CHAPTER ONE

THE GIRL WITHOUT A WOLF

The first time Lyra Veyne heard a wolf scream inside her head, she was standing before a room full of people who wished she had never been born.

The sound was so violent that her knees nearly gave way.

She grabbed the edge of the wooden table beside her, struggling to steady herself as the strange cry echoed through her skull. It wasn't the voice of another person. It wasn't even the growl of an ordinary wolf.

It sounded ancient.

And it was calling her name.

"Lyra!"

She flinched.

A sharp voice dragged her back to reality.

"Are you planning to stand there all night, or are you going to finish what you're doing?"

Lyra lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

The woman standing before her was Tessa, one of the senior healers at the Silvermoon Pack's healing house. Her expression carried the familiar mixture of irritation and disappointment Lyra had grown accustomed to seeing.

"Make sure the ceremonial herbs are delivered to the Moon Temple before sunset. And don't embarrass us tonight."

Lyra nodded, gathering the small basket of herbs.

Embarrass them.

It was almost amusing how often she heard those words.

At twenty-two, Lyra had never manifested a wolf.

In a world where every werewolf was expected to discover their animal spirit during adolescence, her condition was considered an abnormality. Some called her defective. Others whispered that the Moon Goddess had forgotten to give her a wolf.

She had stopped correcting them years ago.

There was little point explaining something she didn't understand herself.

"You're attending the ceremony tonight, aren't you?"

The question came from Mira, her closest friend, who had just entered the healing house.

Lyra glanced at her.

"I have to deliver the herbs."

"That's not what I asked."

Lyra sighed.

Mira folded her arms. "You can't keep hiding from everyone. It's the Moon-Binding Ceremony. Every unmated wolf in the territory will be there."

"Exactly why I would rather stay here."

"Lyra."

"What?" She offered a tired smile. "Do you honestly think the Moon Goddess is going to look down at me tonight and suddenly remember that I exist?"

Mira's expression softened.

"Strange things happen during the ceremony."

"Not to girls like me."

Before Mira could respond, Tessa cleared her throat.

"The herbs. Now."

Lyra picked up the basket and left.

Outside, the Silvermoon Pack was preparing for the ceremony.

Torches illuminated the stone pathways, while silver ribbons decorated the trees surrounding the Moon Temple. Members of different packs had begun arriving, their clothes and ornaments displaying their ranks.

The Moon-Binding Ceremony was one of the most important events in the werewolf kingdom.

Once every year, unmated wolves gathered beneath the sacred moonstone to discover whether the Moon Goddess had chosen a mate for them.

For some, it was the beginning of a beautiful future.

For others, it was a reminder of everything they lacked.

Lyra knew which category she belonged to.

As she approached the temple, two young warriors standing near the entrance noticed her.

"Look who's here," one whispered.

"The girl without a wolf."

Their laughter followed her.

Lyra kept walking.

She had learned that responding to every insult only gave people more reasons to hurt her.

Inside the temple, hundreds of werewolves had gathered.

The air was thick with excitement, perfume and the unmistakable scent of transformed wolves. At the far end stood the sacred moonstone, a towering slab of pale rock engraved with symbols older than the kingdom itself.

Lyra placed the herbs beside the ceremonial altar.

She was about to leave when Mira caught her hand.

"Stay with me."

"I don't belong here."

"Neither do half the people pretending to be important."

Lyra almost smiled.

Then the doors opened.

The entire temple fell silent.

A group of heavily armed warriors entered first, followed by a man whose presence seemed to command the attention of everyone around him.

He was tall, broad-shouldered and dressed in black.

His dark hair was neatly swept away from his forehead, revealing a sharp face and piercing blue eyes. A faint scar ran along the side of his neck.

He didn't smile.

He didn't need to.

The whispers began immediately.

"Alpha Kael Draven."

"The Nightfall Alpha."

"He's actually attending this year."

Lyra had heard stories about him.

Kael Draven was considered one of the most powerful Alphas in the Moonfall Dominion. His pack controlled vast territories, and his warriors were feared even by rival Alpha families.

Some said he had never lost a battle.

Others claimed he had no heart.

