Chapter 1

I pressed my bloodied thumb onto the rejection parchment, sealing the last mark.

My mate, Derek Blackthorn, called the three pups down from the upper chambers, lined them up, and pushed them into the middle of the Great Hall.

"Pick one to take with you," Derek said.

He lit a silver-chased ebony pipe and leaned back on the fur-draped bench, as if he were settling a minor tribute dispute.

The three pups stood there. The eldest, Shane Blackthorn, was seven winters old. The second, Leila Blackthorn, was five.

The youngest, Sidney Blackthorn, was three. Still too young to understand the severing of a blood pact, he tugged at the hem of my riding dress to climb up.

I bent down and picked Sidney up.I said, "Why should they come with me if I didn't give birth to them?"I glanced at Shane and Leila.

"You know exactly who their real mother is, Derek," I added.

Derek's hand froze mid-motion, just as he was about to tap out his pipe.

Derek's mother, Juliet Blackthorn, stormed out of the private Moon Shrine, her wolf-bone cane thudding against the stone floor with every step.

She said, "Elena, you've raised them for seven winters. How can you cast them aside now? Have you no honor left?"

I let out a low, cold laugh.

"Where was the Blackthorn Pack's honor when you foisted another she-wolf's pups on me?" I asked.

All the color drained from Juliet's face.

I held Sidney tighter and turned to leave, my silver-buckled boots striking the stone floor, every step steady and unhesitating.

Derek's voice came from behind me.He said, "Elena, you walk out those doors and don't ever think about coming back."

I didn't turn around."Derek, that's the only thing you've ever said that actually made sense," I replied.

The carriage was waiting out front.

As the coachman held the heavy wooden door open for me, I saw Gloria Silverfang's white stallion pulling a gilt-trimmed carriage into the courtyard of the Blackthorn Estate.

She drew back the velvet curtain and offered me a perfectly composed smile.

"Leaving so soon, Elena? Not even packing your belongings?" she asked.

I settled Sidney onto the leather seat inside.

"You can keep all of it," I said.

I pulled the carriage door shut.

"You've been waiting seven winters for this day, after all," I added.

Gloria's smile faltered for a moment.

As the carriage pulled away from the Blackthorn Estate, Sidney leaned against my shoulder and whispered, "Mama, where are we going?"

"Home," I replied.

"Isn't this place our home?" he asked.

I stroked his hair.

"No. It never was," I said.

A pulse throbbed at my temples. The mindlink chimed.

It was a notice from the Coinkeeper.

Derek had authorized a transfer of 250 gold coins to my name, with a brief mental echo: [For Sidney.]

I stared at the heavy leather pouch the coachman had handed me for three seconds.

250 gold coins.

The Blackthorn Pack collected over 3,000 moonstones in tribute every year, and Derek thought he could fob his own pup off with a lousy 250 gold coins.

I severed the mindlink completely, cutting his presence from my mind.

"To the border gate," I said.

The coachman glanced back over his shoulder.

"Lady Moonclaw, the Elder King has a royal war-carriage and elite guards waiting for you at the crossing," he said.

I closed my eyes.

Three winters ago, after that carriage was ambushed on the mountain road, my inner wolf was driven into a deep slumber. I lost my memory, and the Blackthorn Pack took me in. They told me I was Derek's chosen mate, mother to three pups, and a wolfless rogue with no bloodline to speak of.

I believed them for three winters.

Until a moon cycle ago, when my memories started to piece themselves back together.

My bloodline was Moonclaw.

I was the sole living heir to the Moonclaw Kingdom, an ancient empire whose vassal packs numbered eighty and whose treasuries brimmed with moonstones.