1

Lena Marcellus had once thought this place would be her forever home.

Tonight, it felt like a prison.

She held the small silver bag in her hands, a gift for Damon she'd picked up that afternoon. It was a silly, hopeful thing: custom moonsteel cuffs with their initials linked, meant to show they were united forever.

She still wanted to think that was true.

She reached the door and turned the handle. It was open.

She walked inside.

The smell hit her first.

Not Damon’s usual cedar and smoke. Not her own moonflower scent that used to fill the place.

This was sweet. Too sweet. Sugary and girlie, with a musky, hot edge.

A she-wolf.

Lena’s breath caught in her throat.

“Damon?” she called out, her voice small and scared.

There were sounds.

Soft ones.

Wet ones.

She moved down the hall toward their bedroom. Her hands shook as she reached for the door. She put her palm against it. It was warm.

She pushed it open.

Lena’s world fell apart.

There, on the big bed—their bed—was her husband.

Alpha Damon Voss.

Billionaire. CEO of Voss Industries. Leader of the Northern Pack Alliance.

He was leaning back against the pillows, no shirt on, his body sweaty. His head was back, his eyes half-closed. He looked happy.

A woman was on top of him.

Naked.

Her neck was arched.

Her hands gripped his shoulders.

The woman wasn’t a stranger.

It was Arielle Marcellus.

Her younger sister.

The girl she had raised.

Protected.

Loved more than herself.

Arielle was moaning Damon’s name.

Lena stepped back, her heart racing. The sound must have broken whatever was going on, because Damon’s eyes snapped open.

For a second, he looked almost human—caught, shocked, unsure.

Then he changed.

His eyes went dark and cold.

He didn’t look sorry.

He looked…annoyed.

“Lena,” he said, his voice cold. “You weren’t supposed to be here tonight.”

Arielle stopped moving and turned her head. She had a smug smile on her face.

“Oh. Hey, sis.”

The silver bag fell from Lena’s hand to the floor.

Damon sighed, like she was a bother. “You should’ve called.”

A broken sound came out of her throat. “You’re—” Her voice broke. “With my sister?”

Arielle rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.”

“Dramatic?”

Damon lifted Arielle off his lap and stood. He walked toward Lena, each step slow and mean.

“Lena,” he said, his voice smooth, “you knew this marriage wasn’t working.”

Her wolf howled inside her.

_No. No. No._

“I loved you,” Lena whispered.

“You loved a version of me that never was.”

The words hit her hard.

Arielle got off the bed, pulling on one of Damon’s shirts with a smirk. “Seriously, sis, you should thank me. Damon needs someone who understands him.”

Lena looked at the two people she thought she knew best and realized she didn't know them at all.

Her voice trembled. “How long has this been going on?”

Damon folded his arms. “Two years.”

Lena almost fell.

Arielle shrugged. “You were always too soft, too boring, too… weak. Damon needs a real Luna.”

Lena’s wolf growled fiercely, so much so that she grabbed the doorframe to stay standing.

Damon moved closer, his voice dropping, sounding dangerous. “Our bond has been fading for a while. You knew it.”

“I only felt love,” Lena whispered, choked up.

“And that was your mistake.”

The room spun. Her ears rang.

Arielle moved next to Damon, looping her arm through his, resting her head on his shoulder like she belonged there.

“We’re filing for divorce in the morning,” Damon said, sounding cold. “It’ll be clean, quick, and no drama.”

Lena stared at him.

“You’re divorcing me?” she breathed.

“No,” Arielle said sweetly. “We’re replacing you.”

Lena’s breath caught.

Damon grabbed a folder from the nightstand and tossed it at her. Papers scattered on the floor.

A divorce paper.

Already signed by him.

With rules that took everything from Lena: her money, her title, and her authority.

“Sign it tonight,” Damon said, “and be out by sunrise.”

“What did I ever do to you?”

Arielle smirked. “You were in the way.”

Lena’s heart slowed.

Too calm.

“You’re making a mistake,” she whispered.

Damon tilted his head. “My only mistake was marrying someone who wasn’t good enough to be my Luna.”

His words exploded inside her.

Her breathing quickened. Her vision blurred. A strange heat coiled in her back, wild and strange.

Power.

“I think,” she whispered, “you just woke up the wrong wolf.”

Damon’s wolf sent panic through the room. “Lena, stop.”

But she couldn’t.

Or maybe she didn’t want to.

The windows started to hum. The shadows deepened. Something old coiled behind her ribs, stretching, awakening, hungry.

Arielle screamed, “She’s changing—do something, Damon!”

Lena lifted her eyes.

And for the first time in her life…

Her eyes glowed silver.

Damon froze, horror on his face.

“That can’t be,” he whispered. “You’re not—Lena, you’re not—”

Her voice cut him off.

“I’m not weak,” she said softly.

The power inside her broke free.

The lamps shattered.

Glass cracked on the windows.

She backed out of the room in a daze, not understanding what she was turning into.

Damon yelled after her, fear in his voice for the first time.

“LENA!”

But she was already moving.

She ran.

The silver light under her skin brightened—

—and then exploded.

And then, everything went black.