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Olivia's POV

Standing before the mirror, I studied my reflection. My cheeks were slightly flushed, giving my face a soft, youthful look. My body curved in ways that did not fit the slim, toned ideal my family worshipped. My hips were full, my stomach soft, and my thighs brushed together when I shifted my weight.

Every part of me reminded me of how I failed to fit the pack’s narrow idea of beauty.

I tied my golden hair into a neat bun and slipped into a long skirt and a simple, worn-out shirt. Not exactly the outfit of someone excited about a mating ceremony. But I had learned long ago not to expect much. I dressed the way I always did—like someone bracing herself for disappointment.

“Olivia, where are you? Get your fat self down this moment!” my mother yelled at the top of her voice from the dining room. I let out a defeated smile before rushing out of my room, almost stumbling on the way. I walked downstairs to the dining room where my supposed family was already seated.

Seated beside my mom was Sophia, my kid sister—my family’s priceless jewel and the pack’s famous diva. My father sat at the head of the table, as usual, his face set in stone like a statue, while my mother sat proudly at his side.

“So fat and still lazy,” Sophia mocked, but I ignored her and sat at the end of the table.

“You should consider skipping meals and exercising,” my mother said, sipping her coffee. “Maybe then you’ll lose some of that excess fat.”

Sophia chuckled softly. “As if that would help.”

“At least she should try,” my mother continued. “Instead of eating all the time and lazing around.

Turning to face Sophia, she dropped her cup of coffee and held her hands. “If she could be half as good as you, I wouldn’t have any worries. But thank God I have you,” she added, her face full of joy and smiles.

“Sophia smirked. “She can only dream of being half as good as me. Even an inch of confidence would make her unbearable around the pack.”

My supposed strong heart ached at their cruel words. There was a special kind of pain that came from being ridiculed by your own family. I swallowed it down and quietly placed a pancake and toast on my plate.

“The mating ceremony is in a few hours, and I hope you don’t embarrass me in front of the whole pack,” my father stated, looking at me for the first time since I came down.

His face was still ice cold with a slight frown as he addressed me. Turning to face Sophia, he smiled. “I believe you will make me proud and be the next Luna of this pack when you finally mate with your boyfriend, Damien,” he said.

Sophia smiled shyly. “Daddy, stop. Damien and I are just friends.”

But her body language said otherwise.

“Don’t mind her. I know that she and Damien would make a great wolf couple,” my mom added, her face beaming with smiles and pride.

I looked into her eyes and saw the massive love and tender care of a mother—one that had never been expressed toward me. If only they could just treat me like a normal human, I would be content.

“If you’re not going to eat, then leave. Stop playing with the food,” my father’s cold voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Holding back my tears, I took another bite of pancake. When I could no longer force myself to eat, I stood up and tried to leave the table, but Father called me back.

“Make sure you are well dressed for the ceremony. We leave after dinner,” Father spat, his tone laced with irritation.

But before I could respond, Mother scoffed. “Oh, let her be, darling. I don’t see any need for that. I don’t think she’ll be mated to anyone, and even if she is, I believe he’ll reject her. So, to avoid her embarrassing our family, I’d advise we don’t bother about her.” Mother mocked, and the tears I had been holding back came rolling down my cheeks.

“Aww, is my sister crying? So touching,” Sophia mocked. “Please don’t ever mention to anyone that you’re my sister, let alone from this family. I don’t think we produce fat pigs,” she added with a mischievous grin on her face.

Not being able to stand their taunts, I left the dining room and stormed up to my room. Inside my room, I fell to the ground, resting my back against the wall, and pulled my knees toward my chest. Uncontrollable tears rolled down my cheeks as my whole body shook with pain. I thought I could take any insult, I thought I was strong and could withstand any blow or pain, but coming from my family—the one group of people who were supposed to love and protect me—was something I couldn’t take.

“It’s okay. Take a grip of yourself. We have to be at the mating ceremony. We are running out of time,” my wolf spoke.

I glanced at the clock. One hour left.

“I have a good feeling about the mating ceremony,” my wolf, Lucy, said confidently in my mind.

“Are you really sure?” I asked, skeptical, while wiping my face with the back of my palm.

“Yes, I sense that the Moon Goddess has something special in store for us—a stroke of good fortune.”

A small smile crept onto my face at the thought. The mating ceremony only happened every five years. All wolves who had reached the age of maturity—eighteen or older—would participate in a ritual to connect with their destined mates if they were present.

I was anxious, doubtful, and terrified. What if I didn’t have a mate? Or worse, what if my mate rejected me the second he saw me? What if my mate was a rogue? What if my mate was a sinister person?

“Stop doubting yourself, Olivia. Anyone would be lucky to have you,” Lucy scolded me gently, but I scoffed. She was only trying to make me feel better, and I can’t say it was really working.

“Get up, Olivia. We need to go,” my wolf urged.

Reluctantly, I pulled myself up, wiping away the last remnants of tears on my face as I moved toward the wardrobe. I wasn’t in the mood to dress up, but Lucy’s words kept replaying in my head—the Moon Goddess has something special in store for us. Despite the heavy weight in my chest, I wanted to believe her, just this once.

I pulled out a simple flowing white dress—one that wasn’t too tight or too revealing. It covered my curves in a modest way, flowing down to my knees. After slipping it on, I glanced in the mirror again. My swollen eyes stared back at me, but I had to push through despite all odds. I quickly applied some light makeup to cover the evidence of my tears, brushed my hair back into a neat bun, and took a deep breath.

