CHAPTER ONE — THE NIGHT FATE BETRAYED HER
The air shimmered with silver light as the moon climbed higher, glowing like a silent witness above the clearing. Hundreds of wolves and pack members surrounded the ceremonial grounds, their whispers rising and falling like wind through dead leaves. Lanterns hung from ancient trees, bathing the night in a pale gold glow, but Aria felt none of its warmth.
She stood near the edge of the gathering, trying to steady her breathing. Her palms were damp, and her pulse thundered behind her ribs. Tonight was the Seeking Moon Ceremony—the sacred night when fated bonds could no longer remain hidden. Every year, wolves who came of age would stand under the moonlight and wait for the pull, for the silent recognition of their destined mate.
For most, it was the beginning of a new life.
For Aria, it felt like the only chance she would ever get.
She tugged at the sleeve of her plain ceremonial dress, suddenly aware of how simple she looked among elegant silk, jewels, and embroidered robes. Omegas were rarely noticed, much less celebrated. She had no family name, no inherited status, nothing worth boasting about. But tonight… she dared to hope.
Her gaze drifted to the raised platform in the center of the clearing, where the Alpha heirs and ranked wolves stood in quiet expectation. And there—commanding attention without even trying—was Kael Raventhorn, the future Alpha of the Crescent Fang Pack.
Even in stillness, he emanated dominance. His tall frame was sculpted in black formal attire, his shoulders broad beneath his ceremonial coat, his dark hair combed back from a strong, sharp-boned face. Golden eyes reflected the moonlight, cold and unreadable, but so intensely alive that people parted naturally when he walked past them.
Aria’s throat tightened. From the moment she was old enough to understand what a mate was, she imagined—foolishly—that the Moon Goddess might be kind enough to pair her with someone who saw her. Someone who wouldn’t treat her like a shadow. Someone who didn’t look at her as empty space.
She never allowed herself to whisper it aloud, but Kael had always been the quiet hope buried inside her ribs.
“Don’t hold your breath,” someone muttered close by.
Aria blinked, turning partially without lifting her head. It was Marise, a beta-ranked female with sharp eyes and a smug smile.
“Omegas don’t get miracles,” Marise added. “Don’t embarrass yourself by looking too eager.”
Aria didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. The glances, the smirks, the quiet laughter—they had followed her since childhood. She learned early not to fight battles she couldn’t win with words alone.
A drum sounded once, low and deep. Conversations died instantly.
Elder Thalen stepped forward, his gray hair braided down his back, ceremonial symbols etched in silver along his sleeves. He raised his staff, and the moonlight seemed to bend around him.
“Tonight,” his voice carried easily across the gathering, “the Moon Goddess reveals the threads she has woven into our destinies. Let your hearts be open, your spirits unguarded, and your pride set aside.”
A hush swept through the crowd. The air thickened, vibrating with unseen energy. Wolves lifted their heads as the ceremony’s magic rippled across the clearing.
Aria’s fingers curled into her dress. She closed her eyes.
Please… if there is even a shred of mercy in the heavens…
A sudden warmth ignited in her chest—faint at first, then spreading like embers catching air. She gasped softly, eyes flying open. The sensation pulled her, invisible and steady, like a heartbeat outside her body.
Her gaze snapped to the platform.
Kael stiffened where he stood, hand flexing at his side. His eyes flickered, glowing brighter for a split second as if something unseen called to him. His jaw tightened—not in surprise, but in rejection.
Aria’s breath caught as the bond recognition struck them both in tense silence. The crowd felt the shift before understanding it.
A few heads turned.
Whispers began.
No one said her name—but in their eyes, she was already exposed.
Kael faced her fully now. Not a flicker of softness touched his expression. His golden eyes met hers across the clearing, and in that moment she felt everything and nothing at once—hope, dread, agony, disbelief.
He took a single step forward.
Her heart raced.
Then he spoke, voice deep and carrying through the silence like a crack of thunder:
“I reject you.”
The words didn’t echo—they landed. Heavy. Final.
Murmurs exploded around them.
Elder Thalen turned sharply. “Alpha Heir Kael—”
“I reject her,” Kael said again, louder, his tone devoid of hesitation. “I, Kael Raventhorn of Crescent Fang, reject the bond presented to me tonight.”
Aria’s lungs burned. The air felt too thick to breathe.
A few gasps broke through from the onlookers. Someone stifled a laugh. Others stared—stunned, confused, hungry for the scandal.
Kael didn’t break eye contact with Aria, but there was nothing human in the way he looked at her. No regret. No conflict. Only certainty.
“I do not accept the Moon’s pairing,” he continued coldly. “I will not take her as my mate.”
Something inside her cracked so quietly she almost missed the sound. Pain flooded her chest like ice water. Her legs trembled, but she didn’t collapse. She wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.
Elder Thalen’s expression darkened. “You understand what it means to defy—”
“I do,” Kael said flatly, dismissing him with the slightest turn of his head.
Every eye was on her now.
Shame pressed against her skin like boiling tar. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even swallow the knot in her throat.
Someone in the crowd whispered, “An omega as his mate? The Goddess must be joking.”
Another voice snickered, “Maybe she paid for the bond.”
“Or begged for it.”
Aria lowered her gaze, forcing her face to remain still even as tears threatened to claw upward.
Kael stepped down from the platform, passing by her without a pause, without a glance—as though she had never been anything more than a nuisance in the wind.
Elder Thalen called after him, voice sharp with warning, but Kael didn’t slow. His beta guards followed, heads high, pride unshaken.
The warmth in Aria’s chest extinguished, replaced by a hollow ache so deep she feared she would dissolve into it.
The ceremony continued, but the night had already ended for her.
In the shadows beyond the lantern light, away from the eyes that pierced her like knives, she finally let her lips move—not in a sob, not in a plea, but in a whisper too soft for the moon to catch.
“You will regret this.”
And somewhere beyond pride, pain, and ruin, fate heard her.
Because rejection was not the end of her story.
It was the beginning of his downfall.
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