---- "Selena, what are you doing?" My father's voice, laced with authority and a clear warning, came from behind me. I didn't turn back. Under the stunned eyes of every wolf present, I ripped the necklace from my neck. The sharp crack of the moonstones shattering was deafening, like something breaking for good. "I, Selena, daughter of the Blood Moon Alpha, hereby sever all ties with this pack." I threw the broken necklace at Damon's feet. "From this day forward, the fate of the Blood Moon Pack is no longer my concern." The temple fell deathly silent. My father's enraged roar erupted behind me. "You dare!" I walked toward the temple doors without a backward glance. ---- "Selena! You get back here!" "Banish her!" someone yelled. "A wolf who rejects her fated mate is a traitor! She has no place here!" I paused at the doorway and looked back one last time. Damon held Lyla, his eyes a mixture of relief and disgust. My father's face was contorted with fury. The rest of the pack members were pointing, their eyes full of contempt. Good. That makes leaving even easier. Three hours later, with my loyal handmaiden, Maya, I stepped across the border into the Black Forest. "My lady, are we really going to the Far North?" Maya asked, hurrying to keep up. "They say that place is..." "Is what?" "They say it's the territory of the Winterfang Pack. No ---- one who enters that frozen wasteland ever comes out alive." I kept walking. "Perfect." If this world has no place for me, I will carve out my own. I'll get stronger there. I'll be reborn. Five years later, a piece of news spread like wildfire across the continent. At the centennial Great Pilgrimage, the legendary Alpha King Kael was rumored to finally be making a public appearance with his mysterious mate. Every pack was gossiping, wondering what kind of woman could possibly be worthy of the legendary Alpha King.