"Please... don't reject me."

My voice broke as I stared into Alpha Ryker Ashford's icy blue eyes.

For a heartbeat, I thought I saw hesitation.

Then he smiled.

Not the warm smile I'd dreamed about for years.

A cruel one.

"I, Alpha Ryker Ashford, reject you, Lyra Blackthorne, as my fated mate."

Silence.

The words echoed through the Moon Temple before crashing into me like thunder.

My wolf let out a heart-wrenching cry.

Pain exploded through my chest.

I gasped, clutching at the white fabric of my dress as the mate bond cracked.

It felt as though invisible claws had ripped my heart apart.

The crowd watched.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

Then the whispers began.

"She actually thought she'd become Luna."

"The weakest she-wolf in the pack?"

"What a joke."

Laughter followed.

Each laugh struck harder than the rejection itself.

I lowered my head, trying to stop the tears spilling down my cheeks.

For years, I had loved Ryker from a distance.

When the Moon Goddess revealed we were fated mates, I believed every lonely night had been worth it.

I believed fate had finally smiled on me.

I was wrong.

Ryker stepped closer until only a breath separated us.

"You should be grateful," he said coldly. "I spared you the embarrassment of standing beside me as my Luna."

A woman wrapped her arm around his.

Selena.

The Alpha's daughter from the neighboring pack.

Beautiful.

Confident.

Powerful.

Everything I wasn't.

She looked me up and down before laughing softly.

"Poor thing. Did you really think someone like you could become Luna?"

The crowd laughed again.

My chest tightened.

I wanted to disappear.

"I..." My voice trembled. "What did I do wrong?"

Ryker's expression didn't change.

"You were born weak."

His answer shattered the last piece of my heart.

A weak wolf.

That was all anyone had ever seen when they looked at me.

No one knew why my wolf rarely appeared.

No one knew why I had always felt... different.

Even I didn't know.

Another wave of pain surged through my body.

This time it wasn't from the rejection.

Heat.

It spread beneath my skin like wildfire.

My breathing grew uneven.

Sweat gathered on the back of my neck.

No...

Not now.

My first heat had started.

Panic flooded me.

Female wolves usually experienced their first heat with their fated mates.

Without a mate...

The pain could become unbearable.

I stumbled backward.

My legs shook.

A sweet scent drifted into the air.

Several unmated males stiffened.

Their golden eyes flashed.

One inhaled sharply.

Another growled.

The scent wasn't supposed to be this strong.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

I turned to leave before anyone noticed.

My vision blurred.

The temple doors suddenly burst open.

Boom!

A freezing wind swept through the courtyard.

Every wolf instinctively lowered their head.

Even the elders.

Even Ryker.

Heavy footsteps echoed across the stone floor.

One.

Two.

Three.

A man dressed in black entered the temple.

He was taller than any wolf I'd ever seen.

His broad shoulders carried the weight of a king.

His dark hair brushed the collar of his coat.

But it was his crimson eyes that stole the breath from every soul present.

The Lycan King.

Kael Draven.

The ruler no Alpha dared challenge.

He wasn't supposed to be here.

Not tonight.

Not ever.

His sharp gaze swept over the crowd before stopping on me.

The moment our eyes met...

The burning pain inside my body vanished.

My heart skipped.

His expression hardened.

The air around him turned deadly.

Then his deep voice cut through the silence.

"Who," he asked quietly, "rejected my mate?"

The temple fell deathly silent.