Claim by the Alpha's Moon

They said tonight the moon would Mark me.

That it would brand my skin with silver and rename me what I was meant to be.

But nothing happened when I knelt beneath the glow in the Hollowfang clearing.

No change. No sign. Only silence-and the whispers of those who already viewed me as cursed.

"Another flop," somebody whispered behind me.

Head bowed, hands formed into fists. I wouldn't sob. Not here. Not now. Not one more time.

Omegas mumbled among themselves all around me, eyes darting toward the circle of the elders. They were waiting for judgment. Waiting to learn if I would at last prove myself worthy or be labeled broken for good.

I gulped.

At eighteen years old. An omega without teeth, no force, no place. Merely... nothing.

The moonlight should have called to me. Should have started something deep within. But all I felt was nothing. And shame.

Shivers went down my spine as a strong wind raced through the clearing, stirring the leaves. I raised my chin and looked at the full moon as though it owed me something. Like it was meant to leave me behind.

It didn't respond.

The air altered, not instead. Things changed. The kind of shift that made your breath catch before you even knew why.

I was struck like lightning by a smell-smoke, pine, raw power.

Blackthorn.

As he emerged from the trees, I turned.

Kael Blackthorn. The inheritance of the enemy.

Under the moonlight, his eyes smoldered. They were locked on me, too.

"You don't belong here," he said.

My neck tensed. "Then where do I belong?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he approached me directly, so close his heat permeated my skin.

Then he touched me.

Something inside me snapped as his fingertips encircled my wrist. Not mine, a scream reverberated off my skull. Something older. An ice and fire howl.

Kael drew in a breath.

And then-pain. White-hot. Ripping through my bones, piercing me like a thousand silver needles.

I gasped.

He jerked his hand back as though I had burned him.

He murmured, "What the hell are you?"

I was unaware. Whatever it was, though-it wasn't meant to be present. And now we both knew it.

The clearing exploded into mayhem. Whispers became yells. Elders stood up from their seats. Someone shoved forward; Elder Thorne's face was white.

He instructed Kael, "Let her go."

Kael stayed still. His gaze remained fixed on mine, puzzled and probing.

First I drew back. Stumbling, heart throbbing, I tried to regulate my breath. The agony had gone, yet the reverberation remained, pulsing like a second heartbeat under my skin.

Kael regarded his hand as though it had betrayed him.

"This is not possible," he mumbled.

I said swiftly, "It's not real." Far too rapidly.

I could feel him, though, his silent, persistent connection with us, deep inside me, in my blood, in every part of me that shouted mine.

I whispered, shaking my head, "No; this does not happen to people like me."

Kael slowly moved forward. "You experienced it as well."

"I didn't." My voice broke.

He slanted his head and said, "Liar."

I jerked back.

Desperation permeated my words as I asked, "Why are you even here?" "This is our rite. You don't belong in this clearing."

He softly remarked, "I might ask you the same."

I blinked. "What?"

Jaw tight, he looked at me. "You don't smell like them."

I frowned. "Of course I do. I'm Hollowfang."

"No." His eyes narrowed. "You're not."

Elder Thorne grasped my arm and drew me back before I could answer.

"Enough," he barked. "Get her out of here."

Two enforcers swung to flank me. I did not struggle. Could not. All I could think about was how Kael regarded me. Like I was deadly, like he hadn't expected anything.

Worst of all, as though I were his.

One last glance back over my shoulder as I was led away. Kael was still keeping an eye on me. Standing still where I left him. Still gripping his hand as he couldn't believe what he'd just touched.

I lowered my gaze.

Heart pounding, I let the enforcers lead me past the fire, past the jeering omegas, until the clearing was behind me.

Only then did I let myself breathe, to feel, in order to understand.

There was no refusing it now. The marriage bond had snapped into position between me, a disregarded omega, and nothing, is nothing, and him-the merciless heir of the Blackthorns.

Impossible-forbidden-incorrect.

Feeling the peculiar warmth there, I leaned a hand to my chest. The hurt, the yearning.

I closed my eyes forcefully. I couldn't desire this. I should not desire this.

Still, God help me-I did.

And I understood beyond question that everything had just changed.

Always.

As I got to my chambers, though, a folded note tumbled from my pocket. I had never seen Paper I. Recognizing the bold, angular penmanship at once, my hands trembled as I opened it.

*Tomorrow, at The border's venerable oak. Come alone. How had this gotten to me? When should one? And, more critically, why was my traitorous heart already planning to leave?