Hate Me, Claim Me: The Luna Who Destroyed Them All.

Tessa Frostmere stood her ground in the high-end silk boutique of the Silvermoon Dominion, her small four-foot-five curvy frame radiating absolute authority. The moment Lady Lyssara Thornwyck recognized her, the noble female's eyes widened in sheer panic, but that shock instantly turned into toxic wolf rage.

"Tessa Frostmere, you shameless omega bitch!" Lyssara roared, her sharp claws extending as she pounced forward. "How dare you try to creep back into the Dominion to hit on my brother again! I'm going to rip your throat out on my sister-in-law's behalf!"

Tessa didn't even flinch. She shifted her plump weight half a step to the left, taking advantage of Lyssara's wild, uncoordinated lunging. Lyssara tripped over her own heavy silk skirt and hit the polished stone floor hard, landing flat on her cheeks.

Tessa snorted softly, her dark eyes looking down with cold amusement. "Lady Lyssara, you used your noble status to drive me into the wilderness three years ago, but I didn't expect you to be so polite as to bow down at my feet today. Thank you for your kindness."

Her sharp words hit Lyssara like a slap, twisting the female wolf's face into a mask of embarrassment. "Bitch! I'm going to tear your skin off!"

Tessa narrowed her eyes, her inner omega alert and lethal. As Lyssara scrambled to her feet and rushed her again, Tessa simply lifted her small foot, hooking it neatly behind Lyssara's ankle. Lyssara hit the stone floor a second time with a loud, painful crash.

"Ouch!"

"Lyssara!"

A sleek, fair-skinned female wolf trotted quickly into the boutique, rushing to Lyssara's side. "Are you all right?"

Lyssara had never been so publicly humiliated in front of the shop attendants and noble customers. Glaring up at Tessa, who stood above her with a triumphant, sharp smile, Lyssara pushed herself up with Vespera Nightthorne's frantic help.

Lyssara's eyes burned with red anger. "I'm all right, Vespera. No worries. I just didn't expect to meet this exiled omega trash so quickly. Vespera, she must have snuck back into the Silvermoon Dominion to steal Alpha Kaelen away from you!"

Vespera turned slowly, her pale face locking eyes with Tessa.

No! Impossible! How could Tessa Frostmere be standing here...

Tessa didn't miss a single shift in Vespera's flickering green eyes. The scent of fear radiating off the noble female was intoxicating.

Tessa mocked her coldly, "Vespera Nightthorne, you really didn't expect to see me step foot in the territory again, did you?"

Vespera's body stiffened completely, her breath catching in her throat.

Lyssara looked back and forth between the two of them, her eyebrows furrowing. "Vespera, what does she mean by that?"

Every drop of color drained from Vespera's face. Tessa could tell in an instant that Vespera had kept her dirty schemes hidden from Lyssara all these years. Tessa withdrew her dark gaze, letting out a heavy, disdainful laugh.

"Lady Lyssara," Tessa said, her rich voice cutting through the store. "You are utterly mistaken. I have a broad-shouldered older brother in the Frostmere pack, so I have zero interest in stealing your brother's territory or his bed. It's been three long years, but why do you high-blooded wolves still love stealing things that don't belong to you? What is wrong with your mind?"

Lyssara went completely ballistic, her claws digging into Vespera's arm. "Stop lying, you omega filth! You know exactly what you came back for! You're a delusional psycho!"

Before Lyssara could take another step, Brynna Ashvale stepped up from behind her. Reaching out with a ruthless grip, Brynna grabbed a massive handful of Lyssara's styled hair, dragging her backward until Lyssara was forced to tilt her head all the way back.

Brynna chuckled dangerously into her ear. "Who are you calling a psycho, Lyssara Thornwyck?"

Lyssara shrieked, "I wasn't talking to you, Ashvale! What does this have to do with you?!"

Brynna snorted, her hands pulling tighter on the silk-smooth hair. "Tessa is my pack sister and my bestie. How dare you hurl insults at her in the middle of the Dominion! I've listened to your arrogant mouth for three years and I've been dying to teach you how an omega bleeds a noble bitch like you!"

Brynna yanked harder, forcing Lyssara down to her knees.

Vespera rushed forward, her hands hovering nervously in the air. "Please let go of Lyssara, Tessa! It was all my fault! Lyssara is innocent in this!"

