Moonlight’s chosen

Chapter 4

I lightly squeezed Lisa’s arm as we started our descent down the stairs. We were almost halfway down when the main palace doors opened, letting in the most divine scent of coffee and chocolate. It hit me all at once.

I felt my wolf stir in my mind for the first time.

Mate, she whined.

You haven’t even told me your name yet. We don’t know each other. You don’t know it yet, but we have a chosen mate we will accept soon, and we aren’t accepting whoever that is, no matter how good they smell.

She whined again.

I am Serene, and we are going to accept him. The Goddess made him for you and me, and we are the perfect match.

I groaned out loud, making Lisa glance at me with a smile.

“You got her,” she whispered.

I nodded with a tight smile, not wanting to give away the mate part just yet.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, where my mother was waiting with a large smile.

“There is the birthday princess,” she said, handing me a full tray of chocolate-covered fruit, which was usually my favorite. But my appetite was gone from all the anxiety—though that didn’t stop Lisa from reaching over and grabbing a chocolate-covered banana slice.

I smiled at my mother. “Have you seen Ben yet?” I asked.

My wolf whined loudly in my head. Mate.

I know. I’m going to introduce you to our chosen mate and his wolf as soon as possible. You’ll love them as much as I do.

My mother shook her head. “I haven’t, sweetie, but I would check outside,” she said, making me flinch.

Well, it’s likely they already smell me too and are searching for me now—or maybe I’ll be lucky and they won’t want me either. That way, I don’t have to cause anyone such pain.

I nodded as Lisa patted my shoulder, letting me know she was going to find her mom. I hugged her, telling her I would come find them soon and show Aunt Ellie my love.

After letting go of Lisa, I stepped outside. The scent intensified to an extreme level, making Serene lose it in my mind. I felt extreme pressure and grabbed my head.

Let me lead for just a minute, she said.

I tried to push her back when my father suddenly appeared in front of me. He stood close, towering over me. Standing behind him was his beta, Fin.

He was just about a year older than me. I remembered him from school—he graduated last year—and from seeing him around the castle often with his father, learning everything so he could one day take over his position.

Unfortunately, that had to happen early.

Fin is the youngest beta ever recorded in our pack’s history because his mother and father were both killed in a recent battle. Some of the smaller packs overtaken in this war had banded together to form a larger rogue pack. They had no true alpha, so they were vicious—no plan, just killing everything in sight.

When our backup arrived, we managed to take most of them out before the rest retreated, but it was already too late for Fin’s parents. We still have no idea how they breached our borders without being detected.

Of course he was my mate.

To reject him would mean taking one more thing from him after he’d already lost his family only months ago. Guilt twisted in my stomach just thinking about it.

“Lacey,” my father said firmly, snapping me back to reality. “You have to push her back.”

He grabbed the sides of my face. “There are too many packs here right now. You have to push her back.”

“I don’t know how,” I said. “She wants to lead—I can’t.”

“I can,” Fin finally said, stepping forward. He had been standing there silently, staring at me this entire time.

He moved beside my father, and Serene surged forward, lunging toward him. I screamed in my mind.

If you do this, I will never forgive you!

She stopped just as Fin grabbed my shoulders.

Serene finally receded, allowing me to think clearly. Tears formed in my eyes.

There was no way my father didn’t know what was happening now.

I couldn’t quietly reject my mate and choose Ben without anyone noticing. That plan was completely gone—especially since it was Fin. Of course his beta would tell him I was his mate.

My father looked between Fin and me before grabbing my hand and pulling me inside. Fin followed closely behind.

My father found my mother quickly, grabbing her hand and pulling us into a private room.

She slapped his arm. “Why are you pulling Lacey away from her party?”

“She is touched by the Goddess,” my father said. “She has silver eyes, and her wolf just tried to take over before she’s even shifted for the first time.”

My mother looked at me with wide eyes. “I thought it was a fluke when she was born—her eyes were silver only for a moment. I don’t think you noticed because you were so busy panicking at the nurses.”

My father nodded, guilt crossing his face.

“Did anyone see?” my mother asked.

“I blocked her quickly,” my father replied. “Fin did, but I’m almost certain he is her mate by the way her wolf reacted. Lacey was trying to deny her wolf’s mate, which made her come out more aggressively.”

I shrank back slightly, guilt settling deeper.

My mother nodded. “How is she going to shift in front of all these people? I know they’re from ally packs, but we both know there are no true allies in this war.”

My father nodded. “I know. I was hoping to build peace by inviting them—maybe even form a true alliance through a mate bond.”

My mother nodded, but anger burned inside me. How was she okay with that? I never expected that from her—though at least it didn’t work out.

I stayed quiet, unsure of what to say.

“I’m going to tell everyone she’s sick,” my mother said. “It’s not safe for an untrained, newly changed silver wolf to shift openly.”

She stepped out the door