The Fifteenth Morning

Chapter 6: Tje mark should be not exist

The dress they gave me for the Luna ceremony was white. Not the pure white of a bride, but the pale, washed-out white they give to a sacrifice.

"He will reject you in front of the whole pack," Mira, the Omega who helped me dress, whispered. Her hands were shaking. "Alpha Kael never wanted this marriage. He is only doing it because the Elders forced him."

I looked at myself in the cracked mirror. The girl staring back didn't look like Aria anymore. Her eyes were hollow, her lips pressed into a thin line. For three years they called me wolfless. For one night, they called me a cursed widow. Now they would call me Luna.

The ceremonial hall was already full. Every wolf in the Blackthorn pack was there. The air was heavy with their judgment, their whispers.

Cursed. Wolfless. She killed her own mate.

Kael stood at the altar. My new husband. My dead husband's brother. He didn't look at me when I walked in. He looked through me, as if I was air. His jaw was clenched, his powerful frame rigid in his black ceremonial coat. He was everything an Alpha should be — tall, ruthless, beautiful in a cruel way.

Elder Rowan raised his hands. "Today, we present our new Luna!"

A forced silence fell.

"Alpha Kael, do you accept Aria as your Luna, to protect, to honor, even if she has no wolf?"

Kael's golden eyes finally snapped to mine. And for a second, I saw it — disgust. Not just for me, but for himself, for being forced to do this.

"I accept," he said, his voice cold enough to freeze the room. "As the law demands."

It wasn't a vow. It was a sentence.

Then Elder Rowan turned to me. "Aria, do you accept Kael as your Alpha and mate, and do you accept the pack as your own?"

My throat was dry. This was the part where I was supposed to bow my head. To say yes and become his property.

I opened my mouth to say yes.

And that's when it happened.

A sharp, burning pain shot through my back, right between my shoulder blades. Not the dull ache of grief I had carried for years. This was fire. Living fire.

I gasped and stumbled forward. My hand grabbed Kael's arm to steady myself.

The moment I touched him, his eyes went wide.

A silver light, so bright that everyone in the hall had to shield their eyes, exploded from my back. My white dress ripped at the seams as something pushed against it.

Gasps turned into screams.

"Her back!" someone shouted.

Mira was pointing at me, her face pale. "The mark! Goddess!"

Kael spun me around, his grip iron on my shoulders. His eyes, which had always been cold, were now filled with something I had never seen before — shock. And fear.

On my back, glowing through my skin, was a mark. A crescent moon, but not white like a normal Luna's mark. It was silver-blue, surrounded by ancient runes that seemed to move and breathe. The mark of the Blessed Luna. The one the legends said had disappeared a hundred years ago. The Luna blessed by the Moon Goddess herself to lead and to destroy.

The same mark that every Elder had been searching for.

The hall erupted.

"Blessed Luna! It's impossible!"

"She is wolfless! How can she have the mark?"

Elder Rowan fell to his knees. "Forgive us... we didn't know."

Kael didn't say a word. He was staring at the mark, his breathing heavy. His wolf was fighting to come out — I could see his eyes flashing between gold and black. His hand was still on my shoulder, and where he touched me, his skin was burning hot.

For the first time in three years, I didn't feel powerless.

I looked up at Kael, tears in my eyes but a smile on my lips. It was not a sweet smile.

"You wanted a wolfless, cursed widow to humiliate?" I whispered, only for him to hear. "Instead, you got a Goddess."

I pulled away from his grip. The silver light faded, but the mark remained, warm and pulsing against my skin.

The pack that had forced me to marry him to survive was now kneeling.

And my revenge, my real revenge, had finally just begun.

The dress they gave me for the Luna ceremony was white. Not the pure, hopeful white of a bride, but the pale, washed-out white they give to a sacrifice before it is laid on the altar.

"He will reject you in front of the whole pack," Mira, the young Omega who was forced to help me dress, whispered. Her hands were trembling so badly she could barely tie the lace at my back. "Alpha Kael never wanted this marriage, Aria. He is only doing it because the Elders forced him to keep the Alpha bloodline pure. He will humiliate you. Please, just bow your head and accept it."

I looked at myself in the cracked mirror of the Omega quarters. The girl staring back at me didn't look like Aria anymore. Her eyes were hollow, her lips pressed into a thin, hard line. For three years they called me wolfless. For one night, they called me a cursed widow who killed her own mate. Now, they were going to call me Luna, but it would be the cruelest joke of all.

The ceremonial hall was already full when the doors opened. Every wolf in the Blackthorn pack was there, from the highest warriors to the lowest Omegas. The air was heavy, thick with their judgment, their whispers, their disgust. I could feel their eyes on my skin like thorns.

