Chapter 1

The kitchens of Ashbourne Manor smelled of tallow and burnt sugar.

Katina Ashbourne had learned long ago that the smell of home wasn’t love but work, a constant reminder that everything she did within these walls was meant to serve someone else.

She knelt before the massive stone hearth, struggling to coax dying coals back to life with an iron poker far too heavy for her slender wrists, sweat dampening the loose strands of dark hair escaping her braid while heat kissed her soot-stained cheeks.

Outside, servants rushed through the corridors, preparing for the biggest night Ravenmoor had seen in decades: the Moon Bond Ceremony.

Katina silently counted the hours, knowing there were only six left until the Moon Goddess revealed their destined mates…six hours until dreams came true or shattered forever.

Behind her, Old Nessa stirred a pot of stew, her voice low and unhurried.

“You’ll want to hurry, child.”

Katina immediately straightened. “Yes, Nessa”.

“The Lady wants Lady Katerina’s bath warmed before noon.” Nessa pointed toward another stack of trays without looking up. “And don’t forget the silver. Every piece must shine before the guests arrive.”

Katina lowered her head obediently. “Yes, Nessa.”

The old woman sighed softly, setting down her spoon. “You never say anything except yes.”

Katina forced a tiny smile, knowing it was easier to agree than risk saying anything that might make her life harder.

“Perhaps.” Nessa reached over and brushed ash from Katina’s sleeve, her touch unexpectedly gentle. “But you deserve today as much as anyone.”

Katina’s smile faded as she shook her head. “No,” she said quietly. “I really don’t.”

It was always the same; yes to polishing silver, yes to carrying dresses, yes to warming bath water, yes to preparing everything that made someone else shine, especially her sister.

Katina carefully carried a basin of steaming water upstairs, the polished hallway mirrors reflecting her worn appearance back at her with every step: dark hair, storm-grey eyes, the same face everyone adored, only it was not her face they admired, it was Katerina’s.

She stopped before one mirror, her reflection staring back, warped and tired and forgettable. She looked almost identical to her twin, the same eyes, the same lips, the same high cheekbones. Yet  somehow Katerina was called beautiful while Katina was called useful. Twenty-two years of being invisible, and still the distinction surprised her.

She whispered the question quietly, though there was no one around to hear her. “When will someone finally see me?”

No one answered.

Katerina’s bedroom looked nothing like the servant quarters, silk curtains dancing in the breeze while golden candlelight filled every corner and fresh roses perfumed the air. Katina knocked softly.

“My Lady?”

“Come in.”

Katerina stood before an enormous mirror while three maids adjusted her shimmering gown, the dress catching the light like liquid moonlight. Around her neck rested a sapphire necklace that had belonged to their grandmother  a family heirloom Katina had never even been allowed to touch.

Katerina caught her sister’s reflection and spun happily. “There you are! What do you think?”

“You look beautiful,” Katina said.

“Only beautiful?” Katerina laughed, lifting her arms dramatically. “Mother said I need to glow tonight. Do I glow?”

Katina swallowed the ache in her chest. “You always glow.”

“I knew it!” Katerina clapped excitedly, pressing both hands over her heart. “Tonight is finally the night. The Moon Goddess is choosing my mate, I can feel it.” Her smile widened. “The entire pack can.”

Katina remained silent.

Katerina tilted her head, studying her. “Don’t you feel it?”

Katina hesitated because the truth was that she did; for weeks, something strange had stirred beneath her skin, an invisible pull that felt like pressure inside her chest, as though something sleeping deep within her was slowly beginning to wake.

Katerina returned to admiring herself, asking without looking back, “Mother is allowing you to attend, isn’t she?”

“She said I could stand at the back.”

Katerina laughed lightly. “How generous.” There wasn’t even cruelty in her voice, and that somehow hurt more, Katerina simply didn’t think about Katina enough to be intentionally cruel. To her, Katina was just there, like furniture, like another servant.

⸻

By nightfall, the Great Hall of Ravenmoor glowed beneath hundreds of candles, moonlight streaming through towering stained-glass windows and washing silver across polished stone floors. Nearly every wolf in the city had gathered  noble families, warriors, elders, and children  their laughter echoing beneath the vaulted ceiling.

Katina quietly slipped inside and found her place without being told: the very back, hidden behind rows of elegantly dressed nobles.

A woman nearby frowned. “Who’s that servant?”

“No idea,” another shrugged.

