The night wind carried the smell of snow and blood.
A full moon hung high above the central field of the Blackmoon pack, its light silver and cold.
Today was the day every werewolf had been waiting for.
Mating Day.
Luna stood at the very back among dozens of girls.
Her body was thin, wearing only a shabby gray dress that used to belong to her mother.
Not like the other girls in white gowns and silver jewelry.
Luna’s heart was pounding.
Her hands were cold, and her knees were shaking.
“Miss Luna,” Mira, a fellow servant, whispered.
“Are you nervous?
You look so pale.” Luna nodded slightly.
How could Luna not be nervous.
Today Luna would meet her fated mate.
That pull, the red thread they said would appear the moment their skin touched.
But Luna knew.
It wouldn’t happen to Luna.
Luna was an omega.
Worse, Luna was a defective omega.
Until 19 years old, Luna had never been able to shift into a wolf.
No aura.
No power.
Just a normal human living in the pack.
On the 3-meter-high stone stage, he had already been standing.
Alpha Kael.
Almost 190cm tall.
Broad shoulders.
His black suit fit perfectly.
His black hair was a little wet from the snow.
His golden eyes stared straight ahead with no expression.
His face was as handsome as a statue, but as cold as ice on a mountaintop.
All the girls in the field looked at him in awe.
Whispering, and blushing.
Because they all knew who his mate would be.
Luna.
The servant girl without a wolf.
“The first,” the Elder’s voice echoed, old and heavy.
“Luna from the servant family.
Come forward.” When Luna’s name was called, every head turned.
Some covered their mouths and laughed softly.
Some shook their heads in pity.
Some whispered, staring at the defective omega.
Luna took a breath, then stepped forward.
One.
Two.
Three.
Ten steps to the stage felt like ten years.
With every step, people’s stares pierced Luna’s skin.
Some mocked, and judged.
Stopped in front of the stone stairs.
Luna bowed her head.
She didn’t dare look up.
“Go up,” the Elder ordered.
Luna climbed, and the stairs felt slippery.
Luna almost slipped twice.
On the stage, the cold cut deeper.
And in front of Luna, Alpha Kael stood.
The distance between them was only one meter.
Luna could smell him.
The scent of an alpha wolf, strong, dominant, and a hint of cedar wood.
Kael was two heads taller than Luna.
His jaw was clenched.
His hands were fists at his sides.
He hated Luna.
Luna knew that, and the whole pack knew it.
Two years ago, Luna’s mother was caught stealing food from the palace kitchen.
The punishment for thieves was whipping.
Luna’s mother died three days later from infection, and the one who ordered the whipping was Alpha Kael.
“Place your hand on his chest,” the Elder commanded.
Luna’s fingers trembled as she lifted them, and touched Kael’s chest.
That broad chest was warm, opposite of the night air.
Kael’s heart beat slow, and strong.
The next second…
Something pulled inside Luna’s chest.
Hot, like a red thread being pulled from Luna’s heart to Kael’s heart.
That was it.
The mate pull.
Kael’s eyes, which had been empty until now, instantly widened.
His pupils dilated.
He felt it too.
The whole field held their breath.
Silence, and only the sound of the wind.
This was it.
The moment.
Kael looked at Luna for a long time.
From the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
As if he was appraising trash.
Then Kael stepped back, and pulled his hand away from Luna’s roughly.
And Kael laughed.
A low, cold laugh that made Luna’s blood freeze.
“Trash,” Kael said.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for the whole field to hear.
“Trash like you isn’t worthy to be my Mate.” Luna’s world stopped.
“I,” Kael continued.
“Alpha Kael of the Blackmoon pack.
I hereby REJECT YOU, Luna.
As my mate.
Before the Moon and the ancestors.” BOOM.
Like lightning striking.
Cheers, laughter, and whispers started.
“Told you, rejected.” “How pitiful.” “A defective omega deserves to be rejected.” Luna’s face burned.
Her cheeks were on fire, and her tears fell without her being able to stop them.
The Elder looked panicked.
“Alpha, this is the Moon’s destiny.
You can’t…,” “I DON’T CARE ABOUT DESTINY!” Kael roared.
His voice thundered, making several wolves in the back rows wince.
Kael pointed at Luna’s face with his index finger.
His nails were long and sharp.
“I’d rather die without heirs, than have children with a defective omega who can’t even shift!” “And her mother was a thief with dirty blood!” Kael kept insulting and demeaning.
It felt like a slap, but not on Luna’s cheek.
On Luna’s pride.
On Luna’s mother’s name.
On Luna’s entire life.
Luna staggered back, her legs weak.
“Get down,” Kael said coldly.
“Before I vomit looking at you.” Luna ran.
Down from the stage with unsteady steps, pushing through the crowd that deliberately opened a path while laughing at her.
Behind her, Kael’s voice could still be heard.
“Throw her back to the kitchen so she remembers her place, that’s the only place for trash.” That night Luna cried in her tiny servant room.
A 2×2 meter room, with a straw mattress and one thin blanket.
Luna hugged her knees.
She cried without making a sound.
Why did it have to be Luna?
Why was fate this cruel?
It had been two years since her mother died.
Two years Luna worked 18 hours a day just to eat.
And now, this rejection.
Luna rubbed her chest.
That pull was still there, aching, like something was tearing from the inside.
There was a soft knock on the door.
“Luna?” It was Elder Alden.
The oldest Elder in the pack, the only one who was still kind to Luna.
“Come in, Elder,” Luna said while wiping her tears.
The Elder came in.
His face was wrinkled, and his eyes were tired.
“Luna,” the Elder said.
His voice was heavy.
“Sit.” Luna sat on the edge of the bed.
“You know the Law of Rejection,” the Elder said.
Luna nodded.
Every pack child was taught it since they were little.
If a mate rejects, then the one rejected has one moon cycle to make their mate accept.
Or…
“If by the next full moon you’re not pregnant,” the Elder continued.
“Then you will be declared a failure and the punishment is banishment to the Forbidden Forest.” The Forbidden Forest.
A place of evil spirits and wild beasts.
No werewolf had ever come back from there.
Luna swallowed hard.
“I understand, Sir.” “And Luna,” the Elder looked deep into Luna’s eyes.
“Alpha Kael is the only one who can get you pregnant, because the mate pull is real, it cannot lie.” Luna laughed.
But it was a bitter laugh.
“How can I get pregnant from a man who just rejected me in front of everyone, Sir?” The Elder was silent, then placed his wrinkled hand on Luna’s head.
“I don’t know, my child.
But this is your only way to live.” After the Elder left, Luna sat for a long time in the darkness.
Outside, Kael was having a party in the grand hall.
Sounds of music, laughter and women.
He was celebrating his rejection.
Luna stood and walked to the small window.
From here Luna could see the palace.
Light from the big windows and Kael’s silhouette raising a wine glass.
Luna clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.
Fine.
If this was the only way to survive, then Luna would fight.
Even if she had to sleep with the man who hated her.
Even if she had to humble herself before the man who insulted her mother.
To survive.
The moon outside grew brighter.
She had one more month to fight.