Chapter 2

I woke to the smell of damp wood and cold stone.

The room was smaller like a forgotten storage closet than the Luna’s quarters. A single, narrow window let in a sliver of pale moonlight, silver against the dust in the air. No fire burned in the hearth.

My fingers were numb, my breath visible in the chill. I pulled every piece of clothing I had tighter around me and curled into the farthest corner, knees tucked to my chest. Somewhere below, music drifted up from the grand hall—soft laughter, the rise and fall of cheerful voices, the clink of crystal glasses.

They were celebrating.

And my pack… my family… was gone.

I would never see my father’s stern smile again, never hear my brother’s teasing voice, never sit around a bonfire with the warriors I’d grown up with. Every memory felt like a knife sliding between my ribs.

Through the narrow gap in the door, I could see a portion of the terrace below. Alexander was there—dancing with Lilian.

She wore a snow-fox fur cape, the firelight from the hall casting a warm flush across her pale face. Around her neck, the moonstone necklace glittered.

My moonstone.

I remembered the heat of it the night I pressed it against his wound, my fingers shaking as his blood soaked into my palm. The bronze wolf’s teeth carved into its surface had been slick with red, still warm from his heartbeat.

Now, it was cold metal against her skin.

I traced the empty spot along my collarbone where it should have been, my fingertips aching. My mother had given me that necklace. It had been more than a keepsake—it was my promise to the man I thought I’d saved.

My eyes burned. I bit down hard on the tender skin of my wrist just to keep from making a sound.

Moon Goddess… if you see everything, why can’t you see me?

The memories came anyway, rushing in like a tide I couldn’t hold back—my father wiping my sword clean after competitions when he thought I wasn’t looking, my mother’s gentle hands in my hair as she taught me medicine, my brother and I catching fish in the river until our fingers went numb, the laughter of my warriors under starlight.

Now, all of it… gone.

My wolf, Lily, keened in the back of my mind, a sound so full of loss it hollowed me out.

I don’t know how long I sat there, staring at the cold floor, until I heard the footsteps.

A familiar, syrupy voice followed. "Is the Luna sleeping? I brought you a blanket."

The door creaked open, and Lilian stepped inside, the moonlight painting her in silver. She carried a blanket—thin, almost useless—and her necklace caught the light, throwing a shard of icy brightness across the room.

Her gaze swept over me, and the corner of her mouth curved in something that wasn’t a smile. She tossed the blanket toward the corner, letting it crumple to the floor.

"Oh—oops. My hand slipped." She tilted her head, her pupils catching the moonlight, turning an unnatural green. "Did you know? Your little ‘saving grace’ came in handy for me. The Moon Goddess must really have it out for you—making sure even the one good thing you did was credited to me."

Her voice dripped with mock sympathy.

"Tsk, tsk. You must be in a panic, hmm? And here’s the best part—news from the front line. The Lil Pack is gone. All of them. Your parents… your brother… their heads are hanging on the city walls of your old territory as we speak."

Her smile widened, cruel and bright.

The room tilted. My breath caught somewhere between a sob and a snarl. Something inside me snapped.

Before I could think, my hand shot up, fingers curling into claws—

She gasped sharply and stumbled back, grabbing her own wrist. I froze. In the moonlight, I saw it three deep scratches marring her pale skin.

Her eyes filled instantly with tears. "Stella… I was just trying to bring you a blanket. Why would you hurt me?"

The perfect, trembling damsel act.

By the time Alexander burst through the door, she was already on the floor, cradling her injured wrist.

"It wasn’t me” I started, but my words drowned under the sound of his enraged growl.

In two strides, he was on me. His hand clamped around my throat, slamming me back into the wall so hard the impact rattled my teeth. His fangs grazed my neck; the heat of his breath laced with fury.

"You vicious little thing," he snarled. "Touch her again, and I’ll make you regret ever drawing breath."

He dropped me like I was nothing. My knees buckled, and I collapsed, coughing violently, my vision swimming.

Without a glance in my direction, he bent, scooping Lilian into his arms. She buried her face in his chest like she belonged there.

And then they were gone.

The door slammed shut, the sound ringing in the empty room.

I dragged my gaze to the sliver of moonlight spilling through the window. It blurred as tears streaked hot and silent down my face.

I had nothing left—not my family, not my pack, not even the truth.

Only the cold.

And the hunger for vengeance.