IVY:
My hand trembles in Derek's grip and I want to pull away before someone realizes this is all a mistake.
The entire Silverpine Pack watches us from rows of wooden benches. Hundreds of eyes. Judging. Waiting for the weakest omega in pack history to embarrass herself at the altar.
I shouldn't be here.
Derek Castellan is the Alpha's son. Golden hair. Perfect smile. Every unmated she-wolf in three territories wanted him. Instead he chose me. Ivy Sterling. The girl who scrubs floors and serves dinner and keeps her head down so no one remembers she exists.
When he proposed two weeks ago in front of everyone I thought it was a cruel joke. Waited for the laughter. It never came.
Now we stand under the mating arch wrapped in silver moonflowers and my heart pounds so hard I can barely breathe. The white ceremonial dress they gave me is too big. I had to pin it three times so it wouldn't fall off my shoulders.
Derek squeezes my hand gently and I look up at him. He's so tall I have to tilt my head back. For a second his green eyes are soft. Kind. Like when we were kids and he'd sneak me extra food when the other omegas stole mine.
Maybe this is real. Maybe someone actually wants me.
Elder Rosewood stands between us holding the sacred bonding stone. It's ancient. Smooth black rock that's supposed to glow when true mates bond. She begins the ceremony in the old language and I don't understand half the words but I know what comes next.
Blood binds us. Forever.
Derek takes the silver ritual blade from the velvet cushion. He doesn't hesitate. Draws it across his palm in one smooth cut. Red blood wells up immediately.
He hands me the blade.
My fingers shake so badly I almost drop it. The crowd murmurs. Of course the useless omega can't even hold a knife properly. I grip harder and press the edge to my palm. The sting barely registers. I've had worse injuries from kitchen work.
Our blood drips onto the bonding stone. Red mixing with red.
Elder Rosewood chants louder. The pack joins in. Ancient words that vibrate through my chest.
Derek reaches for my bleeding hand. Our fingers touch.
Everything explodes.
Light erupts from my body. Violet and silver and so bright I can't see. Heat pours out of my skin like I'm burning from the inside. Someone screams. The sound tears through the chanting. More screams join it.
I try to stop whatever is happening but I don't know how. The light gets brighter. Hotter. My eyes burn and I squeeze them shut but the violet glow shines through my eyelids.
The bonding stone shatters. I hear it crack apart like thunder.
Bodies hit the ground. Heavy thuds. The smell of burning flesh chokes the air.
Make it stop make it stop make it stop.
The light finally fades. I collapse to my knees gasping. My whole body shakes. I blink hard trying to clear my vision.
The altar is destroyed. Scorch marks spread across the white marble in jagged patterns. The moonflower arch is ash. Three elders lie on the ground not moving. Their ceremonial robes are burning. Actually burning with small silver flames that won't go out.
Pack members rush forward but stop when they see the flames. No one knows what to do.
I look down at my hands. They're glowing. Soft violet light pulses under my skin like I swallowed the moon.
What did I do.
Derek stumbles backward. His face is pure horror. He stares at me like I just turned into a monster in front of him.
"Derek." My voice cracks. "I don't know what happened. I didn't mean to."
He takes another step back. Away from me.
The crowd starts whispering. Cursed. Abomination. Demon. The words build into a wave of fear and anger.
I try to stand but my legs won't work. "Please. I don't understand."
Someone moves through the crowd. Tall. Silver hair. Cold eyes that make my wolf want to run and hide.
Alpha Magnus. Derek's father.
He stops at the edge of the scorch marks and studies the destruction with the same expression someone might use looking at a beautiful sunset. Calm. Almost pleased.
"Fascinating," he says quietly. Then louder so everyone can hear. "The old texts were right."
I don't know what that means. I just know the way he's looking at me makes my skin crawl worse than the burning did.
Derek finds his voice. "Father what is she."
Magnus circles me slowly. A predator deciding how to kill its prey. "She's exactly what we needed." He gestures at the dead elders. At the shattered bonding stone. "This power. Imagine it controlled. Directed. Bred into the next generation."
Bred.
The word hits me like a physical blow.
"No." I shake my head. "I just want to go home. Please."
Magnus laughs. Actually laughs. The sound is worse than the screaming. "Home? Child you have no home now. The pack won't accept a cursed omega walking free." He turns to Derek. "Reject her. Officially."
Derek's face goes pale. "Father she didn't mean to hurt anyone. Maybe we can figure out what."
"NOW." The Alpha command hits like a hammer. I feel it even though it's not directed at me. Derek's spine goes rigid. His wolf forced into submission by his father's dominance.
Derek looks at me. For one second I see conflict in his eyes. Guilt. Maybe even regret.
Then his face goes blank. Empty.
"I reject you Ivy Sterling." The words are flat. Emotionless. Like I mean nothing. "You are not my mate. You are not pack."
Each word is a knife. I feel something inside me crack apart. Not my power. Something deeper.
The mate bond that was beginning to form dissolves like smoke.
Tears blur my vision but I won't let them fall. Won't give them the satisfaction.
Magnus signals to his guards. Six massive beta wolves in uniform move forward. "Lock her in the breeding cells. We'll extract her bloodline properly. She's too valuable to waste on a simple mating."
Breeding cells.
The words don't make sense at first. Then I remember whispered stories from other omegas. Underground rooms lined with silver. Where they put dangerous wolves who need to be controlled. Broken.
"No." I try to back away but there's nowhere to go. "You can't."
"I'm Alpha. I can do whatever I want." Magnus nods to the guards. "Take her."
Hands grab my arms. I try to fight but I'm still weak from whatever happened. They drag me off the altar. My feet scrape against stone.
"Derek please." I hate how desperate I sound. "You know me. We were friends. Don't let him do this."
Derek won't look at me. Just stares at the ground like a coward.
The guards haul me toward the packhouse. Toward the stairs that lead down. Underground where no one will hear me scream.
The crowd parts to let us through. Familiar faces. Wolves I've known my whole life. Not one of them tries to help.
I'm alone.
As they drag me past Magnus he leans close enough that only I can hear. His smile is a predator's grin.
"You'll give me the strongest heirs the werewolf world has ever seen. And if you refuse, well." He glances back at the burning elders. "We have ways of making wolves cooperate."