Bound by the moon

THE CHOSEN

The moonlight felt cruel tonight.

It bathed the clearing in silver, lighting up the hollow eyes of my people. Children with bones too sharp beneath their skin huddled against their mothers. Warriors who had once stood tall now bent under the weight of hunger. My pack the Crescent Shadows was dying.

And I, Selena, was powerless to stop it.

“Omega.” The title clung to me like dirt that would never wash off. In the Crescent Shadows, being born an omega meant you were destined to serve, to be silent, to be overlooked. My words held no power. My dreams meant nothing. And yet, tonight, fate had twisted cruelly enough to place me at the center of every gaze.

Because the Alpha had made a decision.

“The peace treaty will be signed at dawn,” Alpha Dorian’s voice rang out, heavy with finality. “And our offering will be given.”

A shiver swept through the crowd. They knew what that meant. So did I.

My chest tightened as his eyes piercing, cold, and unapologetic locked on mine.

“Selena,” he said, my name like a sentence of death. “You will be given to Alpha Kael of the Bloodfang Pack.”

The world stopped moving.

Gasps scattered through the clearing. My heart lurched painfully, each beat echoing in my skull. Alpha Kael. Everyone knew his name. Ruthless. Unforgiving. A wolf who spilled blood as easily as others breathed. He led the largest, strongest pack for miles, and his wolves whispered that he had never once shown mercy.

And now, I was to be bound to him.

“No” the word slipped past my lips, trembling, but Dorian’s growl silenced me instantly.

“This is not a request,” he said. His gaze swept over the pack, daring anyone to challenge him. None did. They bowed their heads, resigned. Survival demanded sacrifice.

Inside me, rage fought with fear. I wanted to scream, to demand why it had to be me. But I already knew the answer. Omegas were expendable. And I… I was convenient.

“You will leave at sunrise,” Dorian added, his tone final.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. My gaze flicked over my pack the hollow eyed children, the mothers clutching them close, the warriors too weary to lift their heads. If my marriage to Kael would stop the raids, bring food, and keep them alive…

Then I had no choice.

Still, the thought of Kael’s golden eye rumored to glow brighter when drenched in blood made my stomach twist.

I clenched my fists at my sides, forcing myself to stand tall, even as the ground felt like it was crumbling beneath me. I would not break. Not here. Not in front of them.

But as the fire crackled low and the shadows thickened around us, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the moon was laughing at me. That it knew I was walking into chains, into a bond forged not by love, but by duty.

A bond that might destroy me.

The fire burned lower as the meeting dispersed, but I couldn’t move. My legs felt heavy, rooted to the ground even as the others avoided my gaze. They walked past me in silence, though their eyes said everything. Pity. Resentment. Relief that it wasn’t them.

“Poor girl,” someone whispered.

“She won’t last a week with him,” another muttered, too low for Alpha Dorian to hear.

“Better her than my daughter.”

Their voices pierced me like knives. I wanted to scream that I wasn’t weak, that I could endure more than they thought. But deep down, wasn’t that the truth? I had been chosen because my life mattered the least.

By the time the clearing emptied, my hands were shaking. I pulled my cloak tighter around myself, though the night was warm, and slipped away into the trees. The forest had always been my refuge. Tonight, it felt like the only place where I could breathe.

The scent of pine and damp earth wrapped around me. I pressed my palm to the rough bark of an old oak and tried to calm my racing heart. My life had changed in an instant. Tomorrow at dawn, I would be given to a wolf I had never met, a wolf known for spilling more blood than he spared.

Kael of the Bloodfang Pack.

I had heard the stories since childhood. That he had torn through enemy warriors without shifting. That his golden eyes could paralyze weaker wolves. That he trusted no one and ruled with an iron hand.

And now, he would be my mate.

Not by choice. Not by bond. By command.

A dry laugh escaped me, bitter and sharp. The Moon Goddess must truly hate me.

“Selena.”

I spun at the sound of my name. My younger brother, Eli, stepped out from the shadows. He was only sixteen, his frame still thin, but his blue eyes glimmered with worry.

“Eli…” My voice cracked. I rushed to him, pulling him into my arms. His familiar warmth steadied me, even as my chest ached.

“They can’t do this,” he muttered fiercely. “You’re not you shouldn’t”

“Hush.” I cupped his face, forcing him to look at me. “We don’t have a choice. You know what’s at stake. The raids will stop. The pack will have food again. Our people will live.”

“And what about you?” His voice broke. “What if he hurts you?”

I swallowed hard. Images flashed through my mind Kael’s rumored brutality, the way he left no survivors. My stomach twisted. But I forced a smile for Eli’s sake.

“I’ll survive,” I whispered. “For you. For all of us.”

He shook his head, eyes bright with unshed tears, but before he could speak again, a distant howl split the night. Low, powerful, commanding. It rolled through the forest like thunder.

The hairs on my arms stood on end. That howl didn’t belong to any wolf from our pack.

“He’s here,” Eli whispered.

My blood went cold.

I turned toward the sound, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. The Bloodfang Pack had arrived earlier than expected. There would be no time to prepare, no last chance to breathe before my fate was sealed.

The moon hung high above us, silent and merciless, as the first growls echoed through the trees.

Kael had come to claim what was his.

