The moon was fat and silver that night, hanging above the forest like a watchful eye. Its light spilled through the small window of my bedroom, painting everything in ghostly white. Tonight should have been the most beautiful night of my life. At midnight, on my eighteenth birthday, the mate bond would awaken inside me.
Every she-wolf dreamed of this moment. They whispered about it at training, giggled about it in the kitchens, prayed for it under the stars. It was supposed to be magical—the instant when the Moon Goddess's gift revealed the one destined for you. A bond stronger than blood, stronger than time.
For me, it felt like a curse.
I stood before the mirror, tugging nervously at the edge of my dress. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. The pale blue fabric clung too tightly, showing every curve I wished I could hide. I didn't look like the other girls, glowing with confidence and beauty. My hair, too wild. My eyes, too plain. My smile, too unsure.
The dress was a gift from my mother, who'd kissed my cheek quickly before disappearing downstairs to help with the feast. She hadn't noticed how pale my face had gone, or maybe she had and didn't care to dwell on it. My family loved me, but never the way they loved Daniel, my older brother. He was strong, ambitious, the pride of the pack.
Me? I was the shadow that trailed behind him.
A knock at the door startled me.
"Aria? You ready?"
It was Daniel, of course. His voice carried that familiar mix of impatience and pride.
I smoothed my dress, forcing my voice steady. "Almost."
When I opened the door, he looked me over with sharp eyes, always the protective Beta-in-training. His dark brows furrowed. "You should smile more. Tonight's important. The whole pack will be there. Don't embarrass me."
The words stung, though they shouldn't have surprised me. Daniel wasn't cruel, not exactly. But he'd grown used to greatness, and I'd grown used to being less than that.
"I'll try," I whispered.
His expression softened just enough to reveal a hint of brotherly concern. Then he sighed and turned away. "Just… come on. They're waiting."
The packhouse was alive with noise. Wolves filled the hall, laughter and music bouncing off the wooden beams. Long tables overflowed with food—roast meats, fresh bread, cakes sweet with honey. Children darted between legs, their laughter chiming like bells, while warriors slapped each other's backs and raised mugs of ale.
It should have been a celebration, but for me, the walls pressed in too tightly.
As Daniel guided me through the crowd, I felt every stare. Whispers clung to me like burrs.
"She looks nervous."
"Do you think she'll be blessed with someone strong?"
"Poor thing. She's too quiet. No alpha would ever—"
Heat rose to my cheeks. I lowered my gaze, wishing I could melt into the floor.
At the front of the hall, the Alpha stood tall, his presence commanding silence even without a word. Beside him, the Luna radiated warmth, her smile soft, though her eyes carried a depth that always made me uneasy—as if she knew things no one else did.
"Aria," the Alpha greeted me, his deep voice echoing through the room. "The Goddess has a path for you tonight."
I bowed my head, afraid to meet his eyes for too long.
The Luna stepped forward, holding a silver goblet filled with sacred wine. The liquid shimmered faintly under the torchlight, a reminder that it wasn't just drink—it was magic, a key to unlocking the bond inside me.
"Drink, child," she instructed gently. "Let the bond awaken."
My throat felt like sandpaper, but I obeyed. I lifted the cup with trembling hands and swallowed. The taste was bitter, metallic, like iron and smoke. Fire spread through my chest, icy at the same time, crawling into every vein. My wolf stirred within me, restless, scratching against the edges of my mind.
The room dimmed, the music fading until all I heard was the frantic beat of my heart.
Then—
A scent.
It hit me like a tidal wave. Rich, sharp, intoxicating. The kind of scent that made my knees weaken, that curled into my lungs and refused to leave. My wolf howled with wild joy.
My mate.
He was here.
I turned desperately, searching every face in the crowd, until my gaze collided with his.
Ethan.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with storm-gray eyes that always seemed to see too much. His dark hair fell across his forehead, his jaw sharp as a blade. My stomach flipped, my chest tightening.
Memories flooded back—summer days training with him and Daniel, stolen glances when I thought he wasn't looking, the quiet ache I'd always buried deep. I had wanted him for years, and now… the Goddess had given him to me.
But Ethan's face froze, his lips curling into something ugly.
"No," he growled.
The single word crashed into me like a blow.
The hall fell silent. Every eye swung toward him. Toward us.
"No," Ethan repeated louder, stepping back as though I carried a disease. "It can't be her. The Goddess must be wrong."
The bond inside me strained, pulling, begging him to come closer, but he recoiled farther away.
"I refuse," he spat.
A gasp rippled through the crowd.
I froze, blood draining from my face. Refuse? Wolves didn't refuse. The mate bond was sacred, divine. To reject it was to spit in the face of the Moon Goddess herself.
My wolf whimpered inside me, a sound of pure heartbreak. The pain tore through me, sharp and raw, as though someone had ripped out a piece of my soul.
"Ethan…" My voice cracked, weak and pleading. "Please—"
But his eyes, once warm with friendship, were cold steel now. "I won't bind myself to someone so weak. A Beta's sister? She's nothing."
Laughter cut through me, cruel and sharp. Whispers exploded like fire spreading through dry grass.
"She's nothing?"
"The Goddess cursed him with her?"
"Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic."
The goblet slipped from my fingers, shattering against the stone floor. Red liquid splashed across my dress, staining it like blood.
Daniel's snarl shook the walls. "Enough, Ethan!"
But the damage was done. The pack had seen. The pack had heard.
I stood frozen, my chest hollow, my world collapsing around me.
Rejected. Publicly. Completely.
This night, meant to mark the beginning of my destiny, had ended it instead.
The Moon Goddess hadn't blessed me. She'd cursed me.
And though I didn't know it yet, that curse would lead me far beyond these walls, into the arms of the one wolf feared by all.
The Alpha King.