Betrayed on Mate Ceremony Eve

The highway stretched before me like a dark ribbon, swallowed by twilight. My fingers gripped the steering wheel as I navigated the familiar route toward the Crimson Shadow Pack house, toward Edwin, toward what should have been the beginning of everything.

Tonight was the eve of our Mate Ceremony. Tomorrow, I would officially become Luna.

The thought should have filled me with joy, but instead, a hollow ache settled in my chest. I'd spent weeks preparing—learning the traditional ceremonial words, selecting a dress that would finally make Edwin's pack see me as worthy. Maybe then the whispers would stop. Maybe then Edwin would look at me the way he used to, before his pack elders started filling his head with talk of bloodlines and suitable matches.

*Something's wrong,* my wolf whimpered in the back of my mind.

I pushed the feeling aside. Just nerves. Pre-ceremony jitters. Everyone felt this way, didn't they?

The forest closed in on both sides of the road, ancient trees casting long shadows that swallowed my headlights. I'd driven this route dozens of times over the past year, each visit to Edwin's territory a test of endurance. His pack members never quite hid their disdain—the sideways glances, the pointed comments about late bloomers, the way conversations died when I entered a room.

But Edwin was my fated mate. The Moon Goddess herself had chosen us. That had to mean something.

My wolf stirred again, more urgently this time. *Aleah. Stop.*

"It's fine," I whispered aloud, though my hands trembled slightly on the wheel. "Everything's fine."

Then blinding light exploded in my rearview mirror.

I jerked, instinctively pressing the brake as high beams flooded the car's interior. The vehicle behind me was accelerating, closing the distance with terrifying speed. My heart slammed against my ribs.

"What—"

The impact came like a bomb.

Metal screamed. My car lurched forward, spinning wildly as the wheel was ripped from my hands. The world became a blur of darkness and light, trees whipping past. I heard myself scream as my vehicle left the road, plunging down the steep embankment.

Crunch. The sickening sound of metal folding. Glass exploded around me, tiny diamonds catching moonlight. My head snapped forward, striking the steering wheel with enough force to make stars burst across my vision.

Then—silence.

I blinked, tasting copper. My fingers found wetness at my temple. Blood. The dashboard swam in and out of focus as I tried to orient myself. The car rested at an impossible angle, nose-down against something solid. A boulder. Smoke began curling from beneath the crumpled hood, acrid and chemical.

Move. I had to move.

I grabbed the door handle, yanking hard. Nothing. Jammed. I threw my shoulder against it, ignoring the pain that lanced through my collarbone. The metal didn't budge—the frame had bent in the crash, sealing me inside.

The passenger door. I scrambled across the center console, my movements clumsy and desperate. That handle wouldn't turn either. The impact had twisted both doors into their frames.

Panic clawed up my throat. I forced it down, reaching for the emergency toolkit Alexander had insisted I keep. My brother's voice echoed in my memory: *Promise me you'll never drive without it.*

My fingers found the compartment. Empty.

No glass breaker. No signal flares. No first aid kit. Someone had removed everything.

That's when the smell hit me.

Bitter. Sharp. Wrong. It coated my tongue, invaded my lungs with each gasping breath. My muscles suddenly felt like lead, heavy and unresponsive. The world tilted, nausea rolling through me in waves.

Wolfsbane.

The realization struck like ice water. Someone had dosed my vehicle with wolfsbane. That's why my wolf had gone silent. That's why my limbs felt disconnected, sluggish.

This wasn't an accident.

*Help,* my wolf whimpered, so faint I barely heard her. *Can't... breathe...*

Smoke thickened around me, no longer just from the engine. Liquid pooled beneath the car—I could hear it dripping, smell the sharp tang of gasoline mixing with wolfsbane's bitter poison. The crash had ruptured the fuel line.

I was trapped in a vehicle that would become a fireball. Poisoned so I couldn't shift, couldn't break free with supernatural strength. My emergency tools gone.

Someone wanted me dead.

My vision blurred, whether from the head wound or the wolfsbane, I couldn't tell. But as consciousness started to slip away, one thought crystallized with terrible clarity:

This was no random attack. Someone knew exactly where I'd be tonight. Someone knew I'd be alone on this isolated road.

Someone who wanted to make sure I never made it to tomorrow's Mate Ceremony.

The smoke grew thicker. My wolf's whimpers faded to nothing. And somewhere in the darkness above the embankment, I heard a car door slam.