Aria's POV
There you are! Sienna's nails dug into my arm as she dragged me toward the ceremony grounds. The ceremony starts in ten minutes. Everyone's waiting.
My hand went to the pouch hidden in my dress pocket. My mother's unfinished letter burned against my skin.
The fire was no accident. Marcus
What had she been trying to tell me?
Move faster, wolfless, Sienna hissed, yanking me forward.
The ceremony clearing was packed with hundreds of pack members forming a circle around a raised wooden platform. Torches blazed in the darkness. The full moon hung directly overhead, huge and silver and watching.
Ten other young wolves stood near the platform all turning twenty-three this month. They bounced on their toes, excited and confident. Their wolves were right there, just under their skin, ready to emerge.
I was the only one shaking.
Alpha Marcus stood on the platform in his formal robes. When he saw me, his cold smile made my stomach twist.
Ah, Aria. Perfect timing. He gestured to the other young wolves. Take your place.
I climbed onto the platform on wobbling legs. The wood creaked under my feet. Every eye in the pack was on me. Judging. Waiting for me to fail.
Tonight, Marcus's voice boomed across the clearing, these young wolves will prove themselves worthy of the Crimson Moon Pack. They will shift under the full moon and take their rightful place among us.
The crowd cheered.
My heart hammered so hard I thought everyone could hear it.
Marcus called the first name. A boy with red hair stepped forward. The moonlight touched him and his body began to change. Bones cracked. Fur sprouted. Within seconds, a beautiful russet wolf stood where the boy had been.
The crowd went wild.
One by one, Marcus called names. One by one, young wolves transformed. The sounds of shifting filled the air bones breaking and reshaping, the wet sound of bodies changing, victorious howls.
Nine wolves. Nine perfect transformations.
Then Marcus turned to me.
Aria Stone.
The clearing went silent.
I stepped into the center of the platform. My legs felt like water. The moon's light fell across my skin, cold and heavy.
This was it. My last chance.
I closed my eyes and reached deep inside myself, searching for any hint of a wolf. Any spark of power. Anything.
Please, I begged silently. Please be there.
Nothing.
Just emptiness. A hollow void where my wolf should be.
I tried harder, pushing deeper, reaching with everything I had. Sweat broke out on my forehead. My hands clenched into fists.
The crowd began to whisper.
Minutes passed.
Nothing happened.
Well? Marcus's voice cut through the murmurs. Nothing? Not even a flicker?
I opened my eyes. Tears burned but I refused to let them fall. I'm sorry, Alpha.
His face twisted with disgust. You are not a wolf. He raised his voice so everyone could hear. You are nothing.
The words hit like a physical blow.
Then Drake stepped onto the platform.
My heart lurched. Was he going to defend me? Tell everyone I was worth something?
But his eyes were cold. Stranger's eyes.
I need to say something, Drake announced to the crowd.
No. Please, no.
This girl has been following me around like a lost puppy for years, he said. She thinks I care about her. She thinks I like her.
The crowd gasped. My face burned.
I don't, Drake continued. I've been sleeping with Sienna for six months. She's my chosen mate. Aria means absolutely nothing to me. I only tolerated her pathetic crush because my father asked me to watch her. But I'm done pretending.
The world tilted.
Sienna climbed onto the platform and wrapped herself around Drake. He pulled her close and kissed her. Right there. In front of everyone.
In front of me.
The crowd erupted in laughter and whispers and pointing fingers.
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
Marcus stepped forward, his face hard. Aria Stone, you are a disgrace to this pack. You have no wolf. You have no worth. I want you gone by sunrise. He looked at me with pure contempt. Take nothing that belongs to the Crimson Moon Pack. You came here with nothing. You'll leave with nothing.
He turned his back on me. The ultimate dismissal.
The other pack members did the same, one by one, until I was alone on that platform with everyone's backs to me.
I ran.
I jumped off the platform and ran through the crowd, my vision blurring with tears I could no longer hold back. Behind me, the ceremony continued like nothing had happened. Music started. People laughed and danced.
My humiliation was already forgotten.
I made it to my basement room and slammed the door. My hands shook so badly I could barely turn the lock.
The tiny room spun around me. My thin mattress. The cracked mirror. The single small window. This had been my home for eighteen years.
And in a few hours, I'd have to leave it forever.
I collapsed onto the mattress and let myself cry. Huge, gulping sobs that shook my whole body. Every kind word Drake had ever said to me had been a lie. Every smile, every gentle touch, every moment I'd treasured all of it fake.
The laughter and music from the ceremony drifted through my window. They were celebrating while my world fell apart.
I pulled out my mother's letter with shaking hands and read it again.
My darling Aria, if you're reading this, then I am gone. But you need to know the truth. You are not what they told you. The fire was no accident. Marcus
The letter ended there. Torn off mid-sentence.
I turned the paper over, searching for more. Nothing.
You are not what they told you.
What did that mean?
A knock on my door made me jump.
Aria? Omega Mary's voice. I brought you some food, child.
I opened the door a crack. Mary stood there with a cloth bundle, her eyes red from crying.
I'm so sorry, she whispered. So sorry.
Did you know? My voice came out broken. About Drake and Sienna?
Mary's face crumpled. I suspected. But I hoped I was wrong.
She pressed the bundle into my hands. There's bread, cheese, and a water flask. It's not much, but
Thank you. I hugged her quickly. For everything.
When she left, I sat on my mattress and stared at the bundle. This was all I'd have when I left. Some food and the clothes on my back.
And my mother's unfinished letter.
I pulled out the pendant from under my dress. The silver wolf gleamed in the candlelight. My only connection to parents I barely remembered.
I failed, I whispered to it. I'm sorry. I tried so hard, but there's nothing inside me.
The pendant grew warm against my skin.
I froze.
It had never done that before.
The warmth spread from the pendant across my chest, into my arms, down to my fingertips. It felt like... like something waking up.
My heart raced. Was I imagining it?
Then pain exploded through my body.
I gasped and fell off the mattress, clutching my chest. It felt like something was breaking inside me breaking free.
The pendant blazed with heat. My skin started to glow with a faint silver light.
What was happening to me?
The pain intensified. I bit my lip to keep from screaming. The basement room swam in and out of focus.
Through the small window, I could see the full moon. And for just a second, I could have sworn it was glowing brighter. Responding to something.
Responding to me.
The pain reached a crescendo and then
Everything went black.