POV: Elara
The moon hung low like a glowing eye, watching everything from above as if it already knew what would happen.
I stood at the edge of the ceremonial path, my hands trembling as I held a single white rose. The silk of my dress clung to my skin. It wasn't cold, but I was shivering anyway. Maybe it was fear. Or maybe deep down… I already knew.
Are you ready, Elara? My father asked me quietly, his voice rough. He didn't look at me when he spoke. Not like he used to.
Yes, I nodded.
My heart was racing in my chest, but I forced my legs forward. One step after the other. Petals were scattered along the dirt path. Pack members lined both sides, whispering and watching. Their gazes felt heavy. Judging.
I kept my eyes on the platform ahead, where Luca stood, tall and confident in his warrior tunic. His blond hair gleamed like polished gold under the moonlight, and his emerald eyes were unreadable. Cold, even. But maybe that was just nerves.
Right?
He used to smile when he saw me. He used to pull me into his arms without a care who was watching us.
Now, he just stood there. Still.
As I reached the stone altar, Alpha Darion stepped forward, holding the ancient dagger. Tonight, under the full moon, we honor the bond fated by the goddess. Two souls made one. Let the blood seal their path.
I turned to face Luca. My heart beat so hard it hurt. He didn't take my hands.
I blinked. Luca? His lips parted. Elara Varyn… He paused.
Something was wrong.
Why weren't the pack wolves howling?
Why did the air suddenly feel like ice?
…I reject you, Luca said clearly, his voice sharp like a blade. Then everything went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
What? I whispered, but it came out broken, a ghost of a sound.
I, Luca Aurelian, reject you, "Elara," as my mate.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. A sharp pain tore through my chest as if my heart had physically snapped.
The wolf inside me screamed… and then disappeared.
Just… gone.
I stumbled backward. Luca… please. "Why?"
He stepped closer, his face twisted with something cruel. "You're weak," Elara. You are a disgrace to this pack. I can't bind myself to an omega with no wolf. You think the Moon Goddess made a mistake? I think she pitied you.
Tears filled my eyes. I reached for him, begging with my voice shaking. Don't do this. We were meant,
I used to pity you, he cut in. But now? Now I'm just ashamed I ever touched you.
My knees buckled. I sank to the ground in front of him, not from worship or submission, but from heartbreak.
And then I heard everybody.
Some are laughing.
Some are whispers.
"She thought she could be Luna?" This is why omegas should never dream.
Look at her now. Pathetic.
Alpha Darion said nothing. He only nodded to Luca like they had both expected this.
I turned to find my father, but his face was unreadable. He stood next to Beta Ragan, with his arms crossed. My mother wasn't beside him. She wasn't even there.
I was alone, completely alone.
Take her away, Luca said sharply.
What? I breathe heavily.
Two guards came toward me, with silver chains in their hands.
No, no! Where are you taking me to? I asked
To your new place, he replied coldly. You're being gifted to the Lycan King. I hear he enjoys breaking things.
The crowd didn't react. No one moved to help me. The chains snapped around my wrists.
No! Please, Luca! Don't do this to me! Don't send me to him!
He leaned down close, whispering into my ear. This is mercy, Elara. You should thank me.
I spat in his face. He wiped it off slowly, smiling like I'd amused him.
I'll make sure to send word once you've been tamed.
The guards yanked me up. My rose dropped to the ground, crushed beneath someone's boot.
The last thing I saw before being dragged away was Luca turning back to the crowd, grinning.
The prison wagon stank of mold and old blood. My wrists burned from the silver where I sat against the wooden wall, staring blankly ahead.
Everything was gone. My mate, my family, my wolf. I didn't even feel like a person anymore. Just a thing.
The wagon hit a bump and I winced, my back scraping the boards across from me sat an old woman, another servant being sent to the north. She stared at me for a long time before finally speaking.
"You're the rejected one," aren't you?
I didn't answer.
She snorted. They always send the broken ones to Blackthorn. The king likes them quiet.
I swallowed. "What's he like"?
She laughed bitterly. A monster. They say he once tore through an entire council with his bare hands. He doesn't speak much. Just… watches. Like he's always listening to something only he can hear.
My stomach turned.
You should hope he doesn't look at you too long, she added. That's how the last maid ended up buried in the garden.
I pressed my forehead against the wall, closing my eyes.
I wanted to disappear, but instead… something inside me whispered.
Not my wolf. No. She was still silent.
This was something else. Something hotter, wilder. Waiting.
Blackthorn Castle appeared after two days of travel, towering like a beast of its own. Dark stone. Black banners. Guards in armor laced with silver.
The gates opened with a screech.
The wagon jerked forward and then stopped. "You". Get out. A soldier yanked me by the chains.
My legs barely held me as I stepped down. The courtyard was empty. Not even birds dared to land here.
I was dragged through halls, past servants who didn't look me in the eye.
We stopped in front of a woman with cold green eyes and red curls tied back tightly. She looked me up and down like I was something rotten.
I'm Nerissa, the head of the king's maids. You're under me now.
"I don't belong here", I whispered.
None of us do, she said, then smirked, but some of us survive. She led me to a small, damp room with a cot and nothing else.
You start tomorrow at sunrise. Pray he doesn't notice you.
The door slammed shut. I collapsed onto the cot, hugging myself tightly. I didn't cry. I couldn't, but tears were a luxury I no longer had.
Later That Night, there was a knock at the door. Not gentle, but firm and cold.
I sat up. The door opened. A soldier stepped in, his armor etched with black runes.
"The King requests your presence."
My throat dried. Me?
He didn't repeat himself. Then I followed in silence, my bare feet cold against the stone.
We walked through endless halls until we reached a massive door of obsidian wood.
The soldier knocked once, then opened it.
I stepped inside. The room was dim. Maps littered a long stone table. Fire burned in a corner hearth, and there, on the throne, sat a man carved from war itself.
Black hair. Ice-gray eyes. Silver runes inked down his arms.
King Kael Draven. He didn't look up; he didn't need to.
I felt his eyes anyway.
The door closed behind me, and my knees wanted to buckle.
He said nothing, simply lifted his gaze, and stared long, silent, and heavy.
"Pour," he said at last.
A goblet sat on the table beside a bottle of dark wine.
My hands shook as I obeyed. I felt his eyes the entire time. When I handed him the goblet, his fingers brushed mine.
They were warm, too warm. His voice broke the silence again.
"What are you?"
I blinked. "A servant."
He stood up.
My breath caught.
He walked toward me slowly, the firelight catching the silver on his armor.
No, he said, with his voice low. You're something else. He stopped inches from me.
I didn't move.
He reached up and gently touched the side of my neck.
You glow, he whispered.
My skin tingled.
No, I whispered back. That's not possible.
His eyes narrowed, but before he could speak again,
The doors burst open.
Another guard entered, breathless. Your Majesty… there's been a break-in. Someone's in the castle.
Kael's head snapped toward the door.
The guard continued, They left a message…
He handed Kael a torn piece of cloth. Kael read it, and his entire body tensed, he looked back at me with his eyes dark. Hungry. Suspicious.
Get her out, he ordered. "Now".
The guard grabbed my arm. Wait! What did it say? I cried.
Kael didn't answer. But as I was dragged away, I saw the message fall to the ground.
One word. Written in blood: Hybrid.
And in the hallway, as I passed a mirror, I saw it, with my two eyes glowing faintly red.
I wasn't supposed to glow, I wasn't supposed to be more…but something inside me was waking up, and the war… had just begun.