The entire pack was draped in silver and red, colors that meant union and celebration. But there was no joy in the air, only silence. Only tension that crawled through the crowd like lightning before a storm.
The search for Tara hadn't stopped, not for a second. Landon had personally led two patrols into the north , his eyes wild, his wolf restless beneath his skin. He refused to believe she had simply run away. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones.
Every night, Landon would return with scratches on his back, mud on his boots, and nothing but silence to show for it . Her brown eyes haunted him in his dreams. His wolf cried for her, refusing to rest.
But his father didn't care.
Jeff stood tall and proud as he watched the guests gathered into the circle. "It's time," he said, voice like steel. "The future of this pack won't wait for a girl who is probably dead."
Landon didn't answer. His eyes looked lost and empty. He wasn't here, his body stood beside Ayla, dressed in black suit, but his soul was somewhere in the forest, still calling Tara's name.
Ayla stood beside him in a red gown, hair pinned high, her makeup strong, lips painted with bold colour. To the rest of the pack she looked like the perfect Luna, graceful, composed, exactly what the Alpha's son needed. But inside, her stomach twisted with guilt and fear. She hadn't expected Landon to look at her like she was nothing.
And she hadn't expected his wolf to reject her.
The moment they stood before the altar, Landon's wolf growled deep, low. With anger. fighting the ceremony with everything it had. His hand shook. His eyes glowed bright. Ayla tried to reach him, but he stepped away, his jaw clenched.
"Don't touch me, I'm doing this for the pack. Not for you."
The elders blessed the union. The pack cheered. But everyone could see it. Landon looked like a man attending his own funeral.
Somewhere far away in the forest, Tara lay on the cold floor of the rogue's den. Her body was sore, her wrist hurt from the tight ropes. Every movement sent sharp pain though her limbs, but she didn't cry. She didn't scream. She waited.
She was burning with fever . Her mouth was dry . And lately , her body has felt different. Dizzy. nausea. Her stomach would turn without reason, especially in the morning.
She didn't want to think about what it meant.
But In the silence of the dark, her hands lifted to her sore belly. She clenched her jaw, she held her mouth tight, trying not to say Landon's name. No—not anymore. Not after what they have done to each other.
She hadn't shifted since that night . Her wolf refused. Something inside her wouldn't allow it.
The rogue guarding her had changed. He'd stopped hitting her. Stopped talking, even. Just watch her like he was trying to figure something out . He was younger than the rest. There was something in his eyes that didn't match the others.
She didn't recognize him. Not at first .
Until tonight .
He came into her room with a small bottle of water and a torn piece of bread. "Eat," he muttered, placing it beside her without meeting her eyes .
" You don't have to do this," Tara whispered, her voice cracked and dry. "you're not like them."
His head snapped up, and his eyes locked onto hers.
" you're the one," he said slowly ." You helped me …you saved me once. I'm just returning the favor."
Her Heart pounded. The rogue. The one she'd bleeding out deep in the woods. He was the boy she healed, the one she risked punishment for. Now he was here.
He hesitated, eyes glancing to the door. "Don't speak of it," he hissed. "They don't know who I am."
" Then why haven't you let me go ?" She demanded, desperate, her body trembling.
"Because it's not safe," he said, voice low. "But tonight …. Tonight I'll get you out."
Her eyes flooded with tears but she didn't let them fall .
Back at the penthouse, Ayla stood in the mirror, adjusting her Luna robes with a smile that didn't feel real. She had everything she'd wanted, power, respect, the Luna title . But none of it felt like victory.
Landon didn't love her. He didn't even look at her.
And somewhere out there …Tara was still breathing. Ayla knew it.
She had planned everything perfectly. She'd convinced the Alpha to let her handle it. She'd promised him a way to remove the threat of Tara forever, and he'd listened. She even found the rogue to do the job.
But they haven't heard from the rogue in days. And something about that silence made her uneasy.
She walked into the big hall, head held high, as the pack called her "Luna" and bowed. But she couldn't stop thinking.
If Tara came back, everything would fall apart.
Back in the forest.
The rogue had unlocked her door with shaking hands, whispered instructions into her ears, and pushed her toward the back tunnel
The rogue had told her to run and not look back. He'd distract the others, even if it was dangerous.
" Don't stop," he said. "You saved me once. I'm just returning the favor."
She was breathing heavily. Her arms and legs burned. But she was free. Finally, she didn't stop to think. She just ran.
She was trying to catch her breath as she ran through the trees, rain drenching her leg, mud held her feet. She didn't realize she crossed the line—the scent in the air changed immediately, but she was too scared and hurt to notice.
Only when she reached the bridge and looked back did she realize: she wasn't running from the rogues, she had ran into danger. She had run into another pack's territory-—one that wasn't hers.
Alone, unwanted and in a place she didn't belong. But she Kept walking.