Chapter Two
1542 Words
Ava glanced at the clock and sighed. She had barely made it to work on time today, thanks to the never-ending traffic.
Her mother had warned her to leave earlier, but Ava had stayed up reading and overslept. Now, she could already hear her mom's voice in her head:
"You need to be more responsible, Ava. The world won’t wait for you."
Her family had always been loving but strict. Her mother, a teacher, valued discipline, while her father, a lawyer, believed in hard work. Ava? She just wanted a simple life.
She wasn’t ambitious like her older sister, who was climbing the corporate ladder, nor was she adventurous like her younger brother, who dreamed of traveling the world. Ava was just… Ava.
And she was okay with that.
---
A Strange Feeling
As she sorted books on a nearby shelf, a sudden shiver ran down her spine.
It was a strange sensation—like a distant whisper, a pulse in the air.
Ava frowned and shook it off. Maybe she was just tired.
But deep inside, something stirred, something that had been dormant for a long time.
She just didn’t know it yet.
…
Selene – The Perfect Luna
Selene stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the delicate lace of her designer dress. Every movement was calculated, precise—just as everything in her life had been. She was not just any woman.
She was born to be a Luna.
Not just any Luna but the Luna of Damien Blackwood the Alpha of the Shadowcrest pack
Her mate hadn’t found her yet, but she had always known who she belonged to—Damien, the Alpha of the Shadowcrest Pack.
For centuries, she had stood beside him, unwavering in her loyalty. She had turned down countless suitors, ignored whispers that called her foolish, and remained patient.
Because Damien had promised her.
"If I do not find my mate in 500 years, I will take you as my Luna."
It had been 700 years.
She had waited, believed, and endured.
Now, the whispers were growing louder.
"What if the Moon Goddess has abandoned him?"
"What if his mate comes?"
"Shouldn’t he keep his word to Selene?"
She had always drowned out the doubts before.
But lately, Damien had seemed… distant.
Not cruel. Not dismissive. But distant in a way that unsettled her.
Selene lifted her chin. It didn’t matter.
She had waited this long. She would wait a little longer.
After all, nothing could come between them
There were very few names that commanded absolute fear and respect, and his was one of them.
Damien sat in the penthouse office of Blackwood Enterprises, his fingers resting against his temple as he scanned the reports laid out before him. The floor-to-ceiling windows behind him displayed a breathtaking view of the city skyline, but Damien barely acknowledged it.
He had no time for distractions.
Outside of the business world, he was Alpha of the Shadowcrest Pack—one of the most feared and respected packs in the world. But within the corporate world, he was simply Damien Blackwood, billionaire CEO, investor, and a man who never lost.
And yet, despite his power, despite everything he had built, there was one thing he could not control.
The mate bond.
---
A Promise That Refuses to Break
"Sir, Selene has arrived," his assistant, Marcus announced.
Damien didn’t react. "Let her in."
The door opened, and Selene Duvall stepped inside, the picture of elegance. Her white dress hugged her figure perfectly, her chestnut-brown hair,cascading down in soft waves. Everything about her radiated perfection.
She sat across from him, crossing her legs as she offered him a knowing smile.
"You’ve been avoiding me," she said lightly, but there was an undercurrent of warning in her tone.
Damien exhaled slowly, placing the report aside. "I’ve been busy."
"You’re always busy," Selene said. "But never too busy for me."
He met her gaze, unreadable. "You wanted to talk. Talk."
A flicker of irritation crossed her face, but she quickly masked it.
"Damien," she said softly, reaching across the desk to place a perfectly manicured hand over his. "We’ve waited long enough. It’s been 700 years."
His jaw tensed. He didn’t need a reminder.
"You promised me," she whispered. "If you never found your mate—"
"I know what I said."
Selene smiled, as if that settled everything. "Then it’s time."
Damien didn’t respond. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, watching her.
Selene was beautiful. She was strong, intelligent, and devoted to him in a way few people ever were.
