Sera's POV
Don't look up. Don't make eye contact. And for the love of the Moon Goddess, don't let anyone recognize you.
Lyssa pulls me through the crowd at the festival grounds, and my heart is beating so fast I think it might explode. There are hundreds of wolves' here way more than I expected. Music fills the air, and everyone is laughing and dancing under strings of glowing lights.
I've never seen anything so beautiful.
Stay close to me, Lyssa whispers, squeezing my hand.
We slip into the shadows at the edge of the clearing. From here, I can see everything but no one can see me. It's perfect.
Then the drums start.
Everyone stops dancing and turns toward the raised platform at the center of the grounds. My stomach drops.
Alpha Kael Shadowpine stands there like a king.
He's tall and powerful, dressed in all black. Even from this distance, I can feel the dominance rolling off him in waves. Every wolf here wants to please him, wants his approval, wants to be near him.
I want to throw up.
This is the man who killed my parents. Who signed the execution order without even questioning if they were really guilty? Who took everything from me and didn't lose a single night of sleep over it.
He's so handsome, a girl near us sighs.
Handsome? He's a monster.
Marcus Thorn stands beside Kael the Beta, his second in command. Marcus is smiling, but something about it makes my skin crawl.
And there, standing on Kael's other side in a dress that probably costs more than I'll make in a year, is Vivian. She's glowing with confidence, already acting like she's the Luna.
Welcome, Shadowpine Pack! Kael's voice carries across the entire clearing. Deep and commanding. Tonight, the Blood Moon rises. Some of you will find your fated mates. Some will find your true destiny. The Moon Goddess sees all, and she chooses wisely.
The crowd cheers.
I feel sick.
Let the ceremony begin! Kael raises his hand, and everyone looks up at the sky.
The moon is rising but it's not the normal silver color. It's red. Deep, dark red, like blood.
The Blood Moon.
It's starting! Lyssa grabs my arm, excited.
As the moon rises higher, I feel that strange tingling again the same one from earlier in my room. But stronger now. Much stronger.
Something is wrong.
The air around me feels thick, heavy. My skin is too hot. My heart is racing for no reason.
Sera? Lyssa looks at me, worried. Are you okay? You look really pale.
I'm fine, I just
Then the scent hits me.
Pine trees and fresh snow and something wild and dangerous and absolutely perfect.
My knees almost give out. What is that? Why does it smell so?
Pain explodes in my chest.
I gasp and double over, clutching my ribs. It feels like something is tearing me apart from the inside. Like my heart is trying to jump out of my chest and run toward something.
No. Not something.
Someone.
Sera! Lyssa catches me before I fall. What's wrong?
I can't answer. I can't breathe. The scent is getting stronger, pulling me forward like an invisible rope around my heart.
The mate bond.
No. That's impossible. Omegas don't have mates. I can't this isn't
My head snaps up against my will, and my eyes search the crowd desperately, looking for the source of that scent.
And then I see him.
Alpha Kael Shadowpine is staring directly at me.
His ice blue eyes are wide with shock. His whole body has gone completely still, like he's been frozen in place.
The world disappears. The crowd, the music, the festival all of it fades away until there's only him.
The man who killed my parents.
My mate.
No. No, no, no, this can't be happening.
I try to look away, but I can't. The bond won't let me. It's screaming at me to go to him, to run into his arms, to
Impossible, Kael whispers.
Even though he's fifty feet away, I hear him perfectly. Like his voice is right in my ear.
He takes a step down from the platform, his eyes never leaving mine.
The crowd is starting to notice. People are turning to see what their Alpha is staring at. Whispers spread like fire.
Who is that girl?
Why is the Alpha looking at her?
Is that... is that the traitor's daughter?
Vivian's face twists with rage. Marcus looks confused. Lyssa is shaking my shoulder, asking me what's happening.
But I can't move. Can't speak. Can't do anything except stare at the man I've hated for eight years and feel the mate bond trying to drag me toward him.
Kael takes another step forward. Then another.
He's coming for me.
And then another scent.
Smoke and blood and wild forests and danger.
Another pain in my chest, just as strong as the first.
No. Not again. This isn't possible. You can't have two
I turn my head toward the edge of the clearing, where the Neutral Grounds begin.
A massive figure steps out of the shadows.
Alpha Darius Bloodmoon.
The enemy. The savage. The Alpha whose father killed Kael's brother and started the war that destroyed everything.
And his amber gold eyes are locked on me with the same shock, the same hunger, the same impossible recognition.
Mine, Kael growls.
Mine, Darius growls at the exact same moment.
Two mate bonds. Two Alphas.
Both staring at me like I'm the only thing in the world that matters.
The crowd erupts in chaos.