Chapter 1

I never thought that at just eighteen, I’d be tossed out like yesterday’s leftovers—rejected by my mate, my so-called friends, my picture-perfect family, and my once-beloved pack. I mean, what the hell happened?

It felt like only yesterday I was laughing too loud, flirting too much, and running wild through the forest trails with my friends, my worries limited to sneaking snacks, coffee in Wolf Academy or dodging combat drills. I was that girl. Spirited. Bold. The future Luna of Windor Pack. Or so I thought.

But fate? Oh, she’s a twisted little monster with a flair for drama.

It all started three months ago—December 28, my birthday. My big day. The day I was supposed to feel the first spark of my wolf. The Winter Solstice. An ancient blessing, rare and powerful, gifted only to those born when the moonlight kissed the snow and danced on the meadow like silver fire.

That night was supposed to be mine.

The feast was grand. Bonfires crackled. Lanterns floated. The entire pack gathered under the moonlit sky, cloaked in furs and secrets. They even sang songs—my name included. And there I was, in the center of the ritual ground, smiling like an idiot, heart thudding, waiting for the shift to take over me.

Then... midnight struck.

The sky didn’t shimmer.

The wind didn’t whisper.

The moon didn’t bless.

Instead, thunder roared like a war cry. Lightning tore the sky open like a vengeful scream. The bonfires hissed. The drums stopped.

And I—Kyla Black—stood in the center of it all, barefoot, breathless, and utterly, pathetically... wolfless.

I remember trying to smile. Trying to laugh it off. Like maybe the moon was late. Maybe She hit traffic or had a scheduling conflict. Maybe—

Then he stepped forward.

Aldrian Windor Jr.

My destined mate. Future alpha. Golden boy. I looked at him like he was salvation.

He looked at me like I was dirt.

With a voice colder than the frost on my skin, he said, “I, Aldrian Windor Jr., reject you, Kyla Black, as my mate.”

Boom. Just like that.

Like I was nothing. Like we never shared a single look, laugh, flirtatious smile, or childhood secret. The whole pack gasped, but no one moved. Not my friends. Not my parents. Not even my goddess-damned best friend, Lana, who stood there clutching her coat like my heartbreak might stain her designer boots.

Nobody. Said. A word.

I didn’t fall.

But I wanted to.

Because rejection isn’t just a breakup in our world—it’s a death sentence. My soul fractured, like glass cracking from the inside. My body burned like it had been set ablaze from the core outward. It felt like a thousand knives were carving my name off the stars.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. I just stood there, surrounded by whispers, eyes, and fake-ass pity.

Aldrian didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Just turned his back on me like I was a glitch in his fairytale.

I remember wanting to scream. To rage. To demand answers.

But instead, I laughed.

Yeah. Laughed. A sharp, bitter sound that didn’t sound like me anymore.

Because what else could I do? Cry? Beg? Crawl?

Not me.

Even broken, I had my pride.

Even dying inside, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

But damn... it still hurt.

Hurt in places I didn’t even know existed.

And the worst part?

They all let it happen.

I stood there.

Alone. Not just physically—but truly, deeply, cosmically alone.

Their eyes… Gods, their eyes. They looked at me like I was filth. A disease. Like I’d grown fangs in the wrong place or suddenly sprouted rot from my skin. Like I was some tainted offering on a silver platter.

Even Lana—my best friend, the girl who once swore she’d die with me on a dare at fifteen—turned away. She didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. She didn’t defend me.

She just turned her perfectly glossed lips into a tight line and stepped back into the crowd, like I was contagious.

Because it wasn’t just the rejection.

It was what came after.

A sound—deep and godless—tore through the skies like the Moon Goddess Herself had awakened with a vengeance.

The lightning struck.

Directly onto me.

The searing pain hit my neck first—like claws of divine fire digging deep into my spine, branding me. A mark. A curse.

It wasn’t seen with eyes.

It was felt.

Felt in the bones. In the soul.

And they all knew. Every single one of them. Even the pups stopped crying. The warriors froze mid-step. And the Alpha—Aldrian’s father, the man who once cradled me on his lap as a cub—stepped back like I was an abomination.

No one came forward.

No one asked if I was okay.

No one moved.

I opened my mouth to speak, to ask what the hell was happening, but only a scream came out.

A scream that ripped through the meadow, louder than the thunder.

Raw. Animalistic. Ugly.

My knees hit the ground.

The dirt smeared on my dress.

My hands clawed at my neck, where the lightning had touched, where it burned, like the curse had been carved into my flesh.

And the pain?

The pain from the mate bond being severed—that was nothing compared to this. This wasn’t heartbreak. This wasn’t rejection. This was divine wrath. The fury of a goddess whose reasons I couldn’t begin to understand.

I screamed again.

And again.

Rolled in the dirt like a creature dying.

And they watched.

Their future Luna. Their friend. Their blood.

They watched like I was a scene in a play.

Eyes wide. Lips sealed.

And not a single hand reached for me.

Eventually, the pain dulled. Or maybe my body gave up.

I collapsed, cheek pressed against the cold earth. Shivering. Barefoot. Forsaken.

Because what I received that night…

Wasn’t just a broken heart.

Wasn’t just a rejected bond.

It was a curse.

A mark of the Moon Goddess Herself.

Not her love.

Not her blessing.

But her rage.

Her hatred.

And I didn’t even know why.