Raina ran through the forest, her bare feet slamming against the cold ground, thorns tearing at her skin like the words that had just ripped through her heart. The whispers of the pack still echoed in her ears: "Unworthy. Weak. Rejected."
She had known today wouldn't go smoothly, but she hadn't expected that. Not in front of the entire pack. Not from her mate. Not from Alpha Kael.
The man she'd dreamed of since her first transformation.
The man whose scent had burned into her memory like smoke in her lungs.
And yet, he had stood there — tall, powerful, ice—eyed—and rejected her without hesitation.
He hadn't even flinched.
"You're not Luna material," he'd said, his voice like steel. "You're nothing but a mistake."
Raina collapsed to her knees by the river, her chest heaving as tears streamed down her cheeks. The moonlight spilled across her skin, revealing blood and dirt, but she didn't care.
She looked at her reflection in the water — hollow eyes, trembling lips, and a mark on her shoulder that pulsed faintly, as if even the goddess herself pitied her. The mate bond hadn't broken yet, which only made the pain sharper.
"Why me?" she whispered. "Why would the Moon Goddess bond me to someone who hates me?"
A twig snapped behind her. Raina froze. Her instincts flared, but she didn't move.
"Running into the woods at night after being rejected?" came a dry voice. "Very cliché."
She turned slowly.
A man leaned against a tree, arms crossed. Not a pack member. She would've recognized him. His dark coat fluttered in the breeze, and his eyes—unlike Kael's—weren't cold. They burned with something else: quiet intensity.
"Who are you?" she asked, scrambling to her feet.
"Someone who's been watching you get crushed."
"Are you… stalking me?"
"No." He stepped forward. "I was at the ceremony. You didn't see me. But I saw you."
She narrowed her eyes. "If you're another alpha looking to humiliate me, save your breath."
He smirked, but it wasn't cruel. "I'm not an alpha. Not in your pack anyway."
Raina hesitated. Something about his voice stirred something in her. Like her wolf leaned in to listen.
"Then what are you?"
He paused, stepping into the moonlight. His presence was commanding, even though he said nothing. Finally, he answered, "I'm the king."
For a moment, Raina blinked. Then she let out a breathless, bitter laugh.
"The king? Of what? Midnight fairytales?"
But he didn't smile. Didn't blink.
"The King of the Northern Territories. Of the Crescent Crown." He watched her face carefully. "And I came here tonight because I felt your mark break."
Raina's heart pounded. Her bond hadn't fully snapped yet, but it was cracking like glass.
"You felt it?"
He nodded. "The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes. She makes connections. Some temporary. Some eternal. And some… meant to be redirected."
She stared at him, every nerve in her body on fire.
"What do you want from me?" she whispered.
He stepped closer — close enough that she could see the faint scar under his left eye.
"To offer you a new future."
Raina flinched.
"You don't even know me."
"I've watched you." His voice dropped, steady and sure. "And you're stronger than they think. Kael made a mistake. But I won't."
"I'm not some wounded girl waiting to be claimed."
He raised an eyebrow. "No, you're not. You're a Luna who hasn't realized she's meant to rule."
His words sent something electric through her. Her wolf stirred in agreement — not just from attraction, but from recognition.
"What's your name?" she asked finally.
"King Theron."
The name settled into her bones like thunder.
Back at the pack, Kael stood alone on the balcony of the Alpha House, his jaw clenched. The ceremony was over, and the whispers had died down, but his mind hadn't.
He should've felt relieved. Freedom. Control. Power.
Instead, he felt… off. Like something had been ripped away from him. His wolf was pacing inside him, restless and irritated.
"What's wrong with you?" Kael muttered, gripping the railing. "She wasn't right for us."
But his wolf didn't agree. Not anymore.
And deep in the trees, something ancient was shifting. The Moon Goddess had chosen once. She could choose again.
And this time… her chosen would not bow.