Whatever the truth was, he looked like a man who had never needed to ask anyone for anything.

His gaze moved briefly across the gathering.

Lyra instinctively lowered her head.

She had no reason to attract the attention of someone like him.

The ceremony began shortly afterward.

One by one, the unmated wolves stepped forward and placed their hands against the moonstone.

Some received nothing.

Others experienced the unmistakable pull of a mate bond, their partners identified by the sudden glow of the sacred stone.

Cheers erupted whenever a pair was recognized.

Lyra watched quietly.

She wondered what it would feel like to be chosen.

Not because she needed a mate to make her valuable, but because she had spent her entire life wondering whether there was anyone in the world who would look at her and see something worth keeping.

"Lyra Veyne."

Her heart stopped.

For a moment, she thought she had misheard.

The ceremony attendant repeated her name.

"Lyra Veyne. Step forward."

The surrounding whispers started almost immediately.

"Why is she being called?"

"She doesn't even have a wolf."

"Perhaps the stone is malfunctioning."

Mira squeezed her hand.

"Go."

Lyra swallowed.

Her legs felt strangely heavy as she walked towards the moonstone.

She could feel hundreds of eyes following her.

She stopped before the sacred stone.

"Place your hand against it," the attendant instructed.

Lyra hesitated.

Then she reached forward.

The moment her fingers touched the cold surface, something inside her chest snapped.

A sharp wave of heat surged through her body.

The torches flickered.

The ground trembled.

And the moonstone began to glow.

Not with the ordinary pale light everyone expected.

It shone silver.

Brilliant, blinding silver.

Gasps filled the temple.

Lyra tried to pull her hand away, but she couldn't move.

The strange sound returned.

A deep, powerful growl echoed inside her head.

Then came a whisper.

"Found you."

Lyra's breath caught.

The moonstone flashed again.

Across the temple, Kael Draven suddenly stiffened.

His blue eyes widened.

For the first time that evening, the ruthless Alpha looked genuinely shaken.

His wolf had awakened.

And it was not merely growling.

It was demanding.

Mine.

Kael's jaw tightened.

He took one step forward.

Then another.

The crowd instinctively moved aside as he approached the moonstone.

Lyra stared at him, unable to understand why the most feared Alpha in the kingdom was walking towards her.

Until the bond struck.

It hit her like lightning.

A burning sensation spread from her chest to her fingertips. Her breath escaped in a broken gasp, and her knees nearly buckled.

She knew that feeling.

Every unmated wolf knew it.

The mate bond.

The sacred connection that tied two souls together.

But this couldn't be happening.

Not to her.

Not with him.

The attendant's voice trembled as he announced the result.

"The Moon Goddess has revealed the bond."

Silence descended.

"Lyra Veyne of the Silvermoon Pack..."

The attendant looked towards the Alpha.

"...is the fated mate of Alpha Kael Draven of the Nightfall Pack."

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then the temple erupted.

"Impossible!"

"How can an Alpha's mate be wolfless?"

"This has to be a mistake!"

Lyra barely heard them.

She was looking at Kael.

Somewhere beneath the fear and disbelief, a tiny part of her had begun to hope.

Perhaps this was the moment everything changed.

Perhaps, for once, she would not be the girl everyone pitied.

Perhaps the Moon Goddess had finally given her a place where she belonged.

Kael stopped directly in front of her.

His eyes moved over her face, searching for something she couldn't identify.

His expression hardened.

The warmth Lyra had imagined finding in his eyes never came.

Instead, she saw disgust.

"An unmanifested wolf?" he muttered.

The words were quiet, but Lyra heard them.

Kael turned towards the gathering.

His voice carried through the temple, cold and merciless.

"I will not allow the future of my pack to be tied to a woman who cannot even manifest her own wolf."

Lyra felt her chest tighten.

"Alpha Kael..."

He looked at her.

For one brief moment, she thought he might reconsider.

Then he spoke the words that would destroy everything she had ever believed about the Moon Goddess.

"No."

His eyes turned icy.

"I reject her."

The temple fell silent.

And somewhere deep beneath Lyra's skin, something ancient opened its eyes.