Dante's POV
The pack council storms into my office without knocking.
"This ends now," Elder Griffin slams his fist on my desk. "Four days without a Luna. Pack members are fighting. Business deals are falling through. The neighboring packs smell weakness."
I don't look up from the map covered in red X marks—every place my trackers have searched for Isla. "I'm handling it."
"You're dying," Elder Sarah says bluntly. "The bond rejection is killing you. You've lost twenty pounds. You can't lead like this."
"I said I'm HANDLING IT!" My roar makes the windows rattle. My wolf surges forward, desperate and dangerous.
The elders step back. Good. Let them fear me. Let them all—
Pain explodes in my chest. I collapse against the desk, gasping. The bond wound feels like someone's pouring silver directly into my heart.
Marcus catches me before I hit the floor. "That's it. I'm calling the pack doctor."
"No." I shove him away. "I need to find Isla. Once I explain about Serena's magic, once she understands I didn't know—"
"She's never coming back," Elder Griffin interrupts. "Face reality, Alpha. Your mate rejected you. She's gone. The pack needs stability, and you need to accept a new Luna before this kills you."
My wolf howls in agony. Never. Isla is ours. Only Isla.
But my human side knows the truth. I'm dying. The pack is falling apart. And Isla is with the Morvens now—untouchable, protected, probably learning exactly how worthless I am.
"The pack law is clear," Elder Sarah says quietly. "If a Luna abandons her position for more than seven days, the Alpha must choose a replacement or step down."
Step down. Give up my pack, my legacy, everything my father built. All because I was too stupid to value what I had.
A knock interrupts my spiral into despair.
Serena enters, carrying a tray. "I brought tea for the meeting. You all look so stressed."
The elders exchange glances. Elder Griffin speaks carefully. "Miss Vale. Given your... close relationship with Alpha Dante, perhaps you should hear this discussion."
Serena's eyes light up, but she keeps her voice humble. "Of course. Anything to help the pack."
I want to throw her out. Want to scream that she's the reason Isla left. But the words stick in my throat. Because part of me—the weak, broken part—wants someone to make this pain stop.
"The pack needs a Luna," Elder Sarah says. "Someone strong, connected to our community, who understands pack politics." She looks directly at Serena. "Someone who's already proven her dedication to the Alpha."
No. No, this can't be happening.
"Serena Vale has been a loyal pack member for years," Elder Griffin adds. "She's from a good family. She's been by your side through this crisis. The pack already respects her."
Because they don't know she's a murderer. A manipulator. A witch who killed my child.
But I can't prove it yet. The investigations take time. And meanwhile, I'm dying and my pack is crumbling.
"What do you think, Dante?" Elder Sarah asks. "Would you consider making Serena your Luna? At least temporarily, until you're strong enough to search for Isla properly?"
My wolf screams in rejection. WRONG. TRAITOR. NOT OUR MATE.
But my human side calculates coldly. If I collapse from bond sickness, I can't search for Isla at all. If the pack falls into chaos, I have nothing to offer her even if I find her. And maybe... maybe having a Luna in place would ease some of the bond pain. Just enough to function.
It's a betrayal. I know it's a betrayal. But I'm drowning and Serena is the only hand reaching out.
"I need to think about it," I manage to say.
Serena moves closer, touches my arm gently. Her scent wraps around me—wrong, all wrong, but familiar. Comfortable in a sick way.
"I know I could never replace Isla," she says softly, playing her role perfectly. "But I care about you, Dante. I care about this pack. Let me help. Just until she comes home."
The lie tastes like poison. She doesn't want Isla to come home. She wants Isla dead.
But the elders are nodding. Marcus looks sick but doesn't argue. And I'm so tired. So broken. So desperate for the pain to stop.
"Fine," I hear myself say. "But it's temporary. Until I find Isla and fix this. Understood?"
"Understood," Serena says, but her smile is pure victory.
The elders leave to prepare the Luna ceremony. Marcus follows them out, shooting me a look of pure disappointment.
I'm alone with Serena. She drops the humble act immediately.
"Finally," she breathes. "I've waited six years for this. To be your Luna. Your true mate."
"You're not my mate," I say flatly. "You're a placeholder. Nothing more."
Her eyes flash with anger, but she controls it. "We'll see. Once the pack accepts me as Luna, once I'm officially bonded to you through the ceremony... things will change."
"The ceremony doesn't create a mate bond. Only the Moon Goddess does that."
"Maybe." Serena's smile turns cunning. "But it creates pack bonds. Loyalty bonds. And those can be just as powerful." She leans close, whispers in my ear. "Especially with a little magical help."
