Chapter 1 : The Alpha I Despise
The whispers started before I even entered the pack hall.
"That's Ava Wilson."
"The wolfless girl."
"She's already twenty."
I kept my head high and ignored them, even though every word felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest.
Tonight was the Moon Awakening Ceremony, the night when young wolves connected with their inner wolf and received the Moon Goddess's blessing.
Most wolves experienced it at eighteen.
I was twenty.
Two years late.
Two years of humiliation.
Two years of watching others look at me with pity.
The grand hall glittered with silver decorations and moon-shaped lanterns. Laughter filled the room as families gathered to celebrate.
My family stood alone.
Just like always.
Ever since my father's disgrace, people treated us like we carried a disease.
I clenched my fists.
One day, I would prove them wrong.
"Ava."
The deep voice sent a shiver down my spine.
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Alpha Damien Blackwood.
The most powerful man in the Blackwood Pack.
And the man I hated more than anyone.
Slowly, I faced him.
He stood taller than everyone around him, dressed in black. His dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, and his sharp gray eyes locked onto mine.
The entire room seemed to fall silent.
"Alpha," I said coldly.
His jaw tightened.
"You should be inside."
I laughed bitterly.
"Why? So everyone can watch me fail again?"
His expression darkened.
"You're not going to fail."
I crossed my arms.
"And how would you know that?"
For a moment, something flashed in his eyes.
Something almost... painful.
But it disappeared so quickly I wondered if I imagined it.
"Just attend the ceremony," he said.
"That's an order."
My anger flared instantly.
"I don't take orders from you."
Several nearby wolves gasped.
Nobody spoke to the Alpha that way.
Especially not me.
Damien stepped closer.
Too close.
I could smell cedarwood and rain on his skin.
My pulse betrayed me and quickened.
"I wasn't asking, Ava."
His voice dropped low enough that only I could hear.
"Be careful tonight."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
His gaze swept across the crowd.
"There are things happening that you don't understand."
I stared at him.
"Then explain them."
"I can't."
"Or you won't."
His eyes met mine again.
The tension between us was unbearable.
For one strange moment, it felt as though the entire world had disappeared and only the two of us remained.
Then Damien stepped back.
The spell was broken.
The ceremony bell rang through the hall.
Everyone turned toward the ceremonial platform.
It was time.
My stomach twisted with nerves.
This was my last chance.
If I failed tonight, I would forever be known as the wolfless girl.
I took a deep breath and walked toward the stage.
As I passed Damien, he caught my wrist.
I froze.
His touch sent a strange warmth through my body.
"Ava."
I looked up.
For the first time, I saw genuine fear in the Alpha's eyes.
"Whatever happens tonight," he said quietly, "don't run from me."
Before I could respond, he released my wrist.
Confusion swirled inside me.
Why would he say that?
The High Elder stepped forward and raised his hands.
"Let the Moon Goddess reveal what has been hidden."
A silver light filled the hall.
Gasps erupted around me.
Pain exploded through my body.
I dropped to my knees.
A powerful voice echoed inside my mind.
A voice that did not belong to me.
A voice that whispered a single word.
Mate.
My eyes flew open.
Across the hall, Alpha Damien Blackwood was staring directly at me.
His gray eyes had shifted into glowing wolf eyes.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Possession.
Every emotion flashed across his face at once.
The voice echoed through my mind again.
Mate.
No.
No, no, no.
Anyone but him.
The entire hall fell silent as Damien took a single step toward me.
My heart pounded so hard I could barely breathe.
The Moon Goddess couldn't have made a mistake.
Could she?
How could the man I hated most in the world be my mate?
