The glowing red eyes blinked in the dark.

My guards screamed, dropping my arms instantly. They bolted toward the safety of the tree line.

I didn't wait to see what hunted them.

Fire ripped through my surgical wound, but I forced myself off the dirt. I stumbled back up the illuminated path, heading straight toward the Moon Goddess Temple.

I slammed the heavy oak doors open.

The entire pack turned.

Adrian stood at the altar, holding the ceremonial chalice. Vivian leaned against his chest.

"You swore on the Moon Goddess!" I yelled.

My voice echoed off the vaulted stone ceiling.

Adrian slammed the chalice down onto the marble pedestal. "I told the guards to remove you."

"You promised me the Luna title," I pushed forward, clutching my bleeding side. "You made a sacred vow."

Vivian stepped away from him. The sweet, sickly smile vanished from her face.

"A vow to a bastard child?" Vivian scoffed.

The pack gasped.

She descended two steps, her silver-trimmed dress dragging behind her.

"You really thought an Alpha would bind himself to an illegitimate mistake?" she asked.

"I am your sister," I spat.

"You are a blood bank," Vivian sneered. "A Mate Bond means nothing against my noble lineage. I belong on this altar. You belong in the dirt."

I stared at the girl I had protected my entire life.

"You are standing there because of my kidney," I reminded her. "You would be dead right now."

Adrian stepped in front of Vivian, shielding her from my gaze.

"Watch your tone, Elena."

"She took my organs and my Mate!" I shouted.

"She is weak and needs our protection," Adrian retorted. "Sisters are supposed to care for each other."

"Care for her? I let them cut me open!"

"And you did your duty," Adrian said. "Vivian deserves the pack's favor. Stop being so unreasonable."

A cold numbness washed over my skin.

"Unreasonable," I repeated.

"I need a Luna who commands respect," Adrian explained. "Not a half-blood who embarrasses me in front of my people."

"You used my love for you," I said.

"I secured my pack's future," he corrected.

"Leave the temple," Adrian commanded. "Before I have you thrown in the dungeons."

I turned around. The heavy doors stood open, framing the dark night outside.

"My neck!" Vivian shrieked.

I paused, glancing over my shoulder.

Vivian clawed at her collarbone.

"The Moon Goddess Necklace!" she cried. "It is gone!"

Panic erupted in the sanctuary.

Adrian grabbed her shoulders. "Are you sure?"

"I wore it just a moment ago!" Vivian sobbed, burying her face in his robes. "The symbol of the Luna. Someone took it!"

"Lock the doors," Adrian ordered.

Four guards rushed forward, pushing the heavy oak shut. The iron latch fell into place.

"No one leaves," Adrian announced. "Search the grounds. Search the quarters."

"Check the temple first," a council member suggested.

Guards scoured the pews, overturning cushions and sweeping the marble floors.

I leaned against a stone pillar. My legs shook.

Ten minutes passed in suffocating silence. Pack members muttered, casting suspicious glares in my direction.

A guard jogged down the center aisle, holding a silver chain. A crescent moon pendant dangled from his fingers.

"Where did you find it?" Adrian demanded.

"In the eastern wing, Alpha," the guard replied.

"Whose room?"

The guard pointed directly at me. "Elena's."

"That is impossible," I said.

Vivian let out a tragic wail. "Why, Elena? Why would you do this?"

"I didn't take it," I told Adrian.

"The guard found it in your chambers," Adrian countered.

"I haven't been in my room since the surgery!" I yelled. "I woke up in the clinic and came straight to the ceremony."

Vivian wiped a fake tear from her cheek.

"You were jealous," Vivian whimpered. "You wanted to ruin my ceremony because Adrian chose me."

"You planted it," I accused, glaring at my stepsister. "You set this up to get rid of me."

"Why would I risk the sacred necklace?" Vivian asked the crowd.

"Because you are a liar!" I screamed.

"Enough of these lies!" a new voice boomed.

The crowd parted.

My father, Gregory Ravenshade, marched toward the altar.

"Father," I gasped. "Tell them. Tell them I was in the hospital."

Gregory refused to look at me. He bowed his head to the Alpha.

"I must speak the truth, Alpha Adrian," Gregory said.

"What did you see, Gregory?" Adrian asked.

"Before the ceremony began, I saw Elena sneaking into Vivian's quarters."

The sanctuary erupted into angry whispers.

"Thief!" someone shouted.

"Traitor!" another yelled.

I stared at my father's rigid back.

"You saw me?" I whispered.

Gregory finally turned. His expression remained completely flat.

"Do not deny it, Elena. I watched you steal the necklace with my own eyes."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him.

"I am protecting this pack from a criminal," he replied.

"I am your daughter!"

"You are a mistake," Gregory said. "You always have been."

Helena Hale stood in the front row, covering her mouth to hide a vicious smile.

My father. The man who raised me.

He was sealing my death warrant to protect his precious stepdaughter.

A strange sound bubbled in my throat.

I didn't cry. I didn't scream.

I threw my head back and laughed.

The sound echoed through the temple, harsh and broken.

Adrian frowned, his jaw tightening. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I never had a family," I said, smiling at Gregory. "I never had a father. I was just a spare part."

"Lock her up," Gregory told the guards.

"You won't have to," I replied.

I turned toward the massive stained-glass window at the back of the temple.

"Elena, stop!" Adrian shouted.

