ALPHA'S FORBIDDEN MATE

The moon ceremony

Chapter 002

The Moon Ceremony

SEBASTIAN

I stood in front of the cracked mirror in my room, holding up the new shirt I’d bought for the Moon Ceremony. It was dark blue, simple but clean, and it cost me half the money I’d stashed in the safe under my bed. I’d built that hiding spot myself, carving out a small compartment in the wooden floorboards to keep what little I had safe.

I opened it last night, counted out the coins, and headed to the market at dawn. The shirt wasn’t fancy, but it was better than the worn-out rags I usually wore.

“Why am I even doing this?” I muttered, tossing the shirt onto my bed. I sat down and ran my hands through my hair. “It’s just a stupid ceremony. He’s not gonna notice me.” But deep down, I knew why I’d spent the money. It was for Darius.

Everything I did these days felt like it was for him. I’d probably have to scrub dishes at the market for a month to make that money back, but I didn’t care. If there was even a tiny chance I’d catch his eye tonight, it was worth it.

I stood up and grabbed the shirt again, holding it against my chest. “Okay, Sebastian, don’t be an i***t,” I said to myself. “You’re going to the ceremony, you’re gonna look decent, and you’re gonna… what? Stare at him like a creep again?” I groaned and started unbuttoning my old shirt. “This is so stupid. I’m so stupid.”

“Hey, at least you’ll look good while you’re being stupid,” my wolf, Alisander, piped up in my head. He’d been quiet all morning, probably because he knew I was a nervous wreck.

“Shut up,” I snapped, but I couldn’t help smiling a little.

Alisander was the only one who got me, even if he was just a voice in my head. I slipped on the new shirt and looked in the mirror again. It fit well, hugging my shoulders without being too tight. I wasn’t big or muscular like the betas or alphas, but I wasn’t scrawny anymore either. Years of odd jobs had given me some muscle, even if I was still an omega.

“You think he’ll notice?” I asked Alisander, smoothing the shirt down.

“Does it matter?” he replied. “You’re going for you, not just him. Get out there and have some fun for once.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right. Fun. Because standing around by myself at a pack event is so much fun.” My friends used to drag me to these things, but over the last couple of years, they’d moved on. Gotten mates, joined the pack’s guard, or just decided I wasn’t worth the effort anymore. I didn’t blame them. I wasn’t exactly great company, always distracted, always thinking about Darius.

I grabbed my boots and sat on the edge of my bed to lace them up. “I’m only going to see him,” I admitted out loud.

“That’s it. One good look, maybe sketch him later, add it to the collection.” My walls were already covered with drawings of Darius, but I could always make room for one more.

“Then get moving,” Alisander said. “You’re gonna be late.”

The pack house was packed when I got there. The courtyard was lit up with torches, and the air smelled like roasted meat and fresh bread. Tables were piled high with food—whole chickens, loaves of bread, bowls of fruit. The pack didn’t skimp on Moon Ceremonies, and Darius always made sure there was enough for everyone to take home leftovers. That’s the kind of Alpha he was. He was very fair and generous. And he was the perfect man in the pack.

I stayed near the edge of the crowd, my hands stuffed in my pockets. Nobody paid me any attention, which was fine by me. I wasn’t here to make friends. I scanned the courtyard, looking for him. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears.

“Where is he?” I muttered under my breath.

“Patience,” Alisander said. “He’s the Alpha. He doesn’t just wander out.”

Before I could snap back, a hush fell over the crowd. I looked up, and there he was. Darius stepped onto the raised platform at the front of the courtyard, his broad frame silhouetted against the flickering torchlight. My breath hitched.

He was wearing a dark green tunic that made his eyes stand out even more, and his long dark hair was pulled back, showing off the sharp lines of his face. He raised a hand, and the crowd went dead silent.

