Chapter One - The Wedding
951 Words
Chapter One
The Wedding
The entire pack was staring at me.
Three hundred wolves filled Blackwood Hall, dressed in black and silver, their voices echoing beneath the vaulted ceiling of the Alpha House. Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead while white roses lined the aisle leading to the altar.
Everything looked perfect.
Everything except the knot twisting in my stomach.
“You look beautiful.”
I forced a smile as my best friend, Nora, adjusted the delicate veil resting over my dark hair.
“Beautiful enough to become Luna?” I whispered.
“You’ve been his mate since you were eighteen.” She squeezed my hand. “Today is just the ceremony.”
Mate.
The word sent warmth rushing through me.
Alpha Kael Blackwood.
I’d loved him for as long as I could remember.
He’d been ten when I first arrived at Blackwood Pack, a frightened orphan covered in dirt after rogues destroyed the only home I’d ever known. He’d stood in front of me with a wooden practice sword and declared, “No one’s hurting you again.”
He’d kept that promise.
When the Moon Goddess revealed we were fated mates, the whole pack celebrated.
Our future had always seemed inevitable.
Alpha.
Luna.
Forever.
A cheer erupted from outside.
“He’s here,” Nora breathed.
My pulse leapt.
This was it.
The doors opened.
Every wolf in the hall stood as Alpha Kael stepped inside.
The air changed the moment he entered.
Six-foot-four.
Broad shoulders beneath a tailored black suit.
Dark hair.
Cold grey eyes.
Power rolled from him in waves, demanding attention without a single word.
My mate.
My future husband.
The man I’d waited my entire life to marry.
But something was wrong.
He didn’t smile.
He didn’t even look happy.
His expression was carved from stone.
I swallowed.
Maybe he was nervous.
Alphas carried the weight of an entire pack. Weddings were political events as much as celebrations.
He climbed the steps toward the altar without taking his eyes off me.
Not once.
Not even when Elder Rowan asked us to join hands.
His fingers brushed mine.
Ice.
No squeeze.
No reassuring smile.
Nothing.
The unease inside me deepened.
“Alpha Kael Blackwood,” Elder Rowan said. “Do you stand before the Moon Goddess ready to accept Isla Hart as your Luna?”
Silence.
An uncomfortable murmur rippled through the guests.
Kael’s jaw tightened.
Then he looked directly into my eyes.
There was no love there.
No warmth.
Only disappointment.
“I have something to say.”
Every conversation in the hall stopped.
I frowned.
“Kael?”
He ignored me.
“I’ve spent the past week uncovering the truth about the woman standing beside me.”
Confusion spread through the crowd.
My heart stumbled.
“What truth?” I whispered.
His voice echoed across the hall.
“My mate has betrayed me.”
A sharp gasp swept through the room.
I stared at him.
“I… what?”
“You met another Alpha in secret.”
My stomach dropped.
“I’ve never—”
“You lied to me.”
“No.”
“You planned to sell Blackwood Pack’s territory.”
“No!”
The word tore from my throat.
“I didn’t!”
He reached into his jacket.
Several photographs fluttered onto the polished floor between us.
My knees weakened.
They showed me speaking to a stranger in the forest.
Only…
The images had been taken from impossible angles.
Cut together.
Edited.
I’d never even seen the man’s face.
“Kael,” I whispered desperately. “Someone’s lying to you.”
“I trusted you.”
His voice was quieter now.
More dangerous.
“I gave you my name.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Look at me.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Please… just look at me.”
For one fleeting second, something flickered across his face.
Doubt.
Hope surged inside me.
He knew.
He knew I would never betray him.
Then a voice rang out from the crowd.
“She doesn’t deserve to be Luna.”
Another followed.
“Traitor.”
Then another.
“Send her away.”
The whispers became shouts.
I looked desperately around the hall.
Faces I’d grown up with.
People who’d watched me become an adult.
None of them stepped forward.
Not one.
Kael drew a slow breath.
His eyes hardened.
“I reject you.”
The world stopped.
“No…”
“I reject you, Isla Hart, as my mate.”
Pain exploded through my chest.
It felt as though invisible claws ripped through the bond connecting our souls.
I screamed.
The sound echoed through the hall as I collapsed onto the marble floor, clutching my chest.
Every breath burned.
Every heartbeat felt like another piece of me shattering.
Someone laughed.
Someone else looked away.
The bond was breaking.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Not on our wedding day.
Not like this.
My vision blurred.
The chandeliers above dissolved into streaks of light.
Then…
Something impossible happened.
The pain vanished.
Completely.
A strange warmth spread through my body.
Soft at first.
Then brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter.
A silver glow burst beneath my skin.
The marble floor beneath me cracked.
Every candle in the hall flared at once.
The air filled with the scent of moonflowers.
Outside…
Hundreds of wolves began howling.
Not one.
Not ten.
Hundreds.
Every wolf in Blackwood Pack froze.
Elder Rowan’s face drained of colour.
“No…” he whispered.
His horrified eyes locked on mine.
“It can’t be.”
A voice echoed through the hall.
Not spoken.
Not heard with ears.
Heard inside every soul present.
“The Moonborn has awakened.”
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