Chapter 3
The scent of cold, damp earth and old moss from the stone hall still clung to Alena's senses, disturbing her dreams. The echoes of her clash with Orion, the sharp words they had exchanged, pierced her like invisible ice thorns, refusing to dissolve into the darkness of sleep. Her body tossed restlessly on the overly soft bed, cold sweat beading on her forehead, even though the air in the room felt cool. In her restless sleep, her mind drifted back to one night that haunted her, the night that had forged her into what she now was.
Suddenly, she was thrown back in time, beneath the light of a perfectly round full moon, so bright it transformed the forest into a world of silver and shadows. This was the night that was supposed to be a beginning. The night of the Mating Festival. The night when destinies would be solemnized before the entire Nightclaw Pack.
Young Alena, untainted by the world's bitterness, stood amidst the cheering crowd. Her heart pounded, not from fear, but from overflowing hope. She wore a simple white gown embroidered with silver thread, a symbol of purity and hope. Her hair, then long and soft, flowed freely, adorned with a few fragrant forest flowers. Every eye was on her, and even more so, on the young man opposite her, the young Alpha who would soon claim his mate.
Orion stood with a proud posture beside his father, the great Alpha Kael, on the elevated podium. The moon bathed his handsome profile in a cold light, highlighting his sharp features. He was the embodiment of strength and charisma, yet his blue eyes, even then, carried a burden and fragility that Alena had not yet understood.
Alpha Kael, with a kind smile that concealed deep sorrow over his departed wife, began the ceremony. His voice boomed, yet was full of warmth. “Tonight, under the light of the perfect full moon, we celebrate the gift of the Mating Bond. Destiny has chosen two souls, Orion and Alena, to unite and lead the Nightclaw Pack into the future.”
Orion stepped forward, his intense gaze meeting Alena’s. Alena's heart leaped. This was her moment, the destiny she had always dreamed of since childhood. Their bond, felt since she was a little girl, was an unspoken promise, a comforting certainty in an uncertain world.
“Orion, my son,” Kael continued, “Will you accept the destiny set forth by the Moon? Will you accept your Luna, Alena, to stand by your side and lead this pack?”
Orion fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping the crowd, then returning to Alena. A thin smile, one that didn't reach his eyes, bloomed on his lips. A cold premonition pierced Alena’s heart.
“Father,” Orion began, his voice clear and firm, “I honor our traditions. I honor the will of the Moon.” He took a deep breath, his gaze hardening. “However, as Alpha, my duty is to protect our pack from weakness. Father always taught me that weakness is poison to the pack. And I… I will not allow weakness to enter my heart and my leadership.”
Silence. Alena felt her blood run cold. She didn't understand.
“Orion, what are you saying?” Alpha Kael asked, his voice now filled with worry.
Orion didn't look at his father. His eyes were fixed on Alena, his gaze filled with piercing contempt. “Alena, you are… too soft. Too fragile. You are a reminder of the fragility that almost destroyed Father. You are the weakness I reject, before the Moon and before this entire pack.”
Alena flinched, as if struck by lightning. The words cut through her chest, shattering her hopes. “Orion… what do you mean?” she whispered, her voice choked. Tears began to well in her eyes.
“I reject you, Alena,” Orion declared firmly, his voice echoing across the clearing. Those words, which should never have been spoken, were now uttered, destroying everything. “I, Alpha Orion of the Nightclaw Pack, reject our bond. I reject you as my Luna. I reject you as my mate.”
Murmurs spread among the crowd. There was shock, some whispers of sympathy, and many more implying agreement. Alena felt the pull of destiny within her writhe, then snap, leaving a gaping, cold void. The pain was so real, as if her heart had just been ripped from its place.
“You… you can’t do this,” Alena stammered, her steps faltering. “This bond… the Moon chose us!”
Orion snorted. “The Moon may choose. But the Alpha decides. And I choose to protect this pack from anything that would weaken it. You are a burden, Alena. A mistake.”
Orion’s father, Alpha Kael, stepped forward, his face pale. “Orion! Stop this! This is the Moon’s will! You cannot reject it!”
“I can, Father. And I will,” Orion replied, without taking his eyes off the now trembling Alena. “I swear before the Moon and our ancestors, that Alena will never be the Luna of the Nightclaw Pack. Leave this place, Alena. Leave and never return.”
Every word was a hammer striking her soul. Alena felt a burning sensation in her chest, not just from the emotional pain, but also a strange sensation of an alien, suppressed power, churning within her, as if enraged by the rejection. She didn't yet understand what it was, but the pain and anger began to intertwine.
“You will regret this, Orion,” Alena said, her voice turning hoarse and filled with terrifying bitterness. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but her gaze now radiated a cold fire. “Someday, you will realize what you have cast aside. And when that day comes… I will not be here to help you.”
Orion merely looked at her with an empty gaze. “Guards!” he commanded, his voice merciless. “Ensure she leaves our territory. Tonight.”
Two warriors stepped forward, hesitantly. Lena, who was then still a young warrior, stood behind, her eyes filled with deep sadness, helpless. Alena did not resist as they gently took her arms. She had no strength to fight. Her spirit was shattered into pieces.
“You have destroyed my life,” Alena whispered, only for Orion to hear. “You have taken everything from me.”
“You had nothing to take, Alena,” Orion retorted, his voice cold and emotionless. “Except your weakness. And I am freeing you from it.”
He turned, as if the conversation was over, as if Alena was merely a nuisance now removed. Alena watched him, seeing the arrogant young Alpha's back recede, and felt something within her harden. Her broken heart began to freeze.
The warriors led her away, past the crowd that now whispered false sympathy or averted their gazes. The night air, once warm with joy, now felt cold and suffocating. She didn't look back. She couldn't.
The cold sensation of emptiness continued to creep over Alena, even after the image of the Mating Festival faded. She jolted awake, gasping for breath, her heart pounding like a war drum in her chest. Her body trembled, beads of sweat covered her entire body, soaking the fabric she wore.
She was in a different bed, in a different place, years later. Yet the pain… that pain was still the same, still fresh, as if the rejection had only just happened. The eyes of the full moon peering at her through the narrow bedroom window seemed to mock her suffering.
Alena sat up, hugging her knees tightly, trying to calm her breathing. The image of young Orion, his emotionless face as he uttered those cruel words, was still so vivid in her mind. She had fled, lived in the wilderness, gathered power she didn't understand, built walls around her heart. But the memory, the wound, never faded. This was the core of who she was now—a survivor, a warrior, and a rejected woman.
As time passed, the trembling within her subsided, replaced by a familiar coldness. She stared at her palms, where the flash of her power had just manifested in her dream. It was not just pain, but also a profound strength, a power residing within her, which had grown from that destruction. She was no longer fragile. She was no longer the same girl.
Then she felt something else. A faint tremor, a subtle pull within her, as if the severed thread of destiny was now trying to reconnect, or perhaps, it had never truly broken. It resonated with Orion’s presence that she felt nearby, somewhere within these pack walls. Disgust and anger burned within her.
Alena took a deep breath, controlling it. The power within her answered her call, a calm yet potent pulse of energy. She would not let that trauma control her again. She would control it. And she would show Orion how wrong he had been. She was no longer "weakness"; she was the coming storm. A reckoning, not through destruction, but through undeniable power. Suddenly, the ancient whisper returned, no longer faint, but clear and cold, piercing her soul: "The Moon has bled, Old Moon's Blood. She comes to claim your inheritance... and the Nightclaw Pack will kneel." At that very moment, outside the window, the perfectly round full moon began to fade, replaced by a terrifying, blood-red hue, casting shadows over the entire forest.





























