Chapter 1 The Bond Awakens

The air vibrated with anticipation. The moon rode high above the treetops, casting its silver light upon Darkpine Pack's land. The full moon occurred tonight... and my name-day, the eighteenth.

All the she-wolves in the pack had their eyes focused on this evening. At eighteen, mates' bond came into play. The pull, the bond - the mystical rope that tied your soul to another - would start to manifest. Hearts would collide. Fates would intertwine.

But to me, Liana Rivers - the orphaned omega - this evening was a cruel joke waiting to happen.

I stood on the outskirts of the party, my trembling hands against my frayed dress. As the other girls wore silk and diamonds, I wore a simple cotton dress sewn by Old Nara, the sole wolf to ever think of me as something more than a shadow. My dark brown, wavy hair was woven down my back, and my bare feet rooted in the soft earth as I watched the dancing, laughing, beaming crowd.

"Do you sense it yet?" my best friend, Mira, whispered into my ear, nudging me with a taunting smile.

"I sense. nervous," I answered honestly, my voice barely above a breath. "And like I don't belong here."

"You belong more than anybody," she reminded me resolutely. "Don't let them snuff out your light, Lia. Not even-" She hesitated as her gaze shifted toward the raised platform.

Alpha Darius.

He was a towering figure, dressed in black and silver, his black hair slicked back and his broad shoulders tense with the weight of responsibility. The youngest Alpha in pack history, he'd been thrust into leadership at twenty-one when his father had been slain in a rogue attack. Darius was strong, swift, ruthless. and breathtakingly handsome.

And totally unavailable.

He never was mean to me. But he never glanced at me, either. Like everyone else. I was the pack's humble omega. Unmated. Unwanted. Invisible.

Until tonight.

Because the moment his eyes met mine - everything changed.

A strange, soft pressure unwound in my chest. My heart skipped a beat, then thudded savage rhythm. My breath was trapped. His silver eyes widened. His jaw clenched. I felt it... like the string between us had pulled tight and bound me to him. My wolf churned wildly, screaming his name through my body.

Mate.

He was mine.

Darius blinked, surprised for one moment... then his expression hardened. He turned away - as if he hadn't just found the other half of himself. As if I hadn't just been bound to him by the very goddess of the moon.

I stood frozen, the din of the festival sinking beneath the pounding in my ears. Mira wrapped a hand around my arm. "Lia... did you just-?"

I nodded slowly, still staring at the place where he'd been standing. "It's him. Alpha Darius."

"Oh my goddess," she breathed. "That's amazing! He's your fated mate! You're going to be Luna!"

I shook my head, my throat tightening. "No. He looked at me like... like it was a mistake."

"No, Lia. Maybe he's just shocked. Give him time," she urged.

But I didn't require time. I could sense it in my bones - something was wrong.

A voice boomed over the gathering before I realized what was happening.

"Silence!" Darius rose again onto the platform, his voice low but frigid. "Tonight we are celebrating the full moon and the awakening of bonds. The Moon Goddess reveals our mates to us tonight - but not all bonds must be."

The air vibrated with anticipation. The moon rode high above the treetops, casting its silver light upon Darkpine Pack's land. The full moon occurred tonight... and my name-day, the eighteenth.

All the she-wolves in the pack had their eyes focused on this evening. At eighteen, mates' bond came into play. The pull, the bond - the mystical rope that tied your soul to another - would start to manifest. Hearts would collide. Fates would intertwine.

But to me, Liana Rivers - the orphaned omega - this evening was a cruel joke waiting to happen.

I stood on the outskirts of the party, my trembling hands against my frayed dress. As the other girls wore silk and diamonds, I wore a simple cotton dress sewn by Old Nara, the sole wolf to ever think of me as something more than a shadow. My dark brown, wavy hair was woven down my back, and my bare feet rooted in the soft earth as I watched the dancing, laughing, beaming crowd.

"Do you sense it yet?" my best friend, Mira, whispered into my ear, nudging me with a taunting smile.

"I sense. nervous," I answered honestly, my voice barely above a breath. "And like I don't belong here."

"You belong more than anybody," she reminded me resolutely. "Don't let them snuff out your light, Lia. Not even-" She hesitated as her gaze shifted toward the raised platform.

Alpha Darius.

He was a towering figure, dressed in black and silver, his black hair slicked back and his broad shoulders tense with the weight of responsibility. The youngest Alpha in pack history, he'd been thrust into leadership at twenty-one when his father had been slain in a rogue attack. Darius was strong, swift, ruthless. and breathtakingly handsome.

And totally unavailable.

He never was mean to me. But he never glanced at me, either. Like everyone else. I was the pack's humble omega. Unmated. Unwanted. Invisible.

Until tonight.

Because the moment his eyes met mine - everything changed.

A strange, soft pressure unwound in my chest. My heart skipped a beat, then thudded savage rhythm. My breath was trapped. His silver eyes widened. His jaw clenched. I felt it... like the string between us had pulled tight and bound me to him. My wolf churned wildly, screaming his name through my body.

Mate.

He was mine.

Darius blinked, surprised for one moment... then his expression hardened. He turned away - as if he hadn't just found the other half of himself. As if I hadn't just been bound to him by the very goddess of the moon.

I stood frozen, the din of the festival sinking beneath the pounding in my ears. Mira wrapped a hand around my arm. "Lia... did you just-?"

I nodded slowly, still staring at the place where he'd been standing. "It's him. Alpha Darius."

"Oh my goddess," she breathed. "That's amazing! He's your fated mate! You're going to be Luna!"

I shook my head, my throat tightening. "No. He looked at me like... like it was a mistake."

"No, Lia. Maybe he's just shocked. Give him time," she urged.

But I didn't require time. I could sense it in my bones - something was wrong.

A voice boomed over the gathering before I realized what was happening.

"Silence!" Darius rose again onto the platform, his voice low but frigid. "Tonight we are celebrating the full moon and the awakening of bonds. The Moon Goddess reveals our mates to us tonight - but not all bonds must be."

My heart began to pound.

"Tonight," he continued, "I was revealed mine."

Gasps of shock flowed through the crowd.

He turned... and his eyes locked onto mine once more.

No.

He couldn't.

"I, Alpha Darius of the Darkpine Pack," he announced, his voice booming, "reject Liana Rivers as my mate."

Silence.

Absolute, blinding silence.

My breath left me like a punch to the gut. My knees buckled. Mira caught me before I collapsed.

I couldn't talk. Couldn't think.

I just stood there, staring at him, as if the world had collapsed in on me.

Rejected.

Before all our people.

Before I could even say a word.

I wanted to scream. To beg. To demand why. But I was frozen.

My wolf growled inside me, clawing at my chest. Our connection had not yet fully stirred, and now he'd severed it-out in the open. Heartlessly. As if I meant nothing. As if fate itself was irrelevant.

Mira tried to reel me back in, but I stood frozen, the night wind now cold on my skin.

Alpha Darius turned to leave without an ember of emotion.

And I was once again alone.

But something in me started stirring. Not my wolf this time. Something. older. More feral. Buried deep beneath layers of pain and quiet.

It mouthed a promise through my bloodstream:

He may have rejected me.

But I will not break.

One day, I will rise.

And he will kneel.