Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I never thought the night the Moon Goddess would finally pick my mate could turn into my worst nightmare, but here I was, stepping into the packed festival square with my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. This was it. 

After years of proving myself as a sports medicine nurse, dealing with every cruel whisper about my human blood and my body, I let myself hope. I smoothed my hands over the simple emerald dress Mom had altered by hand because no expensive gown ever fit my curves right. It hugged me okay. It felt like me.

People noticed me right away. Heads turned. Voices started up.

“That’s the half-human nurse,” one guy said loud enough for me to hear.

“She’s actually pretty,” a woman replied, then added with a laugh, “if she’d lose twenty pounds.”

I kept walking, chin high like always. Used to it. Didn’t mean it stopped stinging, but I shoved the hurt down deep. Tonight was different. The Goddess was watching.

The Moon Priestess moved through the crowd calling names. Omegas lit up when their mates stepped up. Smiles everywhere. I waited, nerves twisting tighter with every pair that matched perfectly.

Then she said it. “Maeve Carter.”

My breath caught. I moved forward, legs shaky but steady. The Priestess looked right at me and then at him.

“Zayne Ashcroft.”

The square exploded. Gasps, cheers, shocked shouts bouncing off the walls. Zayne stood there near the altar, the future Alpha, frozen like someone had slapped him. His face went white. No wolf reaction. No pull. Nothing.

He stepped back fast. “There has to be some mistake. This cannot be right.”

The Priestess shook her head. “The Goddess never makes mistakes, Alpha heir.”

Zayne let out this bitter laugh that cut through the air. “No future Luna of mine is going to spend more time in a hospital than a ballroom. I need someone powerful. Someone wolves will admire. Not someone they’ll pity.”

Everything went dead quiet. All eyes locked on me. My cheeks burned hot. I felt naked under those stares.

He kept talking, voice getting louder like he wanted everyone to hear. “Look at her. How am I supposed to lift someone like that? Those thick thighs, those heavy breasts weighing her down. A real man shouldn’t have to struggle just to carry his Luna. How does he even do it without throwing his back out? She’s not built for this life.”

Tears rushed to my eyes. I tried blinking them away but a few slipped down. “Zayne,” I said, voice breaking. “I studied so hard to be a trauma nurse. All those long shifts, the blood, the patients screaming in pain, I pushed through it partly because I thought my mate would see how strong I could be for the pack. For you. How can you stand there and say this to me after everything?”

He shrugged, eyes cold. “I was being kind, Maeve. Leading you on a little so you wouldn’t feel completely worthless around here.”

“Kind?” I snapped back, anger flaring hot in my chest. My hands clenched at my sides. “You’re a mean jerk , Zayne. That’s what you really are. You smiled at me, talked to me like I mattered, and now this?”

His jaw tightened. He glared at me. “Watch your mouth, omega. Or I won’t be so kind about letting you walk away from this. I’m still Alpha here, and I can make things a lot worse if you push me.”

The crowd murmured louder. People talked over each other. “She called him a jerk?” “Can you believe it?” “The half-blood is losing it.”

Zayne turned to the Moon Priestess then. He actually bowed low, head down, like he was begging her to fix this mess. “Priestess, please. Hear me. The Goddess must have erred this once. I reject Maeve Carter as my mate. I cannot have her by my side. Not like this. Not ever.”

The Priestess stood still for a moment. “The bond is clear, but the choice to reject is yours, Alpha.”

I felt the snap inside me, sharp and painful, like something tearing. “You bowed to her but you won’t even look at me now?” I said, voice rising. “After I spent years getting stronger, thinking one day you’d see me as enough? You led me on, Zayne. Admit it.”

“I was being polite,” he shot back, straightening up from the bow but not meeting my eyes fully. “That’s all. Don’t twist it into something more. I need a Luna who commands respect, not pity. Someone the pack can look up to without whispering behind her back about her size.”

“Polite?” I laughed through the tears now falling freely. “You just tore me apart in front of everyone. Called out my thighs, my breasts, like I’m some joke you have to lift. A real man wouldn’t say that. He would see what I bring. I saved lives in that hospital, Zayne. For this pack. For you.”

He stepped closer, voice low but carrying. “And I am being kind by ending this now. Walk away, Maeve. Before I stop being nice about it.”

Whispers exploded again. “He’s bowing to the Goddess but rejecting her hard.” “Poor curvy girl.” “Mia’s probably thrilled.”

I ignored them all and slipped the silver mate bracelet off my wrist. The one I’d worn since I was little, dreaming about this. It felt heavy in my palm. I stepped to the altar and set it down. The soft clink against the stone made my stomach drop.

The Moon Priestess watched with sad eyes. “As Alpha, Zayne, you must choose a new Luna on your path forward. The Goddess allows this choice.”

Zayne nodded once, like none of this touched him.

I turned away, pushing through the crowd, tears coming faster now. Shoulders bumped into me on purpose. Elbows jabbed. I kept moving, head down, trying to get out.

Then I brushed straight into Mia. That social media influencer with her tight body and mean smile. She’d hated me for years, bullying me, spreading the worst stories online, even killing my chances at modeling by making sure everyone saw the edited photos and nasty comments. Our shoulders hit and she smirked.

“Careful there, Maeve,” she said, voice sugary sweet but dripping poison. “Wouldn’t want you crushing anyone on your way out.”

Behind me, Zayne’s voice rang out clear and confident. “Mia. You’ve always stood out. Strong. Admirable. Exactly what this pack needs. I choose you as my Luna.”

The crowd cheered loud, clapping and shouting their approval. For them. For perfect Mia and the Alpha who just rejected me like I was nothing.

I didn’t stop walking. The winter air hit my face as I left the square, cold and sharp, but it didn’t touch the mess inside me. My chest hurt so bad I wanted to scream. All that hope from the Goddess, gone in one public slap. Zayne’s words played over and over. The way he talked about my body like it was a joke. The way he called being cruel kindness. I wiped my face hard, but the tears kept coming.

People still whispered as I passed. Some laughed. I didn’t look back. Not at Zayne, not at Mia, not at any of it. My simple emerald dress felt stupid now, clinging to curves he just tore apart in front of everyone. Mom had worked on it for days, and for what? So I could stand there and get humiliated?

My feet carried me faster toward the edge of the festival grounds. The bond that never really formed already felt shattered, empty and raw. I thought about the hospital shifts, the times I imagined telling my mate how I handled trauma cases because I wanted to be useful, strong for him. What a waste. He didn’t care. Never did.

More voices floated after me. “She actually thought she had a shot?” “With those curves? Please.” I clenched my jaw tight. Part of me wanted to turn around and yell something sarcastic back, something sharp to hurt them like they hurt me. But I kept going. Running wouldn’t fix it, but staying there would break me worse.

I had no idea where I was heading, just away. Away from the cheers for Zayne and Mia, away from the Goddess who let this happen, away from the life I thought was finally starting. My heart raced messy and angry and sad all at once. One step after another, the festival sounds fading behind me.

I pushed on into the growing dark, emotions swirling too fast to sort out. Hurt. Rage. Embarrassment so deep it made my skin crawl. I couldn’t believe my own twin sister will do this to me.