The vineyard glowed silver under the full moon. Lanterns hung from the vines, swaying in the cool night air. Music drifted softly from the pavilion, a rhythm pulsing in time with my heartbeat.
Tonight was supposed to change everything.
I smoothed the front of my pale blue dress, trying to keep my hands from shaking. The fabric was borrowed. So were the shoes. Even the lipstick had been a gift from Marla, the pack seamstress who took pity on me. I tried to stand tall among the other girls, but the glances I caught said it all—I didn't belong here.
Still, I held onto one thought like it was a lifeline: He'll choose me tonight.
Luca. Beta of the Crescent Moon Pack. My fated mate.
The words had echoed in my head for weeks since the bond flared between us. He'd kissed me once, behind the cellar doors where the wine aged in oak barrels, and whispered that he just needed time before making it public. "Let my father's funeral pass," he'd said. "Then, I'll claim you in front of everyone."
So I waited. Quietly. Patiently.
Now the day had come, and my heart felt ready to burst.
"Don't trip when you walk up," Marla murmured behind me. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes darted nervously toward the gathering. "And remember—keep your head high, no matter what happens."
Her words unsettled me. "What do you mean, 'no matter what happens?"
Marla hesitated, her lips pressing together, but before she could answer, a loud voice carried over the vineyard.
"Everyone, please take your places!"
Alpha Vance's steward raised his hand toward the moonlit stage. The ceremony was beginning. The crowd hushed, excitement rippling like a tide.
One by one, pairs were called forward—young wolves stepping into the glow of the moon to find or claim their mates. Some cried. Some laughed. Some gasped when the bond snapped into place.
My palms were damp. I tried to find Luca among the crowd. He stood near the front, wearing his formal jacket, shoulders squared, expression unreadable. When our eyes met, he didn't smile. He looked… tired. Or guilty.
"Next," the steward called, "Beta Luca Thorn and his fated mate, Elena Vale."
The name echoed across the vineyard like a spell. My legs moved before I realized it, carrying me forward through rows of whispering onlookers.
Luca stepped onto the platform, but something in his stance made the air heavy. I stopped a few feet away.
His jaw clenched. "Elena," he said quietly.
That voice. I used to love hearing it say my name.
I smiled, a little tremble in it. "Luca. Are you ready?"
A pause. His eyes flicked toward the crowd—then back to me. He took a breath that didn't sound steady. "I can't do this."
The words didn't make sense at first. "What?"
"I said," his voice rose, "I can't claim you."
The world seemed to still. The music, the breeze, the murmurs—all gone. I could only hear my own heartbeat, pounding in my ears.
He looked at me, his expression hard now, trying to mask fear with anger. "You're not… right for me. The bond was a mistake. I reject you, Elena Vale."
A gasp swept through the crowd. Someone laughed. Someone whispered.
My throat closed. "You… reject me?"
He didn't answer. He turned his back to me.
Just like that.
Pain tore through my chest, sharp as claws. My wolf whimpered inside me, the bond snapping with a burning sound I could almost hear. I dropped to my knees, breath caught somewhere between a cry and a choke.
From the front row, a voice rang out—soft, satisfied. "Don't make a scene, sweetheart. It's pathetic."
It was Renee, daughter of the Alpha's advisor—Luca's longtime admirer. She stepped out, looping her arm through his. "You'll embarrass yourself more than you already have."
Luca didn't stop her.
That hurt more than the rejection.
The crowd began to whisper in earnest now—pity, mockery, disbelief—a storm of eyes and murmurs pressing against me. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
And then, suddenly, the whispers stopped.
A ripple of scent swept through the air—cedarwood and smoke. A weight pressed down, electric and ancient. The crowd parted instinctively.
A tall figure walked through the rows of vines, black coat brushing against the leaves. His eyes caught the moonlight—gold, sharp, alive.
The Alpha had returned.
Calen Thorn.
Luca's older brother. The one who'd vanished two years ago after a violent pack dispute. Rumors said he'd gone rogue, half-feral, cursed by the moon.
He was here now, and his gaze locked straight on me.
I didn't know him personally, but his presence was like gravity. Everyone lowered their heads as he passed. Everyone except Luca, who froze mid-step beside Renee, his face draining of color.
Calen's voice was low, quiet enough to make people strain to hear. "What did I just witness?"
No one spoke.
He looked at Luca. "You rejected your fated mate?"
Luca stammered, "It—it wasn't right. She's not—"
"Not what?" Calen's tone hardened. "Not worthy of you?"
The silence cracked with tension. My breath hitched.
Calen's eyes shifted to me again, and something flickered there—confusion, recognition, then sudden heat. The air thickened. The scent of vines and crushed fruit turned sharp, almost intoxicating.
My wolf stirred. Mate.
No. That couldn't be.
But the bond snapped in me again, new and fierce, blazing through every nerve. Calen inhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. He felt it too.
The crowd sensed it. Gasps and murmurs spread.
Two bonds. One broken. One newly formed.
Impossible.
Luca's expression twisted from shock to disbelief to rage. "No—she can't be—"
Calen stepped forward, his voice cutting him off. "She is."
Every muscle in his body tensed like a coiled spring. "And you humiliated her in front of the pack."
Luca started to protest, but Calen's glare silenced him.
The Alpha turned to me again, softer now. "Come with me."
I shook my head, still trembling. "I—no, I can't."
His eyes softened slightly. "You can. And you will."
He extended his hand.
For a moment, I just stared at it. Around us, the crowd waited, breathless. Renee's lips parted in disbelief. Luca's fists clenched.
Finally, I placed my hand in his.
His skin was warm, almost burning. The mate bond pulsed between us, strange and undeniable. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Calen turned toward the crowd. "This ceremony is over."
No one dared move. He led me away through the rows of vines, the whispers chasing behind us like wind.
We stopped beneath the trellis at the edge of the vineyard. The night was quiet again, with only the chirp of crickets and the hum of distant music.
I pulled my hand free. "You shouldn't have done that."
He looked at me—calm, but something wild flashed in his eyes. "You think I'll stand there while my brother treats a mate like dirt?"
"I don't want pity," I said sharply.
He stepped closer. "It's not pity."
My breath caught. "Then what is it?"
For a second, he didn't answer. His gaze dropped to my trembling hands, then lifted again to meet my eyes. "Something I don't understand yet."
I swallowed hard. My heart was still racing from everything that had happened.
Behind us, laughter erupted faintly from the pavilion—Renee's, sharp and cruel. "The cursed Alpha and the rejected Beta's girl—what a pair!"
Calen's jaw tightened, but he didn't turn back. "Ignore them," he said quietly. "You'll drive yourself mad trying to make sense of cowards."
"I don't belong here anymore," I whispered.
"Then maybe you belong with me."
The words hung between us, soft and dangerous.
I met his eyes. The gold in them seemed to burn brighter under the moonlight.
"Why me?" I asked.
He exhaled slowly. "I don't know. But the moon doesn't make mistakes twice."
Something in his tone made my chest tighten. For the first time that night, the ache in my heart dulled slightly—not gone, but less sharp.
Still, I turned away. "You don't know what you're saying."
He let me go. "Maybe not. But I'll find out."
As I started down the dirt path toward the old cottages, I could feel his gaze on my back—steady, silent, and heavy with questions neither of us was ready to ask.
The vines rustled in the wind behind me. The night smelled of crushed grapes and promise.
And somewhere deep inside, beneath the hurt and humiliation, a spark of something new began to stir.