Moonless Mate: The Eye of Fate

Who is Kade Throne?

IVY

Can people smell when you have been f****d and left hanging dry? If they could, that would explain the stare I was getting as I passed through the hallway.

The academy felt like a maze designed to suffocate me.

Everyone looked at me like I was something to dissect, to study, to categorize. But I knew better than to shrink under their gazes. I had spent my entire life being told to be small, to be invisible, to fit into the mold that would restore my family’s name. My mother’s words echoed in my head:

Keep your head down, Ivy. Learn. Win.

I wasn’t sure what winning even meant in this place.

My encounter by the lake still lingered on my skin. The phantom of his touch burned like something I should have been afraid of but wasn’t. I didn’t even know his name, but the bond we shared—the one that shouldn’t have existed—had pulled me into something far beyond reason.

I shook off the thoughts and pushed open the door to my dorm room. I barely had a second to process the space before I was met with a squeal.

“Thank the goddess, my roommate is actually hot! I was worried I’d get paired with someone who smelled like old socks.”

A girl with fiery red curls and hazel green eyes sprawled across the bed closest to the window. Her grin was perfect and charming.

“You must be Ivy,” she continued, sitting up. “I checked the roster. I’m Gina. Free spirit, life of the party, and your new best friend. You’re welcome.”

I blinked. “I—”

“Are you a serial killer?” She tilted her head. “I feel like I should ask that upfront. Just a precaution.”

I arched my brow. “No.” I gave her a smile, already liking her.

“Perfect. Then we’re going to get along great.”

She patted the bed beside her, but I opted to sit on my own instead. The room was surprisingly large, walls lined with bookshelves, a shared closet space, and a massive window overlooking the training grounds. It felt temporary, like a place you stayed while waiting for something bigger. Maybe that was the point.

Gina flopped onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. “So, have you heard? The Alpha’s son is here this year.”

I blinked. “And?”

She gasped, clutching her chest dramatically. “And? That’s all you have to say? Girl, do you live under a rock?”

I debated telling her that, metaphorically, I kind of did. My life had never revolved around the politics of the academy. I was too busy surviving my own history.

Gina rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “Kade Thorne. The most eligible bachelor in our generation. Future Alpha hopefully if he gets selected by the Eye, rumor has it that he is one of the top students. The guy every girl here wants a piece of.”

I frowned. The name itched at the back of my mind, but I had no reason to care. “Let me guess. He’s arrogant, brooding, and impossible to impress?”

She laughed. “Exactly! But apparently, he’s also incredibly—” she wiggled her eyebrows—“skilled.”

I groaned. “Spare me the details.”

She smirked. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m plenty of fun.”

“Prove it. Who’s your crush?”

I stared at her. “You and I just met five minutes ago.”

“So? Spill.”

My mind betrayed me, flashing back to the lake, to the pull, to the way my entire body had come alive the moment I saw him. My mate. My scientific impossibility. My cosmic mistake.

I swallowed. “No one.”

Gina eyed me suspiciously but didn’t press. Instead, she stretched and sighed dramatically. “Well, if you change your mind, I’m a great wingwoman.”

I wasn’t sure if I was amused or exhausted. Maybe both.

As she kept talking about the latest gossip, I let my mind wander. The history of our world had been rewritten long before we were born. The Great War had torn everything apart—packs, clans, entire realms. Too many deaths. Too much chaos. The Eye had been formed to prevent another disaster. Witches, wolves, and other creatures had been divided, forced into their own controlled factions. Humans remained blissfully unaware, safe in their own version of reality.

For werewolves, The Eye had established order. No more wild instincts. No more impulsive, uncontrollable wolves. The moment we were born, our wolves were suppressed, locked away until we came of age. It was safer that way. Logical. Controlled.

Mates were no longer left to fate. Science made the choices for us, eliminating the complications of multiple bonds, heartbreak, and war over territory. It was the only way to maintain peace.

And yet—

I pressed my palm against my chest, feeling the ghost of the bond beneath my skin. Something inside me had awakened. Ancient, real and impossible.

Gina’s voice pulled me back to the present. “So, what’s your deal? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

I forced a smirk. “Maybe I have.”

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, but before she could pry, the academy bells rang, signaling lights out. She groaned and stretched again. “Ugh, fine. I’ll interrogate you tomorrow. Get ready for training. It’s brutal.”

I nodded absentmindedly and climbed into bed. I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts drifted back to the lake, to the stranger who had shattered everything I thought I knew about the world.

Sleep didn’t come easily. I had a feeling my life had just taken a turn I wasn’t prepared for.

*****

Striding into class early the next morning and I was welcomed by a strong pull. The scent hit me first, my stomach twisted, my fingers curled into fists, and something undeniably familiar, I turned my head just in time to see him walk in.

Gina nearly vibrated with excitement.

"That’s him! The Alpha’s son, Kade Thorn. I told you! Isn’t he just—"

My body locked up. She kept talking, but I wasn’t listening anymore.

My mate. My mate was Kade Thorn.

The same Kade Thorn who stood in front of the class like he owned the place. His eyes met mine for a fraction of a second, and I swore something flickered there. But then, he looked away. No hesitation. No recognition. No nothing.

Heat burned my skin, anger bubbling beneath it. He was acting like last night didn’t happen. Like we hadn’t—

“Pair up, One guy to a lady.”

The instructor’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. I barely caught the rest of the instructions, but the words “partner for the month” snapped me back to reality. My stomach twisted, my pulse picking up.

