Chapter One: Mated to the Wrong Moon
The moment I looked into his eyes, I felt it the pull, the heat, the bond.
But he wasn't a she.
And I wasn't ready to fall for a male I was supposed to kill.
The moon watched everything.
It bathed the Blood Arena in cold silver light, made the blood on the sand shimmer like spilled wine, and turned every roar into something primal. My name echoed through the canyon walls — Alpha Caleb Grayson, heir to the Crescent Fang Pack.
I didn't flinch. I never did. I had been raised to wear fear like armor and silence like a weapon.
Tonight was the final trial. And I was expected to win it all the crown, the mate, the future.
The crowd howled as I stepped into the arena, shirtless, scarred, and already bored. I scanned the crowd, already knowing who I wouldn't see my mate. She wasn't here. She didn't exist. Not in the way they wanted her to.
"She'll come," my father had said this morning. "If not by choice, then by power."
That was the Grayson way. Take. Rule. Breed.
And yet, I wasn't thinking about claiming anyone tonight.
I was thinking about how much I hated this tradition.
The Blood Moon Trials were supposed to unite packs, but they were just controlled chaos. Each Alpha heir fought for dominance. For a mate. For legacy. But really? It was just a glorified meat market. I didn't need a partner to prove my strength.
But then I saw him.
He stepped onto the sand without ceremony, without robes, without armor. Just bare skin, moonlight on dark hair, and a stare like fire beneath ice. He wasn't supposed to be here.
Male. Alone. No pack behind him. No name announced.
He looked like he'd been dragged through war, and yet he stood tall.
The crowd quieted. That never happened.
He walked right into the center of the arena and looked at me like I wasn't Alpha like I was prey.
And then, the air changed.
I couldn't breathe. My wolf pushed hard beneath my skin, claws itching to surface. But it wasn't rage. It was something else.
Something old.
Something sacred.
Bond.
My heart stuttered once, then slammed into full speed.
No. No. No.
This wasn't right.
But when his eyes locked with mine golden, unnatural ,the pull hit me like a blow to the chest.
Mate.
It couldn't be. He wasn't,he paused
"You," he said, voice low and thunderous, "you're mine."
The silence broke like shattered glass.
Gasps. Growls. My father stood from the high ledge, eyes glowing, lips pulled into a snarl.
The boy,no, the man,kept his eyes on me. He wasn't challenging. He was claiming.
And the worst part?
Every cell in my body agreed.
My wolf howled in recognition. My breath came short. My hands trembled, though I curled them into fists.
This was wrong. Forbidden. Blasphemous.
But it was real.
I stepped forward. "Who are you?"
He tilted his head, like he hadn't expected me to speak. "I don't remember my name. I woke two nights ago in the woods, covered in blood. But I know you."
"You don't know me," I growled.
"I know the pull," he said, stepping closer. "I know the bond. And I know that you've been waiting even if you lied to yourself about who you were waiting for."
The world spun.
I couldn't breathe right. The crowd was closing in. My father looked like he might leap from the terrace and kill him on the spot.
"You're not a female," I said through gritted teeth.
His lips twitched. "Good observation, Alpha."
He was mocking me. Or maybe mocking the system.
Either way, my instincts screamed to protect him and that terrified me more than anything.
The council of elders was already whispering. The rules were being shattered in real time.
"Shift," I demanded. "Show me what you are."
He nodded once, then stepped back. The shift was smooth, too smooth like silk over blades. Bones cracked, skin rippled, and fur burst through flesh. But what stood before me wasn't a wolf.
Not fully.
He was huge. Taller than any Alpha. Jet black fur. Claws like obsidian. Fangs too long, too sharp. His eyes still gold.
Not wolf. Not vampire.
Hybrid.
And every Alpha in the arena felt it the wrongness. The power. The threat.
I should've torn him apart. That's what they expected. That's what would protect my throne, my legacy, my carefully built life.
Instead, I stepped toward him.
The moment my hand touched his fur, a wave of heat rolled through me. My heart quieted. My wolf calmed.
He shifted back, naked and shaking, but his gaze was steady.
"I don't want to ruin you," he said softly. "But I think fate does."
And still, I didn't kill him.
I turned to the crowd and said nothing. I couldn't speak not yet. I just looked at my father.
He didn't speak either.
But his silence was a promise: You've chosen wrong. And you will pay.
The hybrid's chest rose and fell beside me, slow and even.
"You don't even know your name," I murmured.
He looked up at the moon.
"Then maybe you should give me one."