Rise of the Broken Omega

The scent hit her first-cedarwood, smoke, and rain.

Her mate.

Aria froze mid-step, heart thudding. The mating ceremony blazed around her, filled with the scent of fresh pine and howling drums, but she could only hear her own heartbeat. This was it. The Moon Goddess had chosen.

She turned.

And locked eyes with Alpha Kade Blackthorn.

Six-foot-four of pure dominance, heir to the most powerful pack in the realm, and the male every unmated she-wolf dreamed of. His dark hair ruffled in the wind, his silver eyes flickering with something unreadable.

Shock? Recognition?

No-disgust.

Aria's lips parted. "You're my-"

"No." His voice cut through the crowd like a blade. "This is a mistake."

Gasps rippled around them. Wolves shifted uncomfortably. Even the Elders hesitated. But Alpha Kade stepped forward, jaw clenched.

"You? An omega? You can't even shift properly," he spat. "I reject you, Aria. I reject this bond."

Her chest cracked. The words echoed in her head, over and over. I reject you. I reject you.

The mating mark that had begun to glow on her wrist faded into ash.

Aria didn't speak. She couldn't. Her wolf whimpered inside her, curling into itself like a wounded animal.

Kade turned without another word, claiming the hand of Celeste, the beta's daughter, flawless and smirking at Aria like she'd already won.

The ceremony moved on. The drums beat louder. But everything inside Aria was silent.

She ran. Through the trees. Past the scent lines. Into exile.

But in the darkness beyond the pack's borders, something ancient stirred beneath her skin.

Not omega.

Not worthless.

Awakened.

And the Moon would rise again-through her.