Chapter 1: Joanna's POV

"Miss Joanna, please describe what you witnessed on the night of November fifteenth." Chief Elder Matthias's voice echoed through the great hall.

I sat in the witness stand, while my mate sat in the defendant's chair across from me.

I raised my head, and my gaze involuntarily traveled from Sebastian's silver handcuffs to his face.

His deep brown hair was somewhat disheveled, blue-black stubble sprouting along his jaw, but those deep gray-blue eyes were still clear, staring at me with utter disbelief.

My wolf let out a low growl inside my mind, instinctively wanting to break free of all restraints and rush to her mate.

I could feel Sebastian's emotions—confusion, shock, and pain.

I hesitated. Just as I was about to open my mouth and deny everything, my father's voice slipped through the mind-link into my consciousness: "Joanna. You know what to say. Think about your mother—she's still waiting for surgery."

A slight tremor ran through my body.

Everything from two days ago was still vivid in my mind. The most brutal battle in a decade had erupted at the pack's border—thirty-seven warriors killed, the eastern outposts nearly collapsed across the entire line.

Someone had leaked defense intelligence, allowing the Northern Pack's strike force to walk right through as if the walls weren't there.

The Council was furious. The Chief Elder ordered a full investigation to find the traitor.

And my mate—Beta Sebastian Lockwood—had become the primary suspect, because he served in the border patrol and knew the defensive deployments like the back of his hand.

"I know this is difficult for you, child." Matthias's voice cut through my thoughts. "But the safety of the pack comes before all else. Please state truthfully what you saw."

But my throat refused to make a sound.

One day earlier, my father had come to me and demanded that I give false testimony at the Council trial, identifying Sebastian as the traitor.

I had refused on the spot. Because I knew the truth—the one who had really conspired with the Northern Pack was my father's business partner, Damian Ravenclaw.

I had overheard their secret conversations and seen those suspicious arms trade records.

But my father and Ravenclaw's interests were bound too tightly together. Half of the Ashford family's prosperity over the years was built on grey-market arms smuggling.

Once the truth came out, it wouldn't just be my father—the entire family would be implicated, losing their status within the Shadow Pack, stripped of their assets and power.

But I didn't care about any of that. The only thing I cared about was Sebastian.

I loved him. He was the mate destiny had given me, the other half of my soul.

I would rather lose every scrap of the family's glory than betray him.

But this morning, everything had changed.

At five a.m., I was jolted awake by the urgent ringing of the phone—my mother had suffered a sudden heart attack and been rushed to the ICU.

When I arrived at the hospital, my father was standing outside the operating room, holding the unsigned surgical consent form in his hand.

"The surgery is high-risk. It requires a family member's signature," he said casually, his gaze drifting down to the document.

"All you have to do is take the witness stand today and testify exactly as I've told you." My father's voice dropped, low and ice-cold. "I'll sign immediately, and the surgery begins at once. If you won't..."

He glanced toward the ICU. "Then she waits."

"You're insane!" I nearly lunged forward to grab him by the collar. "That's Mom! You said with your own mouth that you loved her!"

"Of course I love her," my father replied, his tone brooking no argument. "But the honor of this family is more important than any one person's feelings. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made."

"Sebastian is innocent!"

"I give you my word—I'll arrange his bail as soon as possible."

"Miss Joanna?" Elder Matthias raised his voice. "Are you listening?"

I snapped back to the present, realizing that everyone in the entire Council hall was waiting for my answer.

More than twenty elders sat on the elevated bench, and the gallery was packed with pack members, their gazes a mix of curiosity, anger, and anticipation.

And Sebastian was still watching me, with a look that made it nearly impossible to breathe.

"I'm listening, Elder," I said, forcing composure into my voice.

"Then answer my question. On the night of November fifteenth—what did you see?"

I reached through the mind-link to my father one more time: "You promised me you'd get him out quickly."

"Of course. Trust me." The reply came back instantly, steady and certain.

I drew a deep breath. Inside my mind, my wolf let out a desperate wail, fighting with everything she had against what I was about to say.

But I had to do this. For my mother. So that afterward, I could still find a way to save Sebastian.

"I saw it." My voice began to tremble, but I forced myself to continue. "On the night of November fifteenth, at approximately ten o'clock, I saw Sebastian meeting with members of the Northern Pack at the abandoned docks."

The hall erupted into commotion.

"Order!" Elder Matthias struck the gavel.

I didn't dare look at Sebastian again, but his shock and pain still surged through the bond, crashing against my consciousness with violent force.

"Continue," the Elder commanded.

My nails dug into my palms, and blood seeped down between my fingers.

"He handed a document to one of them—it was marked with the locations of our pack's eastern outposts and the patrol schedules. I saw it clearly, because the moonlight was bright that night."

The lies flowed from my mouth like poison, and every word tore at my soul.

"No!" Sebastian suddenly rose to his feet, the silver cuffs clanging loudly. "Joanna! You're lying! Why? Look at me! Tell me why!"

"Restrain the defendant!" Elder Matthias shouted.

Two guards rushed forward and forced Sebastian back down. One of them produced a syringe filled with pale blue liquid—a sedative specifically designed to suppress a werewolf's heightened emotions.

