00001.

Ravenna’s POV.

“Where’s Lucas?” I asked with a hopeful smile, looking around the room filled with pack members. The girl I asked gave a quick shrug and walked away, uninterested. I didn’t let it bother me. It was a big day, after all. The man I loved, Lucas—my fiancé—had just proposed to me the night before, and my heart was still floating somewhere high in the clouds.

I finally spotted him in a corner, chatting with a group of his friends. I was about to go over when he suddenly stepped away from them and climbed up to the stage. He had a wine glass in one hand and tapped it gently with a piece of silverware.

“Everyone, can I have your attention, please?”

The chatter in the hall stopped immediately. Every head turned toward him. Being the Alpha’s son, people always listened when he spoke.

“I have an announcement to make,” he said, his voice steady and proud. “I’m getting married.”

I smiled, a rush of joy warming my chest. I could feel eyes on me—but I didn’t mind. I was happy to be his.

“I proposed last night,” he continued. “And tonight, at the mating ceremony, I will mark the most beautiful woman I know.”

His eyes met mine, and he smiled. I smiled back, my cheeks warm, and my heart pounding. This was it—the moment I had dreamed of.

“I’ll now invite her to come join me on the stage,” he said, pausing for a moment. “And I expect her to come forward as soon as I do.”

I was ready. My fingers brushed the ring on my hand. I held my breath, filled with quiet anticipation.

He looked at me, just for a second, and then turned away.

“And she is none other than… Sandy.”

I blinked.

No, that couldn’t be right.

Sandy?

People clapped and cheered, but their joy sounded like muffled noise in my ears. I stared as Sandy confidently walked up to the stage, all smiles, like it had always been her place.

I thought—somehow—this was a joke. A twisted surprise. But the next moment, Lucas leaned down and kissed her. Right there in front of everyone.

And just like that, my world shattered.

“What’s going on?” I whispered but no one answered.

The room applauded louder now. Everyone looked happy, but I stood frozen, like the floor had been ripped out from under me.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lucas said, turning back to the crowd, “this is my future mate/Luna. The woman I will be marking and marrying tonight—Sandy.”

I looked at the ring on my finger, then back at him. My vision blurred with tears.

He had proposed to me just last night.

He had told me I was his future.

Why was he doing this?

My legs moved before I could stop them. I walked toward the stage, my voice trembling as I called out, “What is going on, Lucas?”

The laughter died down and silence fell like a heavy blanket. All eyes turned to me but I didn’t care.

“Why are you saying you’re marrying Sandy?” I asked, tears slipping down my cheeks. “You just proposed to me. You said you loved me.”

Lucas turned to me with a strange look on his face, his eyes cold and dismissive.

“Oh, you,” he said, like I was some child caught in make-believe. “Sorry, Ravenna. Plans have changed. I’m marrying Sandy now. I do hope you find happiness elsewhere.”

I stared at him, trying to make sense of it.

I held up my hand, showing him the ring. “You gave me this. You asked me to be your wife. You said you loved me. How could you say all that as if none of it was real?”

He chuckled, low and amused. “Oh, sweet Ravenna. Did you really believe that was anything more than fun? You? Marry me? That’s ridiculous.”

The pain in my chest grew sharper with every word.

“I’m the Alpha’s son,” he continued. “I’m meant to lead. I need someone worthy by my side. Sandy is a Beta’s daughter. She’s powerful, respected. You… you’re nothing but an omega. A girl with no wolf. Why would I choose you?”

I felt the humiliation burn through me like fire. “You lied,” I said, my voice breaking. “You told me you were my mate.”

He scoffed. “And you believed it. You don’t even have a wolf, Ravenna. You couldn’t feel the bond. It was all too easy.”

Sandy laughed beside him, loud and cruel. “Pathetic,” she added.

I couldn’t take it. I raised my hand, ready to slap him, but Sandy was quicker. She caught my wrist mid-air and slapped me so hard I stumbled back and hit the ground.

Pain bloomed across my cheek, but the sting in my heart was worse.

She picked up a wine glass from a servant’s tray and poured it over my head. “You really thought you could compete with me?” she sneered.

The room erupted with laughter.

I sat there, drenched and trembling, trying to hold in my sobs. But I couldn’t. I cried.

Sandy crouched in front of me, her nails digging into my cheeks. “I told Lucas to toy with you. It was all my idea,” she whispered. “You were nothing more than a joke.”

She let go, stood, and walked off like she hadn’t just broken me.

I stood up slowly, trying to keep what little dignity I had left, but someone shoved me from behind, and I fell again. The crowd laughed harder.

I didn’t wait and ran. As fast as my legs would carry me, I ran out of the hall, through the grounds, and into the night. My vision blurred with tears, but I didn’t stop.

I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t care. I just wanted to disappear.

But fate wasn’t done with me.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned at the sound of a man’s voice. “Now where are you going, beauty?”

I froze.

A man stepped out from the shadows like he had been waiting for this moment. He wasn’t from the pack. I could feel it.

He was a Rogue.

I tried to back away, but another appeared behind me, blocking my path.

Panic gripped me. My body refused to move.

“Relax,” one of them said. “We just want to play.”

“No, stay away from me,” I yelled, turning on my heels again.

I ran—barefoot, my breath shallow, lungs scraping against my ribs like they didn’t belong to me. The night air slapped my face, heavy and wet, but I didn’t stop. My heart pounded louder than the sound of twigs snapping beneath my feet or the pounding footsteps behind me that never seemed to fade.

I had no wolf, no speed, or strength. Just fear and pure, unfiltered panic fueling each unsteady stride.

Branches scratched at my arms as I tore through the woods, the darkness swallowing the path ahead. My dress snagged on something and ripped, but I didn’t even glance down. I could hear them—laughing behind me. Their laughter didn’t sound human. It was playful, but in the cruelest, most chilling way. Like they already knew they would catch me. Like they were just toying with me now.

My legs burned, and my side ached. I couldn’t feel my feet anymore, but I kept going, praying for anything—someone, something—to save me.

Suddenly, the trees thinned, and I burst onto the open road.

Then a blinding light, followed by a deafening horn, brought me to a halt.

The world froze.

The light swallowed me, and I raised my arms on instinct, bracing for the inevitable. Tires screeched. My whole body flinched, but the impact never came.

I stood there, gasping, my chest heaving, the headlights of the car casting long, eerie shadows behind me.

Then I heard it.

“Nowhere left to run, huh?”

The voice slithered down my spine. I turned slowly, already knowing.

They were still there.

Their silhouettes flickered in the car’s headlights. One stepped forward, grinning like this was a game and I was the prize they were about to claim.

Something broke inside me like some invisible dam was holding back the final pieces of fear. I turned and bolted, no longer thinking, no longer planning—just moving.

But I hadn’t even taken three full steps before I felt it—a hard blow against the side of my neck.

The world tilted.

My knees buckled.

Then, everything disappeared.