A week before the Mating Ceremony, Elena—future Luna of the pack—was sent by her betrothed, Caius, to patrol the Blackpine Forest in the North. She stepped into a silver trap that had been laid in advance. The silver poison seeped into her bones, her wolf form collapsed on the spot, and her wolf spirit was nearly sealed away. She desperately called out to Caius through their mate bond, only to discover that he had already severed the connection with his own hands. After being sent back to the Healing Center, she heard with her own ears Caius order the healer not to completely remove the silver poison—only to keep her alive. Because he wanted his former lover, Lia, and her pup, Noah, to take her place on the stage of the Mating Ceremony.
Elena endured it all in silence, secretly gathering treatment records, border patrol routes, bloodline tests, and banquet surveillance footage, while also contacting the Frostpine Tribe in the North to prepare for a transfer. On the day of the ceremony, she did not appear. Instead, she had all the evidence laid bare before all the tribes. Only then did Caius realize that she had already severed ties with the Ashridge Tribe—his Alpha command could no longer control her.
Later, Caius pursued her to the Frostpine border and saw Elena stand up again, transform into her wolf once more. Only then did he understand that he had destroyed his own fated mate with his own hands. Lia and the Ashridge elders received their due retribution. Elena dissolved the mate bond, joined the Frostpine patrol, and with her silver scar, ran once more toward the snowy plains.