The needle pierced the side of Sebastian's neck. His struggles gradually subsided, but those eyes remained locked on me, filled with nothing but hurt and betrayal.

I closed my eyes, and the tears I had been holding back finally broke free.

"Does the witness have anything else to add?" the Elder asked.

I shook my head, not daring to make a sound, terrified that if I opened my mouth, the truth would come spilling out—that on the night of November fifteenth, he had never left my apartment. We had been in bed, making love. He had been inside me, all the way until dawn.

How could he possibly have gone to the docks to meet anyone from the Northern Pack?

It was I who had lied.

"Very well." Elder Matthias opened the heavy dossier before him.

"Based on the witness testimony, combined with the evidence recovered from the defendant's residence—a Northern Pack communication token, and a large, unexplained financial transfer—the evidentiary chain is complete."

I knew every piece of that evidence had been planted by my father. But I couldn't say so. If I did, my mother would die on the operating table.

"The Council will now render its final judgment." Elder Matthias rose to his feet, and the other elders stood with him.

"Sebastian Lockwood, you betrayed the pack by selling classified military intelligence to an enemy faction, resulting in the deaths of thirty-seven warriors, in violation of Article Three of the Urban Werewolf Coexistence Treaty—the Clause of Pack Loyalty."

The hall fell deathly silent.

"The Council's sentence is as follows." The Elder's voice was cold and merciless.

"Sebastian Lockwood shall be stripped of his right to reside in urban territory, administered a permanent suppressant injection, and exiled to the border wasteland for life. He is forbidden from ever returning to Shadow Pack territory. The sentence is effective immediately and shall be carried out at once."

Permanent exile. That meant Sebastian would be cast out into the desolate border wilderness, left at the mercy of wild beasts and hostile packs.

"Wait!" I couldn't help but leap to my feet. "This is too harsh! I demand—"

"Miss Joanna." Elder Matthias turned toward me, his gaze severe. "Do you have something further to say? As a witness, your role in these proceedings is concluded."

Just then, my father's voice came through the mind-link again: "Your mother is on the operating table right now. You wouldn't want the surgery to stop halfway through, would you, Joanna."

My body went rigid.

I looked toward the gallery. My father was seated in the front row, his face expressionless. His phone rested on his thigh, ready to make that call at any moment.

I closed my mouth.

"No." My voice was so faint it was barely audible. "I have nothing else to say."

Elder Matthias nodded. "Very well. The sentence stands—"

Before the gavel could fall, Sebastian's voice suddenly rang out. "I do."

The entire hall fell silent once more.

"I have something to say." He rose slowly, his voice growing steadier and more resolute with every word.

"Before the sentence is carried out, under Article Twelve of the Coexistence Treaty, I have the right to settle personal affairs."

Elder Matthias frowned. "What affairs?"

Sebastian turned his head and looked at me. That look stopped my heart—suffocating, as though I couldn't draw a single breath of air.

"I want to dissolve the mate bond," he said, his voice perfectly calm.

What? A sharp pain tore through my chest, and my hands and feet went numb.

"Sebastian, you..." I tried to speak, but my throat was already too choked to form words.

My wolf let out a mournful cry from the depths of my consciousness.

"That is your right." Elder Matthias opened the dossier before him, the parchment making a dry, scraping sound.

"But are you certain? Dissolving a mate bond causes tremendous suffering to both parties."

"I'm certain." Sebastian answered without a moment's hesitation.

He gazed deeply at me, and in his eyes swirled complex emotions I couldn't decipher.

Then he spoke the words of the ancient ritual oath:

"I, Sebastian Lockwood, Beta of the Shadow Pack, in the presence of the assembled Elders and under the witness of the Moon Goddess—reject you, Joanna Ashford, as my mate."

Waves of searing pain tore through my chest, as if someone were sawing through my flesh with a dull blade, one agonizing stroke at a time.

I could feel that Sebastian was enduring the same pain on his end.

"Sebastian, don't..." I stretched out a trembling hand toward him.

But he had already turned away and would no longer look at me.

Tears blurred my vision until I could barely make out Sebastian's figure.

I had betrayed him. What right did I have to remain his mate? What right did I have to cling to a bond I had just desecrated with my own tongue? The answer was simple—none.

"I, Joanna Ashford, daughter of the Shadow Pack Alpha." My voice was shaking, every word like spitting blood. "I accept your rejection."

The mate bond snapped in an instant.

The pain that followed was beyond description. It was as if someone had torn my soul in half while it was still alive, as if my heart had been ripped from my chest by force.

I couldn't help but let out a pained groan, and my hands flew instinctively to my neck—the mate mark there burned like fire.

I forced my eyes open and saw Sebastian gasping in agony as well, cold sweat beading on his forehead. But still, he did not look at me.

The bond was gone completely. I could no longer feel his emotions, could no longer hear his voice through the mind-link.

I collapsed to the ground, my palms flat against the floor, struggling to breathe. A violent wave of nausea surged up without warning. I turned my head and dry-heaved several times, but nothing came out.

I raised my head. My father was still sitting in the gallery, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.