The Blood Heir of Ravenhold

NERISSE Today is the Choosing. Every unmated she-wolf of the Crescent Moon Pack was required to stand before the Moon Altar. On this sacred night, Mother Selene, the High Priestess of the Moon Goddess, didn't create a mate bond. She revealed the woman the Moon Goddess had already destined to become Alpha Austin Rourke's Luna. The moment her name was spoken, the hidden bond would awaken for everyone to witness. In the history of the Northern Packs, the Moon Goddess had never been wrong. That was why every unmated woman had spent weeks preparing for tonight. Expensive gowns had been sewn, hair had been braided with silver ribbons, and prayers had been whispered beneath the full moon, each woman hoping her name would be chosen. I had done none of those things. The white ceremonial dress clinging to my body belonged to my foster mother. It had been altered as much as possible, but it still hung loosely around my shoulders. My long dark hair fell freely down my back because I didn't know how to weave the elaborate styles the noble daughters wore. I didn't belong among them. I felt it in every stare that followed me as I walked toward the altar. "She actually came." "The orphan has some nerve." "Does she really think the Moon Goddess would choose a wolfless nobody?" "If I were her, I'd have stayed home." I kept my head high. I had lived with their whispers for eighteen years. Another night wouldn't break me. Still, my gaze drifted to the man standing before the Moon Altar. Alpha Austin Rourke: handsome, tall, and broad shouldered, wrapped in black ceremonial robes embroidered with silver wolves. Even standing completely still, he commanded the clearing without saying a word. Warriors lowered their eyes when he passed. Elders respected him. Children admired him. He was everything an Alpha should be. And every time I looked at him, my heart betrayed me. For weeks, I'd felt something strange whenever he was near, an invisible pull I couldn't explain. It wasn't the foolish crush I'd once convinced myself I had. It felt different, as though some unseen thread connected us. I had buried the feeling before it could become hope. Hope was dangerous for someone like me. Mother Selene stepped onto the altar. Despite her age, the High Priestess carried herself with quiet authority. Her silver robes shimmered beneath the full moon as she lifted her ancient staff toward the sky. Moonlight answered. A brilliant silver beam poured over the altar, bathing the white stone in an ethereal glow. The whispers faded. Even the wind seemed to stop. Mother Selene closed her clouded eyes. "The Moon Goddess has spoken." Her voice echoed across the sacred grounds. "The woman chosen to stand beside Alpha Austin Rourke as Luna..." Every heartbeat inside my chest became painfully loud. "...is..." The pause stretched until I thought my heart might stop. "...Nerisse." My name. Everything around me disappeared. Warmth exploded inside my chest, spreading through every part of my body like liquid silver, gentle yet powerful, awakening something that had always been sleeping inside me. Then I felt it. The bond. An invisible thread snapped tightly into place between Austin and me. It was real. Every lonely night, every cruel whisper, every moment I'd questioned whether I truly belonged anywhere: for one breathtaking heartbeat, they no longer mattered. The Moon Goddess had chosen me. I looked at Austin. His silver eyes locked onto mine. Shock flashed across his face, then recognition. I watched him feel the bond. I saw it in the slight catch of his breath, the tiny widening of his eyes. For the briefest moment, something warm flickered across his face. Then it vanished. His expression hardened into cold, polished stone. "There has been a mistake." The words struck harder than any slap. Gasps rippled through the crowd. Mother Selene tightened her grip on her staff. "The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes, Alpha." "I believe she has." Without waiting for permission, Austin stepped down from the altar. Each step echoed through the clearing. He stopped only a few feet away from me, close enough that I could see the tension in his jaw, close enough that I could feel the warmth of the bond still pulling us toward one another. His eyes slowly swept over my borrowed dress before returning to my face. "So..." His voice was calm. "This is the woman fate believes should rule beside me." I swallowed hard but said nothing. He continued. "A Luna is more than an Alpha's mate." His voice carried effortlessly across the gathering. "She commands warriors if I fall. She protects our people. She defends our borders. She raises the next generation of Alphas." His gaze never left mine. "She must be strong enough to carry the weight of an entire pack." The bond in my chest tightened painfully. "Tell me, Nerisse..." His voice softened just enough to cut deeper. "How many battles have you fought?" I remained silent. "How many enemies have you defeated?" My fingers curled into my palms. "You have no wolf." Every word landed like a blow, as if someone had removed my heart and squeezed it inside a cheesecloth. "And you cannot even protect yourself." He looked around at the gathered wolves before speaking again. "Am I expected to gamble the future of my people on faith alone?" A murmur swept through the crowd. "He has a point." "But she's the Goddess's choice..." "No Alpha has ever questioned the Choosing." "What if the Goddess is testing him?" "If she truly chose the orphan..." "Then rejecting her could bring disaster." The clearing divided into uneasy whispers. Austin ignored them all. His eyes remained fixed on me. "I will not risk this pack," he said quietly. "And I will not accept a Luna who cannot stand beside me as an equal." A sharp ache spread through my chest, not because his words surprised me, but because a part of me had always hoped he would see me before he saw the orphan everyone else believed I was. Mother Selene struck the end of her silver staff against the altar. The sharp crack echoed through the clearing. "The Moon Goddess has revealed your fated mate, Alpha Austin," she said, her voice steady despite the growing unrest. "The bond has awakened. It cannot be dismissed simply because it displeases you." Austin finally looked away from me. His gaze swept across the gathered Alphas and elders. "I have spent the last five years rebuilding this pack." His voice carried with the confidence of a man born to command. "I have buried warriors who died defending our borders. I have fought rogues who wanted our lands. Every decision I make determines whether my people live or die." He paused. "So tell me: how does placing a wolfless woman beside me protect the future of the Crescent Moon Pack?" Several elders exchanged uneasy glances. One Alpha nodded slowly. "He speaks wisely." Another frowned. "But wisdom does not place us above the Moon Goddess." "No Alpha has ever refused his fated mate." "And no Luna has ever been unable to shift," someone argued. The clearing erupted into arguments. Some voices defended Austin. Others warned that openly rejecting the Goddess's choice would bring consequences no one could predict. I barely heard them. The bond inside me still pulsed softly, refusing to let me forget that every cruel word came from the man fate had chosen for me. Austin raised his hand. The arguments stopped. "I refuse this bond." Mother Selene's face hardened. "You may refuse the woman." Her voice was calm. "But no Alpha has the power to reject what the Moon Goddess herself has blessed." "I disagree." He turned toward the front row. "Seraphine." A woman dressed in crimson stepped forward. She moved with effortless grace, her golden hair shining beneath the moonlight. Seraphine Ashcroft, daughter of Alpha Victor Ashcroft, one of the oldest and strongest Alpha bloodlines in the North. She stopped beside Austin as though she had always belonged there. Austin reached for her hand, and she slipped her fingers into his without hesitation, as if this moment had been expected. "I will marry Seraphine during the next Blood Moon Ceremony," Austin announced. "Our union will strengthen both packs, secure our borders, and unite two respected bloodlines."