THE NIGHT OF THE MOON

The night I was supposed to meet my mate, the moon turned red. I should have taken it as a warning. Instead, I stood beneath the ancient silver trees of the Moonstone Pack, my heart pounding with a hope I had tried desperately to hide.

Tonight was the Choosing Ceremony.

Every unmated wolf in the kingdom had gathered beneath the sacred moon. Some prayed to find their destined partners. Others feared the possibility of finding someone they could never love.

I had only one wish.

To finally belong somewhere.

For eighteen years, I had lived on the edge of the pack, never quite fitting in. I had no powerful family name, no impressive rank, and no remarkable achievements.

I was simply Elena.

The girl everyone overlooked.

The girl who had learned not to expect too much from life.

My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress as the pack members began to gather around the ceremonial grounds.

Then the whispers started.

“He's here.”

I looked toward the entrance.

The crowd immediately parted.

And he walked through.

Marcus.

The Alpha King.

Even before I had ever seen him, I had heard stories.

The strongest Alpha in the northern territories.

The ruler feared by hundreds of wolves.

Cold. Ruthless. Untouchable.

His black coat moved with the wind as he approached, surrounded by his guards. His expression was unreadable, his dark eyes scanning the crowd as though everyone around him were nothing more than shadows.

My wolf suddenly stirred.

Mate.

My breath caught.

No.

I couldn't have heard that correctly.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Mate.

The word echoed inside my mind again.

My wolf recognized him.

And somehow, impossibly, I recognized him too.

Marcus stopped several feet away.

His eyes met mine.

For one brief second, the entire world disappeared.

There was only him.

And me.

His gaze lingered on my face.

My wolf practically howled with happiness.

He's ours.

I wanted to believe it. I wanted to run toward him.

Instead, Marcus's expression changed.

His eyes hardened.

The warmth I had imagined wasn't there. There was no happiness. No surprise. Only coldness.

Then he walked toward me.

My heartbeat became louder with every step. When he stopped in front of me, I could barely breathe.

“What's your name?”

His voice was deep and commanding.

“Elena,” I whispered.

His jaw tightened.

“Elena…” He repeated my name as if it were something unpleasant.

I swallowed. “Are you okay?”

A strange silence fell between us. Marcus stared at me for several seconds. Then he leaned closer.

His voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear. “You are not my mate.”

My heart shattered. I froze.

“But…” My wolf whimpered inside me.

Mate.

I knew what I felt.

I knew what the bond was telling me.

“You're wrong,” I whispered. Marcus's eyes flashed with something I couldn't understand.

Pain?

Fear?

It disappeared before I could recognize it.

“I said you're not my mate.”

The words were louder this time. Several nearby wolves turned toward us. My cheeks burned.

“But I felt the bond.”

“So did I.”

His answer silenced me. For the first time, something flickered across his face.

Regret.

Then it vanished.

Marcus straightened.

“I reject you, Elena.”

The world stopped.

Three words.

That's all it took to destroy everything I had ever hoped for.

A sharp pain tore through my chest.

I gasped and stumbled backward.

My wolf screamed.

The bond snapped like a rope being cut.

I pressed a hand against my chest, struggling to breathe.

Around us, whispers erupted.

“The Alpha King rejected his mate?”

“Who is she?”

“Why would he reject her?”

I wanted the ground to swallow me.

I looked up at Marcus.

He was still staring at me.

For a moment, I thought he might regret what he had done.

Then he turned away.

“Take her back to the village.”

And just like that, he walked away.

Leaving me standing beneath the red moon.

Alone.

Humiliated.

Broken.

But what Marcus didn't know was that the moment he rejected me, something else awakened.

Something ancient.

Something buried deep within my blood.

The pain in my chest suddenly disappeared.

My breathing steadied.

And then I heard a voice.

Not my wolf.

Not mine.

Something older.

Something powerful.

Rise, Luna.

I froze.

The voice came again.

Your crown has been waiting for you.

My eyes widened.

A strange warmth spread through my body.

The moon above me seemed to grow brighter.

And somewhere beyond the trees, a wolf began to howl.

One howl.

Then another.

Then hundreds.

Every wolf in the kingdom suddenly lifted its head toward the sky.

The ceremony grounds fell silent.

Marcus stopped walking.

Slowly, he turned around.

His eyes met mine.

This time, there was something different in them.

Fear.

I didn't understand why.

I didn't understand what was happening.

But I knew one thing.

Marcus had believed he had just rejected a powerless girl.

He had no idea what he had awakened.

And one day, he would learn the truth.

I was never meant to kneel before an Alpha.

I was meant to become the queen who could never be conquered.