Marked For The Alpha

Selene "Stop smiling like that," Darius said. I pressed my smile into his chest. "Smiling like what?" "Like you've already become my Luna." I lifted my head. His dark eyes were warm. Amused. We were tangled in his sheets, the early morning light slipping through the curtains. His scent—smoke and pine—was everywhere. "Can you blame me?" I asked. "Tonight is our night." My heart fluttered. I had loved Darius for as long as I could remember. Years of waiting. Years of pretending we were nothing more than an Alpha heir and a lowly Omega when other pack members were around. Years of enduring sneering remarks. Sometimes they'd shove me. Sometimes I'd pack my bag and try to run but I always stayed for Darius and tonight, he was finally going to choose me. "Everyone is going to know you're mine," I said, tapping the bridge of his nose. Darius only laughed. "I wouldn't have to sneak like this to meet you," I continued. "We could finally kiss in public." Darius pulled me closer. "You're right, my love." For a moment, I let myself believe it. Let myself feel the weight of his promise. I never believed that I could be Luna. Never thought of the possibility but now with Darius in my arms, I felt something dangerously close to hope. What if my life could actually get better from here? Then he kissed me, interrupting my thoughts and making me stop thinking altogether. But Darius had work. He always had work. Being the next in line to become Alpha meant his time was never truly his own and mine was never truly mine either. I dressed quickly after he left. My clothes from last night were folded on a chair at the side of the hidden room. It was exhausting always leaving the mansion to secret places to meet up but at least tonight, that would end. Tonight, everyone would know. I opened the door and headed back to the Alpha’s mansion. The walk there in the moonlight illuminated passageway was short but packed with tension. Once I walked through the door of the mansion, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. The hallway was empty. I slipped in and walked fast, headed down, toward the servant's quarters where I belonged. No one saw me or maybe they did and just didn't care. --- The pack grounds were already alive with preparation. I walked through the halls and saw servants hanging banners. Black and silver. The Blackthorn colours. They hung from every wall, every post, every doorway. Our colours, I thought. Soon they will be mine too. I smiled as I looked at the population of wolves in attendance. Everyone was here. Everyone would see Darius choose me. I kept walking. --- The ceremonial grounds were at the center of the pack territory. A large clearing surrounded by torches. In the middle stood a wooden stage. The Alpha's throne sat at the back and beside it, a smaller chair. The Luna's chair. My future seat. My heart leaped just thinking about it. A wolf stepped in front of me. A female. Older than me. Old Marta. She was a healer. Old and gray and bent from years of work. She had delivered me when I was born. She had held my mother's hand while my mother died. But now she was believed to be mad. All the trauma she suffered during the inter-pack clash that claimed my parents' lives—and the other things she had experienced in this pack—had messed with her brain. No one took her seriously anymore. She grabbed my wrist. Her fingers were like bones wrapped in dry skin. But her grip was strong. "Run, child," she whispered. Her eyes were wide. Scared. "Before the moon rises. Run." I pulled my hand back. "Marta, what are you talking about?" She looked around like someone might hear her. Then she leaned closer. "Some wolves are born to be loved," she said. "And some are born to be used. You were not born for love. Run." “Marta wait,” I called after her as she walked away quickly. I ran after her, trying to get her to explain what she meant but she got lost in the crowd before I could reach her. She is old, I told myself. Old and confused. Everyone knows that. No one takes her seriously. But her words stayed with me like a splinter under my skin no matter how hard I tried to dismiss them. --- The sun went down and the torches were lit. The drums began to beat. I stood at the back of the crowd with the other unmated wolves. The lowest rank. The ones no one wanted. The ones waiting for the Goddess to save them. I was one of them but not for long. The Alpha walked onto the stage. Darius's father. Tall and gray and hard as stone. He raised his hands and the drums stopped. The crowd went silent. "Tonight," the Alpha said, "the Moon Goddess will speak. She will show us who belongs to who. She will strengthen our pack. She will give us heirs." The crowd howled, my heart pounded and then Darius walked onto the stage. He looked magnificent. Black coat. Silver buttons. His dark hair was brushed back from his face. He stood beside his father like he was born to be there. Because he was. He did not look at me. He cannot look at me, I told myself. It would raise questions. Tonight, during the ceremony, he will find me. He will take my hand. He will announce me to the pack. I practiced my smile in anticipation. --- The ritual began. One by one, the unmated wolves stepped forward. One by one, the Moon Goddess touched them with golden light. One by one, mates were revealed. A female cried when she saw her mate. A male fell to his knees. A pair embraced so hard I thought they would break each other. The crowd cheered and howled and clapped. Then it was my turn. I stepped forward. The light touched me and then it pulled. Not gently. Not soft. It dragged. Like a hand had grabbed my chest and was yanking me forward. Toward the stage. Toward Darius. The priest's voice boomed across the clearing. "The Moon Goddess has spoken. Darius Blackthorn. Selene Nightborne. Fated mates." My face lit up as happiness etched itself into my features. My smile widened and my eyes brightened. He was right. The Goddess chose us. We didn't have to reject anyone. We could just be together. I started walking forward and the crowd parted. I could not stop smiling. Darius looked at me. His eyes were cold. I thought his face was just being neutral until he spoke. "The Moon Goddess is wrong," he said. I stopped walking. The crowd went silent. "I reject you, Selene Nightborne." The crowd gasped. Not the mocking laughter from before. A real gasp. The kind that follows a blasphemy. Beside the stage, the priest lowered his head. An elder covered her mouth. Someone whispered, "He can't do that. The Goddess chose her." But no one stopped him. No one spoke for me. Darius held up his hand and the whispers died. "The Moon Goddess is wrong," he said again. Louder this time. As if saying it twice made it true. “I can’t have an Omega as my Luna.”