The full moon lit up the clearing like a spotlight, casting long shadows as the pack gathered. My heart pounded in my chest like a war drum,I knew tonight would change everything. My eighteenth birthday. The night I was supposed to find my mate.
I'd dreamt of this moment my whole life. What I didn't expect… was him.
Alpha Kael.
Six-foot-four, cold blue eyes, and a voice that could command storms. The fiercest, most untouchable Alpha in the region. And somehow… my mate.
His gaze locked with mine across the bonfire, and my breath caught. Sparks erupted in my chest,confirmation. The bond was real. He felt it too. I stepped forward, trembling, heart on my sleeve.
"Kael…" I whispered, voice soft. "You're my mate."
But instead of pulling me close, he stepped back.
"No," he growled. "You can't be."
Confusion crashed into me. "What do you mean?"
"I reject you," he said coldly, loud enough for the entire pack to hear.
The words hit like silver to the heart. Laughter and whispers broke out around us. My knees buckled, but I stayed standing. Barely.
"You're not fit to be my Luna," Kael sneered. "You're weak. Just a runt with no rank. I have a future to protect."
And just like that… my world shattered.
But if Alpha Kael thinks this is the end of my story, he's dead wrong.