The night air grew heavier as growls echoed through the forest. One by one, massive wolves emerged from the shadows, their pelts dark and gleaming under the moonlight. Their eyes glowed faintly, dangerous, disciplined. They moved like predators that had hunted together for years, each step synchronized, their silence more terrifying than any battle cry.

The Bloodfang Pack.

I froze, my pulse quickening, my nails digging into my palms until they stung. Behind me, Eli clutched my sleeve, trembling.

Then he appeared.

Alpha Kael.

He walked through the ranks like a shadow given form, tall, broad-shouldered, his black cloak trailing behind him. His presence swallowed the clearing whole. His golden eyes, exactly as the stories said, burned bright as fire, scanning my pack with a cold indifference that made warriors drop their gazes to the dirt.

And then—those eyes landed on me.

I swore my heart stopped beating.

Kael did not blink. His gaze slid over me slowly, deliberately, assessing every inch as if weighing my worth. Heat rushed to my cheeks, not from desire but from the sheer force of being seen—truly seen—for the first time in years. I wanted to look away, to shrink back into invisibility. But something in me refused. I lifted my chin, though my knees threatened to give out beneath me.

His lips curved, but it wasn’t a smile. More like a predator amused by its prey.

“Alpha Kael,” Dorian’s voice broke the suffocating silence. My Alpha stepped forward, bowing his head low. “Welcome to Crescent Shadows territory. We are honored by your presence.”

Kael’s golden gaze didn’t leave mine. “You called,” he said, his voice deep, smooth, but laced with a chill that raised goosebumps along my arms. “I came. Let us not waste time.”

Dorian cleared his throat, gesturing stiffly toward me. “As promised… Selena. She will be your Luna.”

The words sealed my fate.

Gasps rose from behind me. My pack had gathered again, curious, frightened. Mothers clutched their children closer. Warriors clenched their jaws but stayed silent. No one dared challenge this arrangement. Not against Kael.

Slowly, Kael strode toward me. Each step was measured, heavy, deliberate. My heartbeat thundered louder with every pace until he finally stood before me. He was taller than I imagined, towering, his scent sharp and intoxicating a mixture of pine, smoke, and iron.

He looked down at me like a man inspecting his prize. His hand rose, fingers brushing my jaw. The touch was light, but I flinched. He noticed.

“Omega,” he murmured, his tone almost thoughtful. “They give me scraps.”

Anger flared hot in my chest. I should have bowed, should have stayed silent. But the word burned. I wasn’t scraps. I wasn’t disposable. My lips parted before I could stop myself.

“I am not scraps,” I whispered.

The clearing stilled. Even Dorian’s eyes widened in shock.

Kael’s brows lifted slightly. And thenhe laughed. Low, dark, dangerous. The sound made every hair on my body rise.

“Good,” he said, his hand falling away. “At least you have a spine. I was worried you’d break too easily.”

He turned, his cloak whipping behind him, and addressed Dorian without another glance at me. “At dawn, she leaves with me. Prepare her.”

And just like that, he walked back into the shadows, his wolves following like soldiers obeying a king. Their footsteps faded into the forest, but the mark of their presence lingered, heavy and suffocating.

When they were gone, the silence was deafening.

I couldn’t move. My body trembled, every nerve screaming with fear, anger, confusion. He hadn’t touched me beyond a single brush of his hand, yet I felt branded, claimed.

Eli’s arms slipped around me. “Selena”

But I couldn’t hear him. My thoughts were a storm, spinning out of control. By tomorrow, my life would no longer be my own.

The hours crawled. I sat in my small chamber, staring at the dim flame of a single candle. My meager belongings were already packed into a worn satchel. A comb, a threadbare dress, a small wooden wolf figurine Eli had carved for me years ago. That was all I could take of my life here.

Sleep refused to come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kael’s golden stare, felt the weight of his presence. He was unlike any wolf I had ever seen unyielding, merciless, and yet… something in his laughter lingered inside me. Not kindness. Not warmth. But recognition.

As if he had seen straight through me.

When dawn finally came, pale light spilled across my floorboards. A knock rattled the door.

“Selena,” Dorian’s voice commanded.

My hands shook as I lifted the satchel onto my shoulder. I glanced around the room one last time, the memories pressing heavy on my chest. This had been my cage and my shelter. Now, I was walking into another.

Eli waited outside, his eyes red, his fists clenched. He hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe.

“Don’t let him break you,” he whispered fiercely. “Promise me.”

I nodded, though fear clawed at my throat. “I promise.”

And then Kael was there. Mounted on a black stallion, his wolves arrayed behind him like an army. His eyes found mine instantly, unrelenting, commanding.

Without a word, he reached down, offering his hand.

My pack watched. My Alpha watched. I felt the weight of every gaze pressing me forward.

My legs moved before my mind caught up. I placed my hand in his, and in one powerful motion, he pulled me up onto the horse before him. His arm caged me in, strong, unyielding, his body radiating heat.

The bond I never wanted sealed with that touch.

The Bloodfang wolves howled, a sound that made the trees shiver. And as the horse surged forward, carrying me away from everything I had ever known, I realized the truth.

I was no longer Selena of the Crescent Shadows.

I was Alpha Kael’s Luna.

And the Moon Goddess had bound me to a man who might very well be my destruction.