The full moon hung heavy over the BloodMoon Pack, spilling silver light across the ancient courtyard. Shadows danced along the stone walls, and the scent of wildflowers mixed with the earthy tang of blood and damp earth. Tonight was sacred — the Mating Ceremony, the night when fates were sealed, and chosen wolves met their destined mates. Laughter, wine, and whispers had filled the courtyard moments ago, but all of it dissolved when Ethan Black stepped forward.
He moved with a predator's grace, tall and powerful, his dark hair catching the moonlight like liquid shadow. Golden eyes burned with dominance, scanning the gathered pack until they settled on Ariana Hale. The woman the Moon Goddess had chosen for him. His fated mate.
And yet… there was no warmth in those eyes. Only something cold, like frost biting through bare skin.
Ariana's chest tightened. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as whispers escalated into cruel laughter. The pack, the elders, the servants in the shadows — every gaze pierced her like a thousand knives.
"Say it," she whispered, voice trembling yet carrying a fragile defiance.
Ethan's jaw clenched. "I, Ethan Black," he began, voice low and sharp as mountain wind, "reject you, Ariana Hale, as my mate and Luna of the BloodMoon Pack."
The words fell like blades, each syllable splitting the air with merciless precision.
Ariana's breath hitched. The mark on her neck — the symbol of their bond — had flared faintly just minutes ago, glowing with promise. Now it dimmed, then vanished, leaving her bare, vulnerable, and unbearably alone. Silence crashed around her.
The crowd's gasp was a single, collective stab to her chest. Some looked away in pity; most sneered.
From the shadows, a low growl rumbled — Beta Hale, her father, stepping forward, fury written in every taut line of his face. But before he could speak, the Alpha raised a hand. No one defied the heir of the pack, not even a father.
"You're not fit to stand beside me," Ethan whispered, the words slicing through the night air. "You're weak. The pack deserves better."
Ariana's lips parted in disbelief. "Weak?" she murmured. "Because I… because I'm not ruthless like you?"
Ethan turned, dismissive, unreadable, leaving her alone under the cold gaze of the moon. Her tears mingled with the scent of crushed earth and broken dreams.
The crowd began to disperse, their whispers following her like vipers:
"Poor girl.""She should've known her place.""No one rejects the Moon's will and walks away unharmed."
She didn't hear them anymore. Her world was quiet, a suffocating silence broken only by the echo of rejection repeating in her mind.
Shaking, she retraced her steps to her family's estate. Her mother reached for her, but Ariana pulled away, needing the sanctuary of solitude. She stumbled into her room, flinging herself onto the bed. The mirror reflected a stranger — a broken girl with tear-stained cheeks and empty eyes. The mark was gone. The bond shattered. Hope, a fragile thing she'd carried for years, lay in ruins.
"Why wasn't I enough?" she whispered, voice trembling.
The wind howled outside, rattling the window as if mocking her. The scent of rain drifted in, heavy with the promise of a storm. She sank to her knees, hands clutching the sheets, tears streaming freely. Her wolf — silent. Her spirit — fading.
Then came a knock at the door.
"Ariana," her mother's voice trembled, "you need to come downstairs. Now."
"I can't… not tonight," Ariana croaked, voice barely audible.
Her mother hesitated. "It's… it's the Alpha. He has spoken."
Ariana froze, the air thick around her. "The Alpha?"
Her mother nodded, voice breaking. "He has chosen you to marry Damon Black. Tomorrow."
Ariana's heart skipped. Then stopped.
"Damon?" she whispered, disbelief churning into fear. "Ethan's brother?"
Her mother said nothing. Silence was answer enough.
Damon Black. Cold, unfeeling, ruthless. Feared across the pack for his cruelty. Strength buried in loss — the wolf who had lost his first mate in the last Blood War. And now, Ariana — the girl scorned by one brother — was to be claimed by the other.
Was it pity? Punishment? Or something far darker?
She forced herself to her feet, trembling, staring at her reflection. Red eyes, pale cheeks, and yet… beneath the despair, a spark flickered. A defiance born from pain.
"If the Moon Goddess wishes to break me," she whispered, "she'll have to try harder."
The wind slammed against the window, rattling the glass. Moonlight caught her eyes, and for a heartbeat — a flicker of silver. Her eyes glimmered unnaturally, a light she had never seen before.
Ariana froze.
The knock came again, firmer this time. Fear laced her mother's voice. "Ariana, please… don't make him wait."
Swallowing hard, Ariana moved toward the door. The storm outside roared louder, thunder rattling the walls. Somewhere deep in the forest, a wolf howled — long, mournful, eerily familiar.
Her pulse raced. The sound wasn't just any wolf. It was the Alpha. The one who had just claimed her fate.
And in that howl, Ariana felt it — something alive, something ancient stirring inside her. Something that had waited for this night.
Tomorrow, she would become his Luna.
But tonight… tonight, the wolf within her was awake.
And it would not bow quietly.