**Chapter One** *The Mark of the Moon*Untitled Episode
The scent of pine, smoke, and something ancient filled the air, but it was the howl that froze Aria Wren mid-step.
Not just any howl.
**His.**
Her heart stuttered. Every bone in her body vibrated like a tuning fork. It was as if the sound traveled beneath her skin, straight into her soul—and she didn’t even know why.
She’d only come to the Moon Ceremony because her best friend had begged her. Aria had no interest in finding a mate. Especially not under the watchful eyes of dozens of unmated wolves, all prowling the clearing, tense with expectation. She was here to blend in, not to be noticed.
But now… she felt *seen*. Exposed.
And then she saw him.
Standing on the rise above the ceremony ground, the moon behind him like a silver crown, was Alpha Kael Thorne. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and dangerously still. The kind of stillness predators wore before a strike. His dark eyes locked onto hers from across the clearing.
Aria’s breath hitched.
“No,” she whispered to herself. “Not me.”
But Kael’s eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring, and he started moving toward her. The crowd instinctively parted for him. She didn’t move. Couldn’t. Something primal inside her screamed to run. Something deeper… begged her to stay.
He stopped two feet from her, towering over her small frame, his jaw clenched. “You.”
One word. That was all.
“You’re my mate.”
The world tilted.
Gasps erupted around them. Aria felt the heat of a hundred stares. Her ears rang. Her wolf stirred, whimpering with confusion and awe. Her own heart thundered like a war drum in her chest.
“I think you’re mistaken,” she managed, her voice barely audible.
Kael’s eyes darkened, voice like thunder cloaked in velvet. “The Moon doesn’t make mistakes.”
He reached out, brushing his fingers against the inside of her wrist. Where his skin met hers, something *ignited*. A flame. A spark. A bond. She gasped, stumbling back.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t *anyone*. Not strong, not powerful. Just the healer’s ward. Just Aria.
“You’re coming with me,” Kael said, tone final.
“No, I’m not.” She turned and fled into the woods, heart racing, vision blurred by panic.
But Kael didn’t chase her. He didn’t need to.
Because the bond had been forged.
And soon, it would pull her back.
Aria didn’t sleep that night.
She paced the edge of her pack’s borders, every fiber of her being buzzing with confusion, fear, and something she hated to admit—curiosity.
Why her? Why would the Moon Goddess bind *him* to *her*? He was an Alpha. Dangerous. Respected. Feared. And she… she couldn’t even shift properly half the time.
And worse—she’d felt something when he touched her. Something raw and undeniable. Something she wasn’t ready for.
By dawn, her legs ached and her mind spun with questions. But answers came faster than she expected.
The growl came first—deep, rumbling, close.
Kael.
He emerged from the trees like a shadow, dressed in black, every movement fluid and commanding. His wolf was close to the surface; she could see it in the sharpness of his gaze, the way his hands flexed like claws aching to shift.
“You ran,” he said flatly.
“You were giving me no choice.”
“I gave you *truth*.” He stepped closer, voice low. “You’re mine.”
“You don’t even know me!”
“I know enough. I know you’re strong. I know you’re different. I know the Moon chose you—and that means something.”
Aria shook her head, backing away. “I’m not your Luna.”
Kael moved faster than she could react. One second she was stepping back, the next she was against a tree, caged by his body, his scent surrounding her—earth, smoke, power.
“I don’t need a Luna who bows,” he said, voice rough. “I need one who stands.”
She met his gaze, trembling but unbroken. “Then keep looking.”
His jaw ticked. “You feel the bond. I *know* you do.”
Silence stretched between them, taut and burning. And then she whispered, “That’s what scares me.”
They returned to the Bloodfang Pack that night—Aria with a heart full of dread and Kael with a Luna who didn’t want the crown. The pack watched her like a threat, like an intruder wrapped in prophecy.
Kael said nothing as they walked through the gates. But the looks said everything.
She didn’t belong here.
By the time she was shown to her quarters—a grand room with a massive bed, stone walls, and too many windows—she wanted to scream. She wasn’t meant for this world of power plays and whispered threats. Her wolf paced inside her, uneasy.
A knock at the door jolted her.
Kael entered, silent as shadow.
“There’s a meeting with the council tomorrow,” he said. “They’ll want to see you.”
She folded her arms. “You mean they’ll want to *judge* me.”
“They’ll learn,” he said. “One way or another.”
She eyed him. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I trust the bond.”
“You don’t even know what I’ve done. Who I am.”
His expression didn’t change. “Then tell me.”
She turned away. “It’s not that easy.”
A pause.
Then: “I don’t need easy. I need *truth*.”
But Aria stayed silent.
Kael left without another word.
That night, she dreamed of fire.
Of howls in the dark.
Of red eyes in the forest, watching her.
When she awoke, the scent of blood was thick in the air.
She rushed to the window—and what she saw chilled her to the bone.
The forest beyond the Bloodfang walls was burning.
And from the trees stepped a figure cloaked in black, with eyes that glowed like embers—and a voice that reached her ears on the wind.
“You don’t belong to *him*, Luna.”
Aria’s breath caught.
Because she recognized that voice.
It belonged to someone she thought was long dead.
