One

Daisy

The smell of pine and expensive cologne always made my stomach turn, but tonight it was suffocating. The Hall was draped in silver and black silk for the Lunar Awakening. It was the night every shifter in the Blood Moon pack waited for. The night the future Alpha turned twenty five and finally claimed his position.

I was on my knees, scrubbing a wine stain out of the white marble floor that some drunken warrior had left behind. My hands were raw from the cold water, and my back ached, but I didn't dare stop. Being wolfless meant you were either useful or you were a target. Usually, I was both.

"Look at this mess. You really are pathetic, aren't you?"

I didn't have to look up to know it was Bella. My stepsister stood there in a dress, her blonde hair perfectly curled. She was the pack's darling, the one everyone assumed would be the next Luna.

"I’m almost finished, Bella," I whispered, keeping my head down.

"That’s 'Future Luna' to you, brat," she snapped. She reached out with her foot, tipping the bucket of dirty, soapy water right over my head.

The freezing liquid drenched me instantly. I gasped, the cold shocking my lungs as the gray water ruined my only decent shirt. Laughter erupted from the edges of the room. A group of pack girls were watching, their eyes filled with nothing but mockery.

"Oh, oops," Bella giggled, though her eyes were cold. "I guess you’ll have to start over. And Daisy? Don't even think about showing up to the ceremony in those rags. You’ll embarrass Nathan."

"He wouldn't care," I muttered, wiping the sting of soap from my eyes.

Bella leaned down, grabbing a fistful of my wet hair and pulling my head back. Her claws were out, just enough to prick the skin behind my ear.

"He cares about his reputation. He’s going to be Alpha tonight. He doesn't need a wolfless glitch like you reminding everyone of the tragedy your parents were. Clean it up. Now."

She shoved me back onto the wet floor and walked away, her heels clicking like a death march.

I stayed there for a moment, shaking. My parents weren't a tragedy. They were heroes. But in this pack, dying to save a stranger was seen as a weakness, not a sacrifice.

"Daisy? Are you okay?"

I looked up to see Chloe, the only person who still spoke to me without a sneer. She was a low ranked wolf, but she had a heart. She rushed over with a dry towel, her face twisted in pity.

"I’m fine, Chlo. Just another Tuesday in paradise," I said, trying to force a smile that didn't reach my eyes.

"She’s getting worse. She knows the Awakening is tonight. She’s marking her territory because she’s terrified Nathan might actually have a soul left in there," Chloe whispered, helping me up.

"He doesn't," I said firmly.

I remembered a time when he did. I remembered a boy who used to sit with me under the willow tree and promise that when he became Alpha, things would change. He used to share his lunch with me when the other kids stole mine. But that boy died the day he got his first tattoo and realized he was the strongest wolf in the territory.

Now, Nathan was a stranger. A ruthless, tattooed king in waiting who looked through me as if I were made of glass.

By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, the pack was gathered in the clearing behind the manor. The bonfire roared, sending sparks toward the stars. I stood at the very back, hidden in the shadows of the trees. I had managed to change into an old sundress, the fabric thin and faded, but it was all I had.

The crowd went silent as Nathan stepped onto the raised stone platform.

He was breathtaking in a way that felt dangerous. He wasn't wearing a shirt, revealing the intricate black ink that covered his chest and arms, disappearing into the waistband of his dark trousers. His muscles were corded and tense, his jaw set in a hard line.

"Tonight, we honor the Moon Goddess," the Elder announced, his voice echoing through the trees. "Tonight, the Alpha blood claims its heir. And tonight, the bond shall be revealed."

My heart hammered against my ribs. I just wanted this to be over. I wanted him to claim Bella so I could finally fade into the background and plan my escape. I couldn't stay here anymore.

Nathan stepped forward, his eyes scanning the crowd. They were a piercing, icy blue that seemed to glow in the firelight. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. He looked bored. He looked like he could kill everyone here and not blink.

Then, his scent hit me.

It was stronger than usual. It was cedar and rain and something primal that made the dormant wolf inside me howl in a way I’d never felt before. I stumbled back, my breath hitching.

