Episode 1
1841 Words
EPISODE 1: THE BETRAYAL
The moon was full.
It hung above the Clinton Pack mansion like a silver blade, bathing the enormous estate in pale light.
Tonight was supposed to be my mating night.
Tonight was supposed to be the night Alpha Tony Clinton finally claimed me before the entire pack.
Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of forever.
I stood before the mirror, smoothing my white silk dress for the tenth time.
My mother had chosen it herself.
“Natalia Rose, future Luna,” she had whispered earlier, her eyes shining with pride.
I had smiled.
I believed her.
I believed in Tony.
Most of all, I believed in the mate bond.
“Natalia?”
I turned.
My sister, Angelica Rose, stood in the doorway.
She wore a stunning red dress.
“You look beautiful,” she said.
“Thank you. You look beautiful too.”
She stepped closer.
Vanilla.
Her perfume.
Something about it suddenly made my stomach tighten.
Then she smiled.
“Tonight is going to change everything.”
I laughed nervously.
“I know.”
I didn't understand what she meant.
I should have.
The ballroom was packed with nearly two hundred wolves when I descended the staircase.
Every conversation stopped.
Every eye turned toward me.
I heard the whispers.
“The future Luna.”
“She looks beautiful.”
My heart raced.
Then I saw him.
Tony Clinton.
Future Alpha.
My fated mate.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs in a black suit, his golden eyes fixed on mine.
The mate bond pulsed warmly through my chest.
Selene stirred inside me.
Ours.
Her voice was soft and happy.
Finally ours.
Tony took my hand.
“You're late,” he murmured.
“I'm sorry. I wanted everything to be perfect.”
His palm was cold.
I frowned.
“Are you all right?”
“I'm fine.”
But he wouldn't look at me.
Before I could question him, Alpha Hillary Clinton stepped onto the platform.
Tony's father.
The Alpha of the Clinton Pack.
Tall, powerful, and feared throughout the region, Hillary possessed golden eyes that seemed capable of seeing through every lie.
“Children of the Moon Goddess,” he announced.
The ballroom became silent.
“We are gathered tonight to witness the binding of Alpha Tony Clinton and Natalia Rose.”
Cheers erupted.
Wolves howled.
My mother wiped tears from her eyes.
I smiled.
This was my moment.
Tony squeezed my hand, and together we walked toward the garden where the Moon Altar waited beneath the full moon.
Then I heard it.
A laugh.
From upstairs.
I stopped.
Another sound followed.
A soft gasp.
I looked toward the eastern wing.
The door was slightly open.
Tony's expression changed.
“Natalia…”
“What is in there?”
“Nothing.”
His voice was too quick.
“Don't.”
I stared at him.
Then I ran.
“Natalia!”
I raced up the stairs.
The door to Tony's private quarters stood open.
My heart pounded as I pushed it wider.
Then I froze.
The room smelled of perfume.
Vanilla.
Angelica's perfume.
My eyes slowly adjusted.
Tony was there.
And so was Angelica.
Together.
My sister stood beside his bed, wrapped in a sheet.
Tony looked like a man who had just been caught destroying something precious.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
I couldn't breathe.
“Nat…”
Tony stepped toward me.
“Don't come near me.”
“Natalia, wait.”
“How long?”
He froze.
“How long have you been doing this?”
Tony looked away.
Angelica answered for him.
“Three months.”
The words struck me harder than a physical blow.
Three months.
For three months, I had been preparing to become Luna.
For three months, my fiancé had been betraying me with my sister.
I shook my head.
“You're lying.”
Angelica smiled.
“Am I?”
She walked toward me.
“I've been his chosen mate for three months, Nat.”
“No.”
“You were too busy playing the perfect daughter.”
“Stop.”
“You really thought you were going to become Luna?”
“Stop!”
Angelica's smile widened.
“He chose me.”
Tony finally spoke.
“Angelica, enough.”
She turned toward him.
“Why? She deserves the truth.”
Then she looked at me.
“You were never good enough for him.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
“You're my sister.”
“And?”
Her voice was cold.
“You thought being nice would make everyone love you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I loved you.”
For a moment, her expression softened.
Then she smiled again.
“I know.”
Those two words shattered me.
Tony moved closer.
“It was a mistake.”
I laughed bitterly.
“A mistake?”
“I was confused.”
“You were confused for three months?”
He had no answer.
Then my wolf screamed.
Pain ripped through my chest.
The mate bond snapped.
I collapsed to my knees.
It felt as if someone had reached inside me and torn my soul apart.
“Selene!”
Nothing.
“Selene!”
Silence.
My wolf had disappeared into the darkness.
Eighteen years of believing in one person.
Gone.
I forced myself to stand.
