Chapter 1
~ANORA~
"Keep your steps straight and your eyes on the right path," The elderly woman spoke beside me. "Today is a special day and you must do well to respect it."
I placed a hand on my chest and shook my head, my gesture telling her I was focused.
"You cannot lie to me, Anora," she said sharply. "You should know better than to mock my wisdom."
I made the wise choice not to dispute her words with any further action. Instead, I strode forward towards the altar surrounded by the members of my pack, my mind straying to importance of the special night.
A night I was to be proclaimed the Luna of Ravenstone pack. And despite my happiness at the prospect, a side of me was nervous.
And for good reason.
I was devoid of the ability to speak for a long time. I could not remember when I was cursed with that but it was since I was a child.
Guila, the woman who walked beside me to the alter, raised me as her own since I was a child. But she never played the part of a mother to me. I was made to do the chores and help her in running the tavern and that was it.
"I do not even know what he sees in you.There are many fair maidens in this pack but he is blessed with the one who cannot speak."
Her words cut to my heart like an arrow. I ignored them with great difficulty and proceeded to the altar.
Two men stood by it. The elder, Ruric who conducted the mating ceremonies of three generations.
The second was Bjorn, the alpha of Ravenstone, as well as my beloved mate. Dressed in white ceremonial robe adorned by the marks of the crescent moon, his eyes, blue as the ocean followed my movements.
My heart thumping like the march of a thousand excited soldiers, I gazed upon my blue ceremonial robe sewn by the tailor. A reminder of the colour of my beloved, it sparkled under the moonlight and hugged my body like a mother cradling her young infant.
The crowd made way as we approached the altar. The disdain within could not be hidden. Whispers followed me. Sneers were sent my way, one of them belonging to a woman my age who loathed me for a reason I could not remember.
Ravenna Ravenstone.
She was the daughter of the woman who crafted my robe. Hair as brown as the earth and eyes as grey as the clouds that brought rain, she was one of the most beautiful women in the pack. But her beauty did not attest for her character. She walked with slow footsteps and her nose thrust into the air. She had never held love for me since we were children, speaking to me in the coldest of voices.
And when the moon goddess chose me as Bjorn's fated, her disdain grew. She looked at me like I was dirt beneath her feet and twisted her lips when I passed by with Bjorn.
As I neared the altar, the lack of joy was apparent on the face of Bjorn. I did not understand. Did he not share my happiness for this special evening?
"Proceed," Guila spoke, pushing me forward gently but firmly.
I climbed unto the altar and accepted Bjorn's hand. But the joy was still yet to make an appearance on his face. Together we faced the crowd and Elder Ruric began.
"Wolves of the Ravenstone pack. Tonight is a night that marks the ceremonial bond between our Alpha, Bjorn-"
He gazed upon me from head to toe. "And Anora whom the moon goddess gave to him as a mate."
Mumurs came in waves across the crowd. The elder raised his hand and spoke again.
"As you are all aware, she is not able to speak but we must never question the choice of the moon goddess no matter how bizarre they may seem."
Laughter as soft as a bird's feather floated into the air. I paid no heed, keeping my gaze to the ruddy man before me. They would laugh at me this night. By the morrow, they would give me respect.
"We shall now proceed to the final rites of the ceremony." Elder Ruric turned his gaze to me. "Anora, do you accept the wishes of the moon goddess and accept Bjorn to be your mate and rule beside him?"
I gazed upon Bjorn, nodding once.
"Bjorn." The elder turned to my mate. "Do you in turn declare to the pack that Anora is your fated mate and will rule as Luna beside you?"
Silence fell upon the crowd like a blanket. The crickets even seemed to realize the importance of the moment. Bjorn glanced at me, his face unreadable as a blank page. And out of his lips came forth a single word.
"No."
My heartbeat came to a halt as the murmurs once again erupted in the crowd before us.
"No, I cannot," Bjorn spoke again, his hand releasing hold of mine as if it was leprous. "Anora, it is known to even a blind man that you are a beautiful woman, blessed with the body of a goddess."
His gaze tore away from my face to the crowd before us. "And there is no falsehood about our people willing to see someone blessed with such beauty and allure as yourself rule beside me."
The murmurs rose and Bjorn turned to me once more, the reflection of disappointment and sadness flashing across his face.
"But I cannot accept a woman who cannot speak to be my mate."
The words burnt my soul like the flames of the devil. My lips trembled as I reached for him but he retreated a step back.
"A woman who cannot speak has no power," he said. "A Luna who cannot speak will be seen as a disgrace across the lands. This pack will be a symbol of mockery if you are ever to become my Luna."
A solemn shake of his head came next. "Therefore, it is with regret that I tell you this. I, Bjorn, Alpha of the Ravenstone pack-"
The tears stung my vision as I shook my head violently, my gaze pleading with him to reconsider.
"Reject you as my fated mate and Luna of this pack," he finished.
A silent howl of pain came from within my soul. The howl of my wolf. I clutched to my chest desperately to save whatever part of her that could linger. It was of no use. It did not matter if I accepted his rejection or not. In the Ravenstone pack, once a male wolf rejected a female, it was solidified on both ends.
And then laughter came from the crowd before me. Everywhere I looked, fingers pointed. Whispers floated in the air. Whispers of malicious glee.
And then I saw her. Ravenna Ravenstone. A smile laced with poison different from the rest of the crowd. With her arms folded, the night belonged to her.
I could bear the laughter no more. I jumped down the altar and took off. Through the crowd I tore through, avoiding the gazes of malice and wicked glee.
I hurried my steps until the crowd shrank behind me in the distance. No one called after me. No one wanted to.
And out of the village I ran.
Into the darkness of the woods.
