A Female Alpha’s Revenge

Chapter 1

Adelaide’s POV

The council hall of the Bloodmoon Pack hummed with cedar and damp.

I shrugged off my sweat-drenched silver fox cloak, my fingers absently tracing the Moon Goddess pendant at my throat.

The bronze throne beside me yawned empty—Alpha Ulrik’s seat.

Boots echoed on stone steps before the door burst open, snowmelt and pine scent flooding in.

I knocked over the mead jug, rising to greet him, amber liquid pooling over the sheepskin map.

“You’re finally back,” I managed, my voice catching.

A year ago, we’d pledged ourselves as mates before the pack. Then the Lycan King summoned him north.

He never even marked me.

Now, as I looked at him, my mind was a tangled web.

My wolf let out a faint, rebellious snarl, catching a tangle of scents on Ulrik’s trail that made its hackles rise.

Now Ulrik stood armored and alive, his jaw set in that familiar stubborn line.

Lycan King’s declared Velda will join the Bloodmoon Pack.

low in my ribs, scenting the musk of another female

through and through. Will she kneel as a

cedar scent, laced with his

past me toward the throne, the tail of his sword scabbard scraping water-soaked

as my mate,” his voice carried a sharp edge of anger. “She’ll be my second Luna, just like you—equal in the Bloodmoon

my fist. The moonstone pendant clattered

the shattered gem beneath my heel. The rain pounding outside the Packhouse suddenly roared in my ears. “Last

talking!” he roared, slit

sword hissed free, the tip lifting my damp collar. “Look at your neck. Even the

by side in the north. I admired her. I used my campaign merits to petition the Lycan King for her place here. As my mate. Truth is, I didn’t

stared at my flushed face reflected in the blade, memories flooding back of the East Wing collapse during

basalt in the heat—Ulrik’s

the battle

laugh, but when I spoke again, my voice was laced with sarcasm. “So you ‘admire’ her? What about the promises you made before you left for the northern tribes? You said if I fulfilled my duties as Bloodmoon’s Luna, you’d use your merits to help

Ulrik’s expression turned awkward.

voice tight. “Let’s just forget those words. When we pledged to be mates, I hadn’t

noting the tenderness in his eyes whenever he spoke

to me. “She’s unlike any

swallowed a fly—disgusted, but I pushed through the lump in

Alpha

It’s the Lycan King’s decree. My father, as former Alpha, understands its weight. Besides,

agreed? How