The night I was meant to become Luna…
…was the night I was destroyed.
The full moon hung heavy above the pack grounds, casting a silver glow over the clearing. It should have felt magical. Sacred. This was the moment every wolf dreamed of—the night fate revealed your mate.
But as I stood there, barefoot against the cold earth, something felt wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The air was too still. The silence too sharp. Even the whispers of the pack members gathered around me carried a strange edge—like they were waiting… not celebrating.
My fingers trembled at my sides.
Why does it feel like this?
I swallowed hard, forcing my breathing to steady as the elders began the ceremony. Their voices rose in unison, chanting ancient words that echoed through the forest.
I had imagined this moment a thousand times.
He would look at me with recognition.
With desire.
With something that said you are mine.
Instead…
When I lifted my gaze to Alpha Damon—
I felt nothing.
No warmth.
No pull.
Just… cold.
His blue eyes locked onto mine, sharp and distant, like I was nothing more than a responsibility he had yet to decide on.
A chill ran down my spine.
No… this isn't right.
My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin, pacing, restless. She didn't feel safe.
That alone terrified me.
"Step forward," one of the elders commanded.
My legs moved before my mind could catch up. One step. Then another. Each one heavier than the last, like I was walking toward something I couldn't escape.
Damon didn't move.
He just watched me.
Waiting.
Judging.
Deciding.
My heart began to pound.
This was it.
This was the moment everything would change.
"I, Lyra…" My voice came out softer than I intended, barely steady. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I, Lyra, accept—"
"I reject you."
The words were quiet.
But they shattered me louder than a scream ever could.
For a second, I thought I had imagined it.
My ears rang. My body froze. The world tilted beneath my feet.
"…what?" I whispered.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Not soft ones.
Not shocked ones.
But sharp, eager, almost expecting.
My chest tightened painfully as I stared at him. "You… you didn't mean that," I said quickly, my voice breaking despite my effort to stay composed. "You're my mate. You can't—"
"I can."
His voice was calm.
Cold.
Final.
The kind of voice that didn't shake. Didn't doubt.
Didn't care.
"You are not fit to stand beside me as Luna," Damon continued, his gaze unwavering. "I will not bind myself to weakness."
Weakness.
The word hit harder than the rejection itself.
Something inside me cracked.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
But quietly…
Like something breaking in a place no one could see.
My fingers curled into my palms, nails digging into my skin as heat burned behind my eyes.
Don't cry.
Not here.
Not in front of them.
Not in front of him.
"You… think I'm weak?" I asked, my voice barely holding together.
Damon didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
That was it.
No explanation. No regret.
Just one word that erased everything I thought we could have been.
A laugh bubbled up in my throat—but it wasn't amusement. It was disbelief. Pain. Humiliation twisting into something sharp and unbearable.
Around me, the whispers grew louder.
"She's rejected…"
"I knew it…"
"She was never strong enough…"
Every word cut deeper.
I looked around, desperate—hoping someone, anyone, would step forward.
My father avoided my eyes.
My friends said nothing.
No one moved.
No one defended me.
No one cared.
My throat tightened.
So this is what I am to them…
Nothing.
I turned back to Damon, my chest rising and falling unevenly. "Then why bring me here?" I demanded softly. "Why let this happen in front of everyone?"
His expression didn't change.
"Because," he said, "the pack needed to see it."
My heart stopped.
Needed to see… what?
My humiliation?
My failure?
My worthlessness?
Something inside me snapped.
Without another word, I turned and ran.
⸻
Branches scraped against my skin as I pushed through the forest, my breath coming in sharp, uneven bursts.
I didn't know where I was going.
I just needed to get away.
Away from the stares.
The whispers.
The way my entire world had just collapsed in a single moment.
My chest ached—tight, suffocating, like something was clawing its way out from inside me.
"Why…?" I gasped, stumbling over a root and catching myself against a tree. "Why wasn't I enough?"
My wolf whimpered softly, sharing my pain.
For the first time in my life…
I felt completely alone.
Then—
Pain exploded through my wrist.
I screamed, collapsing to my knees as a searing heat tore through my skin.
It felt like fire.
Like something was being carved into me.
"What—what is happening?!" I cried, clutching my arm as the pain intensified.
My vision blurred. My breath hitched.
And then… it appeared.
A mark.
Dark. Twisting. Alive.
It spread across my skin like ink, pulsing with an unnatural heat that sank deep into my bones.
My wolf froze.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
A cold dread settled in my chest.
"This isn't…" I whispered shakily. "This isn't a mate mark…"
No.
This was something else.
Something older.
Stronger.
More dangerous.
The forest fell unnaturally silent.
Even the wind stopped.
And then—
A voice.
Low.
Deep.
Terrifyingly close.
Not around me.
Inside me.
"I've found you."
My entire body went still.
My breath caught.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
"No…" I whispered, shaking my head. "No… this isn't real…"
But the mark burned hotter.
Alive.
Responding.
Claiming.
The voice came again, softer this time… but far more dangerous.
"You're mine."
A chill ran down my spine.
Every instinct screamed at me to run.
But I couldn't move.
Because deep down…
I knew that voice.
Not personally.
But from the stories.
The warnings.
The fear that lived in every whispered legend.
The Rogue King.
And somehow…
He had marked me.