Cursed. Wolfless. She killed her first husband. Now she trapped his brother.

Kael stood at the altar. My new husband. My dead husband's younger brother. He didn't look at me when I walked down the aisle. He looked straight ahead, through me, as if I was nothing but air. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle jump, his powerful frame rigid in his black ceremonial coat. He was everything an Alpha should be - tall, ruthless, devastatingly handsome in a cruel, untouchable way. And he hated me.

Elder Rowan raised his old, shaking hands and the hall fell into a forced, uncomfortable silence.

"Today, we present our new Luna!" his voice boomed.

A murmur went through the crowd. No one cheered.

"Alpha Kael of Blackthorn," Elder Rowan continued, "do you accept Aria as your Luna, to protect, to honor, even though she has no wolf?"

Kael's golden eyes finally snapped to mine. And for a single second, I saw it clearly. It wasn't just anger. It was disgust. Not just for me, but for himself, for being forced to bind himself to the pack's shame.

"I accept," he said. His voice was low, cold enough to freeze the blood in the room. "As the law demands."

It wasn't a vow. It was a prison sentence. He had said the words, but he had made it clear I would never be his true Luna.

Then Elder Rowan turned to me. His eyes were pitying. "Aria, daughter of no house, do you accept Kael as your Alpha and mate, and do you accept the pack as your own?"

My throat was completely dry. This was the part where I was supposed to bow my head, to kneel, to say yes and become his property forever. To accept a life of being invisible in my own home.

I opened my mouth to say yes. To survive, just like I always did.

And that's when it happened.

A sharp, searing, burning pain shot through my back, right between my shoulder blades. Not the dull, constant ache of grief I had carried for three years since my first mate died. This was different. This was fire. Living, breathing fire trying to tear its way out of my skin.

I gasped loudly and stumbled forward, my legs giving out. To stop myself from falling on the sacred stones, my hand shot out and grabbed Kael's arm.

The second my skin touched his, everything stopped.

A silver light, so bright and pure that everyone in the hall screamed and had to shield their eyes, exploded from my back. My cheap white ceremonial dress ripped at the seams as something powerful pushed against it from underneath.

Gasps turned into terrified screams.

"Her back! Look at her back!" someone shouted from the crowd.

Mira was pointing at me, her face as white as paper. "The mark! By the Goddess, the mark!"

Kael reacted instantly. He spun me around, his iron grip on my shoulders, his eyes no longer cold. They were wide with something I had never seen in an Alpha before - pure, unfiltered shock. And fear.

On my back, glowing through my skin, shining brighter than the moon itself, was a mark. A large crescent moon, but not the plain white of a normal Luna's mark. It was silver-blue, like liquid starlight, and it was surrounded by ancient, intricate runes that seemed to move and breathe on my skin.

The mark of the Blessed Luna.

The one the legends said had disappeared a hundred years ago. The Luna who was not chosen by an Alpha, but blessed directly by the Moon Goddess herself to either save the werewolf kind or destroy it.

The same mark that every Elder, every Alpha, had been secretly searching for for a century.

The entire hall erupted into chaos.

"Blessed Luna! It's impossible! She is wolfless!"

"How can a cursed widow have the Goddess's mark?"

Elder Rowan's staff clattered to the ground. He fell to his knees, his old eyes filled with tears. "Forgive us... Moon Goddess, forgive us... we didn't know. We called your blessed one cursed."

Kael didn't say a word. He was still staring at the mark, his breathing heavy and ragged. I could feel his wolf fighting violently to come out - I could see his eyes flashing rapidly between his normal gold and his wolf's pure black. His hand was still on my shoulder, and where he touched me, his skin was burning hot, as if my light was branding him too.

For the first time in three years, since the night my first mate died in my arms and they took my wolf from me, I didn't feel powerless. I didn't feel like a victim.

I felt power humming in my veins.

I slowly looked up at Kael, tears still in my eyes, but this time they were not tears of sadness. A small, dangerous smile touched my lips. It was not a sweet smile.

"You wanted a wolfless, cursed widow to humiliate in front of your pack?" I whispered, so quietly that only he could hear me over the screaming crowd. "Instead, you got a Goddess."

I pulled my shoulder out of his burning grip. The silver light slowly faded, sinking back under my skin, but the mark remained, warm and pulsing, a constant reminder of who I really was.

The pack that had forced me to marry him to survive, the pack that had spat on me and called me cursed, was now on their knees, bowing their heads to me.

And my revenge, my real, true revenge, had finally, just begun.