Katina lowered her eyes. They didn’t recognize her the Alpha’s daughter, a member of the Ashbourne family  and not a single person knew her name.

At the center of the ceremonial circle stood Katerina, radiant and confident and born for this moment. Katina watched from the shadows, silencing the tiny voice that whispered you belong there before it could finish the thought. That place had never been hers.

A ripple moved through the crowd as the doors opened. Alpha Lucien had arrived.

Lucien Blackwood entered wearing ceremonial black robes embroidered with silver wolves  tall, broad-shouldered, handsome enough to steal every gaze in the room, the future Alpha of Ravenmoor, the pack’s golden son. Katina’s heart tightened the way it always did at the sight of him, the quiet and hopeless love she had carried for years pressing against her ribs like a bruise. She had never spoken of it, never allowed herself to hope, only watched from a distance  like loving the moon, beautiful and untouchable.

Tonight, everyone expected the same outcome: Lucien, Katerina, the perfect pair. The Moon Goddess would simply confirm what they all already believed.

The Elder Priestess stepped into the circle and raised her staff. “Children of the Moon…” Her voice echoed through the hall as the gathered wolves fell silent. “Tonight, we witness destiny.”

Ancient chanting filled the room, words so old that few still understood them, and then  Katina inhaled sharply, her chest burning as the strange feeling she’d carried for weeks suddenly exploded into something violent and undeniable. Heat surged through her veins, her pulse thundering, her breath coming too fast.

“It hurts,” she whispered, pressing a hand against her heart, but no one heard.

The moonlight brightened as the air grew unnaturally still, and then something seized her, not physically, but somewhere deeper, a force wrapping itself around her heart and pulling with enough strength to make her entire body lurch forward.

Katina stumbled forward, planting her feet to stop herself, but her body kept moving as if her will meant nothing at all, the invisible force dragging her straight through the crowd while people gasped and scattered around her.

“What is she doing?”

“The servant girl!”

“Stop her!”

Her mother’s voice rang across the hall, horrified and sharp. “Katina!” But she couldn’t stop, couldn’t even breathe properly, the pull becoming irresistible with every step until she crossed the hall entirely and found herself standing directly before Lucien.

His head snapped upward, amber eyes meeting hers, and his entire body froze.

For the first time in twenty-two years, Lucien Blackwood looked directly at her, not through her, not past her, but at her, like he was truly seeing her for the very first time.

The invisible pull finally stopped.

Katina stood only inches away when a sharp burning spread across her wrist, a cry escaping her lips as silver light spiraled beneath her skin and the glowing mark bloomed beautifully against her flesh. Everyone stared. Lucien slowly lifted his own arm, his sleeve slipping back to reveal the identical silver mark blazing across his wrist, twin marks, one bond, the unmistakable blessing of the Moon Goddess.

Silence swallowed the hall.

Katerina’s smile vanished, her face turning deathly pale, as Lucien took one slow step toward Katina, his lips parting around a single word.

“Mate.”

For one impossible heartbeat, Katina believed it  that she had finally been chosen, that she mattered, that she wasn’t invisible anymore.

Then a scream shattered everything.

“AHHH!”

Katerina collapsed onto the stone floor, clutching her stomach as tears streamed down her face. “It hurts!” she sobbed, her voice raw and desperate. “It hurts so much!” The hall erupted into chaos as she screamed again, the words cutting through every other sound. “My baby! My baby!”

Every head in the hall turned towards her.

The warmth drained from Lucien’s eyes instantly, fear replacing it as he snapped toward Katerina. “Katerina!” He crossed the room without another glance at Katina and dropped beside his sister, catching her before she could hit the floor. “What happened? Katerina, look at me!”

She buried herself against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. “I’m losing the baby!”

Lucien’s gaze lifted, amber eyes locking onto Katina across the hall, and gone was the wonder, gone was the destiny she’d glimpsed in that single breath  replaced now with something cold and dangerous.

“What,” “did you do to her?” he said quietly, his voice carrying far more threat than a shout ever could.

The words struck harder than any blade.

The entire hall turned toward Katina, whispers spreading like wildfire through the crowd “she attacked Lady Katerina, she’s jealous, she cursed her,” while Katina stood motionless, unable to speak, the glowing mate mark still burning on her wrist, completely ignored by the only person it was meant for.

The Moon Goddess herself had spoken. And yet not a single person seemed to cared.

In that moment, standing alone at the center of everything while the world looked right through her, Katina understood something far more terrifying than rejection.