I didn't look at Tony again.
I ran.
Down the stairs.
Past the guests.
Past my mother, who covered her mouth in horror.
Past everyone who had gathered to celebrate my future.
I burst through the doors and into the garden.
Then I collapsed onto the grass.
I couldn't stop crying.
The future Luna was gone.
So was the woman who had believed she was loved.
“Miss Rose.”
I froze.
I knew that voice.
“Hillary.”
Alpha Hillary Clinton stood behind me.
“Go away.”
“I can't.”
He crouched beside me.
His scent surrounded me.
Cedar.
Whiskey.
Power.
I looked up through my tears.
“Why do you care?”
He studied me.
“Your wolf is hurt.”
“She’s dead.”
“Don't say that.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he held out his hand.
“Come with me.”
I stared at it.
“You're the father of the man who destroyed me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you helping me?”
His eyes darkened.
“Because someone should.”
Before I could answer, a furious voice echoed through the garden.
“NATALIA!”
Tony stormed through the doors.
His shirt was open, his face filled with anger.
“Get away from her!”
Hillary slowly stood and stepped between us.
“She isn't yours anymore.”
Tony's eyes flashed.
“She is my mate!”
“Was.”
Hillary's voice was deadly calm.
“You made your choice, son.”
Tony looked at me.
“Nat, please.”
I said nothing.
“It was a mistake.”
Still nothing.
“I love you.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“You loved me?”
Angelica appeared behind him, wrapped in a robe.
“Tell her the truth, Tony.”
He turned toward her.
“Angelica, shut up.”
She smiled.
“Tell her you were bored with her.”
My heart went numb.
Hillary's voice cut through the tension.
“Enough.”
Everyone fell silent.
“Natalia needs medical attention. A broken mate bond can be dangerous.”
Tony reached for me.
“I'm taking her home.”
“No.”
Hillary's answer was immediate.
“She isn't going anywhere with you.”
Tony's jaw tightened.
“You can't keep me from my mate.”
“You rejected her.”
“Then I regret it.”
“Regret doesn't undo betrayal.”
Tony grabbed my arm.
I pulled away.
“Touch me again,” I whispered, “and I'll scream.”
His hand dropped.
Hillary placed an arm around my shoulders.
The moment he touched me, a strange jolt passed through my body.
Not the mate bond.
Something different.
Something terrifying.
Hillary looked at me.
I looked at him.
Neither of us spoke.
He led me to his car.
We drove in silence.
For several minutes, I stared out the window at the mansion disappearing behind us.
Finally, I spoke.
“Why did you really help me?”
“Because someone should have.”
“And?”
He glanced at me.
His golden eyes held mine.
“Because the moment I saw you tonight, I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That I had been waiting for you.”
My blood went cold.
I shook my head.
“You're my son's father.”
“I know.”
“And he was my mate.”
“I know.”
“Then whatever you're thinking, stop.”
“I haven't asked you for anything.”
“Then what do you want?”
His eyes returned to the road.
“Tonight, nothing.”
The car slowed.
Ahead stood a private guest house hidden among the trees at the edge of the Clinton territory.
“You'll stay here,” he said.
I stared at the house.
“Why?”
“Because Tony and Angelica won't leave you alone.”
My stomach tightened.
“The pack will talk. They'll call you a traitor. Tony will try to make you look guilty.”
“Why would he?”
“Because it's easier to blame the woman he betrayed than admit what he did.”
I looked at him.
“And you?”
“What about me?”
“Everyone will say you're protecting me because you want something.”
A faint smile crossed his face.
“They may be right.”
My heart skipped.
He stepped closer.
“But not tonight.”
I looked away.
“I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore.”
“You don't have to know.”
His voice softened.
“Tonight, you survive.”
For the first time since the bond broke, I felt something other than pain.
Not happiness.
Not trust.
Hope.
Then Hillary looked at me with an intensity that made my wolf stir.
Selene was still silent.
Yet deep inside me, I felt something.
A whisper.
Danger.
Then another.
Mate.
My eyes widened.
“No.”
Hillary's expression changed.
He had felt it too.
Before either of us could speak, a howl echoed through the forest.
Long.
Low.
Warning.
Hillary stepped closer.
“Natalia…”
I looked at him.
“What?”
His golden eyes burned beneath the moonlight.
“Your story with my son ended tonight.”
He paused.
“But I have a feeling…”
His gaze locked onto mine.
“…that yours with me has only just begun.”
Another howl tore through the darkness.
And somewhere beyond the trees, something answered.
My blood ran cold.
Because I suddenly realized one terrifying truth.
Tony Clinton wasn't the only one who had lost something tonight.
Someone—or something—had been waiting for me to become free.
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