On the night I was supposed to rise as the Moonshadow Luna… I became a crippled wolf.
My nineteenth birthday.
The day I should have shifted, found my mate, and changed the future of my pack.
Instead, it was the night my world shattered .
I stood in my crystal dress, blonde hair curled into perfect ringlets, custom made Louboutins biting into my heels.
From the outside, I looked like a dream. Inside, a shadow of dread gnawed at me.
Something dreadful was coming.
"My perfect Luna!" my father's deep voice broke my thoughts.
Alpha Darius in his late forties with streaks of grey in his dark hair revealed himself
He came towering, powerful, handsome even in his Giorgio Armani suit, kissed my cheek. His green eyes sparkled with pride as he studied me.
"You're beautiful, Gabrielle. Your mother would be proud," he said, his voice softening.
My throat tightened.
My mother, Isabella Moonshadow, the last of the Asena bloodline, a direct descendant of the goddess.
She had died giving birth to my sister, Sadie, leaving us with only memories.
The Asena bloody had passed to me.
The packs all believed I could end the curse weakening wolves with every generation.
"You're precious to me," Father said, cupping my cheek. "Don't let anyone pressure you. You're my princess. Your happiness is what matters."
But we both knew pressure was exactly what awaited me tonight.
Pressure to be the savior everyone expected.
"Gabrielle darling," a shrill voice cut through, "stop scrunching your face. It ruins your makeup."
Lydia. My stepmother. Dressed like a queen, but with poison in every word.
Behind her, Jeffrey lurked, his dark eyes glinting. My stepbrother never looked at me like family, always like prey.
"She looks perfect," Father snapped, his jaw tightening.
Comfort.
That was what his presence always gave me. He was my shield and forever my protector.
A howl echoed in the night. The signal.
"It's time," an omega guard said.
Father kissed my cheek again. "We'll be waiting at the altar."
They left. Lydia with her fake smile. Jeffrey with his simmering menace.
I inhaled deeply and walked.
Down the mansion steps. Into the garden where hundreds of faces turned toward me.
Classmates, Alphas, Lunas, pack members, even Devan, the future Alpha of the Oaks pack. My Devan. My love.
His gaze caught mine, full of pride.
My heart soared. Tonight, he would be revealed as my mate. The goddess would bless us.
Music swelled. I stepped down the aisle. The moon bathed me in silver. Silence fell.
The shift began.
It started as a spark in my spine, then wildfire. My bones cracked, skin burning, muscles twisting.
A scream ripped from my throat as my body bent unnaturally, joints snapping and reforming.
This was it. My ascension. My power. My destiny.
And then, silence.
The pain came to an abrupt halt
Something inside me pulled violently, a bond snapping taut. My wolf reached out, desperate, yearning. Toward Devan.
Mate.
He was my mate.
Tears blurred my vision. The goddess had chosen us. I reached for him….
But Devan stepped back. His face pale. His eyes wide and filled with horror.
The crowd erupted with gasps and screams both male and female.
Confused, I staggered, my body trembling.
Why were they looking at me like this? Why wasn't Devan smiling, why wasn't he coming to me?
I turned, and everywhere I looked, wolves recoiled. Mothers clutched children. Warriors covered their mouths.
And then I saw Father's face, his pride gone, replaced with grief.
Sadie's small body trembling as she wept beside him.
Fear crashed over me. My legs dragged me to the fountain by the altar. I bent over the water and froze.
The reflection staring back was not the radiant silver wolf of prophecy.
It was a nightmare.
Patchy, dull fur instead of shimmering moonlight.
One twisted leg dragging uselessly behind me. A hunched spine. Teeth too long, jagged and grotesque. When I tried to rise, my body collapsed sideways, pathetic and broken.
I choked on a whimper.
The crowd screamed.
Devan's voice rang out, cracked with disgust: "No… not her."
And in that moment, under the merciless light of the moon, I realized the worst.
The pack had expected a savior.
Instead, they saw a monster.