Chapter 1

　　Mira's POV

　　I am Mira Mooncrest. The Alpha heiress of Mooncrest Pack and Marcus Mooncrest's only daughter, or at least, I was, until he remarried.

　　I was supposed to marry Caelan Silvercrest today, the Alpha of Silvercrest Pack. Instead, I ran away with my boyfriend, Elias.

　　Elias was waiting beneath my window, looking up at me. "Mira, you can't marry that monster. Come with me. Right now." So I went. I didn't even look back. I followed the man I had chosen into the darkness beyond Mooncrest's borders, running until I was breathless, my heart racing with the wild sweetness of believing I was running toward love.

　　The moment the news reached Mooncrest Pack, my father suffered a heart attack on the spot. When I learned that he was in critical condition, I rushed back. At the border of Mooncrest territory, Elias handed me a cup of water to calm my nerves. I drank it. But it wasn't until a burning pain shot through my veins that I realized the truth: the water Elias gave me had been laced with silver poison.

　　The silver poison spread through my veins, my limbs going rigid in seconds. I couldn't lift a single finger. But my mind stayed sharp, as if submerged in ice water. My stepmother, Seraphina, hid me on a small bed in the side room of Moonfall Manor. She turned my head to the side and pressed my forehead against the cold window glass, positioning me so I could see straight into the main hall. She wanted me to watch my father's funeral while the silver poison slowly killed me.

　　My father's memorial service was held in the grand hall of Moonfall Manor. Every sound reached my ears with clarity. Seraphina's tearful speech, the guests' murmured comments, and, from the lounge, the faint sounds of hushed voices and hurried breaths from the lounge.

　　Seraphina said through her tears, "Mira is such a foolish girl. Caelan Silvercrest is the Alpha of Silvercrest Pack. Those rumors about his first two mates dying mysteriously are nothing but slander against the Silvercrest family. But Mira believed it and ran from the mate ceremony!"

　　Lying frozen on that bed, a surge of bitter acid rose in my chest. Everyone knew the Alpha of Silvercrest Pack had his face disfigured in a fire, and since then his temper had turned volatile. No one had seen what lay beneath his mask. The entire werewolf community had been buzzing about how Caelan Silvercrest had taken two political wives within a year, and both Lunas had died under suspicious circumstances. The only reason the news had been buried so quickly was Silvercrest Pack's immense power and influence. What normal parent would marry off their daughter to him? If Caelan was so wonderful, why didn't Seraphina send her own daughter, Vivienne, instead? I clenched my teeth in hatred, but my lips and tongue were numb. I couldn't even tremble with rage.

　　Then I heard the rustle of fabric from the lounge, followed by Vivienne's hushed, excited voice, "Elias... I finally have you. I've liked you for so long. But your eyes were always on Mira. I could only follow you in silence."

　　They were together, and Vivienne couldn't stop pouring out her feelings.

　　Elias came from a poor family, but he was handsome and charming, his grades the highest in his year, the campus heartthrob at Mooncrest Pack Academy. He was the man I had chased for four years.

　　Anything Mira had, Vivienne wanted.

　　Elias panted, "Baby, I noticed you a long time ago too. But that idiot Mira clung to me day and night. I couldn't shake her off! Now it's fine. There's nothing between us anymore."

　　Vivienne let out a girlish laugh. "My mom's plan was brilliant, wasn't it? From now on, Mooncrest Pack will be ours. Treat me well, and you'll have a share of everything that belongs to Mooncrest Pack."

　　Elias scoffed. "You know what? Yesterday, I poisoned Mira with silver. Before the poison paralyzed her, that stupid woman actually tried to trick me. She said she was carrying my pup, trying to make me go soft!"

　　The words hit me like a poisoned blade. My heartbeat spiraled out of control. Something wild thrashed inside my chest, and tears slid uncontrollably from the corners of my eyes. I hadn't lied to him. I really was carrying his pup, two months along. But the father of my child had poisoned me with silver with his own hands, killing two of us at once. A wave of sickening nausea surged through my stomach. I tried desperately to curl up, to press my hand over my abdomen, but my limbs were lead. Only my fingertips twitched faintly. The suffocating grip of the poison closed in again. I had screamed for someone to save me, to save our child. But the only response was the cold stare of the man standing over me.

　　Then her next words hit me even harder.

　　Her voice was low, almost smug, like someone who knew she'd gotten away with murder. "Don't worry. Mom handled it cleanly. Dad wasn't supposed to die this soon. He could have held on for a few more months. But once the oxygen tube was removed, no one would ever know."

　　So that was it. My father wasn't supposed to die. He was murdered.

　　I listened to everything, unable to accept the truth, my mind flashing back over my short twenty years of life. How pathetic. My stepmother and stepsister had set me up with false kindness, and I had treated them as family. I had chased Elias for four whole years, pouring every resource I had into his greedy, shameless werewolf family. I had even fallen out with my father, alienating everyone who mattered. And now, they had left me paralyzed on this bed, forcing me to listen to the entire funeral while fully conscious.

　　Seraphina dabbed her tears and spoke again, her voice dripping with false sincerity. "Don't worry, everyone. I'll continue to cooperate with the Pack enforcement unit in searching for Mira. Once I find her, I'll take care of her the way I always have. Marcus can rest easy, and I'll make sure everyone gets an explanation."

　　The guests rushed to comfort the "grieving" Luna.

　　I could hear the triumph hiding beneath Seraphina's mournful voice, even though I couldn't see it. Silver poison had left me paralyzed, while my father had been murdered by having his oxygen tube removed. Now, the Mooncrest Pack would belong to her and her daughter.

　　I lay rigid on the bed, straining with every ounce of strength I had to scream. Seraphina, Vivienne, and Elias, they were the killers! They killed me! They killed my father! But my paralyzed throat could only produce a faint whimper that no one could hear.

　　Just then, the roar of an engine came from the front of the memorial hall. A car door opened, and a tall young man stepped out, his presence commanding the attention of everyone around him. He stepped out of the shadows and into the light. The moment his feet touched the ground, the air in the entire hall went still. A well-tailored black shirt stretched across his lean, muscular frame. His features were striking but cold, especially his narrow, blade-sharp eyes. Most striking of all was the silver wolf mask covering most of his face, leaving only the hard line of his jaw exposed.

　　I heard Seraphina ask tentatively, "Sir, you are...?"

　　The masked man looked imposing, yet Seraphina couldn't place him. He was unlikely to belong to Mooncrest Pack's elite circles. After all, as the Luna of Mooncrest, she had spent years navigating the pack's aristocratic world and knew nearly every influential figure within it.

　　The man in the silver wolf mask didn't even acknowledge her. He didn't say a word, his expression unreadable. Then, the hall erupted into chaos. The sounds of crashing furniture and breaking glass sent the guests screaming in panic.

　　Seraphina immediately called for help. But before anyone could respond, the masked man's men stormed into the lounge and dragged Vivienne and Elias out, both completely naked.

　　Vivienne's bra was still hanging from Elias's shoulder.