Chapter 1: The Night Fate Mocked Me

The wind howled through the towering pines, carrying with it the scent of rain, pine needles, and something far more dangerous.

Blood.

Lyra Hart tightened her worn Gray cloak around her shoulders as she hurried along the muddy forest trail. Her boots sank into the soaked earth with every hurried step, but she didn’t dare stop. Being late tonight wasn’t an option.

Not when the entire Blackwood Pack was gathering for the annual Blood Moon Ceremony.

The ceremony happens only once every five years. Every unmated werewolf over the age of eighteen gathered beneath the Blood Moon, where the Moon Goddess was said to reveal destined mates.

Lyra wasn’t a werewolf.

She was only a human.

An orphan.

A servant.

Someone who wasn’t even allowed to stand near the sacred clearing.

Yet she had been ordered to help prepare the feast before disappearing into the shadows where humans belonged.

“Move faster, human!”

A sharp voice cut through the darkness.

Lyra flinched.

“I-I’m sorry.”

She lowered her head as Beta Ronald’s wife shoved a heavy basket into her arms.

“Take this to the Alpha House. If you’re late, don’t bother coming back.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She forced a polite smile despite the ache in her arms.

Three years.

She had lived in Blackwood Pack for three years.

Three years of cleaning floors.

Cooking meals.

Washing clothes.

Being ignored.

Being insulted.

Being reminded every single day that humans were beneath wolves.

Still… she endured.

Because Blackwood Pack had taken her in after her parents died during a mysterious rogue attack.

At least…

That was the story everyone believed.

Lyra had no memory of that night.

Only fragments.

A woman’s scream.

Warm blood on her tiny hands.

Silver eyes staring at her through the flames.

Then…

Nothing.

She reached the Alpha House just as the first ceremonial drums echoed across the valley.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Every heartbeat seemed to answer them.

The Blood Moon was rising.

She carefully placed the baskets inside the grand dining hall before slipping back toward the exit.

She knew better than to linger.

Humans weren’t welcome.

Not tonight.

Especially not near the Alpha.

As she hurried down the marble staircase, laughter echoed from the entrance hall.

Lyra instinctively stepped aside.

The room fell silent.

Then… he walked in.

Alpha Karl Blackwood.

The most powerful Alpha in the Northern Territories.

Thirty years old.

Over six feet tall.

Broad shoulders.

Jet-black hair.

Piercing silver eyes that held no warmth.

He wore a tailored black suit instead of ceremonial robes, somehow making him look even more intimidating.

Power radiated from him like an invisible storm.

Every wolf immediately lowered their head.

“Alpha.”

“Alpha.”

“Good evening, Alpha.”

Lyra bowed quickly, keeping her gaze on the polished floor.

She had seen him before.

From afar.

He never noticed servants.

She preferred it that way.

Strong footsteps echoed closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Then…

Everything stopped.

The air became impossibly still.

A strange warmth spread through Lyra’s chest.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Her breathing caught.

What…

…was happening?

A deep voice broke the silence.

“Look at me.”

Her fingers trembled.

Slowly… she lifted her eyes.

Silver met hazel.

Time froze.

The world disappeared.

A strange invisible thread tightened between them.

His scent flooded her senses.

Cedar.

Rain.

Smoke.

Home.

Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs.

No…

Impossible.

She wasn’t a werewolf.

She couldn’t…

His eyes widened for the briefest second.

Shock.

Disbelief.

Then his expression turned to ice.

His wolf growled inside him.

Mate.

The single word thundered through the room.

Several nearby wolves gasped.

“The Alpha has found his mate?”

“No…”

“It can’t be…”

Karl's jaw clenched.

His fists tightened.

His wolf roared inside his mind.

She is ours.

His expression darkened.

“Impossible.”

His cold voice sliced through the silence.

“I refuse.”

The room exploded into whispers.

Lyra stared at him, unable to breathe.

Refuse?

Before she could understand what was happening, a breathtaking woman in an elegant crimson gown walked to Karl's side.

Selena Ashcroft.

Daughter of the Crimson Moon Pack.

Beautiful.

Powerful.

The woman everyone expected to become Luna.

She wrapped her arm around Karl possessively.

“My love,” she purred. “What seems to be the problem?”

Karl never looked away from Lyra.

Instead… he spoke loudly enough for every wolf in the hall to hear.

“A human could never stand beside an Alpha.”

Every word struck like a blade.

“I reject whatever foolish trick the Moon Goddess is trying to play.”

Gasps echoed throughout the hall.

Lyra’s vision blurred.

The invisible warmth connecting them shattered into unbearable pain.

Something deep inside her broke.

Karl took Selena's hand without hesitation.

“My future Luna has already been chosen.”

The crowd erupted into applause.

Some wolves laughed.

Others whispered cruelly.

“A human?”

“How embarrassing.”

“The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake.”

Lyra lowered her head, her eyes burning with unshed tears.

She had done nothing.

Said nothing.

Yet somehow… her heart had been broken by a man she had only just met.

She turned and fled before anyone could see the tears finally spill down her cheeks.

Behind her, Karl watched her disappear into the darkness.

For a single heartbeat…

Something inside him twisted painfully.

His wolf growled with fury.

You just destroyed our fate.

Karl closed his eyes.

“I did what had to be done.”

But for reasons he couldn’t explain…

Those words felt like the first lie he had ever told himself.