Chapter 1: The Day I Was Rejected

The night I turned eighteen, the moon was full. It was shining bright and glowing silver and cold, up in the sky like it was watching us. As if it knew what was going to happen. The entire Shadow Moon Pack gathered in the open square, standing in wide circles around the elders. There was whispering, and everyone was smiling and waiting.

Everyone knew what a full moon meant.

Mates.

I stood near the edge of the square, my hands was shaking so badly that I had to curl my fingers into my sleeves to hide it. My heart was beating too fast, too loud, and my chest was so heavy like a rock had been placed inside it.

My wolf was awake.

She manifested for the first time that night, stretching and breathing inside me like she knew this day will come and waiting for this moment all our lives.

He is near, she whispered.

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t need her to say his name.

Alpha Kael.

I had known him for as long as I could remember. He's always there training with the warriors, standing beside the elders, leading patrols even before he officially became an Alpha. He was strong, tall, and confident in a way that made everyone listen when he spoke.

The pack adored him and the Warriors respected him.

Young girls admired and whispered about him when they thought no one was listening.

And I… I loved him.

I always had.

I loved him quietly, from a distance. I never told him. Never dared to expect or hope for anything more than being near him, breathing the same air, hearing his voice carry across the pack grounds.

But this wasn’t about love.

In our world, there's nothing like love, love came second.

Fate came first.

The Moon Goddess chose mates, binding two souls together with a bond stronger than choice, stronger than fear, stronger than pride.

No one rejected a mate.

No one dared to insult the Moon Goddess.

No one except Kael has that gut.

The drums began to beat slowly, deeply, echoing through the trees that surrounded our territory. Each beat sent a vibration through the ground and into my bones. The elders stepped forward, forming a wide circle around the center of the square. Their voices rose together, chanting words so old I didn’t understand them, only felt them.

Wolves leaned closer. Eyes glowed faintly in the dark. The air was growing thick, very heavy with power.

Then it happened.

The pull.

It struck me without warning sharp, sudden, and overwhelming. My breath caught painfully in my throat as heat and sharp pain crashed together in my chest. It felt like something snapped into place inside of me, like a missing piece had finally been forced home.

The bond was real. Tight. Alive.

My knees nearly gave out.

I turned and my heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst open.

Kael stood across the circle from me.

His eyes glowed so bright gold, brighter than I had ever seen them before. His body stiffened, his muscles locking as the bond hit him too. I could feel it feel him like a thread pulling tight between our souls.

For one single, fragile moment, hope bloomed in my chest.

Maybe fate had been kind.

Maybe the Moon Goddess had chosen right.

Maybe.

Then I saw the expression on his face.

There was no wonder there.

No warmth.

No acceptance.

He's face looks so cold filled with rage and anger.

Sharp. 

Burning.

The murmurs around us died instantly. The entire pack went silent, like the world itself had stopped breathing.

Kael stepped forward.

His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin. His fists were balled at his sides, knuckles white with tension.

No, he said.

The word cracked through the night like thunder.

Gasps ripped through the crowd.

My body was frozen, my mind struggling to catch up. Kael? My voice came out small, broken, barely more than a whisper.

I won’t accept this, he said, his voice hard and unforgiving. This bond is a mistake.

The words hit me harder than any blow and I was heartbroken.

My heart dropped straight into my stomach.

One of the elders stepped forward quickly. Alpha Kael, you must think carefully. This is the will of the Moon Goddess.

I have thought about it, he snapped, cutting the elder off. And I won’t be forced into a bond I don’t want.

I don't want this!, he shouted.

Fear crawled up my spine.

Then he said the words that shattered everything.

I reject Aria as my mate.

Pain exploded inside me.

It tore through my chest like claws ripping me apart from the inside. I screamed as the bond shattered violently, burning through my veins, my lungs, my soul. My whole body was weak, My legs gave out, and I crashed to my knees on the cold ground, gasping for air that wouldn’t come.

My wolf screamed inside me, her howl filled with agony and confusion.

The pain was unbearable.

I curled forward, clutching my chest as tears streamed down my face, my body shaking uncontrollably.

And Kael.

Kael turned away.

I saw her then.

Selene.

She stood just behind him, her hand brushing his arm, her eyes filled with something dangerously close to triumph. The she-wolf he has always loved. The one he had chosen over fate.

The pack watched in stunned silence as I collapsed completely onto the ground, broken and shaking, while their Alpha walked away with another woman at his side.

No one moved.

No one helped me.

That night, lying alone beneath the cold moon, I learned the truth.

Fate was not kind.

Fate was cruel.