The Rise of the Betrayed Luna | Read Free Preview
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Chapter 1
Aurora’s POV
“Aurora, listen up. You have to marry Ethan Green.”
“Aurora, if you ever get a chance to break free from Ginder Pack, you better grab it with both hands!”
Luna Rebecca’s cold voice collided violently with my mother’s anxious warnings echoing in my mind. I gripped my phone so tightly my knuckles turned white. On the other end, Luna Rebecca grew more impatient with my silence, her tone sharp enough to cut.
“The Green Pack is our most important ally. Their eldest son needs a bride now. This is your duty and your honor,” she insisted, every word tightening around my neck like a heavy chain.
When I was eight, my parents, who served as loyal Betas to the Alpha, died in a suspicious clan conflict while protecting Alpha Tom of the Ginder Pack.
As an orphan, I should have been sent to Angle Orphanage, the institution created for the children of fallen warriors. But Alpha Tom, wanting to reward my parents’ bravery and loyalty, took me into his own home, sparing me from the hardships of orphanage life.
On the surface, it looked like a blessing: elite education beside the Alpha’s children, no worries about food or clothing. But in reality, I was trapped in a more polished form of torment.
Josephen Ginder, the true princess of the Pack, wore her natural superiority and her hatred for me, the “outsider,” with pride. With her entourage of eager followers, she bullied me for more than ten years. This house was nothing more than an elegant prison.
Now, I finally had a chance to escape. My mother’s words kept ringing in my ears as I planned how to use this opportunity to leave Ginder Pack once and for all.
“Luna Rebecca,” I said, forcing down the storm rising inside me and trying to keep my voice steady, even though my nails dug deep into my palm, “I heard that the Green Pack’s eldest son, Ethan, was poisoned by wolf venom and is still unconscious. And you still expect me to marry him, right?”
Sunlight poured through the windows, filling the living room with brightness, but it could not melt the cold dread building inside my chest.
“If not for that, do you really think someone like you would have any chance of marrying into an Alpha family?” Luna Rebecca snapped, her tone laced with the usual guilt-tripping phrase about how the Pack had “raised” me. The words landed like blows.
“Listen, Aurora. This is your chance to repay the Pack. Don’t be ungrateful.”
I took a slow breath and cut straight to the point. “I just want to know the truth. Am I basically getting married in Josephen’s place? Does the Green Pack even know which daughter from Ginder Pack they are marrying?”
A heavy silence filled the line. When Luna Rebecca finally spoke, her voice was coated with a forced gentleness. “Aurora, the witches of the Green Pack predicted that a bride from Ginder Pack might be able to wake Ethan. Josephen… her constitution is too fragile. She cannot handle that kind of pressure. You are stronger than she is and better suited to face whatever may come. This is the best choice for Green Pack, for Ethan, and for you.”
“Fine.” I cut her off, my voice sharper than I expected even from myself.
“I’ll marry him. I’ll take Josephen’s place and marry the comatose Ethan Green.”
“…What did you say? You agreed?” Luna Rebecca sounded stunned, as though she never imagined I would accept. Her voice rose with disbelief and urgency.
“Aurora, are you serious? Once you agree, you cannot back out. This will wipe away every debt the Ginder Pack owes you. In one month, Green Pack will send someone to collect you for the ceremony. If you dare come back early… then you had better watch your back.”
The moment she finished, the call cut abruptly, leaving only the harsh beep of disconnection.
I slowly lowered the phone, my chest tight with unease. Seventeen years ago, my mother’s final warning echoed in my memory. “Aurora, promise me you will live well. If you ever get a chance to break free from Ginder Pack, take it. But wait for the right moment. You are still too weak. Don’t let yourself become a helpless rogue.”
I had been only eight, too weak and too naïve to understand the meaning behind her tears. The next day, both of my parents died on the battlefield.
Over these seventeen years, I have pieced together the truth behind her desperate warning. Josephen Ginder was born under a cruel curse. Since she turned eight, she has suffered from constant illness. Rumor has it that if the curse remains, she will not live past twenty-five.
Luna Rebecca sought out witches to break the curse, but the price was horrifying. They needed a girl born on the exact same year, month, and day as Josephen. Through ancient witchcraft, that girl would become her “substitute,” carrying the curse’s suffering in her place.
My hand drifted to my wrist, where a black, tattoo-like mark curled around my skin like some twisted artwork. It looked striking, but it had been the source of my unexplained pain and constant misfortune for years.
This year, we will all turn twenty-five. Josephen’s healthy life has been built on my suffering. And now, marrying the unconscious Ethan Green feels like the final curse I must face, the last mission this “stand-in” version of me must carry out for her.
“Nana, do you think this is my fate? Why did I have to receive this call today?” I whispered to myself.
My gaze drifted to my phone just as a new Facebook post from Grace appeared on the screen. A series of warm, happy wedding photos filled my feed. Grace stood in a pure white wedding dress, leaning sweetly against the shoulder of a handsome young man in a tuxedo.
