Chapter 1

• Aysel’s POV
• The Moonlight Hall shimmered beneath the gaze of the goddess herself. Silver fire burned in a thousand lanterns, casting halos across the marble floor. Wolves from every bloodline bowed in reverence, their breaths trembling as the drums of the Luna Ceremony thundered through the night.
• And I stood at the center of it all—barefoot, veiled in white moon-silk, the sacred mark glowing faintly on my wrist.
• In a few more breaths, I would speak the words that would bind my soul to Alpha Damon, heir of the Blackwood Pack, the strongest Alpha our realm of east had seen in a century.
• My voice would seal our bond.
• My vow would crown me as Luna.
• And the entire pack would kneel to me.
• But fate—no, Celestine Ward—always found a way to make me bleed.
• “Aysel Vale,” the High Priest intoned, his voice echoing. “Step forward, and swear before the Moon Goddess your vow to the Alpha.”
• I did.
• The silk of my gown whispered against the floor as I faced Damon. His silver eyes caught mine, softer than I remembered.
• “I, Aysel Vale—”
• Bang!
• The heavy oak doors of the Moonlight Hall slammed open with a thunderous crack.
• Knox Draven, the heir of the Ironhowl Pack burst in, panic twisting his expression. “Celestine is hurt!” he shouted.
• The words cut through the solemn chants like a blade. The silver moonstone chandeliers, the sacred incense, the murmurs of the pack’s blessing—all fell into dead silence.
• At the center of the hall, beneath the ancient Moon Altar, Damon froze. His hands, still hovering over the ceremonial crown, trembled slightly.
• “What did you say?” His deep voice echoed across the vaulted ceiling.
• Knox’s electric-blue hair damp with sweat, panted, “Lady Vale just called—Celestine’s been attacked by rogues. She’s in the healers’ ward. It’s bad.”
• The gasps came instantly. Elders rose from their seats, warriors murmured in alarm. The sacred glow of the ritual was snuffed out by chaos.
• Because Celestine Ward—the darling of my pack, the fragile, flawless adopted daughter—was hurt.
• And when the goddess bleeds, the whole pack kneels.
• I stood at the heart of the altar, the moon sigil still glowing faintly beneath my feet. I was one vow away—one breath—from being crowned Luna of the Moonfang Pack.
• The moon priestess had just lifted the final chalice toward me when the doors burst open. The holy light dimmed, leaving only the amber flicker of the altar’s fire.
• Damon turned at once. His panic was raw, unmasked.
• He didn’t even look at me.
• “Damon—” My voice came out soft, almost spectral, but it stopped him.
• Only then did the others remember me—the woman about to become their Luna.
• In that flickering firelight, I knew how I must have looked: pale, motionless, the very image of composure and grace the council demanded from a Luna.
• “You don’t want to finish the ritual?” I asked quietly.
• His gaze flickered toward me. For a moment, guilt shadowed his eyes.
• “Aysel,” he said gently, “I’m sorry. I need to see her first. Please, end the ceremony here. We can continue later.”
• I smiled faintly. “And what if I don’t let you go? You know I despise her.”
• “Aysel,” his tone hSkylared, “this isn’t the time for jealousy.”
• Jealousy.
• That’s what he always called it—every time Celestine stumbled, every time she needed him, every time he left me standing in the dark.
• “My vow,” I whispered, “only comes once.”
• He frowned, unease flickering across his face. Perhaps he sensed it—that something inside me had shifted. That the girl who once waited and wept beneath the full moon was gone.
• “Don’t be dramatic,” Knox muttered impatiently from the side. “Everyone knows you’ve waited twenty years for this Luna mark. You’re not going to reject it now.”
• Murmurs rose among the guests:
• “She’s not even Luna yet, and he’s already running to another she-wolf.”
• “Perhaps the Moon Goddess changed her mind.”
• “How pitiful, to be abandoned before the vow.”
• Their voices tangled in the smoke of burning sage, cruel and sanctimonious.
• I didn’t move. I just looked at Damon—the man who’d always seen me as his sweet little shadow, never his equal.
• He sighed and stepped closer, resting a hand on my head as if I were still that girl from our training days. “Be good, Aysel. Don’t make a scene. Celestine might be dying.”
• There it was again—that same tone he used when we were young, when he’d apologize to Celestine for my temper and call it love.
• In his eyes, my fury was only a tantrum. My devotion, only a habit.
• And this coronation? Only a ceremony.
• “Moon’s mercy!”Skylar Cross finally snapped beside me, her fiery temper breaking through the tension. “Damon, are you a healer or her bonded mate? Every time Celestine faints, it’s you she calls for! You think she times her ‘attacks’ for nothing?”
• Gasps rippled through the hall. Damon’s expression darkened instantly. “Skylar, mind your tongue.”
• “Mind yours, Alpha,” she spat. “Do you even remember who your Luna is supposed to be?”
• The air turned brittle.
• Before she could say more, I caught her arm. “Skylar,” I said softly, “if you stay another second, we’re finished.”
• The warning was quiet, but she heard it. She bit her lip hard, fury shaking through her, yet she obeyed.
• Damon exhaled, impatience lacing his tone. “Aysel, enough. I’ll come back, and we’ll complete the ritual. Don’t say things you’ll regret.”
• The High Priest shifted uneasily. “Alpha, the oath cannot be delayed. If the moon sets before her vow, the bond—”
• “I don’t care!” Damon snapped, his voice cracking through the hall. “I won’t let Celestine die!”
• Then he turned and left—just like that.
• And with him went the chanting, the moonlight, the future we were supposed to have.
• The hall emptied one by one—elders whispering, servants avoiding my gaze, the scent of spilt incense and crushed petals thick in the air.
• Soon, all that was left was me,Skylar, and the wreckage of a perfect ascension.
• Someone outside whispered:
• “Wait—Celestine Ward, isn’t she Lady Vale’s adopted daughter? Aysel’s cousin?”
• “Exactly. Can you imagine calling Aysel to the ward? She’d finish the job herself.”
• Laughter followed.
• Skylar’s face flushed red with fury, but I just stood there, staring at the doorway where Damon had vanished.
• For years, I’d watched him walk toward Celestine again and again, always believing he’d come back to me.
• But this time, I knew better.
• If fate hadn’t intervened tonight, maybe I would’ve sworn my final vow. Maybe I would’ve let him mark me beneath the goddess’s gaze.
• But fate—or perhaps Celestine—never allows me to win.
• And Damon? He’d never choose me over her.
• When he turned his back on me tonight, he didn’t realize something simple:
• There may still be many moons to come, but the woman who once loved him will not wait beneath them anymore.
• My communication stone glowed faintly on the altar, casting a pale light across the ruins of my coronation.
• A single message shimmered on its surface—two words carved in silver magic.
• “You lost.”
• Celestine’s name glowed beside it.
• I smiled.
• She thought I’d lost.
• But she was wrong.