The greatest betrayal happened before the rejection.
For weeks, Damon couldn’t escape the memory.
No matter how hard he tried, it always ended the same way.
Aria standing in front of him.
Her eyes filled with hope.
Waiting for him to claim her.
Then hearing the words that had destroyed both their lives.
“I reject you.”
He woke with the same question every night.
Why had it felt so easy?
He had loved Aria as children.
Protected her whenever the other pack members mocked her.
Even after they grew apart, something inside him had always been drawn to her.
So why…
When the Moon Blessing Ceremony arrived…
Had his heart suddenly turned cold?
It no longer made sense.
And Damon was done accepting that it had.
At dawn, he saddled his horse and rode alone to the Moon Temple.
The an