This was it. This was the moment he’d come over and acknowledge me. He’d choose me, because there was no other choice. We were fated. The Moon Goddess herself—

Kade turned to Sophia, the girl who had harassed me yesterday.

My breath hitched.

Sophia’s perfectly manicured hand landed on his arm, her smug smirk aimed right at me.

I felt it like a slap.

Ivy, do not lose your mind in front of all these people.

I was stiff, glaring at them as my insides twisted. The rational part of me screamed to stay calm, to ignore it, to not give them the satisfaction. But the irrational part? The part still reeling from last night? That part wanted to rip something apart.

“Hey, you good?”

A deep voice pulled me back, and I blinked up at a guy with tousled dark hair and sharp, knowing eyes.

“ I am Blaise,” he said, sticking his hand out, smirking easily. “Need a partner?”

I glanced at Kade, who hadn’t even so much as glanced at me.

“Yeah,” I bit out. “I do.”

Class ended, but the storm inside me didn’t. I barely registered anything the instructors had said. My head was too full of questions. Too full of him.

It wasn’t until I made my way toward the dorms that I felt it. A shift in the air. A pulse of something electric.

And then—

A hand closed around my wrist, yanking me into an empty corridor. My back hit the wall, and suddenly, he was in front of me. Kade.

“What the hell—”

“We need to talk.”

I jerked my arm back, but he didn’t let go. “Oh, now you want to talk?”

His jaw clenched. “Last night—”

“You mean the night you conveniently left me in the freezing cold with no word?” I spat. “ The night you forgot. Because the way you walked into class today, I was starting to think I imagined the whole thing.”

I knew he was going to break me before he even opened his mouth.

Kade stood before me, his face impassive, his jaw tight. The same lips that had whispered against my skin, the same hands that had pulled me closer, now curled into fists like he had to physically restrain himself from touching me again.

The isolation of the trees around us did nothing to soften the crushing weight in my chest. I forced my breathing to stay steady, but my heart pounded erratically, traitorous in its hope that he wouldn’t do what I knew he was about to do.

“What happened between us—” Kade’s voice was cold, calculated. He inhaled sharply, like even speaking the words was a struggle. “It was a mistake.”

A mistake. The word felt like a blade slicing through me. I flinched, but I refused to look away from him. If he was going to do this, if he was going to rip me apart, I would make sure he saw every bit of the wreckage he left behind.

My throat burned. “A mistake?”

His fingers twitched at his sides, his entire body tense like he was fighting himself. His eyes, dark and unreadable, pinned me in place. “It shouldn’t have happened.”

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to scream. I wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him until he admitted that he felt it too. That he still felt it. That he wasn’t just throwing away something sacred, something fated, for what?

“You’re joking, Right?” I said instead, my voice raw.

Kade flinched. It was subtle, but I caught it. The bond between us was still alive, still thrumming beneath my skin, even as he tried to kill it. His wolf was clawing at him, just like mine was clawing at me. He felt it. He knew.

His jaw clenched. “No, Ivy. I’m not.”

Something in me snapped. I shoved my hands against his chest. It was like shoving a brick wall, but I didn’t care. “Then look me in the eye and tell me you felt nothing. Say it, Kade.”

He didn’t move, didn’t speak. His chest rose and fell beneath my palms, fast, unsteady. His scent, earth, cedar, and uniquely him wrapped around me reminding me of everything I was about to lose.

Finally, he exhaled. “I reject you, Ivy.”

The words detonated inside me. My entire body recoiled like I’d been physically struck. A cold, unbearable pain seeped into my bones, making my knees buckle. I clutched my chest as though I could hold myself together, but the bond was already unraveling, ripping through me like a storm I had no shelter from.

Kade’s breathing was ragged. He looked like he wanted to step forward, like he wanted to catch me before I crumpled. But he didn’t. He stayed where he was, his fists trembling at his sides.

I swallowed hard, trying to force words past the lump in my throat. “Why?”

He didn’t answer.

My vision blurred with unshed tears. “Why, Kade?” My voice cracked, and I bit my lip, swallowing the rest of the sentence. I wouldn’t beg. Not for this. Not for him.

His expression twisted, something almost like regret flickering in his eyes, but he buried it so quickly I almost doubted I saw it at all. “Because it doesn’t matter, Ivy. This—” he gestured between us, his hand curling into a fist “Was never meant to be.”

“Not meant to be?” My laugh was bitter, sharp. “That’s funny, because the Moon Goddess seems to think otherwise.”

Kade exhaled harshly. “The Moon Goddess doesn’t rule our world anymore. The Eye does. And I refuse to let fate decide my life.”

I stared at him, my chest heaving. The pain, the rejection, the utter devastation—it was all too much. I could feel my wolf wailing inside me, an agonizing howl that echoed through every shattered piece of me. My mate had rejected me. Kade had rejected me. And there was nothing I could do to stop the agony of it.

The pull between us hadn’t severed completely. Not yet. But it would. And when it did, I wasn’t sure if I would survive it.

I forced myself to straighten, ignoring the way my body screamed in protest. “Fine.” My voice was barely a whisper. “If that’s what you want.”

Kade looked like he wanted to say something, but I didn’t give him the chance. I turned on my heel and walked away, each step feeling heavier than the last. My heart was still breaking, still splintering apart inside me, but I kept moving. Because if I stopped, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to start again.

I didn’t look back. If I did, I might have seen the way Kade’s hands trembled. The way his breathing was uneven. The way his eyes burned with something that looked a lot like pain.

But I didn’t look back.

Because it didn’t matter anymore.

I was done with him.