Althea – POV
The full moon sat high above the clearing, pale and solemn, watching like a silent witness to everything about to break inside me.
Tonight was supposed to be the beginning.
The sacred ceremony of recognition had always been a rite of honor—a moment of divine clarity when wolves of age were guided to their fated mates by scent, by instinct, by the will of Selene herself.
My fingers trembled at my sides, hidden beneath the sleeves of the ceremonial gown my mother had forced me into. Pale blue silk. Off-the-shoulder. Something I used to imagine I'd wear with pride. Now it clung to me like a lie.
"Relax," my sister Serana said beside me, tossing her perfect golden hair over one shoulder. "You're shaking."
"I'm fine," I replied softly, not taking my eyes off the crowd gathering around the fire circle.
I wasn't fine.
Because he was there.
Callan Veyr.
Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack. Broad-shouldered, proud, wrapped in confidence and command like it belonged to him. And it did. He'd earned his title two moons ago, and tonight, he stood just across the fire from me, eyes scanning the line of unmated wolves.
I shouldn't have let myself hope.
But I did.
Because something in my blood knew. Something in my bones whispered, it's him.
Lunara, my wolf, had stirred all day—restless, pacing, excited. She never reacted this way around anyone else.
And then it hit.
The scent.
Faint at first. Then all-consuming.
Storms and pine. Salt and steel. A scent I'd never smelled before but somehow recognized down to my soul.
And at the same time—his eyes snapped to mine.
For a heartbeat, the world froze.
Everything faded but us.
He took a step forward.
"Mate."
The word left his lips like it belonged there—and mine too.
The entire clearing gasped as one. All eyes turned to us. My pulse raced. I felt my heart open like something sacred had been unlocked.
Selene had chosen us.
Me and Callan.
Alpha and Luna.
He was walking toward me when he stopped.
Turned.
And looked at Serana.
She blinked—confused for only a second—then smiled like a snake.
"Callan?" I said, barely audible.
But his eyes were on her now, not me. She stepped forward as if drawn by the same invisible thread. The pack was dead silent. The fire snapped and hissed.
He didn't even hesitate.
"I, Callan Veyr, Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack," he declared, "reject you, Althea Lunaris, as my mate and Luna."
A ringing noise filled my ears.
I stared at him, unblinking. My body didn't move. My mind couldn't catch up to the words. He was rejecting me.
Me.
His mate.
He knew. He had said it. Our bond had flared.
And still… he was choosing her.
Serana's hand curled into his as she stepped into my place.
My wolf's joy twisted into something sharp. I could feel Lunara stumbling inside me, confused. Hurt. Something cracked.
Gasps rippled through the gathered wolves, but no one said a word.
No one stopped him.
Of course not. Serana was prettier. More polished. My parents' favorite. She was the daughter they presented at court. I was the spare, the silent one with the strange-colored eyes and unpredictable power. The one they didn't know what to do with.
Callan looked at me with no regret. Not even shame.
I straightened.
Swallowed the knot in my throat.
And I said the only thing left to say:
"I, Althea Lunaris, accept your rejection."
My voice didn't break. But my heart did.
Lunara let out a low, shuddering sound inside me. A noise I'd never heard from her before.
I turned away.
I didn't wait for permission. I didn't bow or look back at Serana's smug face or my mother's narrowed eyes. I walked away from the fire, past the line of elders, past the Alpha and Luna, past the curious, whispering packmates—
And then I ran.
The wind rushed past me like a scream.
I didn't stop to think. Didn't care that my feet were bare or that my dress caught on thorns. I ran through the woods, heart pounding, the bond still raw and burning behind my ribs.
"Lunara," I whispered in my mind. "Please… say something."
She didn't answer.
She wasn't gone, but she was silent. As if retreating from the pain. As if she couldn't bear to be near me in this state.
My legs gave out and I collapsed to my knees in the wet grass, gasping.
Moonlight poured over me.
And something inside me snapped.
"I won't break because of them," I whispered.
My wolf stirred.
Lunara didn't speak—but she rose.
And then… I shifted.
It wasn't graceful.
It was wild.
Pain gripped my spine, my muscles stretched, bones popped and twisted. My fingers curled inward, claws replacing nails. Silver fur broke across my skin like moonlight made flesh.
And when I stood again on four paws, the forest around me held its breath.
I wasn't the timid girl anymore.
I was my wolf.
Pure silver. Luminous beneath the stars.
A rare color. Feared and revered. A mark of the Moonblooded.
The ground shimmered beneath my paws as I bolted into the darkness.
I didn't know where I was going.
Only that I couldn't stay.