Chapter Two
1067 Words
I woke to silence. No laughter. No whispers. Just the heavy thud of my heart in my chest.
For a second, I thought I’d overslept—that maybe the other girls had left me behind and I’d pay for it later. But then I noticed. They weren’t gone. They were watching. From their bunks, eyes gleaming, lips curled in sly little smirks.
Today was different.
My eighteenth birthday. And also the annual mate recognition ceremony
I sat up slowly, pulling my ragged blanket around my shoulders as if it could shield me. The air felt heavier than usual, thick with anticipation I didn’t dare name. My wolf paced beneath my skin, restless in a way she’d never been before. For years she’d been quiet, muted, like even she couldn’t find the strength to fight back. But today? Today she stirred like the ground itself was shifting.
“Big day, isn’t it?” one of the girls drawled, stretching like a cat. Her voice dripped with false sweetness. “Maybe the Moon Goddess will finally bless you. Or maybe…” Her smile sharpened. “She’ll forget you. Again.”
Laughter rippled through the room, soft but poisonous.
“Don’t waste your prayers,” another chimed in. “If She cared about you, we’d have seen it by now.”
“Imagine,” a third girl added, her voice syrupy and cruel, “the Goddess binding someone like you to a mate. It’d be a curse, not a blessing.”
I kept my face blank as I rose, my fingers trembling only slightly as I tied my braid tighter. They didn’t need to see how badly their words landed. Not today.
Today I had to hold myself together.
Because tonight, under the full moon, the Goddess would reveal my mate.
And maybe—just maybe—everything would change.
By midday, the whole pack was buzzing. Preparations were already in full swing: garlands of ivy draped along the courtyard, silver lanterns polished to catch the moonlight. The scent of roasted boar and honey cakes carried through the air, making my stomach twist with a hunger I didn’t dare acknowledge.
I moved through the kitchen quietly, hands steady as I polished silver and arranged trays. Nobody asked for my help. Nobody thanked me. I was just another pair of hands. But still, I worked. It was easier than standing still. Easier than thinking about what tonight might bring.
“Careful with that tray,” the head cook snapped when I hesitated for half a breath too long. “You drop it, and you’ll scrub floors till dawn.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered. My throat felt raw, but I forced the words out steady.
Would the Goddess truly choose someone for me? Or would I stand there, the light of the moon touching everyone else but me?
When I allowed myself to imagine it, a spark of warmth lit in my chest. A place. A bond. Someone who saw me. My throat tightened at the thought, and I pushed it away before it could grow.
Hope was dangerous.
Hope got you hurt.
By nightfall, the pack gathered in the courtyard, the air thick with excitement. Torches flickered along the edges, their flames swaying in the cool breeze. My dress wasn’t new, wasn’t fine like the others’, but I’d scrubbed it clean, smoothing the faded fabric with nervous hands.
The moon hung high, silver and watchful, spilling its light across us all. My wolf pressed hard against my skin now, alive in a way she’d never been before. My pulse raced to match hers.
The Alpha stepped forward first. Kael.
He wore black, simple but commanding, the kind of presence that drew every eye without him even trying. My stomach clenched, not from longing but from the sheer inevitability of him—this reminder that power was something I’d never touch.
The ceremony began. One by one, wolves stepped forward into the moonlight, waiting for the Goddess to stir the bond inside them. Gasps, cheers, cries of joy filled the courtyard as pairs found each other—mates embracing, bonds glowing bright and unbreakable.
And then it was my turn.
My legs felt numb as I stepped into the circle, the moonlight spilling over me like cold water. My chest rose and fell too fast, my hands clammy against the fabric of my dress. The silence was suffocating. Everyone waiting. Watching.
The moment stretched—one heartbeat, two, three—and I swore nothing would happen. I swore this was it: proof I was destined to be alone.
Then—
Heat. Like a fire igniting under my skin, racing through every nerve. My breath caught, my wolf surging forward with a desperate, triumphant cry. My body turned, not by choice, but by instinct, pulled by a force bigger than me.
And there he was.
Alpha Kael.
Our eyes locked, and everything else vanished. His gaze was dark, burning, pulling me in like gravity itself. My chest heaved, my skin glowing faintly where the bond burned bright between us. The air was electric, charged with something I couldn’t name.
Mate.
The word wasn’t spoken, but it thundered inside me, in my bones, in my soul.
The crowd gasped, a ripple of disbelief breaking the silence. Then the whispers started.
“An omega?”
“No. That can’t be.”
“Her? As Luna?”
I stood frozen in the center of the courtyard, the glow of the bond still clinging to my skin, my heart threatening to tear itself free. Kael hadn’t moved. He just stared at me, his face unreadable, his jaw tight.
“Tell me this is some mistake,” one elder murmured from the crowd.
“Impossible. The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” another hissed back.
Kael’s Beta stepped forward, eyes flicking between me and his Alpha. “Alpha…?” His tone was careful, like he was testing the ground before stepping on it.
Kael’s lips parted, but he didn’t speak. His eyes stayed locked on mine, sharp, searching, almost angry.
The whispers grew louder. Crueler.
“She’ll ruin us.”
“She doesn’t belong at his side.”
“Not her. Anyone but her.”
My ears burned with them.
I should have felt joy. Relief. But all I felt was fear.
Because the Goddess had chosen me.
And the pack would never forgive Her for it.
- Writer