Grace Quain was John’s first love. She left the country four years ago, returned last year, and somehow ended up living right here with us. And that man in the picture? That was my mate, John Palmer.
John Palmer, since you chose another she-wolf, I no longer need any other reason to end things with you.
Chapter 2
Aurora’s POV
“Aurora! I’m going to tear him apart! How dare he betray you? You should never have saved him in the first place!”
From deep inside me, my soul mate—my little wolf Nana—roared with pure rage.
“Nana, this is the perfect excuse to break up with him. Then I can marry into the Green Pack and finally leave the Ginder Pack.” I kept trying to calm my furious little wolf.
“But Aurora, you’ve given so much over these four years. Can you really just let it all go?” Nana’s anguished howls echoed inside me.
I glanced at my phone. On the screen was Grace in that pure white wedding dress—the very dress I had sewn for myself with my own hands. Around her neck hung the gem necklace glowing with a deep, almost blood-red light, the only keepsake my mother ever left me. And now, it was nothing more than a decoration brightening another she-wolf’s happiness.
A dull ache pulsed in my chest. Even though I had finally been handed a clear reason to break up with John, the sting of betrayal still crushed me. Four years together—four years believing he was my mate. Damn it, I needed time to let go.
My knees buckled beneath me. I collapsed to the floor, powerless, tears spilling freely.
A memory from that stormy night four years ago tore through my mind without mercy…
Down the mountain road, a twisted, mangled car lay smoking thick black fumes. I rushed forward and found John slumped in the shattered driver’s seat, covered in blood. This was the same boy who had once stepped in front of me like a ray of light when Josephen bullied me and left me helpless.
“Save me… don’t tell anyone… please…” he choked out, barely conscious.
I used every ounce of strength in my body to drag him out of the wreck. The moment we escaped the crushed metal, his pain overwhelmed him, and he lost control of his human form. Before my eyes, he shifted into his wolf—beautiful but terrifyingly wounded. A deep gash on his hind leg was bleeding relentlessly, staining his fur a dark red.
Fear slammed into me, but hesitation didn’t. I shifted into my wolf form, hoisted his injured body onto my back, and staggered toward an abandoned forest cabin. Inside, I tore my clothing into strips to stop the bleeding, fumbling with shaking hands. In that frantic struggle, I lost my mother’s ruby necklace, but I didn’t dare waste a second going back for it.
For the next six months, John was severely injured. Paralyzed from the waist down, he couldn’t shift back to his human form. I kept everything secret, sneaking away every few days with herbs and food to tend to him. Maybe it was in those long, hidden days—when we clung to each other just to survive—that love quietly took root.
When he finally stood before me again in human form, his eyes were clear, like the sky after rain. He confessed to me and revealed who he truly was: the rightful heir of the Palmer Pack, robbed of his position by a scheming illegitimate half-brother. He swore he would reclaim everything stolen from him, marry me openly, and help me recover the necklace I had lost.
Now, he had kept most of those promises. He took back his power and wealth. He even found the ruby. Yet instead of returning it to its rightful owner, he offered it to another woman as a symbol of love—letting Grace wear it around her neck.
“Nana,” I whispered inwardly, tears pouring down my face like a broken dam, “I was so stupid to think John would be the one to save me. Why does fate keep stabbing me in the back?”
I wiped away the tears clouding my vision, my gaze turning cold and sharp. “And Nana, those clues I found about my parents’ deaths… I’m almost certain it wasn’t an accident. Luna Rebecca arranged everything.”
“Nana, tell me this. John cheating on me right now—does it count as a blessing or is it just another curse?”
Moonlight spilled through the room like cold water, washing over the empty living space.
My bags had been packed long ago. Only a few suitcases sat in the corner of the walk-in closet, marking the end of this so-called home—a place that was nothing more than a fragile illusion.
As Josephen’s health improved, her hostility toward me returned tenfold. A year ago, I fled the Ginder Pack and moved into this “home” John built for me. But now, even this place couldn’t hold me anymore.
I sat quietly, mind tangled with grief and fury, until the sharp beep of the fingerprint scanner shattered the silence.
The door opened, and John appeared. He still wore the perfectly tailored groom’s suit, his handsome face tired from the day’s stress, yet carrying that power that had always made my heart stumble.
The image frozen on my phone felt like a vicious joke—him passionately kissing Grace under the spotlight.
“John, congratulations on your wedding,” I said calmly. The cold wetness on my cheek reminded me that tears had already fallen without my noticing. I stood as he walked toward me.
“Aurora, you found out?” he asked, frowning as he stepped closer, his tone dripping with that familiar, lazy softness he used whenever he wanted me to obey. “I never promised Grace anything. She just wanted a ceremony. It was only to fulfill her last wish. The witch said she has, at most, six months left.”
