I was born into a legacy I didn’t choose.

A prophecy whispered before my first breath, etched into the bones of the two most powerful packs on this side of the continent. Long before I could walk or speak, my fate was sealed.

I am Alicia Silvermoon, daughter of Alpha Darius and Luna Selene. Heir to the Silvermoon Pack—a people known for our diplomacy, our intellect, our restraint. We build alliances where others break them. We do not rule by fear.

But fate doesn’t ask permission.

Because I’m not just the future Luna of Silvermoon.

I’m the prophecy mate of Alec Wolfsbane.

The Alpha of the brutal, ruthless Wolfsbane Pack. A predator in both title and instinct. Born at the same time as me under a rare celestial convergence, Alec is destined to be my mate. To merge our packs. To rule beside me.

Or rather, over me.

Because what binds us is not the sacred mate bond gifted by the Moon Goddess—the bond that intertwines souls, allows wolves to hear each other’s thoughts, feel each other’s pain, sense each other across impossible distances.

No, Alec and I are tethered by prophecy.

And I can still feel the difference.

The night of our first shift was a secret meeting deep within Silvermoon territory. No celebration. No festival. Just two packs and a moonlit clearing nestled between jagged cliffs. A neutral place, surrounded by sentinels and silence.

Only those who mattered were present.

My pack. His pack.

And the prophecy we both carried.

I stood in ceremonial white, the fabric soft against my caramel skin. My silver box braids had been tied back, my bare feet cool against the mossy earth. My hands trembled despite my training. My mother’s voice echoed in my mind—You are Luna. You will not show fear.

But fear wasn’t the problem.

It was the pressure.

The moon crested above the cliffs, flooding the clearing in pale light. My wolf, Sierra, stirred beneath my skin. She was ready.

But I wasn’t.

The shift hit hard.

It started as heat behind my eyes, then fire in my veins. My bones cracked, reshaping themselves as I dropped to my knees. My screams were swallowed by the wind. Every nerve lit up in pain. My body bent and twisted as my wolf fought to take control.

Beside me, Alec grunted—already transforming. His dark chocolate skin glistened with sweat, muscles flexing beneath the strain. He didn’t cry out. Of course he didn’t. His kind would rather die than show weakness.

“Alec,” I gasped between breaths, my jaw snapping mid-sentence. “This is torture. Did you know it would be like this?”

His hazel eyes locked on mine, glowing, feral. “No,” he growled. “Don’t fight it. Breathe through it. Resisting makes it worse.”

So I did.

Not because of him—but because I refused to let anyone say I failed.

And then—finally—I rose.

Four paws. Silver fur. Black-tipped ears. The forest was suddenly clearer, brighter, alive in ways it had never been before.

I had become Sierra.

Across the clearing, Alec stood in his wolf form. Towering. All midnight-black fur, sharp silver ears flicking back as he took me in. His power rolled off him like smoke, thick and oppressive. I could feel every eye watching us.

They expected us to move toward each other. To bond. To fulfill what destiny had dictated.

But the moment I looked into Alec’s eyes, I felt it.

The lack.

There was no connection.

No thread between us.

Just... pressure.

And instinct screamed at me to run.

So I did.

The trees blurred past me as my paws pounded the forest floor. The wind lashed against my fur, the scent of moss and pine whipping by. Behind me, I heard Alec—fast, focused, determined. Of course he followed.

He was a hunter.

And I had just made myself prey.

But I wasn’t afraid.

I was angry.

I didn’t run from fear—I ran from expectation. From the looming shadow of a future I hadn’t chosen.

Then, suddenly, everything changed.

A scent.

Pinewood and eucalyptus. Clean. Sharp. Wild.

It wrapped around me, stopped me cold. My paws skidded to a halt as something inside me—something ancient—rose like a tide.

And then I saw him.

A wolf, tall and still, stood in a patch of moonlight just beyond the trees. His black fur shimmered with silver down his front and back paws, like starlight stitched into shadow. His green-gold eyes locked onto mine—and the world shifted.

My breath caught.

Not from fear.

From recognition.

The mate bond.

The real one.

My soul pulsed toward him. My body burned with the need to connect. My wolf whimpered low, aching with longing and instinct.

And just as I took a step toward him—

Alec appeared, snarling.

He moved between us like a wall, blocking my view, teeth bared and hackles raised.

Mine, his posture roared.

But I wasn’t.

Not his. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

I growled.

Not out of fear, but defiance.

I pushed past him and stood in front of the stranger—no longer a rogue in my eyes, but something sacred. I bared my teeth at Alec.

The shock on his face was priceless.

And in that brief pause, the stranger turned and disappeared into the night.

Gone.

But the ache he left behind?

Still there.

We returned to the clearing, my fur still bristling. My father, Alpha Darius, stepped forward with my mother, Luna Selene, graceful as ever at his side. Alec’s father, Alpha Gideon, watched me with suspicion, and Luna Vivienne... she just looked irritated.

“What happened?” my father asked.

Alec’s wolf stepped forward.

“She let a rogue escape.”

His words were calculated. Designed to make me look weak.

But I stood tall, shoulders squared.

“He was just a boy. No threat to anyone.”

Alpha Gideon growled, low and sharp.

My mother placed a hand on my back, subtle, grounding. She said nothing—but I felt her support.

Alec said nothing more. His pride had been bruised. His ego scratched raw.

But me?

I stood in the silence of that clearing and realized something important.

The prophecy had named him my mate.

But the Moon Goddess had shown me another.

And for the first time, I began to question everything I’d ever been told about fate.