This is it. No matter what happens today, you’ll be okay. I will confront everything that comes my way with ease and a clear mind, I told myself, trying to steel my nerves and emotions.

I descended the stairs; the house was eerily quiet. My parents and Sophia were gone. I wasn’t surprised. They probably left without bothering to tell me, and my mom would probably wish I didn’t show up to embarrass her among her few friends who knew of my existence. That was how it had always been—like I didn’t even exist to them.

I grabbed my small bag and stepped out of the house, feeling the cool evening breeze hit my skin, making me shiver a little. The path to the ceremony grounds wasn’t far, so I decided to walk. Each step felt heavy, but I kept reminding myself that this ceremony would change nothing, and I would keep being strong for myself.

As I approached the field where the mating ceremony was to take place, I saw groups of wolves already gathered—some were my age, while some were younger or older. There was excitement in the air, the kind that came with the possibility of finding a mate. People were in groups laughing, talking, and I could even hear some whispers about who might end up with whom. I kept my head down, trying to blend in unnoticed.

“Don’t be nervous, Olivia,” Lucy reassured me. “Your moment is coming, and I will always be here with you.”

I stood off to the side, watching the ceremony begin. My heart clenched as I noticed Sophia by Damien’s side, looking radiant and full of confidence. She was already glowing with anticipation, sure that the night would end with her as Damien’s mate and future Luna of our pack. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was right. She always got the best bargain of everything. The two seemed to be so much in love, and sometimes I envied her. I wished someone would love me just as much as Damien and my parents loved her.

This was Sophia’s and my first mating ceremony, but it was Damien’s second. The first one was when he was eighteen, but unfortunately, he didn’t find his mate. Obviously, his mate wasn’t of age yet or was not in the pack. I was only fifteen then, and Sophia was thirteen, so neither of us could participate. But now Damien is twenty-three, I’m twenty, and Sophia is eighteen, so Damien is certain that Sophia is his mate.

I moved my gaze away from Damien and Sophia, then saw my parents conversing with Alpha Lucas and his wife, Luna Amelia, as if they were going to be in-laws soon. I could see the bright smile and joy on my mother’s face as she kept staring at Sophia and Damien with pride, but when she noticed me, she frowned, looked at me with disgust, and looked away hurriedly. My heart sank, but I was already used to it.

"Attention, everyone,” Alpha Lucas’s voice thundered across the field. “The mating ceremony is about to begin. I need absolute silence.”

My stomach twisted with anxiety and fear as I stood frozen in place.

“All unmated wolves of mature age,” he continued, “step forward.”

I hesitated for a moment, feeling nervous and scared, but Lucy pushed me forward. Reluctantly, I joined the other unmated females, standing across from the males. My eyes found Sophia again, standing directly across from Damien. Of course, she would be, and it seemed other unmated wolves deliberately gave the two of them space—a silent acknowledgment of their union.

The priestess stepped forward, her long robe trailing behind her. Without greeting, she lifted her hands and fixed her eyes on the sky. Her voice was calm and soft but carried a command that made everyone still.

“With the full moon as witness today, we call upon our great mother, the Moon Goddess, to bless us and let the fated mates be revealed. A magical rope will lead and bind those destined for each other. If they accept each other, then their hearts and souls shall be linked forever. If your mate is here, the rope will appear on your waist in the same color, guiding you to them.”

She began to chant words I could not understand. The air tightened around us—charged and cold—and the crowd watched their own waistlines as if expecting miracles. My heart thudded so loud I could feel it in my throat—a tiny, frantic drum. Panic fluttered under my ribs. What if nothing happened? What if I didn’t have a mate?

Then, a prickling cold skated across my skin at the waist. I looked down. There it was: a thin, gold thread, gleaming like a sliver of dawn against my dress. It hummed with a gentle pull, stretching forward as if tugging at the very thread of my fate.

For a long second, I only stared. The cord quivered at the crowd’s hush. My breath caught. Lucy pushed at the back of my mind—a nudge, a warm insistence.

“Go,” she urged.

I moved, my legs wobbling. The gold cord threaded through bodies and shadows, slipping past laughing groups and whispering pairs, always pulling. Others followed similarly glowing ropes, some already linked to their mates. The crowd became a maze of light and longing; each step I took made the moon seem closer, brighter.

Halfway through, my pulse steadied into a painful, hopeful rhythm. The cord led me toward the center of the field, and suddenly the world narrowed to only the golden line and the path it carved.

I stopped short. Breath lodged in my chest.

He stood there.

Alpha Kingsley—older brother to Alpha Lucas, the man the pack kept in low-voiced rumors. He was taller than I remembered, and his presence felt like a winter wind: sharp, undeniable. His eyes met mine and widened, the cord between us shining with a blinding gold that made the whole space around us sparkle.

For a moment, everything dissolved: the murmurs, the chanting, even my own fear. All that remained was the thread, and him, and the dizzy, unnameable pull closing the distance in a quiet, relentless tug.

My legs moved before my mind could tell them not to. The golden thread led me the rest of the way, and as our cords braided together, a light flared—brief and pure—and then I saw his face close enough to read the small shock and something else I could not yet name. My world thinned to the brightness of that light and the sound of my own breathing.

I couldn’t tell if my hands trembled from fear or from a strange, cautious hope. Either way, there was no going back now.

“Mate!” Lucy howled inside my head, fierce and wild.