Chapter 1 Before Alpha Dorian died , he laid down a rule : on every full moon , I alone could enter the Moon Temple . I measured out the Moonbinding incense ash - the blessed ash left after the ritual burn that keeps a mate alive - and slipped it into the small reliquary box . It was the only thing still keeping Atticus alive . I hadn't finished when shouting erupted at the temple doors . Anya Wetherell burst in , one hand pressed to her belly . Tears glazed her eyes as she dropped to her knees at my feet . " Luna , please , spare me and my pup . Even if you and the Alpha split , you can still find another mate , but if my child is born without a father , the pack will brand the pup an outcast . " I closed my eyes , murmured a prayer , and refused to indulge her . Every time she put on this helpless act , Atticus took her side without fail . Sure enough , a roar thundered from the rear hall . " Seraphina ! Anya was right . You're hiding behind the Luna title and making her grovel . Who gave you the right to lord it over everyone in here ? " Atticus's gaze was glacial , the set of his face cut like ice . I looked past him at the warriors hunched in the doorway , heads ducked . " Why didn't you stop her ? " I snapped . " Are you just drawing a paycheck for nothing ? " " My Nightfall Pack warriors don't take orders from you , " Atticus shot back , fury roughening his voice . He strode forward and helped Anya to her feet . " Anya , you do have to be afraid of her . " His fingertips brushed away her tears as if he were handling a priceless relic . I clenched my jaw and looked away . To hide the twist of pain under my ribs , I steadied my hands and kept working with the ash in the box . The moment I closed the lid , a hand slapped the box from my grip . It crashed to the floor , and ash scattered everywhere , the grit stinging my eyes . " All you ever handle is this stuff - ash , incense - everything stinks of the grave , " he said . Then Atticus's gaze snagged on the memorial plaque with his name on it . In that instant , his eyes turned sharp as a blade . He seized my throat and growled , low and cold , " Seraphina , how badly do you want me dead - that you would set up a memorial to me in the Moon Temple ? " I let out a bitter breath . So he had found it at last . Eight years ago , a car wreck left Atticus shattered , his wolf down to a faint thread of breath . My mother was witchblood ; she had once created Moonbinding incense that could keep a life going that should have gone out . The Elders of Nightfall Pack begged me to save him . I agreed . In the Moon Temple I set a memorial plaque with his name on the remembrance wall , to draw the moon's light and feed what remained of his soul . From then on , every full moon I had to swap in a fresh measure of Moonbinding incense ash to keep his last spark going . By day , I stayed at his side and used Moonbinding incense to keep his tailing body going . Chapter 1 Chapter 1 The rule was simple : during the keeping period , the one being kept alive must never know . So when he demanded answers , I kept my silence . Anya's eyes flickered as if a thought had landed . In a timid voice , she said , " I heard the witchblood have a forbidden rite that curses someone by doing exactly this . "