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Avery’s POV

Tonight was the night of the Blue Moon. It was more than any regular full moon; it was the one night of the year where the moonlight was strongest, the Moon Goddess’s magic most potent in the air. Many mates found each other on nights like this.

According to legend, those without fated mates could create a fated bond by sharing their intimacy under the Blue Moon’s light. Even wolfless like me could create a bond in this way.

And tonight, my boyfriend, Ryan, and I, planned to do exactly that.

Tonight, I was finally going to give him my virginity—and when we woke in the morning, our bond would finally be there, after too long without it.

The party was in full swing already, and the clock hadn’t even struck midnight. The grass just behind the Alpha House of Silvermoon, my home pack, was awash with golden light from the bonfire flickering at the center.

Wolves danced around the flames, howling into the night air, drinks sloshing out of cups and the smell of roasted meats filling the space. It was the kind of party that would go until the sun came up, perhaps longer. The kind of party where everyone let loose without reservations or judgment.

I stood at the edge of it all, twisting my hands into the thin fabric of the dress I’d made just for tonight—a summery blue cotton embroidered with silver thread around the hem, plain compared to the other she-wolves—watching the moon climb higher into the sky. It was enormous and full, already bright despite half of it still being hidden behind the horizon, casting a pale light across the faces of my packmates.

“Still alone, Avery?” a voice cooed from a table nearby, followed by a chorus of giggles. “I guess your Alpha has other plans tonight.”

I lifted my chin and looked away, pretending I hadn’t heard her. Juniper Davies had been a thorn in my side since childhood, when she was the first in our training class to realize that I didn’t have a wolf like the rest of them.

Since I couldn’t shift, and I was weaker than the other children, Juniper took it upon herself to torment me every chance she had. It only got worse when I started dating Ryan, the Alpha heir to Silvermoon.

As a wolfless, my relationship with Ryan was not celebrated, but frowned upon. I was often accused of being his mistress, a temporary fling before he found his true mate and a suitable Luna—the woman who would stand beside him, leading the pack together. The other she-wolves in the pack only ever saw me as a begrudging obstacle in their way to becoming the Alpha’s mate.

But Ryan didn’t see me that way. He loved me, he said so himself, and tonight, we were going to become so much more than boyfriend and girlfriend.

And maybe, just maybe, once our bond solidified under the Moon Goddess’s embrace, my wolf would finally emerge. Eighteen years of being an outcast in my own pack, viewed as a nuisance even to my father, would finally be over.

The moon slid a little higher. It was almost time. I smoothed my hands over my dress and began moving toward the forest path, which led to the clearing where wolves marked each other on nights like this.

Juniper scoffed behind me. “It won’t work, Avery,” she called after me. “You’re only playing dress-up as the future Luna. You’ll never be her.”

My throat tightened, but I kept walking, ignoring the chorus of laughter that followed me.

“Don’t listen to her.” My stepsister, Zara, fell into step beside me. “Here.” She pressed a cup of mulled cider into my hand.

I paused, glancing warily into the cup, then up at my stepsister. Zara’s smile was sweet, her deep blue eyes glittering as she looked at me. She’d always just barely tolerated me at best, and hated me at worst.

“Don’t worry,” she laughed, squeezing my shoulder. “It’s not poisoned.” She took a sip of her own drink just to prove it. “Besides, you look like you need it. Tonight is a special night, isn’t it?”

I nodded slowly, swirling the drink around in my cup before taking a sip. It was warm and sweet and went down easily. “Thanks,” I said. “I’m supposed to meet Ryan soon.”

Zara’s smile stretched further. “You’ve got the lingerie on?”

My cheeks flushed, but I nodded. I’d painstakingly picked out a set of lacy lingerie from the local shop that weekend. It had taken two weeks’ worth of wages from my job at the Omega House to afford it, but it felt worth it, if it would mean Ryan looking at me in the way I thought he might.

“Good.” Zara was grinning now, perfect white teeth flashing in the light as the moon climbed higher behind her. “You’ll do great. And hey—maybe tomorrow, you won’t just have a mate, but a wolf, too.”

Juniper laughed so loudly behind her that my face flamed.

“Go.” Zara gave me a nudge toward the path, making me stumble a little over the hem of my dress. “And drink all of that beforehand. It’ll help loosen you up.”

It was nearly midnight now, just ten minutes until I was supposed to meet Ryan. I hurried down the path, not looking back. I didn’t need to; I knew Juniper would be smirking at me, and probably Zara, too. Neither of them thought tonight would mean anything. No one did. But come morning, they would all be proven wrong.

I had finished the rest of my drink by the time I arrived in the clearing. A large boulder sat directly in the center, flat on top, often used by the pack priests for rituals and mating ceremonies. Tonight, the stone was cool and surrounded by flickering candles.

Setting my empty cup aside, I shucked off my dress, my skin prickling in the cool night air, and sat on the rock. I tried crossing my legs a few different ways, adjusting my hair over my shoulder, and finally settled back on my palms, watching the pathway.

The drink began to make my head swim already, but I shook it off and focused on the path. My heart thudded wildly. Two minutes until midnight. Soon, Ryan would be here, and our bond would finally be complete.

Two minutes passed.

My vision blurred a little, the path turning into two in front of me. I blinked, rubbing my eyes, and sat up a little straighter.

Five minutes passed.

Where was Ryan? He should have been here by now; he was never late to anything.

When ten minutes passed and he never arrived, I began to worry that perhaps something had held him up, and tonight wouldn’t be the night after all. My heart sank—but then—

Snap.

I sat bolt upright, smiling, even as my vision blurred more and my skin felt hot. “Ryan?” I called out. My tongue felt thick and heavy in my mouth, but I didn’t care. My Alpha was here—

“Well, well. What do we have here?” a gruff voice echoed through the clearing.

“A little present waiting for us, with a bow on top and everything,” another low voice called out.

Everything stopped.

I turned slowly as two figures emerged from the shadows. Rogues—I could tell immediately from their acrid scents in the air, their torn clothes, their scruffy beards and most of all, that hungry look in their eyes.

Before I could even open my mouth to scream, they were on me. Spots danced across my vision as rough hands grabbed my arms and legs, pinning me to the stone with ease. Someone flipped me over, my cheek slamming into the rock. I bucked my hips, but it was no use; two males, perhaps three, were holding me down. I felt a finger slide down my panties, right down the center, where I’d never let any man touch me before.

“P-Please, no—”

“I think she’s a virgin,” one of the rogues said, hot breath spraying across the back of my neck. “Even better.”

“Hold her down,” another grunted. “I get to go first.”

“She’s wet already.”

“Little whore.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks, one after the other. My body felt weak and hot, my senses fading to a dull, distant hum as an unwanted sensation of pleasure washed over me. I opened my mouth, tried to scream, but it was no use. The sound died in my throat before it became anything.

“Ryan.” I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered his name like a prayer. “Ryan… Please…”

“Let go of her!”

A low voice rang across the clearing, and my eyes shot open as an Alpha presence filled the space.