The full moon bled silver across the night sky, cold and merciless, as if it had descended solely to witness my destruction. Its light spilled over the ceremonial clearing, illuminating every stone, every twisted root, and every pair of eyes that would mock me in a heartbeat.
I stood barefoot on the ancient ritual stone, my thin white gown clinging to my skin. The chill of the stone seeped through my feet, but it was nothing compared to the frost creeping through my chest. Around me, the Nightfang Pack formed a wide circle—warriors, elders, and young wolves alike—each pair of eyes sharp, calculating, and judgmental. Their whispers cut like knives: "An omega in the Alpha's ceremony? Preposterous."
And yet, here I was.
Across the circle, tall and unyielding, stood Alpha Kael Nightfang. My mate—or so the bond had promised me.
My wolf stirred weakly inside me, trembling with hope and fear. Mate… please… she begged.
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering like a drum in my ears. This was it—the Mating Ceremony, when the Moon Goddess revealed her chosen pair. I had dreamed of this night for years, imagining that Kael's golden gaze would meet mine, that he would hold me close and declare me his forever.
I had dreamed of being seen.
Kael didn't look at me.
Not once.
"Step forward," Elder Morvak's voice cut through the murmurs, heavy with unease.
I obeyed, legs trembling violently. Kael mirrored me, stepping forward with the cold precision that always made my stomach twist. His eyes—golden, sharp, impossible—still avoided mine.
The air thickened, electric, almost choking. The leaves on the surrounding trees shivered, as though even the forest could sense the tension. The night seemed to hold its breath.
Then it happened.
Pain exploded in my chest, white-hot and blinding. The bond had activated, snapping into place. My wolf howled inside me, raw and desperate, reaching out for him with every fiber of her being. My legs buckled; I clutched at my chest, gasping.
This is it, she whispered. He will see you now.
I lifted my head, tears blurring my vision, searching for the slightest sign of recognition.
For one fleeting heartbeat, Kael's eyes flickered in my direction.
Then they turned cold.
A ripple of whispers swept through the circle.
"She's the Alpha's mate?"
"An omega? How humiliating."
"The Moon Goddess must be mistaken."
Kael's jaw clenched, his aura darkening, suffocating.
"I reject it."
The words were calm. Precise. Deadly.
"I—what?" My voice barely rose above a whisper, cracking under the weight of disbelief.
"I, Alpha Kael Nightfang," he said, voice carrying effortlessly to every corner of the circle, "formally reject Lyra Ashborn as my mate."
The world shattered.
Pain ripped through me like claws tearing flesh from bone. My wolf screamed in agony as the bond violently severed, leaving a hollow, gaping emptiness in its place. I screamed, blood searing my throat, vision blurring, knees hitting the stone.
Something warm and metallic spilled from my mouth.
My hands shook as crimson ran over my fingers. The crowd gasped.
"She's bleeding!"
"Such strength in rejection… she may not survive!"
"Finally, the pack can see her place."
I curled into myself, quivering, lungs burning, tears streaming unchecked. Every inch of me ached—not from the cold, not from the stone—but from the utter betrayal of my soul.
Kael didn't flinch. Didn't falter. Didn't care.
"I will not be bound to weakness," he continued, sharp as obsidian. "Especially when I've already chosen my Luna."
Then she appeared—Selene Moonwhisper. Perfect, poised, untouched. Her eyes glimmered with triumph as she slid her hand across Kael's arm, leaning her head lightly against his shoulder, a picture of victory and belonging.
"I stand with you, my Alpha," she whispered, soft, melodic, cruel. Her gaze flicked to me—mocking, victorious.
A ripple of laughter surged through the crowd. My chest hollowed.
So this is my worth, I thought bitterly. To be mocked, humiliated, discarded…
"Remove her," Elder Morvak's voice trembled. "She stains the ceremony."
Rough hands seized me, dragging my broken body across the stone. My gown tore, scraping my skin, my blood leaving dark streaks on the sacred ritual floor. My wolf whimpered, but there was no one to hear her. No one to care.
I tried to stand, tried to speak, but my body refused. Pain and shame tangled into a knot that nearly crushed my soul. The cold wind bit at my cheeks as I was forced to the edge of the clearing. My wolf whimpered again, fear and rage coiling inside her.
And then—the pain stopped.
Instantly.
A deep warmth, far darker and more powerful than the mate bond, unfurled within me. It coiled around my heart like a possessive hand, steady and commanding. My wolf went silent, sensing the power awakening inside me.
The shadows behind the clearing deepened unnaturally, whispering secrets no mortal could hear. My body trembled as energy—ancient, terrifying—coursed through my veins. I had never felt anything like it. Power. Anger. Hunger.
A voice—ancient, deep, terrifying—resonated in my soul:
Rejected by an Alpha… yet claimed by something far greater.
The ground beneath the pack trembled. Far beyond the Nightfang borders, in lands no one dared enter, golden eyes snapped open in the darkness. Massive, predatory, eternal.
A low, rumbling growl filled the night, vibrating through my bones.
I've found you, the voice whispered, possessive and hungry. Mine.
Something ancient stirred in my blood. My chest burned—not in pain this time, but in awakening.
I felt it: the surge of strength, the call of power that had slept for centuries, now rising in tandem with my grief. My wolf roared inside me, proud and fierce, joining the voice that had claimed me.
I raised my head. Blood still streaked my pale gown. Tears streamed down my face. The pack members stared, uncertain now, feeling something shift that they could not understand.
Whispers rose, sharp, anxious: "She is… changing."
"The blood of the ancients flows in her…"
"She will not stay broken."
I will survive, I whispered the words to myself.
I will rise.
The silver moonlight falling across the clearing revealed a shadow moving just beyond the treeline. A presence so vast, so dominant, that my chest ached in recognition.
They are coming for me.
My wolf growled, claws digging into my chest as if trying to warn me. The golden eyes glimmered again, this time closer, the air thick with anticipation and threat. I could feel every heartbeat in the forest, every whisper of power brushing against my skin.
You are mine, the voice rumbled inside my mind, deep, ancient, possessive. It did not ask. It did not request. It claimed.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to run. But I could not. My legs were rooted, my heart pounding, my soul vibrating with a strange mixture of fear and exhilaration.
Selene's laughter, Kael's cold glare, the pack's murmurs—they all faded into insignificance. Nothing mattered but the power that had claimed me. The ancient, golden gaze from the shadows pierced my very being, promising vengeance, protection, and dominance beyond comprehension.
You are mine, it repeated, wrapping around my heart like fire. And I will find you. Always.
The moon seemed to pulse, blood-red and ominous, as if in agreement. My vision blurred with tears—not of despair, but of anticipation. The world had rejected me, humiliated me, broken me. But the night whispered of power, of revenge, of something so irresistible that even fear could not stand in its way.
I lifted my gaze toward the treeline, toward the glowing eyes that promised everything I had ever lost—and everything I had yet to claim.
And when I come… the voice murmured, low and deadly, no one will be left to stop us.
The clearing was silent, the pack frozen, the moon glaring down like a judge. But in my chest, my wolf howled. Not in despair. Not in submission. But in awakening.
I was no longer alone.