Chapter 1

On the night of the full moon, more than a dozen girls from the pack and I stood in a line, waiting to be chosen by the werewolf warriors.

Those who were chosen would successfully form a bond. Those who were not would be sent to the rogue packs as sacrificial brides for political alliances.

I held my head high, because everyone knew the future Alpha, Aiden Blackthorn, would choose me. After all, we had grown up together, and he loved me.

But at the very last moment, he chose Lila Fairchild.

All because he said, “Lila is soft-hearted. If she wasn’t chosen, she’d feel humiliated and cry. You’re different. You know in your heart that I love you. You won’t hold this against Lila, right?”

I smiled, turned around, and left for the rogue lands.

Later, he cried and begged me not to go.

…

After the choosing ceremony ended, Lila clung to Aiden’s arm, crying with gratitude. Aiden’s face was full of tenderness.

Every chosen girl around me was overjoyed.

Except me.

I was the daughter of a pack elder, noble in status and pure in bloodline. Because everyone knew I was with Aiden, no one besides him dared to choose me.

But I never expected that, at the final moment, Aiden would choose someone else.

According to the rules, I would become the sacrifice sent to the rogue packs.

At that moment, he walked over to me, his face full of gentleness.

“Come on. I know you’re upset, but Lila comes from a poor background. Her bloodline isn’t pure, and she’s simple-minded. If she were the only one left unchosen tonight, she would have been devastated.”

Then what about me?

Did my feelings not matter at all?

Bitterness filled my eyes. “Do you even know what tonight’s Moonshadow Ceremony means?”

This time was different from the past.

Ever since the rogue lands gained a leader, their strength had grown day by day. The Moonshadow Pack had only decided to send she-wolves out for marriage alliances because we could no longer stand against them.

Tonight’s Moonshadow Ceremony was the final decision.

I thought I would not be the werewolf sacrificed.

Because Aiden loved me.

He had given me his first wolf fang. He had defied his family for me. He had charged into the Thornlands for me and come back covered in wounds. He had looked at me with deep affection and said that, in this lifetime, he would only ever bond with me.

Just yesterday, he had stood in front of me and said with a smile, “I won’t choose anyone else. It has always been Sophia. Sophia is my only choice.”

Back then, my heart had been full of sweetness.

But now, all that sweetness had become a joke.

Guilt appeared on Aiden’s face.

“Don’t worry. I won’t bond with Lila. I only wanted to help her out so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed. I never thought of anything else. I told you, you’re the only one who will ever be my Luna.”

Seeing that I was still frowning, he took my hand and coaxed me like a child. “I just felt sorry for her. Don’t be mad, okay?”

I looked at his innocent expression. Even now, every word out of his mouth was still defending Lila.

I shook off his hand and demanded angrily, “Aiden, you know tonight’s Moonshadow Ceremony means the final choice!”

“Sophia!”

Before I could finish, a sharp voice rang out beside us.

Lila ran over, grabbed Aiden’s arm, and looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

“Don’t yell at Aiden. This is all my fault. I ruined your happiness. I embarrassed you. But I couldn’t help it. I’m not as likable as you. No one else chose me. I only have Aiden.”

As she spoke, she covered her face and sobbed. “It’s only because Aiden pitied me. I’m sorry. If you blame me for this, I can apologize. I’m sorry.”

Before Lila could even finish apologizing, Aiden’s face tightened with distress.

He pulled the pitiful Lila behind him and cut her off anxiously.

“Enough, Sophia. You’re being so petty. My Luna would never be as graceless as you.”

After he said it, he seemed to realize his tone had been too harsh.

His voice softened.

“All right. I’ll take Lila back to her quarters first. I’ll come find you afterward.”

Then he left with Lila, without looking back.

I watched their backs disappear as the mocking voices around me grew clearer and clearer.

“She kept saying Aiden liked her. Turns out it was all fake. What a liar. If he liked her, why didn’t he choose her? She stole Lila’s love and still had the nerve to show off.”

“How funny. She’s the daughter of a pack elder, and now she’s going to be sent to the rogue lands to be humiliated by those lowborn wolves. How pitiful.”

My eyes turned red.

The strength I had been forcing myself to hold together finally collapsed. I wiped away my tears and walked out, only to receive a familiar call.

“Sophia, don’t cry. Come to me. I’ll protect you.”

I never expected that the legendary new leader of the rogue lands, the man said to be unbeatable, would turn out to be my stepbrother, who had once been banished from the pack.

“Sophia, if you’re willing to leave with me, I’ll come to the pack and get you.”