Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Chapter 1

- Aria -

The cold metal of the prison cell bars bites into my palms as I grip them, staring at my husband through the darkness. Marcus Rivera, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, stands before me with eyes as cold as winter frost.

"Please," I whisper, my voice hoarse from crying. "You have to believe me. I didn't poison her."

"The evidence says otherwise," Marcus replies, his deep voice void of any emotion. The mate bond between us, once warm and vibrant, feels like ice in my chest.

"What evidence? I've never even been to the pack kitchens today!"

"Your bracelet was found next to the poisoned food meant for Sophie. The same bracelet I gave you for our anniversary." His jaw clenches. "How could you, Aria? She's carrying my heir."

The words hit me like physical blows. Sophie. His ex-girlfriend who returned two weeks ago, claiming to be pregnant with his child. The woman who's been slowly turning him against me.

"Marcus, think! Why would I risk everything to hurt her? I'm your mate, your Luna..."

"You're nothing but a jealous woman who couldn't handle the truth," he cuts me off, his alpha command bleeding into his voice, making me whimper. "Sophie showed me everything. The threats you sent her. The calls telling her to leave the pack."

"I never..."

"ENOUGH!" His roar echoes through the prison, and I instinctively bare my neck in submission. "The trial is tomorrow. The pack elders will decide your fate."

He turns to leave, and desperation claws at my throat.

"Marcus, wait! Just listen to me for one minute. Someone is framing me!"

He pauses at the door but doesn't turn around. "The funny thing is, I actually thought you were different. Pure. Innocent. But you're just like every other power-hungry woman who wanted the Luna title."

"That's not true! I love you!"

"Love?" He laughs, but it's cruel and sharp. "You don't know what love is. Sophie and I... what we have is real. What you and I had was just the mate bond forcing us together."

My legs threaten to give out. Three years of marriage, three years of devotion, reduced to nothing.

"You've been seeing her," I state, not question. The pieces finally clicking together. All those late nights, those 'emergency pack meetings,' the way he'd come home smelling of perfume that wasn't mine.

"She's my true love. She always has been." He finally turns to look at me, and there's not a hint of remorse in his dark eyes. "The only mistake I made was accepting you as my mate instead of rejecting you from the start."

"Then why didn't you?" I ask, tears streaming down my face.

"My father. The previous Alpha believed in sacred mate bonds. But he's dead now, and I'm Alpha. I make the rules." His lips curl into a cold smile. "And after tomorrow's trial, I'll be free of you. Permanently."

"The trial is rigged, isn't it?" I realize with growing horror. "You've already decided I'm guilty."

"The evidence speaks for itself. Your jealousy led you to attempt murder. Even your own parents are too ashamed to defend you."

That breaks something inside me. My parents... they haven't visited once since I was arrested two days ago.

"I have one more question," I say quietly, my hand unconsciously moving to my stomach where our secret grows. The pregnancy I discovered just yesterday, before my world came crashing down. "Did you ever love me? Even for a moment?"

He studies me with those cold eyes that once looked at me with such warmth. "No. You were convenient. A means to secure my position as Alpha. Nothing more."

The door slams shut behind him, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I slide down to the floor, my body shaking with silent sobs. Two days ago, I was Luna of one of the most powerful packs in the country. I had a husband I adored, a pack that respected me, a life I thought was perfect.

Then Sophie returned.

She'd shown up at our borders, injured and claiming rogues had attacked her. Marcus had rushed to her aid, and something in him changed the moment he saw her. The warmth in his eyes when he looked at me disappeared, replaced by irritation and disdain.

Within a week, she was living in the pack house. Within two weeks, she announced her pregnancy at a pack dinner, claiming Marcus as the father. He didn't deny it.

And now, here I am, accused of attempting to poison her. The evidence is damning, my bracelet at the crime scene, threatening messages sent from my phone, witnesses who saw me near the kitchens.

All lies. All fabricated.

But who would believe me? Marcus is the Alpha. His word is law.

The sound of footsteps makes me look up. A figure emerges from the shadows. Doctor Mills, the elderly pack doctor who's always been kind to me.

"Luna," she whispers, glancing around nervously. "I don't have much time."

"Doctor Mills? What are you doing here?"

She pulls something from her coat, a small vial of clear liquid. "Take this. During the trial tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"Something to help you survive what's coming." Her weathered face is grave. "I know you're innocent, child. But the Alpha... he's beyond reason. This will make you appear dead for three hours. Long enough to escape."

"Fake my death?" I stare at the vial in shock.

"It's the only way. The trial is for show. The execution order has already been signed."

"Execution?" My blood runs cold. "But the pack laws state..."

"The Alpha changed the laws yesterday. Attempted murder of a pregnant she-wolf is now punishable by death."

I take the vial with trembling hands. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because I know something the Alpha doesn't." She leans closer. "I was the one who examined Sophie. She's not pregnant, Luna. She never was."

My heart stops. "What?"

"It's all a lie. But she has the Alpha so blinded by love, he refuses to let anyone else examine her aside her other personal doctor and she threatened me." Doctor Mills squeezes my hand through the bars. "Take the vial right before they announce the verdict. I'll make sure your body is transported out quickly. After that, run. Run far and never come back."

"But if he finds out you helped me..."

"I'm old, child. I've lived my life. You still have yours ahead of you." She pauses, studying my face. "And the little one growing inside you deserves a chance."

My eyes widen. "How did you..."

"I've been a doctor for forty years. I know the signs." She smiles sadly. "And I ran a test too. Guard that secret with your life. If the Alpha finds out..."

She doesn't need to finish. If Marcus knew I was carrying his child, he'd never let me go. Not because he'd want the baby, but because an Alpha's heir is property of the pack.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"Don't thank me yet. Surviving tomorrow will be the easy part. Living with a broken mate bond... that's the real challenge."

She disappears into the shadows, leaving me alone with the vial and the terrible knowledge that tomorrow, I'll have to die to live.

I curl up on the cold stone floor, my hand protectively over my stomach. "I'm sorry, little one," I whisper to the life growing inside me. "I'm sorry your father doesn't want us. But I promise, I'll protect you. No matter what it takes."

Thunder rumbles overhead, and rain begins to fall, matching the tears on my face. Tomorrow, Aria Rivera, Luna of the Silver Moon Pack, will die.

But hopefully, someone new will be born from her ashes. Someone free.