Chapter 1

For ten years, I lived as a powerless Omega, my only joy being my brilliant daughter, Michelle. I had bound my true nature-a powerful White Wolf-to protect her from my family's enemies. When she won a coveted internship at the International Council, I thought our quiet life was finally secure.

But a week later, I found her crumpled in a corner of her school, bound by silver ropes that burned her skin. Her dreams were being torn apart by Lacey, the daughter of our pack's Alpha.

"This little nobody thought she could steal my spot," Lacey sneered. "The internship my Alpha father secured for me."

My world shattered. The Alpha was my husband, Vincent-my fated mate of ten years. When I reached out to him through our sacred bond, he dismissed my panic with sweet lies, even as I watched Lacey and her friends torture our child for sport.

The ultimate betrayal came when his mistress, Ivy, flashed the Alpha's Mate card-"my" card, which he had given to her. He arrived only to deny knowing me in front of everyone, a sin that shattered our bond. He called me a trespasser and ordered his warriors to punish me. As they forced me to my knees and beat me with silver, he just stood and watched.

But they all underestimated me. They didn't know about the amulet I'd given my daughter, or the ancient power it held. As the final blow landed, I whispered a name into a hidden channel, calling in an oath my family made generations ago. Seconds later, military helicopters swarmed the building, and the High Council Guard stormed the room, bowing to me.

"Luna Harper," their commander announced, "The High Council Guard is at your command."

Chapter 1

Louise POV:

"Michelle, I got it! I really got it! They chose me!"

The voice that echoed in my head was pure, unfiltered joy. It was the sound of my daughter's soul, a private channel that connected us across miles. This was our Mind-Link, a bond deeper than words, a gift of the Moon Goddess to a mother and her child.

I smiled, closing my eyes as I leaned against the cold glass of my office window. The city sprawled below, a tapestry of glittering lights, but all I could see was Michelle's beaming face.

"I knew you would, my clever wolf. I'm so proud of you."

"They said my proposal for inter-species youth outreach was the most detailed they'd ever seen from an intern applicant. I'm going to the International Council of Supernatural Beings! Can you believe it?"

I could. I had spent countless nights helping her refine that proposal, watching her pour her heart into every word. She was brilliant, determined, and so much stronger than she knew.

That was a week ago. A lifetime ago.

Now, a cold dread was coiling in my stomach. I stared at the tablet in my hand, at the single blinking dot on the screen. It was the tracker on the amulet I'd given Michelle, a silver locket bearing the ancient sigil of my family, the Silvermoon Pack.

It was supposed to be her good luck charm. Now, it was a beacon of my rising panic.

The dot was stationary. It had been for the last hour.

It was located in the Alpha's council room at her elite academy. A place she had no reason to be.

My wolf, the part of me I had kept chained and silent for a decade, began to pace restlessly inside me. Ten years ago, to protect Michelle from the enemies my bloodline had made, I'd made a deal with the devil. I agreed to Vincent's ritual, binding my White Wolf, trading my power for his promise of peace. A promise he was now breaking.

I didn't bother with the elevator. I moved through the pack house with a speed that would have betrayed my true nature, if anyone had been watching. In minutes, I was in my car, the engine roaring to life.

The academy was quiet, the evening classes long over. I slipped through a side gate, a shadow in the twilight. The scent of old wood, chalk dust, and something else... something metallic and acrid, hit me as I neared the council room.

Fear. The air was thick with it.

The heavy oak door was locked. I didn't hesitate. The power I'd suppressed for so long surged into my shoulder as I slammed against the wood. The old lock splintered with a sharp crack.

The scene inside made my blood run cold.

My daughter, my brilliant Michelle, was crumpled in a corner. Her wrists and ankles were bound with thick, dark ropes. Ropes that glistened wetly under the dim light.

Silver. They were soaked in a silver solution.

Even from the doorway, I could see the angry, red burns on her skin, the way her body trembled with weakness and pain. Silver was poison to our kind, a substance that burned and corroded our flesh, blocking our healing abilities.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," a sneering voice said.

I turned my head slowly. A girl with cheap highlights and too much makeup stood with her arms crossed. Lacey Palmer. Behind her, a teacher I recognized, Mrs. Gable, watched with a smug expression.

"It's the Omega's mother," Lacey said, her voice dripping with scorn. "Come to collect your pathetic daughter?"

"What have you done?" My voice was a low growl.

"We just taught her a lesson," Lacey preened, stepping forward. "This little nobody thought she could steal my spot at the Council. The internship my Alpha father secured for me."

My world tilted on its axis. "Her Alpha father."

There was only one Alpha at this school. One Alpha whose influence could secure a position at the Council.

My husband. Vincent.

The man I had loved for ten years. The father of my child. My fated mate.

The betrayal was a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs.

I reached for him through our private mate bond, the sacred link that connected our souls.

"Vincent, what is happening?"

His voice came back instantly, warm and smooth as honey, the voice that had soothed my fears for a decade. "Louise, my love. What's wrong? You sound distressed."

"Michelle... she's hurt. A girl named Lacey... she says her Alpha father..."

"Shhh, my moonbeam," he murmured, his voice a balm on my frayed nerves. "It's just schoolyard nonsense. Don't worry. Remember when we first met? That scent... rain-soaked forest and moonlight. It drove me mad. It still does. Nothing can ever come between us."

For a moment, his words worked their old magic. He was my mate. The Moon Goddess had chosen him for me. He wouldn't... he couldn't...

Then I looked at Michelle. I saw the raw, blackened flesh where a silver rope had chafed her skin. The pain in my daughter's eyes shattered Vincent's illusion.

I knelt beside her, ignoring the snickers from Lacey and her friends. "I'll get you out of this, baby."

My fingers touched the knots. Searing heat shot up my arm, the silver eating at my skin. I hissed, pulling back. My fingernails were already turning black.

"Having trouble, Omega?" Lacey taunted. "Maybe you should just chew on it. Like the dog you are."

Her friends pulled out their phones, their screens lighting up their cruel faces as they started recording.

I looked at Michelle's tear-streaked face. I didn't care about the pain. I didn't care about the humiliation.

I leaned down and sank my teeth into the silver-laced rope.

The taste was metallic and vile. The burning was intense, a fire spreading through my jaw, but my wolf, the primal part of me, could withstand it for a moment. I bit and tore, ignoring the jeers and the flashes of their phones.

The rope snapped.

As I worked on the next one, Lacey stepped forward. In her hand was a muddy, half-chewed bone from the school's dog mascot. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it. It hit Michelle square in the face, leaving a smear of dirt on her cheek.

Something inside me broke.

A cold, white fire I hadn't felt in ten years ignited in my veins. The power of the Silvermoon Pack, the strength of a true White Wolf, surged through me.

I rose to my feet slowly.

Before Lacey could even register the change in my eyes, my hand flew out. The sound of the slap echoed like a gunshot in the silent room. Lacey screamed, stumbling back, clutching a nose that was now gushing blood and bent at an unnatural angle.

I didn't spare her a second glance. My eyes locked on the Silvermoon amulet still hanging around Michelle's neck. It wasn't just a tracker. It was a lifeline. I pressed the ancient sigil in a sequence my mother had taught me, a desperate prayer to the only person my parents had trusted with their legacy.

A secure connection clicked open in my mind, bypassing all normal channels.

"Caiden Rowe," a calm, deep voice answered.

"Caiden," I said, my voice steady and cold as ice. "It's Louise. I'm calling in the oath. Bring your best healers. Now."