AWAKENING

Eden's POV

The courthouse wedding happened so fast I barely had time to process what I was doing, standing beside Roland in a simple blue dress while a bored judge read the marriage vows and Nicholas, Roland's beta, and Mirabel served as our only witnesses. Mirabel had tried to talk me out of it, warning me that I was making a huge mistake, but I knew she was wrong because for the first time in my life, I was making my own choice.

Roland wore a black suit that made him look devastatingly handsome, and when the judge pronounced us married, he took my hand and led me out to the sleek black car waiting at the curb. We drove in silence to the outskirts of Crescent City, passing through neighborhoods that grew progressively rougher until we reached dense forest, and through the trees, I caught glimpses of a massive Gothic mansion.

"Welcome to the Rogue Lands," Roland said as we pulled up to the entrance, and I saw people watching from windows and doorways with expressions ranging from curious to hostile. A tall woman with silver hair approached, her ice-blue eyes assessing me with obvious disapproval, and she spoke directly to Roland as if I was not there.

"You actually went through with it, married a human, you have lost your mind," she said, and the casual way she said "human" made me frown.

"Eden, this is Andrea, my head of security," Roland said, his tone making it clear the discussion was over. "Andrea, Eden is my queen and will be treated with the respect that position demands."

He led me inside to a suite decorated in soft creams and golds with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the forest, and despite everything, I felt appreciation for the luxury. "Tomorrow night, there is a gathering of rogue leaders, and I need you beside me," Roland said, leaning against the doorframe. "They will test you, try to find weaknesses, so you need to be prepared."

"I am a doctor, I think I can handle some tough conversations," I said, but Roland's expression told me I had no idea what I was walking into.

"These are not humans, Eden, they are wolves, predators who respect only power and dominance," he said, and the way he said "wolves" made me pause because it sounded literal.

The next day, Andrea grudgingly taught me about pack hierarchy and supernatural politics, using terms like "alpha" and "beta" that made no sense. When I finally demanded a straight answer, she laughed harshly and shifted, one moment a woman, the next a massive silver wolf stood where she had been.

I screamed and stumbled backward, my mind refusing to accept what I had just seen, because werewolves were not real. "We are werewolves, and you just married yourself into a world you cannot possibly understand," Andrea said after shifting back.

That evening, Roland escorted me to a massive hall filled with at least two hundred wolves, and whispers followed us as we entered. "That is the human he married," someone said, and another responded, "She will not last a week, too weak."

Roland raised his hand and the room fell silent. "I present to you Eden Blackthorn, my mate and your luna," he announced, but before anyone could respond, a huge man with amber eyes pushed through the crowd.

"You expect us to follow a human," Desmond shouted, pointing at me with contempt. "She is weak, worthless, a liability."

"Desmond, you will show respect," Roland said, his voice dropping to something dangerous, but Desmond laughed and lunged at me with supernatural speed, his hands sprouting claws mid-motion.

Terror flooded my system as those claws came at my throat, and something inside me that had been sleeping my entire life suddenly roared awake. Power erupted from my body in a wave of pure silver energy that hit Desmond like a physical force, sending him flying across the hall to crash into the far wall.

The room went completely silent as everyone stared at me, and I looked down at my hands to see them glowing with ethereal light. "What is happening to me," I whispered, and Roland stepped close, his golden eyes wide with awe.

"You are not human," he said quietly. "You are Moon Blessed, the rarest bloodline in existence, thought to be extinct for over twenty years.”