Prologue

"You don't need to do this. If you let me go, I can make sure that my pack doesn't hunt you down," Liz pleaded for her life as I paced side to side, waiting for the Silverstone pack to show up. Packs can sense when anyone has crossed the border, but it wasn't me they were after. They wanted their Luna back. A smile lit up my face as Liam and Michael, the Alpha and Beta of the territory, appeared. Liam was worn out and anxious because of being separated from his mate for the past week. A little help from some of my fellow rogues made it easy to get to her, her mate unable to do a thing to save her. And now it was time for the grand finale.

"Look who finally showed up!" I announced as Liam glared at me.

"Let Liz go! Now!" he roared. Laughing, I merely tightened my grip on his mate, pressing the silver knife against her neck hard enough to draw a little blood. As much as I didn't want to kill her, it was necessary to get my revenge. I opened my mouth to taunt Liam further, the words dying in my throat as the air began to shimmer. We were all blinded for a moment, and when the light faded, a beautiful, glowing woman stood to my left- the Moon Goddess, Celene. She looked around, sorrow crossing her face. She always hated our conflicts because she cared for us like her children. At least that's what my parents told me, but I doubt that's true. I stared at her, narrowing my eyes.

"Are you here to stop me?" I sneered. She shook her head.

"No, I can't stop you. But I am warning you to stop what you're doing." Everyone was shocked by her reply. Mates were a gift from her, so the natural assumption is that she would intervene. 

"My warning to you is this- if you go through with killing her, you will forfeit your right to have a mate," she continued.

"Oh wow. I'm so scared I'm shaking," I barked sarcastically. "News flash, my mate rejected me! I already don't have a mate; I've got nothing to lose! But you already knew that." The bitterness seeped through my voice, and Celene gave me a pitying look that pissed me off. I didn't want her pity. After all, it was her fault for pairing me with someone who wouldn't wait for her mate.

"But you -" Beta Michael tried to say something before Celene raised her hand and shook her head, cutting him off mid-sentence. She turned back to me, a sharp look in her eyes.

"I warned you; I hope you'll listen," she said as she grew brighter before disappearing. Liam looked at me, a mixture of emotions in his eyes. His voice cracked as he begged me not to kill her. And for just a moment, I considered letting her go. I wanted nothing more than to step back and run away. Before I could give in to the side of me that was sympathetic to Liam, reality crashed in on me as I noticed Michael trying to circle behind me. And with that, I remembered why I was doing this in the first place. I didn't want to kill her, but I had to.

"I'm sorry, Luna, it's nothing personal," I whispered. A moment later, all hell broke loose as I dropped her body and turned to run. Liam caught her and tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too late; his mate was dead. Immediately shifting, I ran towards the edge of their territory as warriors from his pack chased after me. A couple of them were able to scratch and bite me, but I managed to make it, crossing the border just before they could catch me. I paused, looking back. The pack members who had chased me were pacing along the border. They wanted to come after me, but they couldn't. If they left their territory without permission, they would be considered rogues. Their Alpha was no longer in the right state of mind to give them orders. Besides, it's dangerous to be in rogue territory. You never know when an attack is around the corner. As I headed further from the border, I heard a howl rise behind me, joined by dozens of other voices- the pack mourning their loss.

A couple of weeks later, I was woken up in the middle of the night by Jared, a fellow rogue. We met right after I had been kicked out of my pack when I ran into a group of rogues who were very unfriendly. Jared had dealt with them before; he saved me from getting ripped to shreds.

"Come with me; we finally got him."

"How did you find him?" I asked.

  "Got a tip from an old friend who lives in Willard County, in northern Minnesota. I have to admit I'm kind of disappointed, though. For all the trouble we went through to find him and get him alone, capturing him was surprisingly easy," He motioned for me to follow him outside. I quickly got up, ran after him, and almost laughed when I saw the man who ruined my life. He was already in rough shape, having fought hard to avoid capture.

"You will regret this! Mark my words. When my pack comes for me-!" he cut off when he saw us walking up and tried to spit at Jared, struggling to break free. "You! What do you want with me!?" he yelled, ignoring me. I waved my hand to bring his attention to me.

"Hello Marcus, remember me?" I growled. He stared at me, a blank look on his face. I sighed. Of course, he didn't remember me. Pulling off my jacket, I tossed it aside and pointed at the tattoo on my left shoulder. Marcus's face turned pale, his eyes widening as he realized who I was. 

"You're still alive? But how?" he murmured to himself.

"Because I'm not easy to kill," I smirked, cracking my knuckles. It was time for revenge.