Nyra’s POV

I shouldn't have come.

The thought circles through my head as I press myself against the rough bark of an ancient oak, trying to disappear into the shadows at the edge of the clearing. 

Around me, hundreds of wolves mill about in their finest clothes, laughing and touching and belonging in ways I never will. 

The Moon Ascension ceremony happens once a year, and attendance isn't optional, not even for omegas like me who have no family, no pack protection, no reason to hope the moon will smile on them tonight.

I adjust the thin shawl around my shoulders. It's the nicest thing I own, and it's still threadbare compared to the silks and furs draping the bodies of wolves who matter. My wolf, Senna, stirs uneasily beneath my skin.

We could leave, she whispers. Slip away before it starts.

But we both know that's not true. Guards patrol the perimeter. Any wolf caught fleeing the ceremony would be dragged back and punished. So I stay small, stay quiet, and pray to the moon goddess that I can survive this night without drawing attention.

The clearing itself is breathtaking. Silver moonlight pours down through gaps in the canopy, illuminating the sacred ground where mate bonds are revealed and accepted before witnesses. Flowers I can't name bloom in impossible colors, their petals seeming to glow from within. The air hums with ancient magic, thick enough to taste.

I've never been this close to the center before. Omegas usually watch from the back, but this year there are so many wolves that I got pushed forward by the crowd. Now I'm trapped between a group of laughing betas and a stone pillar carved with runes I don't understand.

"Did you see what Luna Ashford is wearing?" someone behind me says. "Absolutely stunning."

"I heard three alphas are attending tonight. Unmated ones."

The conversation washes over me. I don't care about politics or power plays. I just want this to end.

The drums begin.

The sound rolls across the clearing like thunder, deep and primal, resonating in my chest. Conversations die. 

Wolves turn toward the raised platform at the clearing's heart, where the Alpha Council stands in a semicircle, their faces grave and ceremonial. These are the leaders who govern our territories, who decide laws and disputes, who hold the power to grant mercy or deliver punishment.

My hands shake. I clasp them together.

The head councilman steps forward, his voice magically amplified so every wolf can hear.

"We gather beneath the moon's sacred light to honor the bonds she reveals. Tonight, fate will speak. Tonight, destined mates will be called to one another, and we will bear witness to the ties that cannot be broken."

My stomach twists. I don't want a mate. I can't afford one. Omegas who bond with anyone above their station get crushed between duty and hierarchy. I've seen it happen. The kindest outcome is being hidden away like a shameful secret. The cruelest is rejection, which breaks something fundamental in a wolf's soul.

I should have stayed home. Risked the punishment.

The ceremony begins with the higher ranks. Alphas step onto the platform first, their power radiating outward in waves that make my skin prickle. They're all beautiful and terrifying, bred for strength and dominance. I don't look directly at any of them.

Then I feel it.

A pull. Subtle at first, like a hook behind my ribs, tugging me forward. Senna surges to attention, suddenly fully awake, and for the first time in my life I feel her push against my control, demanding I move, demanding I look.

No, I tell her desperately. No, please, not me.

But my body doesn't listen. My head turns of its own accord, my eyes dragging across the crowd, searching for something I don't want to find.

And then I see him.

Alpha Kael Draven stands on the platform, and the world narrows to just him. He's tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair that falls slightly into eyes the color of storm clouds. There's a hardness to his features, a controlled strength that speaks of someone who has never known weakness. He wears his authority like a second skin.

Our eyes meet across the clearing.

The bond snaps into place with the force of a lightning strike.

Heat explodes through my chest, spreading outward in golden waves that steal my breath. Every nerve ending comes alive. I can feel him, his presence, his power, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat syncing with mine. It's overwhelming and perfect and completely impossible.

Senna howls inside my mind, joyful and triumphant. Mate. Mate. MATE.

No. This can't be happening.

But it is. The bond thrums between us, visible to every wolf in the clearing as a thread of pure moonlight connecting his heart to mine. Gasps ripple through the crowd. I hear my designation whispered like a curse.

"Omega."

"An omega bonded to an alpha?"

"Impossible."

I can't move. Can't breathe. Can't do anything but stare at Kael Draven as recognition flashes across his face. For one perfect, fragile moment, something softens in his expression. Something almost like wonder.

I feel chosen. For the first time in my entire worthless life, I feel like I matter.

Then the Alpha Council closes in around him.

I watch as they lean close, whispering urgently into his ears. I'm too far away to hear the words, but I see the change happen in real time. The softness vanishes. His jaw clenches. The warmth in his eyes freezes into something distant and unreadable.

My heart, still flying from the bond's revelation, begins to plummet.

Kael's gaze finds mine again across the clearing, and this time there's nothing warm in it. Nothing kind.

He steps forward to speak.