Before My Alpha Destroyed Our World

The silver light of the full moon bathed the ceremonial grounds in an ethereal glow, but I felt nothing but ice in my veins as I watched my mate—my Ethan—present my mother's moonstone pendant to her.

Vanessa Collins stood there in her flowing white dress, looking every bit the innocent she-wolf she pretended to be. Her honey-colored hair caught the moonlight as she tilted her head, examining the pendant with those calculating green eyes. My heart clenched as I recognized the delicate silver chain, the way the moonstone caught the light just as it had when my mother wore it.

"Alpha Grant, this is... extraordinary," Vanessa's voice carried across the gathering, sweet as poisoned honey. "But I couldn't possibly accept such a valuable gift."

I stood frozen on the ceremonial platform, my designated place as Luna feeling more like a cage with each passing second. The other pack members shifted uncomfortably around us—I could smell their unease mixing with the night air. Rebecca, my Beta and closest friend, tensed beside me, her hand twitching as if she wanted to reach for me but didn't dare.

Ethan's massive frame dominated the space between us, his back to me as he faced Vanessa. His Alpha aura pulsed with irritation at her refusal. "Nonsense," he said, his voice carrying that commanding tone that made lesser wolves submit. "A beautiful pendant for a beautiful she-wolf. It suits you perfectly."

My wolf, Luna, howled in anguish inside me. *That's ours,* she whimpered. *Mother's last gift. How could he?*

I wanted to scream, to shift and tear the pendant from his hands, but years of training as the perfect Luna kept me silent. My fingers found the empty spot at my throat where the pendant should have rested, where it had rested every day since my mother's death five years ago—until last week when Ethan had asked to 'borrow' it for pack business.

"Really, Alpha, I appreciate the gesture, but—" Vanessa's protest was cut short as Ethan's expression darkened.

What happened next shattered something fundamental inside me.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Ethan tossed the pendant over his shoulder. Time slowed as I watched my mother's moonstone arc through the air, the silver chain glinting like a falling star before it disappeared into the dark waters of Silver Lake with a small, devastating splash.

"If you won't have it, then no one will," Ethan declared, his tone dismissive, as if he hadn't just thrown away the most precious thing I owned.

The gathered wolves gasped. Someone whispered a prayer to the Moon Goddess. My knees buckled, but I forced myself to remain standing, even as my wolf clawed at my insides, desperate to break free.

*The lake,* Luna urged. *We have to get it. Now!*

Without conscious thought, I shifted. My designer dress shredded as my silver wolf burst forth, smaller than the warrior wolves around me but driven by desperate purpose. I heard Rebecca call my name, heard the shocked murmurs of the crowd, but nothing mattered except the moonstone sinking into those black waters.

I dove.

The icy water hit like a physical blow, stealing my breath and numbing my limbs instantly. Silver Lake was named for its reflective surface, not its clarity—beneath, it was murky and treacherous, with underwater currents that had claimed more than one wolf over the years.

My paws churned frantically as I fought against the current pulling me sideways. My lungs screamed for air, but I pushed deeper, following the faint glimmer of moonlight on silver. There—just beyond my reach, the pendant tumbled through the water like a lost dream.

*Almost there,* I told myself, even as my vision began to darken at the edges. My claws scraped against something—the chain! I snapped my jaws around it just as my body betrayed me, muscles seizing from the cold and lack of oxygen.

Somehow, I made it to the surface. My wolf form dissolved as soon as I breached, leaving me gasping and shivering in my human form, naked and clutching the pendant with bleeding fingers. I dragged myself onto the muddy bank, coughing up lake water, my entire body shaking.

Through my water-blurred vision, I saw him. Ethan stood exactly where I'd left him, his attention still fixed on Vanessa. He hadn't moved. Hadn't shifted to help me. Hadn't even turned to watch as his mate nearly drowned.

"Well," he said to Vanessa, his voice carrying clearly across the water, "shall we return to the feast? I believe they're serving your favorite wine."

As Vanessa's musical laugh echoed across the lake, I clutched my mother's pendant to my chest and wondered when the mate I'd saved had become a stranger who'd watch me drown.