Chapter 2:

Ronan's POV:

I sat in the council room, listening as the pack leaders reported another wave of illness—pups dying, wolves growing weak. One of the elders announced quietly that an Atoner would be sacrificed tonight to restore balance.

Elder Dominic said, "The reports from the infirmary are worse than yesterday, Alpha." His voice was dry and grated on my nerves. The old man tapped his finger on a map of the Silver-Grip territory. "Three more pups were born still. Two warriors collapsed during training this morning. Their wolves are just fading away."

"We have increased the rations. We have brought in healers from the neighbouring packs " I said my jaw tightened as I spoke. Innocent lives had already been taken in the past. The weight of tradition pressed on me, if this was truly what the pack needed, I had no choice. Duty and instinct collided within me, a silent tension I carried as the meeting continued.

Another elder, a woman with cold eyes said, "It is not a matter of medicine, Ronan. It is the imbalance. The Moon Goddess is displeased. The curse is thirsty. You know how to make it happy.

The room fell silent. I knew what was coming. I hated it. The Alphas first duty was to the pack, not personal feelings.

Dominic announced, "The ritual must be prepared. An Atoner must be sacrificed tonight to restore the balance. It has been the law since the moon. One life to save thousands."

“There is only the law,” Dominic added firmly. “If you choose your conscience over your people, you are not the Alpha we need. Do your duty, Ronan. For the pack.”

My claws dug into the table. I thought of the faces of those who had gone to the altar before. Young women and men who had done nothing except be born with a silver mark. The weight of tradition pressed on my chest like a mountain.

"Is there no way?" My voice was a growl, vibrating with fury.

Dominic replied, "There is the law. If you choose your conscience over your people you are not the Alpha we need. Do your duty, Ronan. For the pack."

I felt his duty and instinct collide. My wolf paced restlessly snarling at the idea of slaughtering one of our own.. The Alpha part of me looked at the dying pups and felt the cold logic of the sacrifice, Sacrificing a life to save lives.

"Fine " I said, the word tasting like ash. "Prepare the sanctum. I will oversee it, If the Goddess demands blood, she shall have it. But let it be known that I do this for the pups, not for your traditions."

I couldn't sit there anymore. The walls of the council room felt like they were closing in sweating with secrets of blood. I stood up. Walked out without another word leaving the meeting.

I was halfway to the staircase when the world suddenly shifted. Suddenly, a scent filled the air—a rare, compelling presence. A few wolves passed by, but My gaze was at the direction of the scent.

My wolf lunged forward pressing against the surface of my consciousness. MATE.

The word exploded in my mind. My heart hammered against my ribs. I turned, my nostrils flaring as I tracked the scent. It was coming from the West Wing.

I abandoned the meeting the elders and my duties. The pull . It was like an invisible chain had hooked into my heart and was reeling me in. Following the scent, it led me toward my private office. I found her cleaning, moving silently through the hallways.

The closer I got, the louder my wolf roared. Every instinct I possessed screamed at me to claim, to protect, to never let go.

​I slowed my pace, my boots barely making a sound on the rugs. I felt the pull in my blood, drawing me toward the doorway. And then, I saw her.

She was kneeling on the floor her to me , scrubbing the threshold of a doorway. She looked small, delicate, with dark hair falling over her shoulders like a silk curtain.

The closer I got, the louder my blood roared. Every instinct screamed at me to claim, to protect, to never let go.

I approached her silently. My boots barely making a sound on the stone. Then, I saw her freeze, her shoulders tensing, her hand gripping the scrub brush until her knuckles turned white. She knew. She felt it too. She had a hood pulled low over her face, but she couldn't hide the way her soul called out to mine.

I reached out, my hand trembling slightly. I didn't care that she was a servant. I didn't care about the stains on her clothes. To my wolf she was the precious thing in existence

I took her hand. My fingers wrapping firmly around her small ones. I felt a jolt of electricity at the contact a spark that traveled to my soul. I pulled her gently to her feet forcing her to face me.

She looked up. For the first time, I saw her eyes. They were wide with awe and terror.

And then I saw it.

I saw the silver mark on her collarbone—the mark of the Atoner.

My heart broke with despair of the cruel fate the moon goddess has given my mate. The woman moon goddess had designed for me —the other half of my soul—was the very person I had just agreed to sacrifice. The Atoner's mark didn't diminish the fact that she was my destined mate, the future Luna of the pack.

I took her hand, holding it tightly. My gaze locked on hers. I lifted my hand to her cheek with a tenderness that surprised even me. She shivered under my touch.

“I finally found you,” I whispered as I stared into her eyes lost in it .