The moon was full the night my mate killed me.
Silver light spilled through the glass dome of the ceremonial hall, washing the marble floors in a pale glow. Hundreds of wolves stood in silence, their eyes fixed on the altar where I waited.
Tonight was supposed to be my mating ceremony.
Tonight, I was supposed to become Luna.
I stood dressed in white, hands trembling despite the calm mask on my face. Across from me stood Alpha Kael Ravaryn — the most powerful Alpha in the North, the man warriors feared and women worshipped.
And the man fate had chosen for me.
His golden eyes met mine.
The mate bond pulsed between us — deep, unbreakable, divine.
At least, that was what I believed.
The High Elder's voice echoed across the hall.
"Under the sacred moon, do you, Alpha Kael Ravaryn, accept Lyra Hale as your fated mate?"
A pause followed.
It was brief.
But in that second, something in his eyes shifted.
"I do," he said.
Relief rushed through me. My wolf stirred with joy.
The Elder turned to me. "And do you, Lyra Hale—"
Cold steel sliced through my throat.
The pain was sharp. Clean. Merciless.
For a heartbeat, I did not understand what had happened.
Then warmth spilled down my neck.
Gasps erupted around us.
My fingers touched my skin — and came away red.
The ceremonial hall blurred as my knees hit the marble floor.
I looked up at him.
At my mate.
At the man holding the silver blade.
There was no hesitation in his expression. No regret.
Only certainty.
"W…why?" I whispered, blood filling my mouth.
He crouched before me, lowering his voice so only I could hear.
"You were never meant to live past tonight."
The mate bond shattered.
The pain of it was worse than the blade.
I felt it rip through my chest — felt my wolf scream as the connection snapped into nothing.
Tears mixed with blood as darkness began to close in.
The last thing I saw was his face.
Unreadable.
And the last thing I felt—
Was betrayal.
Then the world went black.