I grab her wrist. "No more magic. Ever. I find out you're using dark magic again, and I'll exile you myself."
"Of course, Alpha." She pulls away, still smiling. "No more magic. I promise."
She's lying. I know she's lying. But I'm too weak to fight her right now.
The Luna ceremony happens at sunset. The pack gathers. Serena wears white—the color meant for a true mate. It makes me want to vomit.
I speak the ancient words, binding her as Luna. The pack howls approval. Serena glows with triumph.
And my wolf howls in despair, knowing what I've done.
Afterward, Serena corners me in my office. "I'll move my things into the Luna suite tonight."
"No. You get your own room. This is a political arrangement, nothing more."
Her face hardens. "You made me Luna. In front of the whole pack. You can't just—"
"I can do whatever I want. I'm still Alpha." I turn away from her. "Now leave. I need to contact my trackers."
She leaves, but not before saying, "You'll change your mind. Once you realize Isla isn't coming back. Once you accept that I'm what you really need."
The door closes. I collapse in my chair.
What have I done? I've made my mate's enemy into my Luna. I've given Serena exactly what she wanted. All because I'm too weak, too broken, too pathetic to hold on.
Isla would be disgusted if she could see me now.
My phone buzzes. Message from Marcus: "The council just voted. Effective immediately, Serena has full Luna authority over pack business, finances, and social decisions. You gave her everything, Dante. Everything Isla built for seven years."
I stare at the message, horror dawning. I thought I was making her a temporary figurehead. But the council legally gave her real power.
Serena isn't just playing Luna. She IS Luna now. With all the authority that comes with it.
Another message from Marcus: "Also, Serena just ordered the pack to stop searching for Isla. She told the trackers that the Alpha has moved on and they should too."
My blood turns to ice. I never ordered that. Never even suggested it.
But she has Luna authority now. She can override my search efforts. Can redirect pack resources. Can control who does what.
I gave a murderer the keys to my kingdom.
I'm running for the door when my phone rings. Unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Alpha Blackthorn." The voice is female, old, powerful. "This is Elder Moira Morven. I believe you've been looking for my granddaughter."
My heart stops. "Where is she? Is she safe? Please, I need to—"
"She's safe. No thanks to you." Moira's voice could freeze fire. "I'm calling because Isla asked me to deliver a message."
Hope flares in my chest. "What message? What did she say?"
"She said to tell you congratulations on your new Luna." Moira's laugh is bitter. "Four days, Blackthorn. Your mate has been gone four days and you've already replaced her. Just like she predicted you would."
"That's not—it's temporary—I can explain—"
"Don't bother. Isla also wanted me to tell you something else." Moira's voice drops, dangerous. "She's rejecting the mate bond. Permanently. Tomorrow at midnight, under the full moon, she'll perform the severing ritual. After that, there will be no connection between you at all. You'll be free to play house with your new Luna. And Isla will be free of you forever."
"No!" I'm shouting. "Please, I need more time! I need to explain about Serena's magic! I didn't know about the baby—"
"You knew enough." Moira cuts me off. "You suspected and did nothing. That's almost worse than knowing, don't you think?" She pauses. "Goodbye, Alpha Blackthorn. Enjoy your new life. Isla certainly plans to enjoy hers."
The line goes dead.
I stand frozen, phone in my trembling hand. Tomorrow at midnight. Less than thirty hours until the bond is severed forever.
Until Isla is truly lost to me.
I'm pulling up my tracker app, planning to leave immediately, when Marcus bursts in.
"Dante! We have a huge problem!"
"I know about the bond severing—"
"It's not that!" Marcus's face is white with fear. "Serena just arrested Lyra's nanny—the one who helped Isla pack and escape. She's claiming the woman committed treason against the new Luna." He grabs my shoulders. "Dante, Serena's calling for a public trial tomorrow. She wants to execute her. To send a message about what happens to anyone who helps Isla."
My world tilts. Serena's been Luna for three hours and she's already calling for executions.
"And there's more," Marcus whispers. "She announced she's pregnant. Claims it's yours from before Isla left. She's demanding pack protection for the heir."
Everything stops.
Serena's pregnant.
And if the pack believes it's mine, they'll protect her no matter what I discover about her crimes.
She's trapped me perfectly.
I look at my phone, at the time counting down to midnight tomorrow.
Thirty hours to reach Isla before she cuts the bond forever.
But if I leave, Serena executes an innocent woman and solidifies her power.
If I stay, I lose my mate permanently.
There's no winning move.
"What do you do?" Marcus asks quietly.
I stare at him, and for the first time in my life as Alpha, I have no answer.