Lyssara screamed through her teeth, "Stop begging this omega, Vespera! I'm fine! Argh!"

Brynna didn't hit her; she just held her by the roots, and the noble female couldn't bear the physical pain for even five seconds.

Tessa shook her head in sheer disdain. "Vespera Nightthorne, you are just as fake and hypocritical as the day you forged those pack papers. And Lyssara is truly such a simpleton to believe a single word out of your dirty mouth."

"Simpleton?! I dare you to say that again!" Lyssara howled, thrashing against Brynna's tight grip.

Tessa leaned down, her dark face inches from Lyssara's tearing eyes. "Lyssara Thornwyck is a simpleton. A brainless, loud-mouthed idiot."

"You—!"

"Release her right now."

A massive, terrifying presence washed over the shop as heavy leather boots echoed against the stone floor. Alpha Kaelen Thornwyck strode through the entrance, his broad chest filling out a dark leather tunic. He emanated an aura of absolute death, his clear-lens glasses sitting neatly on his sharp nose, making him look deceptively restrained.

Tessa's inner wolf shivered at his dark cedar scent, her core throbbing with a sudden, treacherous heat that made her dark skin flush.

The moment he appeared, Vespera trotted straight to his side, grabbing his muscular arm tightly. "Please help Lyssara, Kaelen! Tessa's friend is hurting her!"

Kaelen didn't even look at Vespera's hand on his arm. His dark golden eyes locked onto Brynna first.

Brynna felt the overwhelming pressure of an Alpha's aura crushing her chest, but she held her ground beside Tessa, refusing to drop her hands.

Then, Kaelen shifted his gaze slowly over to Tessa's four-foot-five frame. His eyes dragged down her dark curves, tracking the rise and fall of her chest under her clothes.

Tessa didn't run. She swung her plump hips casually, stepping right up to the kneeling Lyssara.

Lyssara gritted her teeth, her voice dripping with poison. "Tessa Frostmere, my brother is the supreme Alpha of this entire Dominion. If you don't have a death wish—"

PAK!

Tessa's small, heavy palm flew across Lyssara's face, the crack echoing like a whip through the entire boutique.

"Lyssara!" Vespera cried out in horror, clinging to Kaelen's arm as if she were the one who had been hit.

Brynna gave Tessa a massive thumb-up, grinning wickedly. She had thought Tessa might back down the moment Alpha Kaelen walked into the room.

Lyssara held her swollen, burning cheek, staring up at the short dark girl in absolute shock. "How dare you... how dare an omega strike a Thornwyck..."

PAK!

Tessa slapped her back across the other cheek without a second of hesitation.

"Lyssara Thornwyck, you owed me blood from three years ago. I am merely paying back the first installment," Tessa declared, her dark voice dropping to an icy, lethal whisper. "I don't care if your brother is here. Even if the High Alpha himself stood behind you today, I wouldn't tremble before a single one of you."

Tessa stepped closer, her brown eyes blazing with dark fire. "You will never, ever pay back what you took from my wolf."

"Let's go, Brynna," Tessa said cleanly.

Brynna gave Lyssara's hair one final, violent tug, letting the noble female flop face-first onto the cold floor before stepping over her to follow Tessa.

Lyssara pulled herself up, her face bright red and swollen, ready to scream curses after them. But when she turned her head, she froze. Kaelen was standing completely still, his golden eyes fixed on Tessa's retreating waist with a terrifying, unreadable intensity.

As Tessa passed Kaelen and Vespera, she deliberately brushed her soft, curvy arm against Kaelen's muscular side. She reached up, resting her small hand on his solid shoulder for a fraction of a second, feeling the rock-hard heat of his body beneath her palm.

"You deceitful bitch and your cold-blooded Alpha still haven't sealed your mate bond after all these years?" Tessa mocked right into Kaelen's ear, her sweet honey scent driving his inner wolf wild. "Hurry up and complete the ritual. You'd better tie yourselves together so you never ruin another innocent wolf's life again!"

With those sharp, burning words, Tessa pulled her hand back and walked straight out of the boutique alongside Brynna, never looking back once.

Lyssara scrambled up, her claws reaching out. "Kaelen! Did you hear how that ugly omega cursed us?! She called me a simpleton and called you a cold-blooded bastard! How could you just let her walk out of our territory's shop?!"

Kaelen didn't look at his sister. He reached out, his massive fingers closing around Lyssara's forearm with crushing strength.

