Oath
I never let myself wonder what life might have been if I'd met my mate. Too many years had passed, hardening my heart against even the faintest hope.
And on my twenty-seventh birthday, a proposition came that would extinguish the last sliver of hope I had left.
Our Alpha, Ezekiel, had lost his mate, our luna during the Great War-a brutal conflict fought against both our neighboring clans.
To the north loomed the White Claw pack, infamous for their savage strength and merciless tactics. To the south lay the Crimson Shadow pack, masters of deception, striking from the dark and vanishing without a trace.
And caught between them was us-the Silver Moon pack. Surrounded on all sides, hemmed in with no escape. With Ezekiel left without heirs or kin, our future was grim. I knew what it meant. One day soon, one of those Alphas would come for him. They'd take his head, his place, and then force the rest of us to our knees.
So when the day finally came, I knew sacrifices had to be made-for the sake of our clan's survival. Even mine.
I woke up on my twenty-seventh birthday the same as any other day. No celebration. No laughter. No joy. Just the same grim, grey weight pressing down, like always.
We'd been running out of food for weeks now, surviving off scraps. The Crimson Shadow pack had taken the Yellow Rock River, cutting us off from the water just south of our border. White Claw had claimed Blue Eyes Lake. That left us with nothing. We had to wait for game to wander into our lands by sheer miracle, and most times, we weren't that lucky. We were starving.
I pushed open the door to the outdoor cookhouse, the scent of boiling broth filling the air. At the center of the room, a massive pot bubbled, tended faithfully by my mother-just as she did every day. Cooking for the pack gave her purpose, even if the war had stripped her of almost everything else.
"What's on the menu today?" I asked, leaning over the pot to inhale the steam.
Her lips curved faintly as she stirred. "Deer stew... or as you like to call it, Deer Slob."
I snatched up a spoon from the table, dipped it in, and brought the taste to my mouth. I smacked my lips dramatically, rubbing my stomach. "Yup. Deer Slob. My favorite."
My mother laughed softly, though it was thinner than she meant it to be. I knew the truth-how much it pained her that we had nothing better to eat than boiled bones and whatever half-dead mushrooms we could scavenge. The war had ended, but then winter came. Crops died. The game disappeared. Hope seemed to vanish right along with them.
She dabbed her face with a napkin, the heat of the cookhouse making her cheeks flush, then she turned to me, her voice steadier than I felt.
"Have you made your decision yet, Aria?"
The question landed like a stone. I knew everyone was waiting. Watching. Depending on me.
"I will. Just... give me until sunset," I said quietly. I needed a little more time. Even if I already knew the answer.
"Whoever it is... you know they're not coming."
Her words pierced deeper than I wanted to admit. She knew what I was waiting for. Who I was waiting for. It broke her heart to see me clinging to a hope that had never come. But still, I couldn't let go. Not until I gave myself that final chance.
If I waited until sunset, at least then I could say I had waited as long as I possibly could. For my mate. The one I'd never met. The one I likely never would.
"I know," I whispered.
My mother wrapped her arms around me, holding me close. "Then we'll wait. Until you're ready."
I pressed my face against her shoulder, eyes burning. Ready. The word felt like a lie. The truth is I will never be ready.
My mother let go of me and crossed to the table, filling a bowl from the pot. She pressed it into my hands.
"Take this to your brother. He's been sulking since he heard."
I nodded, not trusting my voice, and left the cookhouse.
Our house was one of the largest in the pack, second only to Alpha Ezekiel's.
After the war, when so many homes had burned, we'd opened ours to those who had nowhere else to go. It was crowded most days, but I didn't mind. The noise kept me from feeling how empty things had become.
Today, though, the house was silent. My brother was nowhere inside, which meant only one place.
I found him out back, sprawled in the old hammock tied between the two oak trees that separated our yard from the Alpha's. The ropes were frayed, threatening to snap at any moment, but he swung lazily, staring up at the clouds.
"Here," I said, holding out the bowl.
