of waves striking the hull.

I sat beside the narrow window and closed my eyes.

If I wanted to survive what came next, I could no longer depend on Joseph.

I needed power.

And power in our world came from blood, alliances, and the strength of one's mate.

My father had known that when he arranged my mating years ago.

Perhaps I should have listened to him then.

A few minutes later, I heard footsteps approaching.

“Natalie?”

Sarah's sweet voice came through the wooden door.

I remained silent.

The door opened anyway.

She stepped inside carrying a Black Forest cake, a single candle standing in its center. Her expression was innocent, almost fragile, although I knew better than to trust it.

“Natalie, everyone is asking for you. It is my birthday. You could at least come upstairs.”

“I am not interested.”

Her smile faltered.

“You really don't like me anymore, do you?”

I looked at her calmly. “Are we having this conversation again?”

Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

“I only wanted us to be friends like before.”

“You stopped being my friend long before tonight.”

Her lips trembled.

Then she stepped toward me.

For one brief moment, our eyes met.

Something cold flashed in hers.

She suddenly stumbled backward.

The cake slipped from her hands and struck her chest, covering her dress in chocolate and cream.

I stared at her.

She stared at me.

Then she screamed.

Joseph and Andrew came rushing down the stairs.

“Lavi!”

Joseph reached her first, immediately pulling her against him.

“What happened?”

Sarah looked at me through trembling lashes.

“She pushed me.”

My stomach turned.

“What?”

“She came toward me and shoved me. I only wanted to give her the cake.”

“I never touched you.”

Andrew's expression hardened.

“Natalie, enough.”

“You did not even see what happened.”

“I know Sarah,” he said coldly. “She would never lie about something like this.”

I almost laughed.

There it was.

The truth I had refused to accept all this time.

They had already chosen her.

Joseph turned toward me.

“Apologize.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“No.”

His eyes darkened.

“Then our mating ceremony is over.”

For years, those words would have terrified me.

Tonight, they barely touched me.

Andrew folded his arms.

“Joseph, why are you still considering a future with her? Sarah deserves better.”

I looked at him.

“And that is why no one will ever choose you.”

His face reddened.

Joseph's jaw tightened.

Before I could turn away, his hand closed around my wrist.

“Take that back.”

I pulled against his grip.

“Let me go.”

His anger overcame whatever restraint he had left.

He shoved me.

My back struck the railing.

For one terrible second, I saw the moon reflected in the black water below.

Then I fell.

The sea swallowed me whole.

The cold crushed the breath from my lungs as I plunged beneath the surface. I fought desperately to rise, but my body was already weakening. Everyone in the pack knew I had never learned to swim.

I heard Sarah screaming from above.

“Someone help her! Natalie can't swim!”

Her voice sounded frightened, but I knew her well enough to recognize the lie beneath it.

Joseph's voice followed.

“Leave her.”

My heart broke one final time.

Then the water closed over my head.

My lungs burned as darkness gathered around me.

I was sinking when something struck the water beside me.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist.

A powerful wolf pulled me upward with effortless strength, breaking through the waves as though the sea itself had surrendered to him.

“Hold on,” a deep voice commanded.

I tried to breathe, but only water came from my mouth.

“Look at me.”

I forced my eyes open.

A stranger was holding me against his chest, his face illuminated by the pale light of the moon.

His eyes were an unusual shade of silver-gold.

And the moment our gazes met, the mark of the mate bond burned across my skin.

The stranger went completely still.

So did I.

Neither of us needed words.

The Moon Goddess had already spoken.

He was my mate.

And judging by the stunned expression on his face, I was his.