I grabbed a heavy brass candleholder from the nearest pew.

I swung it as hard as I could.

Glass shattered, raining down on the marble floor. The night air rushed inside.

I climbed onto the stone ledge.

"If I stay, you will kill me," I looked back at them one last time. "But if I survive, I will end you all."

I threw myself out the window into the darkness.

I hit the soft earth and rolled, ignoring the tearing pain in my gut.

I sprinted into the trees.

Behind me, the pack howled in fury, giving chase.

I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out.

I collapsed near a massive oak tree, blood pouring from my side.

A low growl vibrated through the soil beneath my hands.

I lifted my head.

The same glowing red eyes from the forest edge stared down at me.

A massive black wolf stepped out of the shadows.

The massive black wolf melted into the shadows just as torchlight pierced the tree line.

"Grab her!" a voice shouted.

Rough hands seized my shoulders. Two of Adrian's guards dragged me back toward the temple courtyard.

The entire Thorn Pack waited in a massive circle.

Adrian stood at the center.

The guards shoved me forward. I hit the dirt at his feet.

"You didn't even investigate," I gasped, clutching my bleeding side. "Vivian planted that necklace."

Vivian buried her face in Adrian's chest. "She tried to run away. Guilt makes people flee."

"I ran because you were going to kill me!" I yelled.

Adrian glared down at me. "The evidence was found in your room, Elena. You stole the sacred symbol of the Luna."

"I was in the hospital!" I argued. "Ask the nurses. Ask the surgeon."

"My father saw you," Adrian countered.

"Gregory lied," I said.

"You dare accuse your own father?" Adrian demanded.

"He is not my father," I spat. "He is a monster."

Gregory stepped out of the crowd. "Alpha, I demand justice for this disrespect. She has brought nothing but shame to the Ravenshade name."

I looked around at the faces of the pack members. "Does anyone here believe them? I just gave her my kidney!"

No one spoke. They all looked away.

Adrian raised a hand. "The laws of the Thorn Pack are absolute."

He looked down at me.

"For the crime of theft and treason against your Luna, I sentence you to permanent exile in the Shadow Forest."

The words echoed across the silent courtyard.

"The Shadow Forest?" I repeated.

"Effective immediately," Adrian confirmed.

"No one survives there," I told him. "High-level beasts and dark creatures roam those woods."

"Then you will die a traitor," Vivian sneered.

I ignored her. "Do you want me to die out there, Adrian?"

He didn't blink. "Yes."

The single syllable shattered my chest.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because if you remain alive, someone will always question Vivian's rightful place," Adrian answered coldly. "Your existence is a threat to her legitimacy."

Deep inside my soul, the final threads of our Mate Bond snapped.

The pain tore through my veins. I collapsed onto the gravel. A raw scream ripped from my throat.

"Take her away," Adrian commanded.

***

The two guards hauled me up by my arms.

They dragged me away from the lights of the pack, pulling me deep into the woods.

We walked for miles. Blood soaked my dress, dripping onto the dead leaves.

"Keep moving," Kael grunted, shoving my back.

I stumbled against a tree trunk. "I need a moment."

"Vivian is throwing a celebration party right now," Kael laughed. "We're missing the free alcohol because of you."

Rylan stopped at a line of jagged black rocks. "This is the boundary. The Shadow Forest starts here."

"Throw her in," Kael said.

Rylan stared at me. "Hold on. She doesn't have an Alpha anymore."

"She's exiled," Kael agreed.

"No one is going to ask what happened to her," Rylan added.

"Stay back," I warned.

Rylan stepped over the boundary line. "You always thought you were better than us."

"Get your hands off me," I warned, backing up.

Kael grabbed my hair from behind, yanking my head back.

I screamed, kicking backward. My heel connected with his shin.

Kael cursed and backhanded me across the face.

I hit the dirt hard.

"Help!" I screamed into the dark trees.

"No one can hear you," Rylan spat, unbuckling his belt.

He lunged, pinning me down.

I clawed at his face.

"Bitch!" Rylan yelled, punching me in the ribs.

I thrashed beneath him.

Then, a new pain hit me.

A sharp, tearing agony low in my pelvis.

A sudden rush of warm liquid soaked my thighs.

"What the hell?" Rylan muttered.

Blood pooled on the dead leaves beneath me.

My hands shook violently as I pressed them to my stomach.

A child.

I was pregnant with Adrian's child.

"My baby," I sobbed.

"She's bleeding out," Kael stepped back.

"Leave her," Rylan said, scrambling off me. "The beasts will smell the blood. Let them finish her."

I lay in the mud, crying. My pup. Gone before I even knew it existed.

***

A metallic ring echoed through the trees.

Kael's head detached from his shoulders, tumbling onto the forest floor.

His body collapsed into the dirt.

Rylan screamed. "Who's there?"

A silver blade pierced Rylan's chest from behind. He dropped to his knees and fell dead.

Knights draped in heavy black cloaks emerged from the trees.

A tall man walked through their ranks.

His jaw was sharp. His eyes were a piercing, unnatural crimson.

He stopped beside me.

I tried to push myself backward, but my arms gave out.

He knelt in the dirt.

He slipped one arm under my shoulders and the other beneath my knees, lifting me against his chest.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

He looked up at the knights.

"Take the future Luna back to Duskbane Castle immediately," he ordered.

My eyes fluttered shut.

Duskbane Castle?