Sierra
Sierra held the ceremonial wolfsbane wrapped in silver in shaking hands, the eyes of the entire pack burning into her skin as she walked toward Dominic, who had an unreadable expression. The Great Hall of the Silver Moon Pack house had never felt so large, the distance to the Alpha's platform seeming endless.
Tonight was meant to be the climax of everything Sierra had waited for, when her wolf would finally be recognized by its true mate. Her formal dress of deep blue rustled against the stone floor, raven hair tumbling down her back. Years of longing, preparing, making herself worthy of being the Alpha's mate had brought her here.
Pack members stood along the walls, some with supportive smiles while others cast thinly-veiled glances of disgust. Near the entrance, Sierra caught Maya's encouraging nod, and her confidence surged. She belonged here, regardless of what uptight traditionalists thought of the orphaned healer who wanted to be Luna.
At the platform's base, Sierra paused as tradition required. Ceremonial fires blazed in ancient stone bowls at the hall's corners, casting dancing shadows over Dominic's face as he stood tall in formal black Alpha attire, silver thread catching the firelight. His amber eyes, usually warm when they were alone, were now golden and completely devoid of warmth.
Something cold slithered down Sierra's spine, but she shook the unease away. Dominic was upholding ceremony tradition. Though they hadn't openly recognized their connection, the electrical tingles between them when alone were unmistakable. Their wolves recognized each other; she'd felt it from their first meeting four years ago.
Sierra inhaled deeply and began the traditional words whispered between true mates for generations.
"Under the witness of the moon and before our pack's eyes, I, Sierra Greywood, formally claim you, Dominic Silvercloud, as my true mate." Her words echoed clearly throughout the quiet hall. "Our wolves have chosen. Our souls are connected. I present this offering as a symbol of our union, wolfsbane wrapped in silver, showing that strength can overcome weakness, protection can defeat threat."
She lifted the offering. The rare purple flowers were wrapped in silver threads her grandmother spent weeks weaving. The offering represented everything a Luna should: beauty and strength, protection and nurturing. Her grandmother had guided Sierra through every part of the ceremony, weathered hands holding her granddaughter's as they made the offering together.
Following tradition, Sierra lowered her eyes briefly, then raised them to look directly into his; the first act of a Luna presenting herself as equal to her Alpha mate. Sierra heard her heartbeat thunder in the silence.
When Dominic finally spoke, his voice was cold as ice.
"Sierra Greywood, I have heard your presentation." The words were formal, flat, unemotional, nothing like the warm timbre she knew. "But I do not accept you as my mate."
The pack gasped in unison, the sound sweeping through the hall. Sierra hardly heard it, deafened by roaring in her ears. Surely she misheard. This was impossible.
"I feel no bond," Dominic said, each word piercing her heart like an icicle. "My wolf doesn't recognize your bond. I reject your claim and offering."
Sierra stood frozen, unable to comprehend the words. This wasn't happening. Last week they'd talked in the healing gardens, his fingers brushing hers when no one watched, his eyes promising everything his words couldn't say.
"Dominic..." she whispered, forgetting formality as her world crumbled.
His face hardened further, jaw visibly clenched. "Alpha Silvercloud," he corrected frostily. "And I have decided."
He stepped forward, towering over Sierra, and in a deliberate action that couldn't be misunderstood, crushed the wolfsbane offering beneath his boot, looking into her eyes as he did.
The ceremonial flowers broke and splintered, silver thread snapping with a loud crack in the silent hall. The symbolic meaning was gut-wrenching, not just rejection, but destruction of what was offered.
That's when the pain hit.
Sierra had heard about mate rejection, that it felt bad but wouldn't last long. What tore at her chest was entirely different; white-hot pain radiating from her heart outward, as though something essential was being pulled from her body. Her knees gave out and she fell to the stone floor.
A scream caught in her throat, vision narrowing, black spots swimming across her eyes. She clutched her chest, claws partially extending unbidden as her wolf howled in painful despair. She felt something shifting within her.
Through the red mist of pain, Sierra was vaguely aware of stunned murmuring rippling through the assembled pack. This wasn't normal. Even rejected mates didn't collapse in pain.
"Something is wrong with her!"
"Look at her hair!"
"The Alpha broke her!"
The scattered phrases barely registered between Sierra's fight to breathe through the terrible burning. From her peripheral vision, she glimpsed Dominic taking a half-step toward her, his mask briefly lifting to reveal something like anguish before closing down entirely.
"Her hair!" someone gasped loudly enough to pierce the pain haze.
With shaking fingers, Sierra touched a strand of hair that had fallen across her face. The raven-colored lock now possessed a bright silver streak that hadn't been there moments before.
Whispers filled the hall. Nothing like this had ever been recorded in werewolf history. Rejected mates went through emotional trauma, some even left to rejoin other packs, but physical change? The pack was collectively on edge, confusion and fear thick in the air.
Sierra fought to right herself, trying to regain dignity from the debris of her shattered hopes. Her legs wouldn't cooperate, shaking violently as another pain wave ripped through her.
"Sierra!" Her grandmother, Iris Greywood, pushed through the crowd with surprising speed despite her age. She knelt beside her granddaughter, helping her up with careful but urgent hands.
"Grandma," Sierra cried, "It hurts..."
"I know, child," she whispered, with a flash of something deeper than sympathy, a kind of knowing. "Come, we need to get you home."
As her grandmother began helping her up, Sierra caught sight of Dominic on the stage. Though his face remained impassive, she could have sworn she saw his fingers twitch, as if physically stopping himself from reaching for her.
Just as Iris began walking Sierra out with Maya rushing to her other side, a buzz burst through the hall when Victor Caldone, the Beta, stepped forward beside Dominic.
"I believe," Victor began in his cultured accent, "we still have a celebration to continue. After all, the Alpha has an important announcement regarding the Silver Moon Pack's future."
Sierra gazed through tear-blurred eyes and saw Victor's barely concealed satisfaction, his smile savoring her humiliation. Beside him, Dominic stood rigid, shoulders in a tense line.
"That's right!" Dominic confirmed flatly. "I'll be entering a formal alliance with the Mooncrest Pack, through mating with Sasha Mooncrest."
The announcement's finality landed with crushing force. Not only rejection but immediate replacement.
Another pain wave rolled over Sierra's body, bending her over. This time, she felt something shift inside that felt strange, her wolf stirring in a way that felt alien and vicious. Her fingernails grew into claws without bidding and blood filled her mouth where lengthened canines bit her lower lip.
"We need to go now," her grandmother said urgently, grasping Sierra's arm tightly. "Hurry!"
They stumbled toward the exit, the pack parting before them like the red sea, with expressions ranging from pity to shock to outright fear. Sierra focused on her feet, unable to bear the stares, her humiliation's weight pressing down with every step.
As they approached the doors, Sierra's vision blurred completely and turned black as pain peaked. Her grandmother's concerned voice seemed far away and it became increasingly difficult to focus. Through the darkness Sierra sensed, at a distance behind her, the pack's voices rising as confusion and alarm spread like wildfire.
"Did you see that?"
"Her eyes glowed!"
"What is happening to her?"
"The Alpha has made a grave mistake!"
Sierra was nearly unconscious as her grandmother and Maya helped her through the doors into cool evening air. The last thing she saw before surrendering to darkness was Victor's calculating gaze following them, his eyes gleaming in satisfaction, while behind him, the pack descended into chaos in reaction to Sierra's physical transformation, spreading confusion and fear throughout the hall.