Lyra
My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I pressed them against the rough bark of the oak tree, trying to steady myself as wolves gathered in the clearing ahead. Tonight was the Moon Ceremony, the night every wolf my age had dreamed about since childhood. The night we'd find our fated mates.
"Lyra, you look like you're about to throw up," my friend Kess whispered, appearing beside me. Her auburn hair was braided with silver ribbons that caught the moonlight.
"I might," I admitted, my voice barely audible. "What if... what if no one wants me?"
Kess grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. "Stop that right now. You're kind, loyal, and.."
"Weak," I finished for her. "Don't forget weak."
She opened her mouth to argue, but we both knew it was true. While other wolves could shift into powerful forms, mine was small and fragile. Where others had strength that could snap tree branches, I could barely lift a fallen log. My wolf was more like a house dog than a predator.
"The ceremony's starting," Kess said softly. "Come on."
Alpha Marcus stood at the center of the clearing, his massive frame commanding attention. The full moon hung directly overhead, casting everything in silver light. Around us, wolves formed a perfect circle, some already paired with their mates from previous ceremonies, others waiting like me.
"Tonight, the Moon Goddess will reveal the bonds that tie our souls together," Alpha Marcus announced, his voice carrying across the silent gathering. "Those called forward will step into the center. The mate bond will awaken, and you will know your other half."
My heart hammered against my ribs. Please, Moon Goddess, I prayed silently. Please let someone want me. Someone kind. Someone who won't care that I'm not strong like the others.
"Lyra Blackwood."
The sound of my name froze the blood in my veins. A collective murmur rippled through the crowd. I felt hundreds of eyes turn toward me, some curious, others pitying. My legs felt like water as I forced myself to step forward.
The clearing seemed enormous as I walked toward the center. Each step echoed in my ears. When I reached the middle, I turned slowly, scanning the faces around me. Who would it be? Please, not one of the cruel ones. Not someone who would…..
"Damon Steele."
No. Oh, Moon Goddess, no.
Damon emerged from the crowd like a predator stalking prey. Tall, broad-shouldered, with jet-black hair and cold gray eyes, he was everything I wasn't, strong, feared, respected. He was also known for his cruelty.
The mate bond should have snapped into place the moment our eyes met. I should have felt the overwhelming pull, the certainty that this person was my other half. Instead, I felt... nothing. Just cold dread settling in my stomach.
But Damon's expression shifted. His nostrils flared slightly, and something flickered in his eyes, recognition, then disgust.
"No," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Absolutely not."
The clearing fell silent. Even the night insects seemed to stop chirping.
"Damon," Alpha Marcus warned. "The Moon Goddess has chosen.."
"The Moon Goddess made a mistake," Damon snarled, stalking toward me. I stumbled backward, but there was nowhere to go. The entire pack surrounded us. "Look at her. She's pathetic. Weak. She can barely shift without collapsing."
Heat flooded my cheeks. "I can shift just fine," I whispered.
"What was that?" Damon cupped his ear mockingly. "I can't hear you. Oh wait, that's because you're too weak to even speak up for yourself."
Laughter erupted from some of the younger wolves. The sound hit me like physical blows.
"A warrior needs a strong mate," Damon continued, his voice getting louder. "Someone who can stand beside him in battle. Someone who can bear strong pups. Not some fragile little mouse who jumps at her own shadow."
"Please," I managed to say, my voice cracking. "The bond.."
"There is no bond!" Damon roared. "I, Damon Steele, reject you, Lyra Blackwood, as my mate. You are useless to me. Useless to this pack. A disgrace to our bloodline."
The words hit me like claws raking across my chest. The formal rejection severed whatever fragile connection might have existed between us. Pain exploded through my body, not just emotional, but physical. The mate bond being torn apart felt like having my heart ripped out.
I gasped, doubling over as agony shot through every nerve. Around me, the laughter grew louder. Someone called out, "Even the Moon Goddess doesn't want to give Lyra a real mate!" More cruel laughter followed.
"Look at her," another voice sneered. "She can't even handle being rejected properly."
"Maybe she should just leave the pack. Save us all the embarrassment."
"Who would want such a weak Luna anyway?"
The voices blended together into a roar of mockery. My vision blurred with tears. I refused to let fall. Not here. Not in front of them. Alpha Marcus raised his hand for silence, but I could see the disappointment in his eyes too. "The ceremony continues," he announced.
That was it. No comfort. No acknowledgment of what had just happened to me. Just... continue.
I couldn't breathe. The circle of faces around me felt like a trap, all those eyes staring, judging, finding me lacking. My chest felt tight, like my ribs were closing in on my lungs.
I had to get out.
Without a word, I turned and ran. Behind me, I heard someone shout, "And there she goes! Running away like always!" More laughter followed, but it grew fainter as I crashed through the treeline.
Branches caught on my dress, tearing the soft blue fabric my mother had spent weeks making for this night. I didn't care. I just ran deeper into the forest, away from their cruel voices, away from the humiliation, away from everything.
My feet stumbled over roots and rocks. Tears finally broke free, streaming down my face as I gasped for air between sobs. How could the Moon Goddess be so cruel? How could she pair me with someone who would destroy me in front of everyone?
I ran until my legs gave out, collapsing against a massive pine tree in a part of the forest I'd never seen before. The silence here was different, deeper, older. Even the moonlight seemed dimmer, filtered through ancient branches that had probably stood here for centuries.
I buried my face in my hands and finally let myself cry properly. Great, heaving sobs that shook my entire body. "Useless," I whispered Damon's words back to the darkness. "Disgrace. That's all I'll ever be."
The forest seemed to hold its breath around me. No wind stirred the leaves. No small creatures scurried through the underbrush. It was as if the whole world was waiting for something.
Then I felt it, the prickle of being watched.
Slowly, I lifted my head and wiped my eyes. The darkness between the trees seemed thicker now, more alive. My breath caught in my throat as two golden orbs materialized in the shadows ahead of me, glowing like molten metal in the black night. Not wolf eyes. Something else. Something bigger. Something far more dangerous.
A voice emerged from the darkness, deep and rough like gravel, sending shivers down my spine despite the warm night air.
"Mine."