Chapter 1

The grand hall of the Silvercrest Pack was packed wall to wall, the air buzzing with excitement. Tonight was supposed to be a night of celebration, a sacred moment when mates found each other and the pack welcomed its new Luna. Golden chandeliers glowed above, casting warm light over the polished floors, while wolves in their finest attire mingled, laughter and anticipation swirling like smoke through the air.

For Evelyn Monroe, this night had been carved into her dreams since she was a child. She had imagined the mate chosen for her by the Moon Goddess—someone strong, someone kind, someone who would see her not only as the Beta's daughter but as a woman worthy of standing at his side.

Her heart pounded in her chest like a war drum as she stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by curious eyes. And then—she felt it.

The mate bond.

It snapped into place with startling clarity, like an invisible thread weaving her soul to another. A shiver ran through her veins, both fierce and electric, as her gaze was pulled across the room.

And there he was.

Alpha Damien Blackwood.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Commanding. The kind of man whose very presence seemed to bend the air around him. His dark, wavy hair framed sharp, chiseled features, and his golden eyes—piercing and unrelenting—locked onto hers. For a heartbeat, Evelyn swore the world stilled, as though even the Moon herself was watching this sacred union unfold.

Her wolf, Aria, stirred within her, her voice fierce and certain. He is ours. Our mate.

Evelyn's breath caught in her throat. Her lips trembled with the smile she wanted to give him, the joy she wanted to release. This was fate. This was destiny.

But Damien didn't move.

He didn't speak.

His eyes, though burning with intensity, held no warmth. No recognition of the sacred bond that had tied them together.

A ripple of unease passed through the crowd. Whispers began to spread like wildfire, hushed yet sharp, the kind that cut at Evelyn's already tightening chest.

Something was wrong.

Her throat tightened as she forced herself to speak, her voice soft, uncertain. "Alpha Damien..."

He took a step forward. The entire hall fell silent, the weight of his dominance crashing over them all like a suffocating wave. Evelyn braced herself, expecting him to claim her, to honor the bond they both felt.

Instead, his voice rang out, deep and commanding, smooth but laced with cold finality.

"Evelyn Monroe," he declared, the words slicing through the silence. "I, Alpha Damien Blackwood, reject you as my mate and my Luna."

The words echoed like thunder.

For one agonizing heartbeat, Evelyn thought she must have misheard him. The pack gasped as though struck, but none louder than the piercing cry that came from within her chest.

Pain—sharp, white-hot pain—erupted inside her. It was as if an invisible claw had ripped straight through her soul. The bond trembled, splintered, then cracked like fragile glass. Aria whimpered in her mind, her wolf keening in raw agony, the sound ripping Evelyn apart.

Her knees buckled, though she forced herself to remain standing. Her chest heaved with uneven breaths. "W-What?"

Damien's expression didn't soften. He was carved from stone, his golden eyes unreadable. "You are not fit to be my Luna."

The pain doubled. His rejection wasn't just a refusal. It was a humiliation.

Around them, whispers grew louder. Evelyn heard fragments— unworthy... weak... Beta's daughter... not enough...—words that twisted the knife in her chest. Her heart pounded, and for the first time in her life, she felt small. Powerless. Invisible.

Her father, Beta Marcus, had raised her to be strong, though he was long gone now, taken by war. Her mother, Luna Seraphina, had reminded her she carried the blood of leaders. She had believed it. She had believed she was meant for more. But in that moment, before the entire pack, Alpha Damien made her feel like nothing.

Tears burned behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Not here. Not now. She would not let him, or the pack, see her break. She clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms, grounding her, forcing her voice to remain steady.

"Why?" she whispered, though her voice trembled.

Damien exhaled slowly, as though her question irritated him. His words struck like blades. "You are weak."

The hall erupted in murmurs again, some gasping in shock, others smirking as if his words confirmed what they had always believed.

Evelyn's heart shattered. Her wolf howled in her mind, enraged, devastated, but Evelyn forced herself to straighten her back. She would not cower. She would not beg.

Her voice, when it came, was sharp and cutting. "Then I accept your rejection, Alpha. May the Moon Goddess have mercy on you."

For the first time, something flickered across Damien's golden eyes—surprise, quickly masked.

Good. Let him be surprised. Let him see that she would not fall at his feet.

She turned, each step heavy, but her spine straight. She was nearly at the doors when another voice cut the silence.

"So that's it?"

Evelyn stopped, her shoulders tensing as she turned.

Selena.

The Alpha's favored warrior stood proudly at Damien's side, her lips curved in a cruel smirk. Selena, the golden she-wolf everyone adored. The one who had always looked down on Evelyn, mocking her quietly in training, belittling her behind smiles.

Damien's chosen.

The realization struck harder than a blade. He had another.

"She took that well, don't you think?" Selena purred, her voice dripping with poison as she leaned closer to Damien. "I expected tears. Maybe some begging."

Laughter rippled through the crowd, cruel and mocking. Evelyn's wolf snarled inside her, furious at the disrespect, furious at the betrayal.

Damien said nothing. He only watched. Watched her break, watched the humiliation pile upon her shoulders. His silence was worse than cruelty—it was indifference.

Evelyn swallowed the ache rising in her throat and forced herself to meet Selena's gaze. Her voice was steady, sharp enough to cut. "Only weak women beg. And I am not weak."

Selena's smirk faltered, if only for a moment.

Without another word, Evelyn turned and pushed through the doors, leaving the suffocating hall behind.

The cold night air hit her like a slap, stinging her lungs as she drew in shaky breaths. Her body trembled, though she forced herself to keep walking, her heels clicking against the stone steps. Her vision blurred with unshed tears, but she blinked them away, swallowing down the scream clawing at her chest.

Her mate had rejected her.

Her pack had laughed at her.

Her wolf wept inside her, the severed bond still raw and bleeding. Evelyn's hands shook, and for a moment, she wanted to collapse beneath the stars, to give in to the pain that consumed her.

But she didn't.

Through the heartbreak, through the humiliation, a spark ignited. A spark of defiance.

He thinks I am weak, she thought bitterly. They all do.

But she would prove them wrong.

Damien Blackwood had made the greatest mistake of his life tonight.

And one day, when she rose stronger than he could ever imagine, when the Moonfire legacy within her revealed itself...

He would know.

The pack would know.

They would all regret underestimating her.

And by then... it would be too late.