CHAPTER ONE
1378 Words
NADIA'S POV
The night was meant to be mine. Mine alone.
I stood at the centre of the moon crest pack club, my hands trembling around the crystal glass Lana had insisted I hold.
The room shone with bright lights and floating candles.
Music hummed low and sweet, serenading the air. Even laughter wasn't left out. It rang from the lips of everyone in there.
Above, my name dangled in glowing runes right on the stage.
Nadia turns eighteen. The very age I had looked forward to since childhood.
My heart beat so fast it began to hurt. “Smile,” Lana whispered beside me, her hand adjusting the silver ribbon in my hair.
“You look like you're about to faint. Take a chill pill girl.”
“I'm just nervous,” I blurted, managing a smile. A weak one. “What if he doesn't feel it too?”
She squeezed my hand, her eyes rolling. “David's crazy about you. Everyone knows.’
I believed her. I wanted to.
David stood across the room, tall and proud, his dark hair perfect, his alpha blood singing through the hall.
I felt it then. A strange pull in my chest. It was warm, sharp, almost electric.
The mate bond.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. “She feels it,” someone whispered.
My breath caught in my throat. I searched for David's eyes. This was it. This was the moment every wolf girl dreamt of.
Slowly, David turned. He did not smile. His gaze swept over me, cold and sharp, like I was something unpleasant he had stepped on.
The music died.
“What is this?” He roared, his voice echoing off the stone walls. “Is this a joke?”
My smile froze. “David?”
He wallet closer, halting inches from me. I could perceive his disgust. It burned worse than fire.
“This is my mate?” He sorted, laughing. “Is this what the moon goddess thinks I deserve?”
Silence descended upon the room.
My chest tightened, the bold twisting inside of me like something alive was being torn.
“David, please,’ I whispered. “If I did something wrong, tell me.”
He leaned down, his voice low but cruel. A sinister laugh trailed from his lips. “Look at you. Plain, weak and stupid. You're even dressed like a servant on your own birthday.”
A few people laughed nervously. I felt tears burn my eyes. “You didn't say that before. You never did.”
“That's in the past,” he snapped. “Before I realized I could do better.”
My knees shook. The mate bond screamed, then I felt it crack.
David stepped back, his voice raising. “Let this be clear. I reject this bond.”
A sharp pain exploded in my chest. I gasped, dropping the glass. It shattered at my feet, splashing around.
“No,” I cried. “You cannot do this. Not like this.”
He shrugged. “Watch me.”
I ran, the hallway lights blurring as tears flooded my vision. My lungs burned from exhaustion, but I didn't stop until I reached the back corridor near the old meeting rooms.
That was when I heard it.
Soft breaths and a low growl. I slowed, curious.
Them I saw them. David and Lana, pressed against the wall. Her dress was pulled down her shoulders and his hands tangled in her hair.
Her lips were swollen, his mouth on her neck.
“David!!” She whispered, breathless. “What if someone sees us?”
He laughed softly. “Let them “
My heart shattered into a thousand pieces. I stepped back but the floor creaked.
They froze.
David turned first, his eyes locking on mine. For a moment something flickered there.
Then he smiled. “Nadia,” he said calmly. “Perfect timing.”
Land gasped, dumbstruck. “Nadia, I can explain.”
“Don't,” I whispered. My voice sounded broken even to myself. “Please, don't try to.”
David pulled closer. “Explain what? That you were never enough?”
He pressed his forehead to Lana's “You're mine.”
The words slammed into me like a sharp blade. I screamed.
“Get away from her,” I cried. “She is my best friend.”
Lana's eyes filled with tears. “I never meant for this to happen, Nadia. The bond chose me.”
“The bond did not even finish forming,” I sobbed. “You stole him.”
David scoffed. “Do not flatter yourself. You were never a real choice.”
I took a step toward him, my eyes dark with fury. “You humiliated me in front of everyone.”
“And?” He replied. “You should be grateful I didn't do worse.”
I stared at him, the pain in my heart hardening. “I loved you, with all my heart.”
His gaze hardened too. “Love is for equals. You are a peasant compared to her.”
Lana flinched.
“I reject you fully,” David blurted, his voice cold and fierce. “Leave, and for not embarrass yourself by crying again.”
Something inside of me died.
I turned and ran.
I didn't know where I was going but my feet carried on, even past pack grounds and the trees until I reached the old school field.
The grass was wet and the moon shone low above me. I collapsed to my knees, my chest burning.
My bond felt like a wound that'd never heal. “Why? What did I do wrong?” I whispered.
A shadow moved. I looked up, fear charging through me. A man stepped out of the darkness.
He was tall. Taller than David. His presence pressed down on the air itself, his eyes glowing in the dark.
His scent hit me next, a bit appealing.
Earth. Smoke. Power. I could feel them all around him. Strong and intense.
“You did nothing wrong,” he said softly. I scrambled back, frightened.
“Stay away from me.”
He halted a few steps away. “I won't hurt you, unless you ask me to.”
I laughed bitterly. “I have had enough pain for one night.”
His eyes softened, then he drew closer. “Pain is what shapes us.”
“Who are you?” I demanded, refusing to be swayed by his sweet words, and voice.
“A stranger,” he responded. “For now.”
I hugged myself, sobbing a bit. “If you came to mock me, then you might as well leave.”
“I came because I felt your bond break. I could feel the pain in you from a distance away.”
I stared at him, stunned. “You felt it?”
“Yes.”
“Then you're aware of what they did to me?*
“I do. I'm totally aware.”
Anger surged through me, my hands tightening into fists. “They deserve to die. To suffer.”
His lips curled into a dangerous smile. “That's why I'm here.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, stiffening.
“I can teach you,” he said. “Teach you how to make them pay, and how to turn your weakness into power.”
My heart raced in excitement, only to stop. “I am nothing.”
My shoulders dropped low.
“Nah. You are unbroken,” he corrected. “That's what matters the most.”
“I can't do anything. I'm just an omega girl.”
He stepped closer, the ground humming around his boots. Or so I thought.
“You are more than they ever let you believe.” Then his eyes darkened.
“Say the word,” he whispered, “and I will show you what real strength feels like.”
My eyes brightened in excitement. Then it faded almost as quickly as it came.
“What do you want in return?”
“Loy
alty,” he said. “And courage.”
He leaned forward and for a split second, his canines lengthened. Sharp and deadly.
“Who are you?” I asked, still confused.
“You'll find out soon enough.”
- Writer
