Chapter 1: The Night Everything Broke
Luna had been awake since four in the morning.
Her hands were red and sore from scrubbing the pack house floors, but she did not complain. She never did. Complaining was for people who had someone to listen.
"Hurry up, Omega!" a girl shouted from the kitchen. "The festival starts tonight and nothing is ready!"
"Yes, I'm coming," Luna whispered.
She was eighteen years old, and she had spent every one of those years alone. Her parents died when she was a baby. The pack fed her, but they never let her forget that she was a burden.
Still, she had one dream. Every night, she looked at the moon through her tiny window and prayed.
"Please, Moon Goddess. Just give me one person who will love me."
Tonight was the Mate Festival. Every wolf who turned eighteen would meet their fated mate under the full moon. Luna did not have a pretty dress or shiny shoes. She only had an old grey dress and a heart full of hope.
When the moon rose high, the whole pack gathered in the clearing. Luna stood at the very back, hiding behind the others.
Then she smelled it.
Pine trees. Rain. Warm smoke.
Her heart started pounding so hard that she could barely breathe. Her wolf, Selene, howled inside her head.
"Mate! He is our mate!"
Luna looked up.
Across the clearing stood Alpha Damon. He was tall, strong, and dangerous, with dark eyes like a storm. Every girl in the pack wanted him. And he was looking straight at her.
The crowd went silent.
Damon walked slowly toward her. Luna's hands shook. Tears filled her eyes. This was it. Her prayer was finally answered.
He stopped right in front of her.
For one beautiful second, she thought he would smile.
Instead, his face turned cold.
"You?" he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "The weak little Omega who cleans my floors? My mate?"
"Damon, please..." Luna whispered.
"I am Alpha Damon of the Silver Moon Pack," he said. "And I, Alpha Damon, reject you, Luna, as my mate."
The words hit her like a knife.
Pain tore through her chest. She fell to her knees, gasping. Around her, the pack began to laugh.
Luna looked up through her tears. Damon had already turned his back and walked away.
Something inside her broke that night. But somewhere deep inside the pain, a small voice spoke.
"Get up, Luna," said Selene. "We are not done yet."
Luna wiped her tears. She stood up slowly.
Then she turned and ran into the dark forest, and she never looked back.
