Chapter 1
Chapter One: The Girl Nobody Chose
They say every she-wolf dreams about the night she meets her mate.
I dreamed about surviving it.
The Moon Temple shimmered beneath thousands of crystal lanterns.
Tonight was Mate Night.
The night every unmated wolf waited for.
The night every child had dreamed about since their first shift.
The night I had spent twenty-one years dreading.
Thousands of wolves filled the sacred temple, dressed in silver and white beneath the glow of the full moon. Laughter echoed through the courtyard as families gathered together, celebrating before the ceremony even began.
Some whispered excitedly about finding their fated mate.
Some prayed.
Some couldn’t stop smiling.
I stood alone.
No family waited beside me.
No friends wished me luck.
Only whispers followed wherever I walked.
“She’s here.”
“The Cursed Girl.”
“I thought she’d be too ashamed to show her face.”
“The Moonless.”
“The Half-Blood.”
“The Bad Omen.”
None of them bothered using my real name anymore.
To them, I wasn’t Elara Ashwood.
I was a warning.
I lowered my eyes and kept walking.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
Tonight would prove them wrong.
Maybe the Goddess had simply been waiting.
Maybe I wasn’t cursed after all.
The fragile hope in my chest almost made me smile.
Almost.
“Oops.”
Cold wine splashed across the front of my pale blue dress.
The crimson stain spread across the fabric like fresh blood.
Laughter erupted around me.
A blonde she-wolf covered her mouth with fake horror.
“Oh no... it slipped.”
Her friends burst into louder laughter.
“I’m sure she can wear it,” another girl said with a grin.
“It already matches her bad luck.”
Someone else stepped back dramatically.
“Don’t stand too close.”
“What if being mateless is contagious?”
The girls laughed even harder.
Another wrinkled her nose.
“Careful.”
“Misfortune spreads.”
One of them deliberately brushed invisible dust from her shoulder after I walked past, as if simply standing near me had contaminated her.
I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms.
Don’t react.
That’s what they wanted.
“It looks like they started without me.”
The laughter stopped immediately.
Vivian Ashwood stepped through the crowd like she owned the moon itself.
And maybe she did.
Golden hair cascaded over one shoulder.
Her silver gown glittered with hand-sewn crystals.
She looked every bit the future Luna our pack adored.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Perfect.
She glanced at my stained dress before sighing dramatically.
“You really do have a gift for embarrassing this family.”
I looked at her without speaking.
She stepped closer.
“So listen carefully.”
“Stand in the back.”
“Don’t ruin tonight for everyone else.”
She leaned close enough that only I could hear her.
“If the Goddess gives you a mate tonight...”
She smiled.
“I’ll know heaven made a mistake.”
She walked away before I could answer.
The deep toll of the Moon Bell echoed through the temple.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Silence fell.
The High Priestess stepped onto the marble altar where the Moon Stone rested.
The ancient crystal glowed with soft silver light beneath the full moon.
“My children,” she said.
“Tonight, the Moon Goddess reveals the souls destined to walk together.”
The ceremony began.
“Damon Frost.”
A young man’s golden eyes flashed.
Across the temple, a woman gasped as her own eyes glowed in answer.
They ran into each other’s arms.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Another name.
Another reunion.
Another kiss.
Another pair of tears.
Every few seconds another destiny unfolded before my eyes.
The temple filled with joy.
With laughter.
With hope.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
Please...
Please let there be someone.
I didn’t need an Alpha.
I didn’t need a prince.
I didn’t need perfection.
I just wanted proof that I belonged somewhere.
The names continued.
One after another.
The crowd grew smaller.
Fewer wolves remained waiting.
Then only a handful.
My heartbeat pounded so loudly I could barely hear the High Priestess anymore.
Then...
Only one person remained.
Me.
The High Priestess frowned.
She looked down at the Moon Stone.
Its silver light flickered.
She placed both hands against it.
Nothing.
A murmur spread through the temple.
She whispered another prayer.
The crystal flared once...
Then went dark again.
Nothing.
My breathing stopped.
No...
Please...
Not like this.
The High Priestess looked directly at me.
Her expression changed.
Not confusion.
Not anger.
Pity.
She swallowed before speaking.
“The Moon Stone has spoken.”
Every wolf held their breath.
“The Moon Goddess has given this woman...”
She hesitated.
“...no mate.”
Silence.
For one endless heartbeat...
No one moved.
Then the temple exploded.
“No mate?”
“Impossible!”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
“The Goddess rejected her...”
Someone laughed.
Another wolf shook his head in disgust.
Then a single whisper cut through the noise.
“She’s Mateless.”
The word spread through the crowd like wildfire.
“Mateless.”
“Mateless.”
“Mateless.”
Every time someone repeated it...
It felt like another knife twisting inside my chest.
The tiny hope I’d carried into this temple shattered into pieces.
Alpha Magnus stepped forward.
His massive frame towered over everyone nearby.
His expression held no sympathy.
Only disappointment.
“The Moon Goddess has spoken.”
His voice echoed across the temple.
“If the Goddess herself refuses to claim you...”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“Neither will this pack.”
The words stole the air from my lungs.
He turned toward the pack warriors.
“From this moment...”
“Elara Ashwood is no longer a member of the Silver Moon Pack.”
Gasps echoed through the temple.
“Remove her pack mark.”
“Strike her name from our registry.”
“She leaves with nothing.”
My vision blurred.
The mark on the back of my neck burned.
One of the elders stepped forward with the ceremonial blade used to sever pack bonds.
My own family didn’t move.
My stepmother lowered her eyes.
Vivian smiled.
Actually smiled.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them objected.
I had lost everything.
My mate.
My home.
My family.
My pack.
I forced my legs to move toward the temple doors.
One step.
Then another.
The entire world felt strangely quiet.
Then...
The ground trembled.
I stopped walking.
Every wolf in the temple froze.
Several Alphas lifted their heads at the exact same moment.
Their wolves stirred uneasily.
Alpha Magnus frowned.
For the first time that night...
Uncertainty crossed his face.
Then—
BOOM!
The massive temple doors exploded inward.
A wave of icy wind swept through the temple.
Outside...
A convoy of black luxury SUVs rolled into the sacred courtyard.
One after another.
Their engines purred with impossible precision before falling silent together.
The doors opened.
Men dressed in perfectly tailored black suits stepped out first.
Expressionless.
Disciplined.
Human.
An impossible sight inside sacred wolf territory.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Then the rear door of the final SUV opened.
A polished black shoe touched the stone.
The man stepped out.
He wore a perfectly tailored black suit beneath a long black coat.
Black leather gloves covered his hands.
His movements were calm.
Unhurried.
Controlled.
He didn’t look around in curiosity.
He walked as though he owned the ground beneath his feet.
Click.
Click.
Click.
His footsteps echoed through the temple.
Every wolf instinctively stepped aside.
Even the dominant Alphas.
No one understood why.
Alpha Magnus’s wolf whimpered.
The Alpha’s shoulders stiffened.
He hadn’t heard his wolf make that sound...
Since the last Alpha War.
The stranger never acknowledged the High Priestess.
Never bowed to the Alphas.
Never looked at the Moon Stone.
His cold gray eyes were fixed on only one person.
Me.
He stopped less than a foot away.
For the first time in my life...
Someone looked at me as though I mattered.
His gaze swept over my ruined dress...
The tears I refused to shed...
The broken pack mark on my neck.
Then his eyes met mine.
Calm.
Certain.
As though he had finally found exactly what he’d been looking for.
The entire temple held its breath.
Then he spoke.
“Get in the car...”
A single heartbeat passed.
“Wife.”
