Luna has spent her entire life trying to meet the impossible expectations of her adoptive family. 

Engaged to the man they chose for her, she believed that submitting to their will was the only way to truly belong. But everything shatters the moment she catches her fiancé in the arms of another woman—and worse, her family blames her for it.

Cast out with nowhere to go, Luna wanders aimlessly toward the mountain beyond her district, seeking solitude, a moment of clarity. But the deeper she ventures into the darkened forest, the more she realizes she is hopelessly lost. And she is not alone.

When the shadows stretch too long and the whispers of the wild grow too close, a massive wolf emerges from the darkness—powerful, untamed, with eyes that glow like molten silver. 

There is something about him, something primal and dangerous, something that tells Luna she should run.

But she doesn’t.

Because the beast saved her life. Because his voice, deep and rich, rumbles through the air when no wolf should be able to speak. And because, with a certainty that sends chills down her spine, he claims her as his mate.

But that’s impossible.

Luna is human.

Isn’t she?

Darkness wrapped around me like a second skin—thick, suffocating, endless.


I wasn't falling. I wasn't standing. I wasn't anywhere.


It was as if I had been ripped from existence itself.


The voice slithered through my mind, neither loud nor soft, but it pressed against me like a weight I couldn't shake.


"You were never meant to be one of them."


I clenched my jaw, my fingers curling into fists. The air around me wasn't air at all—just shadows, shifting and pulsing like something alive.


I knew this wasn't real. Or at least, not entirely.


Her presence seeped into every inch of this void, the edges of her consciousness pressing into mine like cold fingers against my throat.


I tried to step forward, but my feet didn't touch anything. My body felt weightless, yet unbearably heavy at the same time.


A figure materialized before me, stepping out from the darkness as if she had always been there.


She looked the same as before—sharp features, piercing gaze—but here, she felt different. More solid. More powerful.


"You feel it, don't you?" she said, her voice smooth, almost gentle. "The darkness inside you. It's been waiting for this moment."


I shook my head, trying to focus. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work."


Seraphine smiled, tilting her head slightly. "Oh, Luna. It's already working."


A sudden, sharp pull yanked at something deep inside me. I gasped, my vision swimming.


Memories flickered—Selene's laughter, Aldric's warm embrace—then dimmed like dying embers.


I tried to reach for them, but they slipped through my fingers.


I clenched my fists harder, digging my nails into my palms. The pain anchored me, but only just.


Seraphine watched with something like amusement. "You can fight it for now, but the truth is simple. The past you're clinging to? It's slipping away. Soon, there will be nothing left of Luna."


Chapter 89 - Chapter 88