No. No, please.

The air in the clearing seemed to thicken. The pack link hummed with a sudden, violent energy. Nathan’s head snapped in my direction. His pupils dilated until his eyes were almost entirely black.

The silence was deafening. Even the fire seemed to stop crackling.

Bella stepped forward, a smug smile on her face, reaching for his hand. "Nathan? The ceremony..."

He didn't even look at her. He growled, a low, vibrating sound that came from deep in his chest. It was a sound of possession. He jumped off the platform, the force of his landing cracking the earth beneath his boots.

The crowd parted as he walked toward the back. Toward the shadows. Toward me.

I wanted to run, but my legs felt like lead. Every instinct I had told me to kneel, but my pride kept me standing.

He stopped inches away from me. The heat radiating off his body was insane. He was so tall I had to crane my neck to look at him. His nostrils flared as he leaned down, sniffing the crook of my neck.

I felt it then. The spark. It felt like a lightning strike to the heart. The mating bond snapped into place with a force that nearly knocked me over.

"You," he hissed.

It wasn't a romantic whisper. It was a snarl of pure, unadulterated rage.

The pack gasped. I could hear Bella’s sharp intake of breath, followed by a low murmur of shock that rippled through the hundreds of wolves watching us.

"Nathan," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Please."

He grabbed my arm, his grip like a vice. He didn't care that he was hurting me. He leaned in so close I could feel the heat of his breath on my lips.

"Of all the females in this pack," he snarled, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "The Goddess gives me the one thing that is beneath me. A wolfless, pathetic waste of space."

I felt the tears prickling my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not here. Not in front of them.

"I don't want this any more than you do," I snapped back, my voice cracking.

Nathan looked at the crowd, then back at me. A cruel, twisted smirk grew on his face. It was the look of a man who was about to destroy something just because he could.

"You think this makes you special, Daisy? You think this bond gives you power?" He laughed, a dark, hollow sound.

He turned toward the Elders, raising my hand high as if showing off a prize he intended to throw away.

"I, Nathan Blackwood, heir to the Blood Moon Pack, refuse this gift!" he roared.

The air felt like it was being sucked out of my lungs.

"I reject you, Daisy," he said, looking back at me with eyes full of hate. "I reject you as my mate. I reject you as my Luna. You are nothing to me but a mistake in my bloodline."

The pain was physical. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and twisted my heart until it snapped. I gasped, clutching my stomach as the rejection bond began to burn through me.

"Nathan, stop!" Chloe cried out from the crowd, but she was silenced by a snarl from a nearby warrior.

Bella stepped forward, her face a mask of triumph. She walked right up to us and looked me up and down. "You heard him, Daisy. You're rejected. Now get out of our sight before we decide to make your exile permanent."

I looked at Nathan, searching for even a glimmer of the boy I used to know. But all I saw was a monster.

I didn't say a word. I turned and ran.

I ran through the crowd, ignoring the whispers and the laughter. I ran into the dark woods, the branches tearing at my skin and my dress, but I didn't care. The pain in my soul was far worse than anything the forest could do to me.

I reached the old bridge at the edge of the territory, my breath coming in ragged sobs. I leaned against the stone railing, looking down at the rushing water below.

The bond was screaming. He had rejected me, but he hadn't broken it. Not completely. I could still feel him. I could feel his anger, his pulse, his shadow. It was like a phantom limb, a part of me that had been ripped away but still throbbed with a dull, sickening heat.

I didn't hear him approach. Wolves were silent hunters, and Nathan was the best of them. One second I was alone with the sound of the river, and the next, the air turned heavy with the scent of cedar and expensive leather.

"Running is a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

His voice was right behind my ear. I spun around, my back hitting the cold stone of the bridge railing. Nathan was standing there, his hands shoved into his pockets, looking at me like I was a puzzle he was tired of trying to solve. The moonlight caught the tattoos on his throat, making the ink look like it was shifting under his skin.

"You rejected me," I said, my voice shaking. "What else was I supposed to do? Stay and watch you celebrate with Bella?"

