Prologue

Darina stepped into the ballroom like a flame in midnight silk.

Her gown clung to her toned figure, deep blue fabric shimmering like moonlight on water, its slit hinting at the powerful legs sculpted by years of training. Pearls sparkled in her dark curls, twisted into a regal updo that bared the long, graceful line of her neck. Her sapphire eyes scanned the crowd with barely restrained excitement.

Tonight was her first mating ball—and she had just turned eighteen.

Her heart fluttered with anticipation. Somewhere among the silks and tuxedos, the goddess's chosen one waited for her. Not for power. Not for rank. Just for her.

She didn’t want a crown or a title. She wanted someone who saw her—truly saw her—and claimed her with a heart that matched her own.

Then she smelled it.

Salt air, crushed mint, and something wild.

Her wolf, Coral, howled, “Mate!”

Darina’s breath caught. Her pulse raced.

“Mate,” she whispered back, warmth flooding her chest.

And then she saw him.

He stood tall near the center of the room, broad shoulders tense beneath a tailored black suit. His dark hair was tousled, jaw sharp enough to cut glass. Their eyes met. The moment should have been magic.

But something was wrong.

He wasn’t alone.

A stunning blonde clung to his arm, her ice-blue eyes narrowing at Darina with open hostility. Her grip tightened possessively as if she already knew who Darina was.

The man didn’t smile. He didn’t move. He just stared, expression unreadable.

Still, Darina walked toward him, drawn like a moth to flame.

When he finally spoke, his voice was like a knife dipped in frost. “Come with me.”

She followed him out onto a moonlit balcony, her chest aching with hope that maybe—just maybe—this was all some misunderstanding.

He turned to face her, arms crossed over his chest like a wall. His scent was overwhelming, intoxicating.

“I’m Darina,” she began softly.

“I know who you are,” he interrupted coldly. “Daughter of the Red Full Moon Alpha. Look, no hard feelings. But I’ve already chosen someone else.”

The words cracked like thunder in her heart.

“But I’m your mate,” she said, stepping closer, fingers brushing his. The spark was undeniable. Her wolf whimpered in joy.

His eyes flickered with something—recognition, maybe. Pain. But it vanished as quickly as it came.

“I don’t care,” he said flatly, yanking his hand away. “I don’t need the Moon Goddess to choose for me.”

A blade of silence sliced between them.

Then the blonde appeared, looping her arms around his waist with casual cruelty. “Is she bothering you, babe?”

John placed a kiss on her forehead without sparing Darina a second glance. “All good. Almost done here.”

The final blow came with calm brutality.

“I, Alpha of the Silverstone Pack, John Stormborn, reject you, Darina Kovac, as my mate and Luna.”

The rejection hit her like lightning—ripping through her chest, stealing her breath, stealing her dreams.

Tears blurred her vision, but she didn’t fall.

Not in front of them.

Straightening her spine, she met his eyes with quiet steel. “I accept your rejection.”

He dropped to his knees, groaning in pain.

The blonde rushed to comfort him, confused and shaken.

Darina didn’t look back.

She turned, walking through the ballroom like a queen draped in shadows. Her world may have cracked open, but her pride remained unshaken.

Out in the garden, beneath a sky full of indifferent stars, she made a vow.

If the Moon Goddess made a mistake pairing her with this man, she would become her own destiny.

She would rise, train harder, love fiercely, help others and one day—when the world least expected—it would remember her not as the girl who was rejected…

…but as the woman who no one could ever break.