Ava Sinclair didn't belong.
She knew it every time she passed the training grounds, where stronger she-wolves wrestled and laughed, their sleek muscles gleaming under the morning sun. She knew it when she brought water to the warriors and they didn't bother to thank her. She knew it most when Alpha Lucien's icy blue eyes slid right past her like she didn't exist.
Still, hope was a dangerous thing. And Ava? She held onto it with both hands.
Today was the day. The Alpha's claiming Ceremony. The day every unmated wolf in the Ironclaw Pack waited for. The day the moon goddess would reveal fated mates.
Ava stood before the shattered mirror in the corner of the women's room, adjusting her worn blue dress. It wasn't recent nothing she possessed was but she had laundered it meticulously, aligned the seams, and even placed a wildflower into her braid.
She pulled on the chain around her neck, a tiny silver pendant in the form of a crescent moon. It was the sole item she possessed from her mother, who passed away when Ava was still a puppy. Her father had disappeared shortly thereafter, and Ava was brought up by the pack's elderly healer, a woman who seldom talked and never smiled.
But Ava smiled now. Just a little.
She knew she wasn't the strongest. She wasn't fast or bold like the warrior she-wolves Serena and Mira. She didn't have status or connections. But the mate bond wasn't about power. It was about souls. About destiny. And maybe, just maybe, fate would finally see her.
She stepped outside into the cool night air. The Ironclaw Pack had gathered under the full moon.
The ceremonial area glowed with lanterns and torches, creating golden shadows around the circle of wolves. Unpaired individuals gathered in a large circle, their eyes brimming with excitement and anxiety
At the center stood Alpha Lucien.
Lofty, wide-shouldered, and deadly.
His dark hair rested just above his defined jawline, and his eyes, icy and analytical, surveyed the crowd. Power rolled off him like heat, making even the elders bow their heads in respect.
Ava's heart thudded painfully.
She had loved him in silence for years. From the shadows.
From the perihery. It wasn't solely due to his beauty or strength; it was something more profound. Something inside her that pulled every time he was near.
The Moon Priestess stepped forward, robes shimmering like starlight. She raised her arms, and quiet descended on the pack.
"On this holy night," she proclaimed, her voice resonating, "beneath the watchful eye of the Moon Goddess, may the connection of fated mates be unveiled."
A communal breath was taken. One by one, the unmated stepped forward, palms open, waiting for the pull; the spark of recognition.
Ava waited near the edge, nerves coiling like vines in her belly.
And then it happened.
Her eyes locked with Lucien's.
A wave of heat crashed over her chest, burning and bright. Her wolf howled in joy. Her knees nearly buckled.
Mate.
The word roared through her, undeniable.
Lucien moved one step closer to her, then another. His eyes grew larger, mouth opening
Ava's spirit lifted. Could it be real? After all this time, had the Moon Goddess chosen him for her?
The whispers started. The crowd shifted.
Ava was unconcerned.
She stepped ahead, tears welling in her eyes. She parted her lips to speak.
But Lucien's expression changed.
His lips curled into a cruel smirk. He chuckled low and bitter.
"A Beta like you?" he said, his voice carrying across the circle. "You must be mistaken."
Ava froze.
The crowd went dead silent.
The priestess's brow furrowed. "Alpha Lucien, the bond"
"I reject her," he said sharply, turning his back on Ava. "Before the goddess and the pack, I reject Ava Sinclair as my mate."
The words hit like blades.
Gasps erupted.
Ava faltered, her breath trapped in her throat. She was unable to move, unable to think. Her wolf wined in her heart, hurt and bewildered.
Lucien reached for Serena Voss, a golden-haired she-wolf with a victorious smirk. He pulled her close. "I have already chosen my Luna," he announced. "Someone worthy of standing beside me."
Serena lifted her chin and encircled his waist with her arm.
The pain and discomfort in Ava's chest was intolerable. Her limbs shook.
"You…., you can't…" she murmered, her voice trembling.
Lucien didn't glance at her at all.
The priestess looked down. "Ava Sinclair," she spoke gently, "you are dismissed from the claiming circle."
Dismissed.
The word echoed like a death sentence.
Ava turned, blindly pushing through the crowd as laughter followed her. Some looked away in pity. Others smirked.
Her lungs burned as she ran.
She didn't stop.
Not until the trees swallowed her whole. The Forbidden Forest was dense with darkness. The aroma of wet soil and peril permeated her nostrils, yet she was unfazed. Let the rogues find her. Let the beasts tear her apart. What did it matter?
Lucien had rejected her. Publicly. Brutally. And for what? Because she wasn't strong enough? Pretty enough? Because she wasn't Serena?
She collapsed beside a twisted tree, sobbing into her hands.
"I should've never been born," she choked.
A branch cracked.
She stilled.
Another crack closer this time. Growls followed.
Yellow eyes blinked at her from the dark. Three of them. Rogues. Dirty, mangled wolves with blood-stained muzzles and crazed eyes. They prowled forward, licking their chops.
Ava didn't move.
She didn't beg.
One leapt at her
A blur of silver cut through the dark. The rogue's body hit the ground hard, blood spraying across the forest floor.
Ava gasped.
Another growl, deep and commanding rattled the trees.
The remaining rogues turned, but they didn't get far.
The newcomer moved like a shadow. Fast. Brutal. In seconds, the threat was gone.
Ava blinked through her tears.
He stood tall, dressed in black, his golden eyes glowing like the moon itself. His presence was magnetic, overwhelming. Something in her wolf stirred, not in fear, but in awe.
He stepped forward.
"You are mine."
His voice was deep. Final.
Ava's lips parted, trembling. "Who… who are you?"
He knelt before her, brushing hair from her face.
"King Cassius Nightborne," he said. "And you, Ava Sinclair, are not the person you believe yourself to be."
Before she had a chance to reply, everything slipped into darkness