Rejected Luna, Chosen Moon

"Show us your wolf, Lirael." The jeer cut through the clearing, sharp and fast. My hands curled into fists. I lifted my chin. My chest would not settle. My heart beat hard enough to hurt, and I was sure everyone there could hear it. The pack stood in a ring around me. Torches burned low near the old oaks. Shadows stretched long over the grass. Above us the moon hung big and red, like a wound that would not close. This was the Blood Moon. The night we turned eighteen. The night the Goddess showed what lived inside. I had nothing to show. She has no wolf, someone called out. Just like her mother. Empty. Weak. The words stung. Old hurt, fresh again. I had heard them my whole life. Lirael the wolfless. Lirael the mistake. My mother had been one of the bravest warriors the pack ever had. Then she was gone. No goodbye. No note. Just me left behind. Since sunset something had shifted under my skin. Warm. Soft. Not fear. Not heat. Like something old had been waiting for this night and finally woken. The crowd went quiet. The High Alpha stepped forward. His face was hard to read. Beside him walked his son Darien. Broad shoulders. Dark hair falling to his collar. Jaw set tight. At twenty four he had led three battles. People respected him. They feared him too. He walked along the line of girls. His eyes passed over each one. Then they hit mine. They stopped, like something had pulled him short. His pace slowed. My breath caught. Heat rose up fast. A word settled in my mind, clear and steady. Mate. Darien stood right in front of me. The whole clearing went still. He was taller than I had noticed before. I looked up and saw a thin mark over his left brow. His eyes were dark. Something moved under his skin. His wolf. Restless. Loud. Pulling toward me. I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. Then his gaze dropped. Not to my face. To my shoulder. My tunic had slipped a little at the neck. His skin went pale. There on my skin was a shape. A thin crescent. Silver and bright. I had not known it was there. Darien stepped back fast, like I had burned him. Darien, I whispered. He looked out over the crowd, searching. Then his eyes came back to me. His face went closed. Flat. The bond is real, he said, loud enough for all to hear. I do not deny it. But I will not accept it. My blood turned cold. What are you saying. You have no wolf, he said. No strength. That mark means nothing. It is not mine to claim. You feel it too, I said. I know you do. I feel it, he said. And I will break it. He drew himself up. I, Darien, Alpha of Shadow fang, reject you, Lirael. You are nothing to me. You are nothing to this pack, Leave now and do not come back. Silence hit. Then whispers. Then jeers. Guards moved in from the sides. The silver crescent on my shoulder did not fade. It glowed brighter, warm and angry. Darien turned away. He walked to Seraphina. took her hand held it high for everyone to see. The guards took my arms, firm and unkind. They led me toward the dark trees, I did not fight. I watched him stand beside her. I felt the bond in my chest pull and ache. It would not break. As the woods swallowed the light I knew one thing for sure. He had not just turned me away. He had sent me into danger.