That was the only word Agnes Lyles could find for life inside the Blood Moon Prison. Not a fiery hellscape, but a cold, elegant cage dressed up as loyalty and order. Beneath the marble floors and polished rituals, cruelty pulsed like a hidden vein. Her stepmother’s eyes cut sharper than any blade, seeing her as nothing more than a blemish on the family’s image. Her stepsister treated her pain like a pastime—dreaming up new ways to humiliate her, smiling sweetly as she delivered each fresh sting. Regan Lyles, daughter of the late Beta, had been born into a legacy of strength. She should have been taught to fight, to command, to lead. Instead, grief and blame had forged her into something smaller—an outcast with a target painted across her back. Her mother’s death had shattered the pack’s heart—or so they claimed. But instead of sympathy, whispers rose like a storm around Regan, accusing her of being the reason for a tragedy she had been too young to understand, let alone prevent. So she learned to survive in silence. She woke each morning with the same Hold on. One day, you’ll be free. But fate had other plans. She never expected the mate bond to strike her at all—let alone twice. And certainly not with them. Xander and Xavier Dominion. The twin Alphas. Two names spoken with equal parts awe and fear. Unmatched in strength, infamous for their temper, revered for their rule. And the very same boys who had turned her childhood into a battlefield of torment. To anyone else, they were everything a Luna could want—tall, lethal, and magnetic. But to Regan, they were a cruel joke from the Moon Goddess herself. She had spent years plotting her escape from them. Not binding her life to theirs. Yet the bond didn’t ask for permission. It ignited inside her like a fuse, uncoiling with an intensity she could neither deny nor escape. “I don’t want this,” Regan said, her voice like a blade of ice as she met Xander’s stare. “I reject you. Both of you.” Xavier’s lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile as he stepped closer. “You can say the words, Regan. But the bond knows the truth.” Xander’s voice dropped, dark as thunder. “You’re ours. Whether you like it or not.” In an instant, Isabelle Ramona—the flawless she-wolf everyone had assumed would become their chosen mate—ceased to matter. The twins’ focus shifted like predators locking onto prey. And now it was singular. Feral. Relentless. They wanted Regan. As their mate. As their Luna. And they would stop at nothing to claim her.