Chapter 1 The Rejection
The night the Moon Goddess chose me was supposed to be the happiest night of my life.
Instead, it became the night everyone watched my heart break.
I stood beneath the silver moonlight, surrounded by hundreds of wolves from the Blackthorn Pack. The air was filled with excitement as the annual Luna Ceremony came to an end.
I had waited seventeen years for this moment.
For the moment when I would finally discover my mate.
My fingers trembled as the ancient ceremony continued.
Then I felt it.
A strange warmth spread through my body.
My wolf stirred excitedly.
Mate.
The word echoed inside my head.
I lifted my eyes.
Across the ceremonial ground stood the Alpha of Blackthorn Pack.
Alpha Kael.
The most feared and respected Alpha in the northern territories.
His dark eyes were already fixed on me.
My heart stopped.
No.
It couldn't be.
But my wolf was certain.
He's our mate.
For one beautiful second, I forgot everyone around us.
I smiled.
Kael slowly walked toward me.
The crowd became completely silent.
He stopped in front of me.
Our eyes met.
Then his expression changed.
The warmth in his eyes disappeared.
His jaw tightened.
"You're my mate," he said coldly.
I swallowed.
"Yes."
A few wolves gasped.
I couldn't stop the smile that appeared on my face.
I had found him.
My mate.
My future Alpha.
My—
"I reject you."
The smile vanished.
The entire world seemed to stop.
I stared at him.
"What?"
Kael didn't look away.
"I, Kael Draven, Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack, reject you as my mate."
My heart shattered.
Someone behind me whispered, "She's been rejected."
Another voice followed.
"How embarrassing."
I could barely breathe.
My wolf whimpered inside me.
Why?
I looked at Kael, hoping—praying—that he would change his mind.
He didn't.
Instead, he stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"You are not worthy of being my Luna."
Those words hurt more than the rejection itself.
Tears filled my eyes.
But I refused to let them fall.
Not in front of everyone.
Not in front of him.
I lifted my chin.
"Then I accept your rejection."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
Kael's expression flickered for the first time.
Surprise.
Perhaps he expected me to beg.
I turned around.
And walked away.
But none of us knew that night that Kael had just made the biggest mistake of his life.
Because I wasn't the ordinary girl he thought I was.
And the secret buried inside my blood would eventually force the entire supernatural world to kneel before me.