He glanced at me, expression flat, then back to the sky. "No thanks. I can't eat any more of that dog food." His lip curled in disgust.
"Fine. More for me." I plopped down against one of the trees and dug in with exaggerated enthusiasm, letting the warmth of the stew distract me, if only for a moment.
"Don't do it."
The spoon froze halfway to my mouth. His voice was quiet but sharp, cutting through the stillness.
"Do what?" I asked, licking the back of the spoon like nothing was wrong.
"You know what I'm talking about." He finally sat up, his eyes finding mine. Serious. Angry. "It's not your burden to bear."
I set the bowl down, the taste turning bitter in my mouth. My gaze slid to Ezekiel's house, just beyond the trees.
"I know," I said softly. "But it's the right thing to do."
His jaw tightened. He stood abruptly, fists clenched. "I don't understand why everyone is supporting this. It's insane. I could challenge him-take his place."
"Ethan, you can't." My voice came out sharp. "You're too young. You haven't even found your mate yet. And if you lose-" I swallowed hard, forcing him to meet my gaze. "If you lose, Ezekiel will be forced to kill you and us."
The words hung between us, heavy and cold.
"I won't lose," he growled through gritted teeth. "He's an old man, Aria. Everyone knows it. Everyone's saying he wouldn't stand a chance against any other Alpha."
"That might be true," I snapped, glaring at him, "but you have to be strong as them."
He scoffed, the sound sharp as a blade, and stalked past me.
"If you agree to his proposal," he threw over his shoulder, "consider me dead to you."
The words hit me like a blow to the chest. For a moment I almost called him back, almost begged him to take the words back-but this wasn't about him. Or me. Or any of our feelings. This was about the survival of the pack. Our feelings didn't matter.
I spent the rest of the day in the forest, letting the search for food numb my thoughts. I was lucky this time-by some miracle, I found a dead rabbit and a handful of wild herbs. It was the best haul I'd had in weeks.
But my small triumph vanished the moment I stepped out of the trees and froze.
Ezekiel stood in the middle of the beaten path that led back to the village.
"Aria." He nodded in greeting, his dark hair-streaked with silver-falling into his face. Even with the gray revealing his age, he was still strikingly handsome. Tall, broad-shouldered, his body marked with scars from the war, and his left eye hidden beneath a black patch. He had lost so much-his mate, his kin, his sight-but still stood unbroken. Strong.
I bowed my head. "Alpha."
He crossed the distance between us, his presence calm but commanding. Then his hands, warm and calloused, brushed my arms, urging me to straighten.
I did, meeting his gaze.
His eyes were warm honey, as soft as they had always been. That was what I admired most about Ezekiel-his strength never made him cruel. He ruled with mercy when others would have ruled with fear.
"I see you've been busy," he said, nodding toward the woven basket in my hands.
"Yes." I lifted it so he could see.
A small smirk touched his lips as he spotted the rabbit. "A good find."
"Thank you, Alpha."
His hand reached up, his fingers brushing my cheek gently. "Ezekiel," he corrected softly.
I hesitated, then touched my hand to his and nodded. "Ezekiel."
His thumb lingered against my skin before he let his hand glide down my arm, his fingers trailing down until they found mine. He brought my dirt-stained hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against my knuckles.
Heat shot through me, half from embarrassment-my nails were cracked and caked with soil, my skin still smelling faintly of dead rabbit-and half from something I couldn't name.
"When you're ready to join me," he said, voice low, "just say the word."
The sky was aflame behind him, the sun bleeding its last light into gold and crimson, as if even the heavens demanded my choice. My heart thudded against my ribs, torn between the ghost of a mate I had never known and the decision that would change my life forever.
I swallowed hard, my voice breaking as I met his gaze. "I'm ready."
His brow lifted, surprise flickering across his features.
"Yes," I said, firmer this time, forcing the words past the lump in my throat. "I'll take my place by your side as Luna of the Silver Moon pack."