Nathan stepped closer, invading my space until I had nowhere left to go. He looked down at me, his icy blue eyes dark with something that wasn't just hate. It was hunger.

"You’re wolfless, Daisy. You’re a glitch in the system. You can’t be a Luna. You can’t even shift to defend the borders. Do you have any idea what the council would do if I took a mate like you?"

"Then let me go," I whispered. "If I’m so worthless, why are you here?"

He reached out, his fingers grazing my neck where the silver collar had left a faint red mark. His touch sent a jolt of electricity through me so strong I almost gasped. The bond was a traitor. It didn't care that he had just humiliated me in front of the entire pack. It just wanted him.

"Because the bond won’t quiet down," Nathan hissed, leaning in until our foreheads touched. "It’s driving me insane. I can feel your heartbeat in my own chest, and it’s pathetic. But I’ve been thinking."

He let out a low, dark chuckle that made my skin crawl.

"You might not be fit to lead, but you have a very pretty face, Daisy. And you have wide hips. If you can’t be my Luna, you can still be useful. I need an heir to secure my position. My father wants the bloodline protected."

I froze. "What are you saying?"

"I’m saying you don't have to leave," Nathan murmured, his lips brushing against my temple. "I’ll give Bella the title. She’ll be the face of the pack. But you? You’ll stay in my house. You’ll be my little secret. My pet. My breeder. I’ll give you everything you want, as long as you stay in my bed and give me the sons I need."

The slap I gave him echoed across the water.

My palm stung, but the look of pure shock on his face was worth it. For a split second, the Alpha heir looked like a stunned boy. Then, his expression hardened into something terrifying.

"You think you have a choice?" he snarled, grabbing my wrists and pinning them against the railing. "You have nothing. No family, no wolf, no money. You belong to this pack, which means you belong to me."

"I would rather die," I spat, staring him down.

Nathan’s gaze dropped to my lips. The tension between us was thick, suffocating, and dangerously romantic. Despite the venom in his words, he was looking at me like he wanted to devour me. He started to lean in, his grip on my wrists loosening just a fraction as his eyes fluttered shut.

He was going to kiss me. And God help me, a part of me wanted him to.

Just as his lips were about to touch mine, I brought my knee up with everything I had.

Nathan let out a choked groan, doubling over as I caught him right in the groin. I didn't wait to see if he was okay. I turned and sprinted toward the boundary line. I didn't stop when I heard him roaring my name. I didn't stop when the thorns tore at my legs. I just ran until the lights of the Blood Moon pack disappeared.

I was in the city. My dress was ruined, my hair was a bird's nest, and I looked like a ghost. I found a dive bar on the corner of a rainy street, the neon sign flickering with a buzz that matched the ringing in my ears.

The Silver Moon.

I walked inside, the smell of stale beer and cigarettes hitting me like a physical wall. I just needed to disappear. I needed to be someone else for a night.

I headed straight for the bar, not looking at anyone. I was shivering, the adrenaline finally wearing off and leaving me with nothing but the cold realization that I was homeless and hunted.

"A shot of whatever is cheapest," I told the bartender, my voice raspy.

I reached for my glass, but my hand was shaking so badly I knocked it over. The amber liquid splashed across the polished wood, soaking into the sleeve of a man sitting on the stool next to me.

"Dammit," I hissed, grabbing a napkin to try and soak it up. "I am so sorry. I’m a mess, I didn't mean to—"

I stopped.

I looked up to apologize, but the words died in my throat.

The man was massive. He was wearing a black tailored coat that looked like it cost more than my pack’s entire treasury. His hair was dark, styled in a way that screamed power, and his hands were covered in intricate, dark tattoos that disappeared into his cuffs.

But it was his scent that stopped my heart.

He didn't smell like a wolf. He smelled like something older. Something darker. Something like royalty and ancient forests.

He slowly turned his head to look at me. His eyes weren't blue like Nathan’s. They were a deep, molten gold that seemed to burn right through my soul.

He didn't look angry about the drink. He looked... hungry.