Chapter I: The Refusal
Wyatt's POV
"Miss Belinda, cancel all my meetings today."
The words were out before she'd even closed the door behind her.
"Yes, Alpha Wyatt." Belinda gave a respectful nod, then hesitated. "What about your meeting with Alpha Henry and his daughter, Amira?"
Cancel it too.
She swallowed hard. "B-but, Alpha... you'll be in trouble if you keep turning them away. The Elder Council expects Lady Amira to become your Luna."
"I don't care what the elders expect!"
My voice cracked through the office like a whip, and Belinda flinched.
I grabbed my keys and stormed out without another word, ignoring the curious stares of my pack members. Every step felt heavier than the last, my pulse hammering with a frustration I couldn't name.
Outside, I stopped beside my car and drew in a deep breath. The cool breeze brushed my face as I tilted my head to the sky. I closed my eyes, unclenched my jaw, and let the storm inside me settle.
Ten years.
Ten years I'd spent searching for the girl who saved my life—the one who stood between me and death the night the Dark Pact ambushed me.
I'd never seen her face clearly. Never learned her name.
But I remembered her hands. The way they'd shook, and held on anyway.
Everyone wanted me to accept Amira as my Luna. Everyone believed it was best for the pack.
But my wolf refused.
Because I knew, in a place deeper than reason, that the Moon Goddess had already written my fate.
And somewhere out there, the woman who'd saved me was still waiting to be found.
Amira's POV
"Father! You know how much I wanted to become Alpha Wyatt's Luna! Why does he keep rejecting our meetings?" I stormed into my father's office, my chest tight with frustration after learning that Alpha Wyatt had canceled our meeting again.
"Calm down, my princess." My father looked up from his desk, his voice steady. "Alpha Wyatt is just a little busy right now. And as we both know, this wedding will go through even if he refuses—this union was already arranged by the Elders."
"As long as I become Mrs. Vanderbilt, that's when I'll calm down, Father." Frustration still marked my face.
"Even as a little girl, you were always territorial, my princess." my fathers voice carried quiet reassurance. "Of course you'll become Mrs. Vanderbilt, whatever happens."
Ten years ago, Amira had found Wyatt unconscious beneath an old oak tree. The moment she saw his face, she'd fallen for him—and begged her father to do everything in his power to find him again.
Wyatt's POV
When I opened my eyes, I saw a girl staring down at me. My vision was blurry—I couldn't make out her face no matter how hard I tried. I blinked three times, willing my sight to clear, but nothing changed.
Before I lost consciousness, I heard footsteps rushing toward us, voices shouting, someone calling my name.
The last thing I heard before the darkness took me was her voice—thin, high-pitched, and desperate.
I came back to reality after a few minutes lost in that memory. I was standing under the old oak tree, where everything had happened all those years ago—where the memory lived and never let me go.
Every time agony crept in, every time my mind over thought or overwhelmed itself, I came here. To find myself. To remember why I kept going.
I came here to find my purpose again. And to find her.
After the outburst in my office, I felt the tension coiling in my chest—I'd lost control, and I needed air. My body moved on its own, driving fast before my mind even caught up.
I didn't need to think about where to go. I already knew.
This was the only place I ever found peace.
