Chapter 2 The Blood Moon Rejection

• ​The Silver Moon Pack’s ceremonial clearing was a natural amphitheater, lit by a hundred flickering torches and the oppressive, crimson glow of the Blood Moon.
• ​Anna stood at the very edge of the crowd, hidden behind a thick oak tree. She wasn't supposed to be here. Elena’s threat about the silver cells was still fresh, but the pull was too strong. It felt like a hook buried in her chest, dragging her toward the center of the clearing where Alpha Caine stood on the High Stone.
• ​He looked like a god of war.
• ​The moonlight caught the silver thread in his formal black tunic, his presence so massive it seemed to suck the air out of the clearing. Beside him stood Elena, draped in white silk, her face fixed in a look of smug superiority.
• ​The drums stopped abruptly. The silence that followed was heavy with anticipation.
• ​"Members of the Silver Moon," Caine’s voice boomed, amplified by his Alpha power. Every wolf in the clearing bowed their head instinctively. "Tonight, the Goddess chooses our future. Tonight, I claim the woman who will rule by my side."
• ​Anna’s breath caught. The scent of cedar and rain was overwhelming now, swirling around her despite the distance. She saw Caine’s eyes scan the crowd, moving with a predator’s precision.
• ​His gaze stopped.
• ​For a heartbeat, Anna thought he was looking directly at her. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Could he see her through the shadows? Could he feel the bond that was screaming in her blood?
• ​Then, his lip curled. That same look of absolute disgust he had given her in the study returned, sharper than any blade.
• ​Caine turned to Elena. He took her hand, raising it for the entire pack to see.
• ​"Elena, daughter of the former Alpha, has proven her strength. She is the Luna this pack deserves."
• ​A roar of approval went up from the crowd, but Anna didn't hear it. She felt as if she had been plunged into ice water. The "Mate Bond" she felt—the pull that had kept her awake for years—was a lie. A cruel joke by a Goddess who hated her.
• ​But Caine wasn't finished. He held up his other hand, calling for silence. His blue eyes were now voids of pitch black, the Alpha wolf at the surface.
• ​"However," Caine growled, his voice dropping to a dangerous register. "There is a stain on this pack. A mistake that must be corrected before we move into our new era."
• ​He pointed a finger toward the edge of the clearing. Toward the tree where Anna was hiding.
• ​"Anna. Step forward."
• ​The crowd parted like a sea of wolves. Hundreds of eyes turned on her, filled with mockery and hate. Anna’s legs felt like lead, but she found herself walking toward the High Stone, her head bowed, her threadbare clothes a stark contrast to the finery around her.
• ​She stopped at the base of the stone, looking up at the man who had just claimed her sister.
• ​"Alpha Caine," she whispered, her voice trembling.
• ​"You are wolfless, Anna," Caine said, his voice cold and echoing. "An Omega with no value. A parasite who lives off the resources of my warriors."
• ​"I... I work, Alpha. I scrub the floors, I—"
• ​"Silence!" He roared, the power in his voice bringing Anna to her knees. Elena stood above her, a cruel smile playing on her lips.
• ​Caine stepped down from the stone, stopping inches from Anna. He leaned down, his face a mask of beautiful, terrifying rage. The scent of him was so close now, but it felt like poison.
• ​"I felt it, Anna," he hissed, low enough that only she could hear. "The pull. The Goddess fated a piece of trash like you to be my mate. Do you have any idea how offensive that is to my bloodline?"
• ​Anna looked up, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "You felt it?"
• ​"I felt a mistake," Caine corrected. He stood tall, projecting his voice to the furthest reaches of the forest.
• ​"I, Caine, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, hereby reject you, Anna, as my fated mate and Luna!"
• ​The words hit Anna like a physical blow. The bond in her chest didn't just break; it shattered, sending a shockwave of agonizing pain through her entire body. She gasped, clutching her heart, falling flat against the cold, hard earth.
• ​"Furthermore," Caine continued, stepping over her as if she were a fallen branch. "I exile you. You are no longer a member of the Silver Moon. You have until dawn to leave our territory. If you are found within our borders after the sun rises, you will be hunted as a rogue and executed."
• ​"Alpha, please!" Anna cried, her voice breaking. "I have nowhere to go! The Forbidden Woods... the rogues will kill me!"
• ​"Then die," Caine said without looking back. "It’s more than you deserve."
• ​Elena stepped forward, leaning over Anna's broken form. She dropped a small, silver coin onto Anna’s back. "For the road, sister. Though I doubt you'll live long enough to spend it."
• ​The pack began to laugh, a chorus of howling derision that followed Anna as she scrambled to her feet and ran. She ran past the torches, past the mocking faces of the only family she had ever known, and into the suffocating darkness of the Forbidden Woods.
• ​She didn't stop until her lungs burned and her legs gave out. She collapsed into a bed of damp ferns, the crimson moonlight barely penetrating the thick canopy above.
• ​She was eighteen. She was wolfless. She was rejected. And now, she was prey.
• ​I hate you, she thought, the words directed at Caine, at the pack, at the Goddess herself. I hate you all!
• ​Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to vibrate. A low, guttural growl echoed through the trees—not the sound of a wolf, but something much larger, much older.
• ​Golden light began to pulse beneath Anna’s skin, starting in her fingertips and racing toward her heart. The pain of the rejection was being replaced by a heat so intense it felt like her bones were melting.
• ​High above, the Blood Moon pulsed in response.
• ​Anna screamed as her vision turned gold. She wasn't just shifting. She was awakening.