She should have been his perfect match.
And yet…
Something inside him refused to give in.
The mate bond was silent.
For 700 years, he had felt nothing. No pull. No recognition. He had begun to believe that maybe, just maybe, his mate didn’t exist.
And yet, something held him back from sealing his fate with Selene.
Something… unspoken.
---
That night, as Damien stood on the balcony of his penthouse, overlooking the glittering city below, he felt it again.
A strange tension in his chest.
A whisper of something unfamiliar.
It wasn’t the mate bond—he had long since accepted that he would never feel it. But it was something else.
Something new.
Something dangerous.
Damien exhaled slowly, gripping the railing.
Whatever it was, he had a feeling his world was about to change forever.
—
Damien Blackwood was a force of nature.
At 731 years old, he had built an empire both in the human world and the supernatural one. Humans knew him as the billionaire CEO of Blackwood Enterprises, an elite corporation that controlled technology, finance, and even pharmaceuticals.
But to those who lived in the shadows, he was something far greater.
He was Alpha King.
A ruler whose name alone made even the fiercest Alphas bow their heads.
And yet, for all his strength, there was one thing he could not control—fate.
And fate had just played its cruelest trick.
Seven centuries ago, Damien had made a vow to his best friend, Selene Everhart.
"If I don't find my mate in 500 years," he had promised, "I will marry you."
Selene had agreed, believing that if the Moon Goddess had not given them mates, perhaps they were meant for each other.
But 500 years have passed.
Then 700.
And still, he had not found his mate.
The pressure from his pack to finally take Luna had grown unbearable. His Beta, Lucian, had urged him countless times to fulfill his oath to Selene.
"She has waited long enough," Lucian had told him just days ago.
And Damien had agreed.
He would marry Selene.
Not out of love. Not out of desire. But because he had given his word.
Damien sat in his penthouse office, the skyline of New York City stretching before him. He had just finished a business call when his assistant, Marcus, entered.
"Sir," Marcus said carefully, "there’s… something you need to see."
Damien raised a brow. "What is it?"
Marcus hesitated before handing him a sealed document.
Damien took it, his sharp eyes scanning the contents. The words made his blood run cold.
"Mate identified."
His grip tightened on the paper.
Impossible.
He had searched for centuries. He had come to terms with the fact that he was never meant to have a mate.
And now—now—she appeared?
"Who is she?" Damien asked, his voice dangerously low.
“She's your mate sir” Marcus replied
"Tell me everything," Damien ordered, his voice like steel.
Marcus hesitated. "She’s twenty-four, works at a small bookstore café, and… she has no knowledge of our world."
Damien narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean she has no knowledge?"
Marcus swallowed. "I mean, sir… she doesn’t seem to be a werewolf. No record of any pack, no family connection. She’s… human."
A tense silence filled the office.
Damien's hands clenched into fists.
A human?
After all these centuries, after all his suffering, his mate was just a weak, fragile human?
His wolf growled in protest, but Damien silenced it.
No.
No, he would not accept this.
He had already made his decision.
His pack needed a strong Luna. Selene had waited for him. He would not throw her aside just because fate decided to change the rules now.
"I don’t want to hear about this again," Damien said coldly, tossing the document onto the desk. "Forget you ever saw it."
Marcus hesitated. "Sir, if she’s your mate—"
"I said, forget it."
Marcus lowered his head. "Understood.”
—
Back in his penthouse office, Damien stood by the window, staring at the city lights below.
His wolf was restless, snarling at him for dismissing the mate bond.
But Damien was not just a wolf.
He was an Alpha. A King.
And he would not let a single woman ruin everything he had built.
"Fate is cruel," he murmured to himself.
He had long believed he wasn't meant to have a mate.
And now that he did?
Why now of all the time?
Now that he had to fulfill his promise to Selene?
He would reject her.
Even if his wolf wants he need to reject her
He had no other choice.
- Writer
