Chapter 1

Marietta's Pov

All my life, I've always believed the Moon Goddess.

And all those times, she's never answered my prayers. 

Not once.

But tonight would be different. 

Tonight was my mating ceremony and the night my sufferings would end.

I trailed my fingers over the fabric of my dress, smoothing out the visible creases as I stood before the mirror. 

The gown wasn't new. It was something I had altered from an old gown. But it was the only nicest thing I owned. The dress was soft blue with slightly worn lace at the edges. It wasn't much but it made me feel… pretty. 

For the first time in my life, I allowed myself to dream. 

My mate would take one look at me and whisk me away from this terrible pack, from father's cold stares, from the whispers of “daughter of a whore”

My heart thundered in my chest as I stepped out of my tiny room in the attic and into the night. 

The ceremony was about to begin.

The venue was more beautiful then I had imagined it to be — decorated with golden lanterns, pines and burning wood wafted in the air, and laughter buzzing around me. 

Despite the excitement in the atmosphere, I kept my head low. No one was here for me.

Well, not until tonight.

I clutched the pendant around my neck — a tiny crescent moon, the only thing my mother had left behind before she disappeared.

I used to hate it. 

Now, I felt hope. 

Hope that the Moon Goddess will finally answer my prayers.

A sharp dig in my side snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to see Faye, grinning at me as if she had discovered a juicy secret. 

“Why are you so excited, Marietta?” She chuckled, tossing her blonde curls over her shoulder. “Do you actually think the Goddess will pair you with someone decent?” 

I clenched my fists, ignoring her. She wasn't worth my time.

I spun around to leave when I felt it —

A pull, like an invisible string tugging at my chest. 

My wolf stirred inside me for the first time in years and I gasped.

My mate was here. 

My breath hitched as my eyes scanned the crowd for him.

Where are you?

I caught a glimpse of his silhouette and he turned.

Then I saw him.

He was whom I never expected. Not by a long shot. 

My mate was Hunter, the son of the Alpha King.

The man I had secretly loved for years.

The man every she-wolf, including Faye, wanted.

And HE was looking right at me. 

My heart did a flip in my chest. The mate the Goddess had chosen for me was Hunter.

At long last.

Before I knew it, my body began to move on autopilot. My lips parted to speak, to say something, anything, but he beat me to it with the coldest glare I'd ever seen. 

“You!” he hissed, the chill in his voice making the hair on my arms stand.

The crowd grew quiet now.

All eyes were on us.

Hunter walked up to me, towering over me with that commanding presence only an Alpha's heir should have. His blue eyes, usually warm, were filled with pure, unfettered disgust.

“No!” He declared flatly.

I blinked. “Wait — What?” 

“No!” He repeated harshly.

And then in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he said. “I, Hunter Greywood, reject you, Marietta Drayton, as my mate.” 

Those words were a slap to the face. 

I barely registered the gasps and murmurs around us. 

My chest tightened, and my wolf howled in pain.

This couldn't be happening. 

This couldn't be real. 

Hunter was rejecting me!

And in front of everyone!

“No…” I whispered, shaking my head. “This — This has to be a mistake.” 

Hunter scoffed. A mistake? You actually think the Moon Goddess will pair me with someone like you?” 

My throat went dry. “Hunter, please —”

“Shut up!” He roared, the loudness of his voice sending a chill down my spine. “You're nothing but the daughter of a whore. Just like your mother, would do anything to a powerful man and leave him when you're done.” 

What?

The crowd erupted into cruel laughs and harsh murmurs. 

I heard them all loud and clear. 

“How can the daughter of a whore think she's worthy of a revered Alpha?”

“How pathetic!”

“Eww. She's just like her mother.” 

Those words stabbed me like knives — twisted so deep I bled. 

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to scream.

Instead I did one thing I had always done — I ran.

My feet pounded against the marble floor as I pushed past the laughing faces and the sneers and the cruel whispers. I was too tired. I wanted to stop. I couldn't.

I escaped into the woods and it swallowed me whole.

My chest ached, my breath ragged, but I kept running. 

Away from Hunter. 

Away from the rejection. 

Away from the fact that one thing I had hoped for was gone.

I tripped over a root and crashed onto the damp earth. 

A pathetic sob ripped from my throat as I curled into myself.

The Moon Goddess was a goddamn liar.

She wasn't kind like the books said she was. She'd never answer my prayers. She was too cruel.

I had spent years believing that one day, my mate would be my salvation. I had been under the illusion that he would see me and love me and take me away from this hell.

But NO!

The Moon Goddess had given me Hunter Greywood.

And Hunter Greywood had shattered me.

I laid there for what felt like hours, my fingers digging into the soil as I cried my heart out. My heart felt like it'd been ripped from my chest, torn to pieces and handed back to me — irreplaceable and useless.

Something rustled in the bustle, breaking into my reverie.

I froze instantly.

What was that?

I turned, still asking myself mental questions. 

Was it a wild animal?

Or had the pack sent someone after me to humiliate me even more?

Or was it a —

I heard a deep growl from the bushes and my stomach sank.

Holding my breath, I slowly turned my head towards the direction of the noise.

And what I saw made my blood run cold.

A pair of glowing red eyes were staring back at me in the darkness.