Nora expects to be crowned Luna of the Silvercrest pack beside her fated mate, Alpha Lucas. Instead, Lucas announces to the assembled clan that destiny gave him two mates: Nora and her frail twin sister Mia. Lucas organizes an unprecedented pack-wide plebiscite to determine the title, casting his own ballot for Mia while Nora's own mother follows suit, leaving Nora with zero votes.
When Lucas arrogantly whisks Nora into an alcove, whispering that she will remain his secret bedmate while Mia holds the formal throne, Nora looks at him with absolute revulsion. Refusing to be anyone's hidden compromise, she severs their metaphysical mate bond on the spot. Walking out into the wilderness, Nora leaves the treacherous pack to face incoming territorial war without her strength.
