The invitation seemed to burn my hands.
In gooseneck scrolls of fine gold written on heavy cream paper are the words: "You are cordially invited to present yourself at the mating of Alpha Kai Morrison and Luna Sophia Bell."
My mate. Marrying another person
I threw the invitation into the trash but the words already burned themselves in my brain. The man that ought not to have belonged to anyone but me, would declare himself to someone else tomorrow night.
"Aria?" My roommate Emma knocked on the door. "The pizza is here. You need to eat something."
I had not eaten in two days. Not since the invitation arrived. Not since my world fell apart.
I answered, my voice raw, of which she did not answer, "I am not hungry."
Emma got in and sat on the edge of my bed. She was a human, so she did not comprehend mate bonds or pack customs completely but what she did comprehend was heartbreak.
"Sweetie, you can not keep on doing this. Three years later, he had rejected you. Maybe it is time to—"
"Time to what?" I laughed, bitter and broken. "Time to move on from the fact that my mate looked me in the eyes and said I was not enough? That he chose a flawless Alpha daughter over me?"
Emma winced. She had heard the same thing before and still it was not easier.
Three years ago, on my 18 th birthday, at the full moon celebration, first mate bond snapped into place. The feeling was so strong I knew I had never felt anything so powerful in my life, it was like discovering your home and your freedom at the same time. The pull took me to Kai Morrison, the son of the Alpha.
The golden boy. Future leader. The man every she-wolf wanted.
When I touched his hand, when the bond hit him too, his expression turned to stone.
"I, Kai Morrison, reject you, Aria Stone, as my mate."
Seven words that shattered me.
"You are better off without him," Emma said gently. "A man who rejects his own mate does not deserve you."
"But he was perfect," I whispered. "Strong, respected, born to be Alpha. And I am just..." I checked myself out in the mirror. Brown hair, pale body, curves that I never could tame. "I am nothing special."
"That is not true," Emma insisted.
It felt true. Especially when, six months after rejecting me, Kai announced his engagement to Sophia Bell, the Alpha King's daughter. She was everything I was not. Gorgeous, refined, bred for leadership.
My phone buzzed. A message from my brother Jake: Pack meeting tonight. Dad says it is important. You coming?
I stared at the screen. I had not set foot in the pack house since the engagement was announced. Seeing Kai and Sophia play the perfect couple made my stomach turn. But this was still my pack, my family.
Fine, I typed. I will be there.
Two hours later, I stood outside the pack house, heart pounding. Through the large windows, I saw familiar faces gathered inside.
At the front of the room stood Kai.
I could not stop my heart from skipping when I saw him even after everything. He was distressingly handsome, six feet of muscled slenderness, dark curly hair, green eyes that could cut. He had a plain black shirt and jeans on but he oozed authority.
Sophia was at his side, radiant. Her blond curls fell down her shoulders, red lips branded a smile and her blue designer dress was immaculate.
I surged myself to come in.
The chatter quieted as heads turned. I felt their eyes, and heard the whispers that followed.
"Is that Aria Stone?"
"She looks different. Thinner."
"I heard she moved to the city after he rejected her."
"Poor girl."
I sat in the back, keeping my gaze down. But I could feel him watching me. The mate bond had been severed, but not fully. A faint connection still lingered, like a ghost brushing my skin.
Alpha Morrison, Kai's father, stood to address the pack. A silver-haired version of his son, he commanded the room effortlessly.
"Thank you all for coming," he began. "I have important news. The Silver Shadow Pack, our neighbors, are experiencing instability."
Uneasy murmurs followed. The Silver Shadows were powerful and feared. Trouble within their ranks meant danger for all nearby packs.
"Their Alpha was killed in a challenge last week. Rogues are already pushing into their borders. We must prepare. All adult wolves will rotate on patrol duty. We are also initiating contact with potential allies."
He paused and let the tension build.
"Tomorrow, following the mating ceremony of Kai and Sophia, the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, Damon Cross, will arrive to discuss an alliance."
Excited whispers broke out.
The Blood Moon Pack was legendary. Elite. Dangerous. And their Alpha was rumored to be unbeatable.
But all I could hear was the phrase Kai and Sophia's mating ceremony. It would be official. He would no longer just be the man who rejected me. He would be someone else's mate. Permanently.
"Are there questions?" the Alpha asked.
Sophia stood, her voice honeyed and clear. "What about pack members who are unable to patrol? Should we expend resources protecting those who contribute nothing?"
She looked directly at me.
The message could not have been more obvious.
Jake stood from the front row. "Every pack member deserves protection, Luna Sophia. That is what separates us from rogues."
"Of course," Sophia said smoothly. "I only meant we should prioritize our strongest members. The ones capable of defending the rest."
Whispers again. Glances. The humiliation crept up my neck.
Alpha Morrison cleared his throat. "All members will be protected equally. That is final."
But the damage was done. Sophia had said what she wanted to say. I was dead weight.
I rose and turned toward the door, not wishing to linger at the scene any longer than necessary to preserve a little dignity by being able to walk out of it.
"Aria, wait."
His voice still stopped me cold.
Kai stood in the doorway, blocking my path. Up close, he was devastating. His scent, pine and storm and memory, wrapped around me. My wolf whimpered.
"We need to talk," he said.
"No, we do not."
I relaxed and tried to thrust him aside, but he grabbed my arm. The contact gave me a shock up my spine. He felt it too. His eyes widened.
"Please. Just five minutes."
Against all reason, I followed him out to the porch.
"I know tomorrow is going to be hard," he said quietly.
"Hard?" I laughed, bitter and exhausted. "Watching my mate marry someone else? Why would that be hard?"
He winced. "You know why I had to reject you. The pack needs a Luna born to lead."
"And I am not?"
"You are gentle. Kind. But Sophia understands diplomacy and power."
"You mean she is impressive and I am not."
"That is not what I meant."
"It is what you said."
I stepped closer, fury bubbling. "You did not reject me because I lacked character. You rejected me because I was not a shiny enough trophy."
"Aria—"
"Tell me. Do you love her?"
The question hung in the air.
He hesitated. Then his mask returned. "This is about duty. Love is not part of the equation."
"Then I hope she makes you happy," I said, voice low. "Because choosing someone you do not love for the rest of your life sounds like a slow death."
He did not stop me up this time.
I was just about to make it to my car when I heard the motorcycles.
Three of them. Their engines growled as they roared up the driveway. I turn, my instincts on alert.
The riders wore black leather, and their movements screamed danger. They were not from our pack. Bigger. Harder. Deadlier.
The lead rider removed his helmet.
My breath caught.
He was striking in a wild way. Black hair, gray eyes, a war-sculpted face. An ugly scar unwrapped the upper portion of his cheek, but beauty emerged from it even more. and then he looked at me and time stopped.
The bond hit instantly. Not a flicker, not a spark, a full explosion. Red light pulsed between us, visible in the dark. My knees wobbled.
But he didn't flinch. He smiled, the slow knowing smile, and then he came striding up to me.
Behind him, pack members flooded outside. I saw Kai and Sophia standing in the doorway, stunned.
The stranger reached me and extended his hand.
"I am Damon Cross," he said, voice rough velvet. "And you are?"
"Aria," I breathed. "Aria Stone."
He rolled the name over his tongue like fine wine. "Tell me, Aria. Are you spoken for?"
I looked at Kai, his arm around Sophia, and for the first time in years, I felt no pain.
"No," I said, stronger now. "I am completely free."
Damon's smile deepened.
"Perfect," he said. "Because I have a proposition for you."