The Eclipse Vow

Lyra

My life is measured by the tick of a clock I cannot see.

One. Scrub the floors until your hands bleed.

Two. Keep your eyes on the ground so the Alpha’s daughter doesn’t see you crying.

Three. Pray that tonight is the night everything changes.

Tonight was the Moon-Binding Ceremony. In our world, this was the night your soul finally found its match. For ten years, I had lived as a "Rankless" servant in the Crescent Moon Pack. I was an orphan, a girl with no wolf and no power. My only hope was Caleb, the future Alpha.

We had grown up in the shadows together. He used to sneak me bread from the high table. He used to whisper that when he became Alpha, I wouldn't have to clean floors anymore. He was my secret, and I was his.

I stood in the corner of the Great Hall, holding a heavy silver tray. My legs ached from standing for six hours. Sasha, the Alpha’s daughter, walked past me. She purposely tipped her glass, spilling sticky red wine all over my only clean uniform.

"Clean it up, Ghost Maid," she hissed. Her eyes sparked with mean joy. "And don't get any ideas. Tonight, Caleb chooses a real woman. Not a piece of trash like you."

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I just knelt and wiped the wine from her expensive shoes. My heart was a drum in my chest. Just wait, I told myself. Once the moon is full, Caleb will claim me. He promised.

The music stopped. The massive oak doors swung open, and Caleb stepped onto the stage. He looked like a king. His golden hair shone under the lights, and his shoulders were broad under his black leather jacket. Every girl in the room held their breath.

He looked at me. For a second, his green eyes softened. My heart leaped. This is it, I thought. The end of the nightmare.

Caleb took a deep breath. His voice filled the room, strong and clear.

"Members of the Crescent Moon Pack," he began. "Tonight, I take my place as your leader. And a leader needs a Luna who is strong. A Luna who brings power to our bloodline."

He stepped toward the edge of the stage. He didn't look at me anymore. He looked at Sasha.

"I, Caleb Miller, future Alpha of Crescent Moon, hereby reject the bond of the servant, Lyra Thorne."

The world went silent. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. I dropped the silver tray. It hit the floor with a loud crash, champagne flutes shattering like my heart.

"I reject her because she is weak," Caleb continued, his voice cold. He didn't even flinch at the sound of the breaking glass. "A rankless girl has no place at my side. Instead, I claim Sasha Thorne as my mate and my Luna."

The pack erupted in cheers. Sasha let out a triumphant laugh and ran to the stage. Caleb took her hand and kissed it. He didn't look at the girl in the corner with the broken glass at her feet. He didn't look at the girl he had promised to love forever.

I felt a sharp, burning pain in my chest. It wasn't just heartbreak. It was the "Rejection." When an Alpha rejects a bond, it feels like your soul is being ripped in half. I gasped, clutching my stomach. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

"Get her out of here," Caleb’s father, Alpha Miller, barked. He looked at me with disgust. "She is a stain on this ceremony. Exile her. Throw her into the Deadwood Forest. If she survives the night, she can leave. If not, the crows can have her."

Two guards grabbed my arms. They didn't care that I was hurting. They dragged me across the floor, my shoes crunching on the glass I had dropped. I looked at Caleb one last time. He was smiling at Sasha. He looked happy. He looked like he had already forgotten I existed.

The guards threw me out of the back doors. I hit the muddy ground hard. The rain started to fall, cold and sharp. The "Deadwood" was a place of monsters and shadows. No one survived there without a pack.

I scrambled to my feet, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I ran. I didn't know where I was going, but I had to get away from the sound of the party. I had to get away from the man who had destroyed me.

I ran until my lungs burned. I ran until the trees grew thick and the light of the moon disappeared. I tripped over a root and fell into a pile of wet leaves. I couldn't get back up. The pain in my chest was growing. It was hot. It was bubbling in my blood.

"Is this it?" I whispered into the dark. "Am I going to die as a nobody?"

Suddenly, the forest went quiet. Even the rain seemed to stop mid-air.

A low, deep hum vibrated through the ground. It wasn't a wolf. It was something much more powerful. A shadow moved near a large oak tree. It was darker than the night, solid and cold.

"So," a voice drawled. It sounded like velvet rubbing against a blade. "The little maid has a bite after all."

I froze. A man stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, dressed in all black, with eyes that glowed like emeralds in the dark. He wasn't from my pack. He wasn't from any pack I knew. He was Zade Valerius, the Shadow King. The mothers told stories about scaring their children.

He knelt in front of me, his hand reaching out. I tried to pull away, but my body wouldn't move. His touch was electric.

"You're not dying, Lyra," Zade whispered, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "You're finally waking up. And you're exactly what I've been looking for."

He gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"Caleb Miller made a mistake," Zade said. "He threw away a queen. Would you like to show him how much that's going to cost him?"

Behind him, I heard the sound of snarling. Three massive, red-eyed wolves stepped out of the darkness, their fangs bared. They weren't looking at Zade.

They were looking at me. And they were moving in for the kill.