No one talks about the Black Moon.

They say children born beneath its ink-stained light are cosmic errors, mistakes corrected before their seventh winter. At eighteen, I am the error that lived.

As the Alpha’s daughter, I should have been royalty. Instead, I am a ghost in my father’s house, treated like rot beneath the floorboards and never touched without heavy gloves. I have no wolf and no future—until the night I am rejected by my fated mate.

When my heart breaks, the sky breaks with it. The moon turns black, lightning strikes, and a plague begins to destroy my pack from the inside out. The Priests’ verdict is simple: to save the wolves, the "curse" must be bled dry.

Sentenced to death, I steal one final night of freedom in the neon haze of a forbidden club. There, I meet a dangerous stranger with a deal that tastes like sin and salvation.

Yes, they called me a mistake. They called me a sacrifice. But when I return for the Bloodline rituals, the Goddess didn’t choose my sister to save the world. She chose me. 

Now, the Kings of wolves, mages, and vampires are coming for me; they all want a piece of the Black Luna to tip the scales of war. They think they can buy my blood, my presence, or my hand in marriage…

They are wrong, because the shadow beneath my skin… is finally hungry.

Excerpt:

"You're a long way from the attic, little curse," he says, his voice a low, silk-wrapped growl.

"I'm a few hours from an altar," I shoot back, my sassy edge finding its footing. "I figured I'd see what the world looks like before I'm bled dry for it."

He leans down, his breath warm against my ear. "The Blood-Claw pack is foolish. They think they can solve a plague by killing the only thing the Goddess actually bothered to mark?”

"They think I'm a mistake. Who are you to tell them otherwise?"

He pulls back just enough to look me in the eye, his silver gaze pinning me in place. "I’m the Prince," he says, the title sounding like a threat. "And that’s enough.”

He reaches out, his thumb grazing my jawline, tracing the path where my father’s hand usually leaves a bruise. I should flinch, but the shadow in my blood is purring at his touch.

“I have a proposal, Iskera. If you go back alone, you die at dawn,” he whispers, his eyes darkening. "They’ll open your throat to appease a Goddess who isn't even listening. But if you go back as my property? If you wear my ring and carry my name?"

He leans closer, his lips inches from mine, his scent of sandalwood and winter air filling my senses.

"Not even your father would dare draw his knife against what belongs to me."

The realization comes when I feel Nox twirling in the back of my mind—actually, literally dancing with a wicked glee. 


She wanted this. She actually planned this. 


She orchestrated every step I took here. She wanted me to walk into an almost-naked Vane.


Oh gods, she truly did this. If she were a physical being, I think I would have strangled her with my bare hands right here on the charcoal-silk rugs. 


But the wicked "other" doesn't bother with my murderous thoughts; she is far too busy preening for Vane's attention, radiating a frantic heat as if he could even see her. 


I wish he could, because then I could point fingers and explain that this wasn't my fault. 


But he can't, and so I am the one saddled with the strenuous activity of existing in this moment.


Chapter 49 - Burning with Humiliation