The Moonfang Pack House was buzzing with excitement. It was the annual Moon Ceremony, and tonight, those who had turned 18 would discover their fated mates.
Selene Blackwood stood quietly at the edge of the grand ballroom, trying to blend in with the crimson-and-gold drapes behind her. The scent of roasted meat and pinewood filled the air, laughter echoing as pack members danced, flirted, and celebrated.
She shouldn't have come.
Her worn-out dress—borrowed from a cousin—hugged her figure awkwardly. It was too tight at the hips and loose at the shoulders. She had done her best with her chestnut curls, tying them into a simple braid, but next to the elite daughters of Alphas and Betas, Selene felt like a misplaced shadow.
"Selene? You actually showed up?" a high-pitched voice sneered.
Selene turned to see Elira Nightshade, daughter of Gamma Nightshade, and the current Alpha's favorite plaything. She wore a silver sequin dress that shimmered with every smug twist of her body.
"I—just came to celebrate the others," Selene said calmly.
"Right. Not to find your mate," Elira said, her voice sugary with venom. "Because who would want someone like you, anyway? Daughter of a traitor. Beta Blackwood got himself killed defending rogues. Not exactly Luna material, is it?"
Selene's chest tightened. She'd grown used to the whispers, the judgment. But tonight, it stung more than usual.
Suddenly, the room went quiet.
The Alpha had entered.
Damien Thorn, towering and lethal, walked through the double doors flanked by guards. His dark hair was pushed back, his emerald eyes scanning the crowd like a predator. At 22, he was already the youngest Alpha in the region—and the most feared.
Selene's breath caught.
The second their eyes met, her wolf, Aira, howled within her.
Mate.
Selene stumbled backward, hand clutching her chest. She'd dreamed of this moment her entire life—but not like this. Not with him.
"Alpha Damien," the Beta announced, "it's time."
The ritual circle was drawn with chalk and ash. One by one, wolves entered, and if the bond sparked, the Moon Goddess revealed the connection.
When it was Selene's turn, she stepped forward hesitantly.
Her heart thudded violently.
Damien stood in the center, unmoving, but his gaze pierced her like a blade.
The circle pulsed with silver light.
The connection ignited.
The pack gasped.
A fated bond.
"Selene Blackwood," Damien said coldly, "I reject you as my mate."
The words echoed like a death knell.
Selene froze.
"No," she whispered. "You can't—"
"I just did," he cut in. "I won't mate with the daughter of a traitor. You are unworthy to be Luna of this pack. Your blood is weak, your lineage tainted. The Moon Goddess made a mistake."
Pain shot through her chest, like a dagger carving her heart from the inside out.
Laughter erupted behind her—Elira's, shrill and mocking.
Selene's vision blurred. Her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees as the bond began to snap. Aira howled inside her, begging her not to let go.
But Damien had already turned away.
The rejection was complete.
Selene stumbled to her feet, blinking back tears. Faces she had known her whole life looked away. No one offered comfort.
Not even her own mother, who stood silently in the crowd, too ashamed to speak.
Shattered, Selene ran—out of the ballroom, out of the Pack House, and into the freezing woods. Branches scraped her arms as she sprinted through the trees, sobs wracking her body.
Why? Why would the Moon Goddess curse her like this?
She ran until her feet bled. Until she could no longer feel her limbs. Until the forest grew quiet around her.
Then she collapsed.
Darkness claimed her.
—
A flicker of warmth stirred near her cheek.
Selene opened her eyes to a glowing figure kneeling beside her—a woman cloaked in moonlight, her face hidden, but her voice ethereal.
"You are not broken," the woman whispered. "You are chosen."
"I was rejected," Selene croaked. "Damien—he—"
"He is not your destiny," the figure said, placing a glowing hand on Selene's chest. "He was merely the fire that forged the steel."
Selene blinked as silver light surrounded her.
The pain in her chest faded.
A strange strength began to awaken in her blood.
"What… what is this?"
"Your true lineage," the figure said. "You are the daughter of the last Royal Alpha. The bloodline they tried to erase. The Moon Goddess did not make a mistake. She gave you power they feared."
Selene's eyes widened.
"Rise, Selene Blackwood," the figure commanded. "Your path does not end as a rejected Luna. You will return… as Alpha Queen."
The vision faded, and Selene woke with a start.
But she was no longer the same girl who had run into the woods broken.
Her eyes glowed silver.
Her scent had changed.
And for the first time… she felt power in her veins.