Chapter 1 ***

Selene Blackwood

I stand in front of the mirror and turn sideways for probably the fifth time. Okay, maybe the tenth. I don’t know. I’ve lost count.

But can anyone really blame me? Today is my mating ceremony with Damon, and I’m finally going to become the Luna of Moon-fang. I’ve dreamed about this day for so long that it almost doesn’t feel real now that it’s actually here. I look down at my dress again.

It’s white, of course. I don’t think I would have survived Emma’s teasing if I had chosen any other color. The skirt is spread around my feet, and there are tiny silver details sewn into the fabric that catch the light whenever I move. My hair is curled and decorated with little white flowers, and for some reason, I keep touching them to make sure they’re still there.

“You’re going to ruin your hair.”

I look at Emma through the mirror. My younger sister is standing behind me with her arms crossed, looking far too amused for someone who has been watching me panic for the past hour.

“I’m not ruining anything.”

“You’ve touched those flowers at least twenty times.”

“Have not.”

She raises an eyebrow, and I turn away from the mirror.

“Okay. Maybe I have.”

Emma laughs, and I can’t help smiling too.

“You look beautiful, Selene.”

I look at myself again. For once, I actually believe her. My cheeks start getting warm, and I immediately look away.

I narrow my eyes at her, and she bursts out laughing. I roll my eyes, but I’m laughing too.

I’m just happy. That’s the only way I can explain it. Happy. Nervous, maybe. A little scared too, because this is a huge day and there are going to be hundreds of people watching me, but mostly, I’m happy.

In a few minutes, I’ll be standing beside Damon. My Damon. And after today, I’ll officially be his Luna.

I feel my cheeks getting hot again.

“You’re doing it again,” Emma says.

“Doing what?”

“Blushing.”

“I’m not blushing.”

“You are.”

“I’m really not.”

She gives me a look, and I sigh.

“Fine. Maybe a little.”

She laughs again, and for a moment, everything feels perfect. She escorts me to the hall before leaving me at the entrance. A few moments later, the ceremonial doors open.

My smile slowly disappears.

I walk into the ceremonial hall, and immediately, I feel everyone’s eyes on me. There are so many people. The entire Moon-fang Pack seems to be here, all dressed up and standing on either side of the path leading to the altar.

I recognize some faces and smile at them as I walk past, trying not to trip over my dress. My heart is beating so fast, but I don’t care. I’m really doing this. I’m actually becoming Luna.

I look toward the altar and I see him.

Damon.

My smile comes automatically, but it doesn’t last. I stop walking because something is wrong, although I don’t know what it is at first. Maybe it’s the way he’s standing or maybe it’s his face, but I can’t put my finger on it.

The man looking back at me isn’t the man I expect to see.

His face is hard. Too hard.

And his eyes…

My smile slowly fades.

“Damon?”

He doesn’t answer.

I take another step, but he still doesn’t move. Why isn’t he smiling? Why isn’t he looking at me? I glance around, suddenly feeling uncomfortable because a few people are staring at me, and I don’t understand why. The pack priest is standing beside Damon, looking just as confused as I am, and the strange feeling in my stomach only gets worse.

I look back at Damon.

“Damon, what’s going on?”

Nothing.

He just stares at me.

I don’t know what to do. This is supposed to be our mating ceremony, but suddenly I feel like I’ve walked into the wrong place. My fingers tighten around my dress as I wait for him to say something, anything, that will explain the strange look on his face.

Then the priest clears his throat.

“Let us begin the…”

“Stop.”

Damon’s voice cuts him off.

I freeze as the priest immediately stops talking. Nobody says anything. Damon raises one hand, and suddenly, the entire hall is silent. My heart starts beating faster as I stare at him, wondering what could possibly be so important that he would stop the ceremony.

“Damon?”

This time, my voice comes out shaky.

He looks at me and I wish he hadn’t, because there is something in his eyes that scares me. I don’t know what I’ve done, and I don’t even know what’s happening, but the way he’s looking at me makes me feel like I’m standing before a stranger instead of the man I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Then Damon speaks.

“I, Damon Nightshade, Alpha of the Moon-fang Pack, hereby reject Selene Blackwood as my mate and Luna.”

I blink once, then twice, because surely I heard him wrong. I look around the room, but everyone is staring at me, and no one is laughing or looking confused. Oh God, he really said it. He rejected me, and he just did it in front of the entire pack.

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. Damon can’t be serious. He can’t. Not here. Not today. I look at him again, waiting for him to say something else, maybe tell me this is a joke or that there’s some kind of explanation, but he doesn’t. He just looks at me, and then I hear the whispers spreading through the hall.

I barely hear them because Damon is still talking.

“Selene Blackwood, you have been accused of treason against the Moon-fang Pack.”

My head snaps up.

“What?”

The word comes out before I can stop it. Damon’s expression doesn’t change.

Treason?

Me?

I look around the room, but nobody is saying anything and nobody is coming to my defense. I don’t understand what is happening or how I can be standing here listening to this when just minutes ago I was worried about whether my flowers were sitting properly in my hair.

I look at Emma.

Our eyes meet, and something about her expression makes me pause. I can’t explain it. She looks nervous, or maybe I’m imagining it. I don’t know anymore, so I look back at Damon.

“You have betrayed the pack.”

My heart sinks.

“No.”

It’s barely a whisper.

Damon continues.

“Therefore, I hereby strip you of your position as Luna and exile you from the Moon-fang Pack.”

I stare at him, and for a moment, I honestly think I’ve stopped breathing. Exile. The word doesn’t make sense. I look down at my dress, my stupid, beautiful white dress, the one I spent hours getting ready in and the one I thought I would wear while becoming Luna.

I suddenly feel ridiculous.

I came here expecting to leave as the Luna of Moon-fang. Instead, I’m being rejected, accused of treason, and exiled, all in front of everyone. My eyes fill with tears, but I don’t care enough to wipe them. I just keep staring at Damon.

This is the man I love. The man I came here for. The man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. And I don’t recognize him anymore.

I want to ask him why. I want to ask him what I’ve done.

I want to ask him how he can stand there and do this to me, but I can’t speak. I can’t even move, so I just stand there while everyone watches me.

All I know is that I came into this hall expecting to become a Luna and I’m leaving it as an exile.

How did we even get here?