LUNA'S RECKONING

Sera's POV The bottle of brown hair dye slips from my shaking hands and crashes into the sink. I stare at my image in the bathroom mirror, and for a moment—just one dangerous moment—I see her. The real me. Silver streaks shine through the faded brown dye in my black hair. My violet eyes glow before I blink and push them back to normal. Five years. I've been hiding for five years. "Sera?" Kade's voice calls from the bedroom. "Hurry up. We can't be late to the Moon Ceremony." My mate. My husband. The man I pretended to love so I could stay hidden. Except somewhere along the way, I stopped lying. I grab another dye bottle with shaking hands and work fast, hiding the silver streaks that mark me as a Nightshade. My father's voice whispers in my memory from the night he died: "Hide who you are, Sera. Trust no one. Find the thief." Five years ago, my parents were killed. The best Alpha General and Luna General in our world, dead in what they called a "training accident." But I knew better. My father had told me someone close was planning to betray us. He died before he could tell me who. So I buried the Nightshade name. I became someone small and quiet. I picked Kade Blackwood as my mate because he was safe—boring enough that no one would look twice at his Luna. I never meant to fall in love with him. My wolf whimpers inside me as I finish the dye and reach for the dark contact lenses. For five years, I've covered my violet Nightshade eyes behind these stupid things. For five years, I've claimed to be weak. "Sera!" Kade sounds angry now. I pop in the contacts and look at myself one last time. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Small smile. Perfect submissive Luna. The lie I've been living. I walk into the bedroom, and Kade barely looks up from his phone. He's wearing his Alpha wedding suit, looking handsome like always. But he doesn't see me anymore. Hasn't really seen me in months. "Finally," he mutters. "Do you know how important tonight is?" "Of course." I keep my voice soft like I've taught myself to do. "It's our anniversary party. Five years as mates." Something flashes across his face. Guilt? But it's gone so fast I think I imagined it. "Right. Five years." He walks past me without touching me. "Let's go." My wolf snarls inside me, but I push her down like I always do. Tonight I'll stand beside him and smile. Tomorrow I'll keep researching my parents' murder. It's what I've done every day for five years. The car ride to the pack house is quiet. Kade texts someone the whole time, and I pretend not to notice that he's smiling at his phone. He hasn't smiled at me in six months. When we arrive, hundreds of wolves are already there. Pack members from all over the territory came to enjoy the Moon Ceremony. They bow to Kade and give me small nods of respect. Except Lily. My "best friend" Lily rushes over in a white dress that's way too fancy for a regular pack member. She hugs me tight, and I smell it immediately—Kade's scent all over her. My blood turns to ice. "Sera, you look so pretty!" Lily gushes, but her eyes are cold. Calculating. "Tonight is going to be so special. Life-changing." Something about the way she says it makes my warrior impulses scream danger. Kade appears at Lily's side, and they share a look I can't read. My wolf is roaring now, throwing herself against my control. "Come on," Kade says, grabbing my arm harder than necessary. "It's time." He pulls me toward the raised stage where the ceremony will happen. Elder Victoria, Kade's mother, waits there with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. She's never liked me. Always said I was "too quiet" to be a real Luna. The crowd goes silent as we climb the stage. I take my place beside Kade, my heart beating. Something feels wrong. Everything feels wrong. The Elder starts the ceremony blessing, her voice carrying across the silent crowd. "Tonight, we honor the sacred bond between Alpha and Luna—" Kade steps forward, cutting her off. "Before we continue," he says, his voice loud and clear, "I have an announcement." My stomach drops. No. This isn't part of the event. Kade doesn't look at me. He looks out at the crowd with his Alpha confidence, and I see Lily moving through the people toward the platform. "By the ancient laws of our kind," Kade says, "I, Alpha Kade Blackwood, claim Lily Frost as my concubine and co-Luna of the Shadow Fang Pack." The world stops. The crowd gasps. Someone screams. But I can't hear anything over the ringing in my ears. Lily climbs onto the platform in her white dress, tears running down her face. Fake tears. I can see it now—she planned this. They both did. "I never wanted this," Lily says loud enough for everyone to hear. "But the Alpha needs someone who can give him what his Luna cannot." What I cannot give him? My hands clench into fists. Five years of acting weak. Five years of hiding my power. And this is what I get? "Sera has been a dutiful Luna," Kade says, finally looking at me. His eyes are cold. Empty. "But the pack needs more." "More?" My voice comes out calm even though I'm breaking inside. Lily puts her hand on her stomach. "I'm carrying his child." The crowd bursts with shocked whispers. My best friend. My mate. A baby. Something inside me snaps. Not my heart. My power. I feel it rise up from deep inside—the power I've been crushing down for five years. My Alpha Dominance. The gift that makes me a Nightshade. The power that could make every Alpha in this room bow. The power that got my parents killed. My vision starts to glow violet, and I know my contacts are about to burn right out of my eyes. Kade sees it. His face goes white. "Sera, don't—" But I'm done taking orders. I reach up and pull out my contact lenses. My violet eyes blaze in the moonlight, and the entire crowd gasps. "You want to know what I cannot give you, Kade?" My voice doesn't sound like the meek Luna anymore. It sounds like my father's—full of Alpha command that makes dogs bare their necks. "Let me show you exactly what you just threw away." I pull the pins from my hair, and it falls down my back. In the moonlight, the silver streaks I've been hiding shimmer like stars. Elder Victoria stands up, her face twisted with shock and something else. Fear? "Nightshade," she whispers. The name ripples through the room like an explosion. I smile, and it's not a nice smile. It's my father's fight smile. The one that made enemy Alphas run. "I am Sera Nightshade," I say to the silent crowd. "Daughter of Marcus and Selene Nightshade. And I refuse you, Kade Blackwood, as my mate." The rejection link snaps between us like a breaking chain. Kade screams and falls to his knees. Good. Let him hurt like I hurt. But as I turn to leave, Elder Victoria's hand shoots out and grabs my wrist. Her grip is ice cold. "You think you can just walk away?" she hisses. "After we worked so hard to keep you buried?" Keep me buried? My blood turns to ice as understanding crashes over me. "It was you," I breathe. "You knew who I was. You've known all along." Elder Victoria smiles, and it's the smile of a killer. "Of course I knew, child. Who do you think killed your parents?"