The sacred stones burned beneath Selene's bare feet as she stood at the center of the grove, the weight of hundreds of wolfish eyes pressing against her skin like claws. Above them, the blood moon hung swollen and heavy, casting the clearing in crimson light that painted the pack's faces in shades of hunger and judgment.
This was supposed to be my salvation.
The ceremonial silver draped over her shoulders meant to honor the rare shadow wolf chosen as the Alpha's mate felt like a mockery now. The metal bit into her collarbone, a cruel reminder of the destiny that had dangled just out of reach her entire life. Kael, her fated mate, stood across from her, his golden eyes as unreadable as the frozen river that cut through their territory. The bond between them that relentless, howling thing in her chest pulled her toward him even as his scent, winter pine and smoke, carried nothing but frost.
"Kael," she whispered, but the wind stole her voice, just as it had stolen every plea she'd ever made to this pack.
The Blood Moon Pack's Alpha, Kael's father, raised his gnarled hands. The ancient scars that mapped his arms gleamed in the firelight. "Tonight, the bonds are sealed. Let the fates be honored."
Kael stepped forward.
Selene's pulse spiked, her shadows coiling tight beneath her ribs. Finally, After years of being the outcast, the cursed shadow wolf with too much darkness in her veins, the moon had chosen her. Had given her this one fragile chance to belong.
But instead of marking her, instead of claiming her as the mate the gods had chosen for him, Kael unsheathed his ceremonial dagger. The crowd murmured, a wave of unease rippling through the gathered wolves.
Her shadow magic that slithering, living thing beneath her skin that had made her a monster long before tonight stirred uneasily.
With a motion too quick to follow, Kael dragged the blade across his palm. Blood, dark as the secrets between them, dripped onto the sacred stones between their feet. It sizzled like acid against the rock, the stench of burning salt and iron filling the air.
"I reject this bond."
The words cleaved through her with more precision than any blade.
The pack erupted into chaos.
Her shadows surged, ink-black tendrils exploded from her fingertips, lashing the air like vipers made of nightmares. Torches guttered and died as the darkness swallowed their light. Wolves stumbled back, hissing curses. Someone screamed. Kael's eyes widened, his sword half-drawn, but it wasn't fear she saw in his face.
It was, relief.
He wanted this. The realization cut deeper than the rejection. He wanted to be free of me.
"Monster," someone spat.
"Cursed thing."
"Should have drowned her at birth."
Kael didn't defend her. Didn't speak. Just watched as her magic, the thing she'd spent her life trying to control, consumed the sacred space between them.
Selene ran.
Three Weeks Later
The rotting cabin groaned under the weight of the storm outside, each gust of wind threatening to tear the patched roof away. Selene hunched over a rusted basin, scrubbing at the blood caked beneath her nails. The water had long since turned pink, but she kept scrubbing, the rough bristles of the brush scraping her skin raw.
Her reflection in the murky water was a stranger's hollow cheeks, lips chapped from nights spent biting back screams, amber eyes that had lost their fire. The shadows curled around her wrists like shackles, heavier now than they'd ever been.
A howl pierced the night, sharp as the dagger she kept under her pillow.
Selene froze.
Not a hunting cry. A warning.
The door burst open before she could reach her weapon. Cyrus, her estranged brother, collapsed at her feet, his tan skin slick with rain and blood. A gash split his side, deep enough to show the glint of bone beneath. The coppery stench of his blood mixed with the ozone of the storm.
"Cyrus"
"They're coming for you," he rasped, his fingers leaving crimson smears on her arm as he gripped her. His breathing was too fast, too shallow. "Kael's pack. They're minutes behind me."
She dragged him inside, her shadows leaping to her command, slithering over his wound in a desperate attempt to staunch the bleeding. The darkness absorbed the blood greedily, growing thicker with every drop. "Who did this?"
"Doesn't matter." Cyrus coughed, blood speckling his lips. "Liora's dead. Murdered. And they're blaming you."
Ice flooded her veins. Liora, Kael's new betrothed, the perfect, golden she-wolf he'd chosen over her. The one who'd smiled sweetly while whispering "He'll never love a monster" in Selene's ear.
"How?" The word came out strangled.
"Throat slit." Cyrus's grip tightened. "Same as your mother."
Selene recoiled as if struck. The memory rose unbidden, her mother's body sprawled across their kitchen floor, her amber eyes wide with surprise, her throat opened ear to ear. The blood had pooled so quickly, soaking into Selene's socks as she stood frozen in the doorway.
"They found your dagger in Liora's chest," Cyrus gasped.
Impossible. Hers had been stolen weeks ago, right after the rejection. She'd turned her pathetic cabin upside down searching for it.
The first snarls erupted outside, too close. The stench of wolf and iron flooded the cabin, thick enough to taste.
Too late.
Selene hauled Cyrus behind her, her shadows forming a living barrier between them and the door. Her magic thrummed with the need to fight, to hurt, to make them bleed.
The door splintered open.
Kael stood on the threshold, his golden eyes blazing, his sword drawn. Rain sluiced off his armor, pooling at his boots like a river of shadows. Behind him, a dozen pack enforcers fanned out, teeth bared.
Beta Roran, his scarred face twisted in a grin that showed too many teeth, stepped forward. "Knew we'd find you with blood on your hands, shadow bitch."
Kael didn't speak. His gaze flicked to Cyrus's wound, to Selene's shaking hands, to the shadows that coiled around her like a second skin.
Something like doubt flickered in his eyes.
Selene bared her teeth, her shadows rising in a wave of bristling darkness. "You think I'd be stupid enough to leave my own dagger at a murder?"
Silence. Heavy. Suffocating.
Then
Roran lunged.
Kael's arm shot out, blocking him with a snarl that shook the walls. For a heartbeat, the only sounds were the storm and Selene's ragged breaths.
Then Kael spoke, low and rough with something that might have been regret:
"Then prove it."