Chapter 1
227words
I never believed it until now.
I collapse to my knees before the sacred altar, blood trickling from my mouth onto moonlit stone slabs below.
Karl towers over me, the silver blade in his hand dripping with my blood.
His eyes are cold as he stares down at me, not a hint of the tenderness they once held.
"Ella, you are no longer my Luna."
The full moon bathes him in silver light, transforming him into something divine and terrible.
Cold. Heartless. Untouchable.
While I kneel at his feet like a discarded offering.
The entire pack watches in deathly silence.
Not one voice rises in my defense.
Guards approach and yank me to my feet.
"Miss, you must leave our territory. Now."
I struggle to stand on trembling legs, casting one final glance at Karl.
Karl has already turned away, his broad back a final rejection.
I turn and stumble forward, each step carrying me closer to exile.
The moment I cross the territory barrier, my legs give out and I collapse into the snow.
A blizzard approaches on the horizon.
God, it's cold.
So damn cold.
But colder still is the hollow where my heart used to be.
