THE ALPHA'S REJECTED LUNA

The Silver Moon Packhouse had never looked more beautiful. Fairy lights hung from the tall oak trees, the bonfire in the center of the courtyard crackled high into the night sky, and the entire pack was drunk on music, laughter, and cheap beer. Everyone was celebrating. Everyone except Aria Quinn. She stood at the far edge of the courtyard, near the kitchens, in a simple faded blue dress that Elena, her older sister, had thrown at her that morning. "Wear this. At least try not to look like an Omega for once. It's embarrassing." Aria was an Omega. The lowest rank in the pack. While other wolves found their wolf at sixteen, hers had never come. She couldn't shift. She couldn't hear her wolf. She was wolfless, weak, and an easy target. For eighteen years, she had been invisible. Or worse, visible only when someone wanted to kick. But tonight was her eighteenth birthday. Tonight, at midnight, everything was supposed to change. On a she-wolf's eighteenth birthday, the Moon Goddess finally let her meet her mate. Her other half. The one person who would look at her and see her as worthy. Aria's eyes were fixed on only one person in the crowd. Alpha Kade Blackwood. He was twenty-four, six-foot-four of pure muscle and menace. Black hair, storm-grey eyes, a jawline that could cut glass. He was the Alpha of Silver Moon, the strongest Alpha in the region. He had taken over the pack from his father at twenty and had turned it into an empire. He was cold, ruthless, and he had never smiled at anyone. And he was the boy Aria had been secretly in love with since she was ten years old. "Kade will never look at you, you know," a voice purred behind her. Elena Quinn appeared, looking like a goddess in a tight red dress. Her golden hair was curled, her lips were painted. Unlike Aria, Elena was a Delta, beautiful and strong, and she had wanted to be Kade's Luna for as long as anyone could remember. "Tonight, Alpha will finally announce his chosen Luna," Elena said, sipping her wine. "And it's going to be me. Mother spoke to Luna Selene already." Aria's stomach twisted. "But... what if he finds his fated mate tonight?" Elena laughed. A cruel, sharp laugh. "Fated mates? Don't be naive. Alphas like Kade don't need fated mates. They choose power. And power is not you, little sister. Go back to the kitchen before you ruin the view." Before Aria could reply, a deep, commanding voice silenced the entire courtyard. The pack bell rang. Midnight. The bonfire suddenly burned silver. The air grew thick, heavy with power. The scent of pine, rain, and moonflowers exploded around them. It was the hour of mating. Aria felt it before she smelled it. A sharp pull in her chest, like a string tied to her heart was being yanked forward. Her knees went weak. Her blood started to boil. A scent hit her nose — dark chocolate, whiskey, and a cold winter storm. A scent she would recognize anywhere. Kade. Her head snapped up. Across the courtyard, Kade Blackwood froze. His grey eyes, which had been scanning the crowd with boredom, suddenly widened. His nostrils flared. His entire body went rigid. He was smelling her. He was feeling the pull. Their eyes met across the fire. Mate. The word echoed in Aria's soul, loud and clear for the first time in her life. It wasn't her own voice. It was deeper. Wilder. Her wolf. After eighteen years of silence, her wolf had finally awakened, and she was howling one word. MATE! Aria's eyes filled with tears. It was him. The Moon Goddess had not forgotten her. Her mate was Alpha Kade Blackwood. The strongest Alpha. The man she loved. She took a step forward, her heart pounding so loud she was sure the whole pack could hear it. Kade started walking towards her too. Slowly, deliberately. The crowd parted for him like water. Every eye turned to watch. He stopped right in front of her. He was so close she could feel the heat coming off his body. His grey eyes looked down into hers, confused, shocked, and something else... something furious. He leaned down, his lips just inches from her ear, and whispered so only she could hear, "No." Aria blinked. "W-what?" His hands clenched into fists. His wolf was fighting him, she could see it in his eyes. His wolf wanted her. But the man — the Alpha — was disgusted. He took a step back, his expression turning to ice. And then he spoke loud enough for the entire pack to hear. The music stopped. The pack went dead silent. "I, Alpha Kade Blackwood, have found my fated mate," he announced, his voice like thunder. Aria's heart leapt. He was going to accept her! But his next words shattered her world into a million pieces. "And I reject her." Gasps ripped through the crowd. Aria felt the air leave her lungs. "K-Kade?" His grey eyes were pitiless. "Aria Quinn. An Omega. A wolfless mistake. You think the Moon Goddess would pair an Alpha like me with you? You are weak. You are pathetic. You are nothing. I need a strong Luna to stand beside me, not a broken little girl who can't even shift." Elena giggled from the side, loud and triumphant. "So hear me, pack!" Kade roared. "I, Alpha Kade Blackwood, reject Aria Quinn as my mate and as my Luna! I break this bond!" And with those words, a searing, white-hot pain exploded in Aria's chest, as if someone had reached inside and ripped her heart out with their bare hands.