ARC 1 — REJECTED & RUNNING
They called her Broken Wolf. Like it was some shiny title they'd carved on a plaque just for her.
But let's be real. It wasn't a title. It was a knife. A jagged, rusted thing they'd spent years sharpening just so they could twist it into her ribs and watch her bleed. God, do they ever get bored of the drama? Apparently not.
Raina Voss stood in the center of the pack circle, her hands balled into fists so tight her nails were literally digging craters into her palms. The dirt under her boots was damp and cold—totally unforgiving, just like the wall of judgmental faces staring her down.
No one said a word. Nobody looked away.
It wasn't that respectful, "we're mourning" kind of silence. It was the gross kind. The silence of people watching a car crash in slow motion and secretly enjoying the sparks. Above them, the sky was this heavy, suffocating grey, like even the moon was too embarrassed to show up for this mess.
"Still nothing?"
The voice crawled out from behind the Alpha's shoulder. One of the elders. Raina didn't bother answering. I mean, look at me. It's pretty obvious, isn't it?
Everyone could see the reality. No glowing eyes. No shift rippling under her skin. At an age where everyone else had already turned, Raina was still stuck in this useless human container.
Then, the air shifted. Not because of magic. Not because of the moon.
It was just him.
Kieran. Her first love. Her first everything.
He stayed in that "safe zone" where nobody could accuse him of being on her side. Raina tried to stare straight ahead, forcing her heart to stop acting like a panicked bird. Please, for once, just be cool. Don't let him see you're breaking. But her body was a traitor. It remembered everything. The way his hands felt on her waist when they were kids. The way he used to say her name like it was a secret they shared.
Raina finally looked at him. Their eyes collided.
For a split second, she saw it. Not love. Not even guilt.
It was relief.
He was glad she was failing. It made it so much easier for him to walk away and marry the Alpha's daughter without feeling like a jerk. Wow. Okay. That actually hurts way more than the 'broken' comments.
"Raina Voss," Alpha Garrick stepped forward, his ego—I mean, his presence—swallowing the whole clearing. "You've passed the age of awakening."
"I know." She didn't flinch.
"You've delayed the pack long enough. We want an ending."
Raina's spine went rigid. "You can't kill me. I'm pack-born."
"We don't kill pack-born wolves," Garrick agreed, a cruel little spark in his eyes. "We let the moon decide. Tonight, we hold the Moon Trial."
The crowd growled with excitement. But then, Garrick leaned in, his voice a low, lethal hiss only Raina could hear. "Did you really think your bloodline just 'broke,' Raina? Your father didn't leave you a weakness. He left you a lock. And I'm the only one with the key."
Raina's breath hitched. Wait, what? Sabotage? Her blood turned to absolute ice. This wasn't a trial. It was a cover-up.
She looked at Kieran one last time, screaming for help with her eyes. But he just stood there. A perfect little soldier. Hand at his side. Eyes blank. He knew. He freaking knew they'd sabotaged her, and he'd chosen the pack over her.
Something inside Raina's chest finally snapped. It wasn't a loud bang. It was just a quiet, permanent click.
Fine. If you want a monster, I'll give you one.
But just as the guards grabbed her arms, a shadow detached itself from the ancient oak tree at the edge of the clearing. A scent hit her—not pine, not smoke, but something dark, expensive, and dangerous. Like ozone before a deadly storm.
A man stepped into the faint moonlight. He wasn't pack. He wasn't even supposed to be on their territory. He looked at Raina not with pity, but with a terrifying, predatory hunger that made her wolf-less heart roar.
"Nice party," the stranger drawled, his voice like velvet over gravel. "But I believe she belongs to me."
Raina's knees went weak. Who the hell is that? And why is he looking at me like I'm the only thing that matters in this godforsaken world?
Garrick turned, his face pale. "You shouldn't be here, Ronan."
Ronan? The name sent a shiver down her spine. The "Nightmare" of the northern borders?
He didn't look like a nightmare. He looked like an escape.
Raina lifted her chin, staring from the boy who'd betrayed her to the monster who might just save her.
"Alright," she whispered, her voice sharpening into a blade. "Let the moon try me. But tell your 'Nightmare' to get in line."