The moon hung heavy and crimson over the pack grounds, spilling light across the frost-covered clearing. Selara's paws pressed against the icy soil, her heart hammering like war drums. Tonight was meant to mark her as the fated mate of the Alpha, Kael. Tonight was supposed to be the moment she belonged.
Instead, all she felt was cold… and the weight of every gaze in the pack upon her.
Kael stepped forward, his golden eyes narrowing, his expression unreadable. "Selara…" His voice carried through the clearing, sharp and cutting, and yet restrained. "I cannot claim you."
The words fell like jagged stones into her chest.
A shocked gasp rippled through the pack. Whispers turned to murmurs, murmurs to laughter. Selara's paws trembled. She opened her mouth, but nothing came. The fated mate, the Alpha, the one who was supposed to see her as his other half… had rejected her, publicly.
"I… I don't understand," she said at last, voice barely above a whisper. "There must be some mistake."
Kael's eyes darkened, a flicker of amusement in their gold. "No mistake. I cannot be bound to someone… ordinary. Weak. A Luna unworthy of power or pride."
Weak. Ordinary. The words hammered her chest, yet something inside refused to break. Her breathing steadied, a low growl forming in her throat. The instinct of a Luna, strong yet restrained, rose inside her. She had been raised for obedience, yes—but she had never been ordinary.
The pack laughed openly now, their scorn cutting deeper than teeth ever could.
Selara's gaze swept the clearing, noting every sneer, every mocking glance. Her claws flexed instinctively. Rage flared. She wanted to lunge, to tear through their hierarchy, to make them all pay. But restraint won over instinct. She would not let them see her despair. Not tonight.
Something flickered deep within her chest. A warmth, subtle but undeniable, like the pulse of the moon itself. Her heartbeat synced with it. This was power. Power that had lain dormant, waiting. And though she did not yet understand it, she sensed it could change everything.
"Pack," she said, her voice louder now, cutting through the mocking whispers. "Stand down." The murmurs faltered, all eyes locking on her. "I am not ordinary. I will not be cast aside. I will rise."
Kael's lips curved into a smile—not kind, not gentle—but sharp, testing. "Bold words for one so powerless. Remember your place, Selara, or you will regret it."
Selara's teeth clenched. She felt the spark inside her pulse stronger, thrumming with a rhythm older than the pack itself. She did not belong to Kael, not tonight, not ever—not like this.
The frost under her paws shifted as if responding to her heartbeat. A low hum of energy filled the air, subtle at first, then growing. The pack's laughter faded into uneasy whispers. Shadows deepened. The forest edges seemed to draw closer, bending toward her.
Her first spark of power… real, dangerous, alive.
A growl escaped her throat, low and warning. She was no longer the Luna they had raised. Something in her had awakened.
And somewhere in the distance, under the red moonlight, something ancient stirred, sensing her defiance.
Selara inhaled sharply, chest rising with cold air, heart steady now with determination. Tonight was not her end. Tonight was the beginning of her rise.
The pack might have cast her aside, but the forest, the moon… and her own untamed power would ensure one thing: she would not remain powerless. And Kael would regret underestimating her.
The wind picked up, carrying a chill and the scent of something untold. Selara's eyes narrowed, claws digging into the earth. The night was far from over.
And in the darkness, a presence waited… watching.