“People of the pack,” Darius said, his deep voice carrying over the courtyard. “Tonight, we gather under the Moon Goddess’s light to give thanks for another year. We pray for fertility, for blessings, for fruitfulness in our lands and our lives. May the Goddess guide us, protect us, and strengthen us.”

“Aye!” someone shouted from the crowd, and others echoed it.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him. “He’s so…” I whispered, trailing off. I didn’t even have the words. Every time I saw him, it was like the first time. My hands itched for a pencil, but I’d have to settle for memorizing every detail—the way his shoulders filled out his tunic, the way his voice seemed to wrap around me, even from this far away.

“He’s just a guy,” Alisander said, but I could hear the amusement in his tone.

“Yeah, a guy who’s way out of my league,” I muttered. I shifted my weight, trying to get a better view through the crowd. Darius stepped down from the platform, and people started cheering, clapping him on the back as he moved through them. I wanted to get closer, but my feet felt glued to the ground.

“Don’t just stand there,” Alisander said. “Go say something.”

“Like what?” I hissed under my breath. “Hey, Alpha, I’m the omega who’s been drawing you for years? Yeah, that’ll go great.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” he said.

I shook my head. “Not happening.”

The moon soon rose high in the sky, full and bright, and the energy in the courtyard shifted. People started shouting, laughing, pulling off their clothes as they prepared to shift. The hunt was about to begin—the part of the Moon Ceremony where the pack ran through the woods, chasing game under the moonlight before coming back to feast. I stayed where I was, leaning against a tree as the crowd thinned out.

Darius was at the front, already shifting. His wolf was massive, standing at least six feet tall, with sleek black fur and glowing blue eyes. He was the only black wolf in the pack, a trait that ran in his family. I watched, my mouth dry, as he threw back his head and let out a howl that made my skin prickle. The other wolves joined in, their howls echoing through the night.

I couldn’t stop the thought that popped into my head. “If I was his mate,” I whispered, “would our kid have a black wolf?” It was a stupid thought, but it made my chest ache.

“I wanted that. I wanted him. I wanted a life I could never have.”

Before I could dwell on it, someone shoved past me, nearly knocking me over. “Move it, omega!” a voice growled. I stumbled, catching myself against the tree as another wolf pushed by. The hunt had started, and the wolves were tearing into the woods, their paws thundering against the ground.

“Great,” I muttered, stepping back to avoid getting trampled. “Just what I needed.” My wolf was small, barely half the size of the others, and weak. There was no way I could keep up with them, and I wasn’t about to humiliate myself trying.

“I’m staying right here,” I told Alisander.

“Suit yourself,” he said. “But you’re missing out.”

“On what? Getting run over?” I slid down to sit at the base of the tree, pulling my knees to my chest. The woods were alive with howls and the sounds of the hunt, but I felt more alone than ever. “I just wanted to see him,” I said quietly. “That’s all. I didn’t need all this.”

I stayed there, staring at the moon, until the pack started trickling back. The air was filled with laughter and chatter as people shifted back to human form, grabbing their clothes and heading to the tables to eat. I scanned the crowd, looking for Darius, but he was nowhere in sight. My stomach sank.

“Where is he?” I muttered. “I came all this way, and I don’t even get to see him?”

I stood up, brushing dirt off my new shirt, when something tugged at me. Not a physical pull, but something deeper, like a rope tied around my gut, yanking me forward. I froze, my heart racing.

“What the hell is that?” I said.

“Follow it,” Alisander said, his voice sharp with excitement.

I didn’t know why, but I listened. My feet moved before I could think, carrying me away from the courtyard and toward the pack house.

The tug grew stronger, pulling me through the halls, up a staircase, until I stopped in front of a door. It was wide open, and inside, on a massive bed, sat Darius. He was naked, his hand moving lazily over himself, his eyes half-closed.

“Holy s**t,” I screamed in my head, my whole body going rigid. But that wasn’t all.

“Mate,” Alisander’s voice said, loudly.