THE ALPHA'S REDEMPTION - KEAL AND SERENA

The Claiming Moon bled red over Feralmoor Ridge-a cursed moon, the kind that sang of ruin, not love.

It hovered like a wound in the sky, casting blood-colored light over the Blackthorn Pack's ancient grounds. A full moon, but twisted. A harbinger. An omen.

Seren Vale stood barefoot in the packed dirt at the edge of the ritual ring, wind threading through her wild, dark curls like fingers from the past. Her ceremonial dress clung to her skin-thin, ivory silk soaked with moonlight and fear. The air buzzed with tension, the way the forest did before a lightning strike.

She wasn't alone.

The entire Blackthorn Pack had gathered-half human, half wolf, all watching. All judging.

Above them, the drums thundered. Ancient. Primal. Their rhythm mirrored her heartbeat: erratic, desperate, afraid.

Tonight was supposed to be sacred. A moment written in fate. The Ritual of Binding.

A promise.

A prophecy.

A home.

But fate was cruel.

Across the ritual ring, framed by firelight and shadows, stood Kael Blackthorn.

Tall. Scarred. Silent.

The Alpha.

Her Alpha.

Her fated mate.

His dark eyes-storm-colored, endless-were unreadable. Not even the flickering fire revealed what he was thinking. His jaw was tight, his posture rigid. Kael, son of the Blackthorn bloodline, forged in war and crowned in silence. A legend before twenty-five. A killer. A protector. A curse.

And hers.

Or he was supposed to be.

Seren's bare toes curled into the earth. Her body thrummed with magic. Her wolf scratched beneath her skin, yearning. It had been this way since her mark bloomed two years ago. Since the Moon chose her.

Since her dreams first showed him.

The High Priestess stepped forward. Her robes billowed like smoke, silver and black. Her voice rose like wind through bone, ancient and commanding.

"Under the Claiming Moon, we summon the bond. Let wolf recognize wolf. Let soul call soul. Let fated mates become one."

The crowd bowed their heads. The drums faded into a steady hum of power.

Magic stirred.

A silver thread shimmered into being between Kael and Seren-glowing, twisting, sentient. It tethered them, heart to heart, soul to soul. It was beautiful. Sacred.

And terrifying.

Seren gasped as the energy hit her like lightning. Her body arched, breath stolen. Heat bloomed from her shoulder where the Mark of the Moon blazed to life. A crescent wrapped in thorns. Her fate carved in skin.

The bond awakened.

Pain and longing surged through her like fire.

Kael flinched.

Just once.

But it was enough.

The drums stopped.

Silence fell like a blade.

Kael moved.

One step. Then another. Each footfall struck the earth like a war drum. Wolves parted for him, instinctive, reverent. His power rolled off him in waves-ancient, dangerous, divine.

He stopped inches away.

Seren lifted her eyes, her lips parted. "Kael..."

Her voice cracked.

He didn't touch her.

Didn't even breathe her name.

Instead, his gaze locked on hers-flat, cold, final.

"I reject this bond."

The words shattered her.

Gasps echoed like thunder across the ridge. The High Priestess stumbled back as the silver thread between them snapped, disintegrating into stardust.

Seren's legs buckled. She hit the dirt hard, pain ripping through her like claws. Her wolf howled inside her, broken. Her mark flared-white-hot agony burning across her skin. The bond recoiled. Twisted. Unclaimed.

It wasn't just heartbreak.

It was annihilation.

Rejection under the Claiming Moon was more than cruel.

It was lethal.

Her magic spiraled out of control, unbound and raging. The moonlight warped around her. The air cracked. Her scream never made it past her throat.

Kael turned his back without another word.

The Alpha walked away.

And left her burning.

Seren collapsed, shaking, teeth clenched against the scream rising in her chest. Blood dripped from her nose. Her magic writhed, wild and wounded.

All around her, wolves backed away. A few snarled.

One wept.

"She's cursed," someone whispered.

"She's dangerous," another murmured.

"She survived the rejection," said a third, voice trembling. "Under a red moon..."

The High Priestess knelt beside her, hand hovering. "Child," she whispered. "Your power-it's not just bond magic. It's something older."

Seren could barely hear her.

Her heart was in pieces.

The pain didn't stop-it deepened. Sank its teeth into her. Her skin glowed faintly now, like the Moon's light had taken root inside her.

And then...

The earth groaned.

A deep, low sound. Not natural. Not wind. Not beast.

Something ancient stirred beneath the ridge. The ground pulsed with it. Magic. Rage. Memory.

Not just a broken bond.

Not just a girl in love.

An awakening.

Somewhere far off, a wolf howled-a haunting, hollow note that made every hair on her body rise.

Seren's fingers clawed at the dirt as she tried to stand. Her vision swam. She looked up-

And for a split second, Kael turned back.

Just a glance.

But his eyes were no longer cold.

They were filled with regret.

And fear.

Then he was gone, swallowed by shadow and duty.

She was alone.

Or... not quite.

Wolves circled her slowly now, cautious. Reverent. Some bowed their heads. Others watched with wide, shining eyes.

The mark on her shoulder pulsed again-no longer just glowing.

It bled light.

She wasn't just rejected.

She was becoming something else.

Author's Note: The Bond Was Only the Beginning

You made it to the end of Chapter One-and now you know: this isn't your typical fated mates story.

In The Alpha's Redemption, love is brutal. Bonds are broken. Power comes at a cost.

Seren Vale isn't just a girl with a broken heart. She's a Moonblood, touched by something older than the wolves. And Kael Blackthorn? His rejection wasn't cruelty. It was fear. Because he knows something no one else does.

Something that could destroy them all.

This book is for the readers who crave:

🩸 Emotional tension that grips your throat

🌕 Fantasy romance that's rich in lore, betrayal, and prophecy

🐺 Alpha wolves who love hard, fight harder, and fear nothing-except fate

🔥 A heroine who rises from ruin and carves her own destiny

What happens when a sacred bond is severed... but the magic refuses to die?

Keep reading, because this love story?

It burns.

Welcome to Feralmoor Ridge.

The moon remembers.

And so does she.