"Lyssara. Enough is enough."

Lyssara looked at him pitifully, tears of rage welling in her eyes. "Kaelen, she hit me! She said we could never pay her back for what we owed her! What did she mean by that?!"

Lyssara tried to meet his eyes, but Kaelen's golden gaze was so dark and suffocating that she subconsciously ducked her head, unable to look at her brother.

Vespera's hands trembled against Kaelen's sleeve as she quickly tried to break the heavy silence. "Kaelen, didn't you come to the Forge to help me pick out a silk gown for High Alpha Odran's grand birthday feast at the Keep? Look at that crimson dress over there... it would fit the occasion perfectly..."

Kaelen slowly folded his clear-lens glasses closed, one temple at a time, and tucked them into his tunic. He walked over to the crimson dress Tessa had touched just moments before, his dark scent filling the entire room.

Vespera let out a small, relieved breath, believing she had successfully diverted his mind.

By the weekend, the grand territory of the Silvermoon Dominion was alive with red banners and howling horns. The grand birthday feast for High Alpha Odran Thornwyck was being held at the massive stone gates of the Thornwyck Alpha Keep.

Alpha leaders, noble warriors, and elders from dozens of visiting pack delegates filled the great stone hall, presenting rare furs, enchanted silver, and monster cores to honor the old ruler.

When Alpha Kaelen Thornwyck entered the grand hall with Vespera Nightthorne by his side—Vespera wearing the striking crimson silk dress—every eye in the room locked onto them.

Kaelen was the undisputed ruler of the Dominion. Since taking control of the pack resources three years ago, he had expanded their hunting grounds, crushed rival packs, and multiplied the territory's wealth tenfold.

Though he was only twenty-five winters old, he possessed the unyielding presence of a legendary warlord.

The elders of the Thornwyck bloodline had been pushing for him to take a formal Luna to secure the bloodline, and since he had walked alongside Vespera for years, the entire pack treated her as the future Luna of the Keep.

Whispers rippled through the gathered delegates as the pair walked toward the high thrones.

"Alpha Kaelen and Lady Vespera truly look like a match made by the Moon Goddess herself."

"Indeed. They have been standing together for nearly six years now, haven't they? When will the Alpha finally mark her and host the grand Luna binding ceremony?"

Vespera lifted her chin proudly, holding onto Kaelen's thick arm as they approached High Alpha Odran's throne.

The old Alpha sat on his carved wooden seat, his grey eyes looking down at his grandson with heavy authority. "Kaelen. You bring honor to the Keep today. But a true Alpha needs a true Luna by his side to rule the winter moons."

Vespera's heart leaped with violent excitement. This was the moment she had engineered for three long years. She leaned closer to Kaelen, her voice dripping with soft submissive heat. "High Alpha Odran, Kaelen has worked so hard for the territory. I am ready to serve the Keep whenever he wishes."

Kaelen remained completely silent, his face an unreadable block of ice. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his clear-lens glasses, and slowly unfolded them, sliding them onto his nose to mask the lethal golden fire in his eyes.

Before he could utter a single word, the massive iron doors of the Alpha Keep burst open with a booming crack that echoed off the high stone rafters.

The heavy guard horns failed to blow. The entire hall fell into a dead, stunned silence.

Standing in the grand archway was a short, breathtaking figure.

Tessa Frostmere stepped onto the black marble floor, her four-foot-five frame dressed in a jaw-dropping, form-fitting dress of dark gold spider-silk that hugged every single luscious curve of her plump body. Her smooth, dark skin glowed under the torchlight, and around her neck sat a heavy silver necklace—the ancient, sacred crest of the original Frostmere Luna lineage that had been stolen three years ago.

Beside her stood Garrick Frostmere, clad in full elder armor, carrying a sealed wooden chest stamped with the old Dominion seal.

Tessa walked into the center of the hall, her short heels clicking sharply against the stone, completely ignoring the stunned gasps of the noble elders and the sudden, violent thrum of energy radiating from Kaelen's chest.

Tessa lifted her small head, her dark eyes locking directly onto High Alpha Odran and then shifting slowly to Kaelen's rigid face.

"Forgive the late arrival, High Alpha," Tessa's rich, smooth voice carried across the silent room like a war horn. "The Frostmere bloodline has returned to the Keep to deliver a gift... and to demand the immediate return of our stolen Luna sacred items!"