“So you let her wear the wedding dress I spent weeks stitching for you and the only keepsake my mother left me, just to make her happy?” I stepped back, needing distance to see him clearly. From here, I noticed the impatience in his brow—something I had been too blind to see.
“It all happened so fast. She asked last minute, and there wasn’t time to make another dress. Aurora, you’re the most understanding person I know. You get me, don’t you?”
He sank onto the couch, tugging at his loosened tie, irritation flickering across his face. “As for the necklace, let her use it for a few days. I’ll get it back and buy you a better one. Don’t let her have regrets, and don’t make things difficult for me.”
“‘Don’t make it difficult for you,’ huh?” I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Fine. Then let’s break up. Take care of her openly. Live out your perfect little dream. Sounds like a win-win.”
Chapter 3
Aurora’s POV
“Enough!”
John’s voice exploded through the room, the last thin layer of his patience disintegrating. “Aurora, stop pushing me. Let me make something very clear. You’re my mate. She’s only a friend I’m helping through her final days. Stop throwing a tantrum.”
His words were cut short by the shrill ring of his phone. He glanced at the screen, and in an instant, his entire expression softened.
The voice he used when he answered—gentle, coaxing—was one I had never heard before.
“Grace, what’s wrong? Don’t be scared. I’m coming right away.”
He hung up and jumped to his feet, ripping his tie off and tossing it carelessly onto the couch.
“I don’t have time to argue. Grace’s condition just worsened. She fainted again. I need to go.”
He didn’t spare me a single backward glance. He turned, strode out, and slammed the door so violently that the echo rattled across the villa, buzzing in my ears.
On my phone screen, the ruby pendant gleamed on Grace’s chest, its light flashing like a poisoned dagger aimed straight at my heart.
I lowered my head. Grace’s joyful smile and John’s tender kiss looked like a public execution. His cold, decisive exit shattered the last bit of hope inside me.
I reached into my memories, searching desperately for proof that he had ever loved me. But all those warm moments had faded into blurry shadows. The only memory that remained vivid was from four years ago—his confession, his clear blue eyes, and the sincerity I had believed was real.
I stood up and looked slowly around the villa he had brought me to after reclaiming his inheritance. He had held my hand tight, telling me this would be our future wedding home. The light in his eyes had made me believe I had finally reached happiness.
But the truth hit me like a blow: the last time I saw him here was five days ago. And two weeks earlier, he had promised we would meet the witch today to officially become contract mates.
I had waited from dawn to dusk, full of nerves and excitement.
And what did I receive? A broken promise and a public display of betrayal.
I walked upstairs and stared at my neatly packed bags in the corner of the closet. I didn’t own much. Over the years, John had showered me with expensive gifts, and I kept each piece perfectly stored in its box.
I brushed my fingers over the jewelry, silently calculating how much I could earn if I sold them. Perhaps these things could be the final compensation for everything I lost.
“Grace, if it weren’t for your seduction and John’s betrayal, I would never have made up my mind to marry into the Green Pack so easily. In a way, I should thank you.”
“Nana, do you think the ‘substitute’ curse will end once I marry into the Green Pack?”
“Aurora, this is your chance. And that John Palmer who stabbed you in the back? He’s a traitor. You can’t trust him anymore!” Nana’s fury only fueled the flame burning inside me.
I grabbed my suitcase and paused when I noticed the only photo John and I had ever taken together resting on the nightstand.
He hated pictures. This one existed only because I had begged and pestered him until he finally relented on my birthday last year.
Smash.
I lifted the frame and smashed it onto the floor. Glass shattered in every direction. I dropped to my knees and tore the photograph into pieces with every bit of strength I had.
“John, we’re done. No more debts between us.”
At the doorway, I looked back at the house that once held every dream I had.
Finally, it was over.
I exhaled slowly, opened the door, and left behind all the luxury, all the lies, and all the betrayal.
Cold air slapped my face, clearing my mind instantly.
My fingers curled into a fist around the ring on my left hand—the silver band John had given me when he confessed. He had made it himself, carving our initials inside it. Even after he bought me more elegant, expensive rings, I never removed this one.
Without hesitation, I slid it off.
It hit the ground with a faint metallic ding and disappeared into the shadows.
The next morning, exactly at nine, I stood in front of the Palmer Group’s towering glass skyscraper.
My mate—my former mate—had reclaimed control of his pack and put me to work as his assistant. The salary had been good, and the job gave me a life far away from Josephen Ginder’s cruelty.
But now, what once felt like a fortress of hope only strangled me.
I looked up at the top floor where John’s office was located, swallowed the bitterness in my throat, and stepped inside.
“Good morning, Miss Aurora,” the receptionist greeted with her usual polished smile.
I nodded stiffly and walked toward the elevator. The metal doors reflected my pale but determined face.
Twenty-eight floors to Human Resources.
With every floor the elevator climbed, my heart grew colder.
“I’m here to resign.”
I pushed the completed form across the counter.
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