They called it a mating ceremony. It became my public humiliation instead.

I stood before the entire Nocturne Dominion, thousands of wolves watching, waiting for the Alpha the Moon itself had chosen for me to claim me as his mate. Instead, Cassian Voss Ravaryn looked into my eyes and rejected the bond in front of everyone.

I am Seraphina Arden, the last of the Moonbound bloodline, the daughter of a family the Dominion tried to erase. I spent thirteen years hiding from a destiny I never asked for, only to have it drag me into an arena and break me in front of a crowd that already thought I didn't belong.

But rejection doesn't kill a bond. It scars it. And what Cassian left me carrying that night is a secret he doesn't know exists, one that will force him to choose between the curse he fears and the family he threw away.

He thinks he saved me by walking away.

He has no idea what's coming for both of us.