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Not Castian! Anyone but him! Why is the moon goddess punishing me?! Chrystal thought. An enemy to her father and their kingdom, one banished from her own pack, the moon goddess chose the one person who should never have anything to do with her – the rogue alpha, Castian Rhodes! Will Chystal be able to return to the life she has always known, or will she be forced to embrace a new life with the exiled rogue wolf with whom she has nothing in common except a bond neither of them wants? As masks fall on all sides, which of her mates will she choose, the Noble Alpha, Darius, her lover and betrothed, or the rogue alpha, Castian Rhodes?
Chapter 1 The Blood Moon Betrayal
The scent of burning sage filled the night air as the Blood Moon rose over the Barone pack's sacred grounds.
The flames of the ceremonial pyres flickered, casting long shadows over the gathered wolves.
The night was warm, and the air was electric with excitement from both the wolves about to be mated and the crowd surrounding the fires.
Chrystal Barone stood in the center of the stone ritual circle, dressed in flowing white robes, her heart pounding, filling her ears with a rushing sound and causing her hands to shake.
Tonight was the night she had prepared for her entire life. The moment she would bond with Darius Strigan – the noble Alpha, her childhood friend, her destined mate.
Darius stood across from her, tall, golden-haired and confident, his piercing blue eyes locked onto hers. His trim, fit frame standing at alert. His hand twitched at his side, anticipation thick in the air.
The Blood Moon Bonding Ceremony was ancient and absolute. Under its power, fated mates would be drawn together, their souls binding forever.
There would be no mistakes. No second chances.
The two had waited for this day, and now, with their families and entire pack in attendance, the hour was near.
A stiff breeze blew, shifting Chrystal's gown and blowing strands of her long, honey-blonde hair into her face.
She shyly brushed her hair behind her ear, glancing away from Darius, who stood beaming at her, his Luna.
At exactly midnight, a deep voice boomed from the head of the circle.
"Step forward, children of the Moon. Let the Goddess reveal your fate," the elder who was leading the ceremony called out, his arms spread toward the couple.
Chrystal and Darius had been betrothed since childhood. This day, this moment, was meant to come.
Chrystal inhaled sharply and took a step forward. Darius did the same. The moment their feet touched the circle's glowing runes, the magic pulsed to life.
For the Blood Moon ritual, if the couple were not fated but still wanted to be together, arrangements would be made for them in another ceremony.
It was not a death sentence or a loss if the Bonding ceremony did not work.
But for the couple standing before their clan with their backs and shoulders straight, shining eyes fixed on the elder before them, they knew there would not be any issue.
They were fated, and it would be shown to everyone tonight.
Warmth spread through Chrystal's chest as the sacred bond awakened – then suddenly, that warmth turned to ice.
A brutal snap shot through her bones and she gasped, clutching her chest.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
It should not feel like this!
This is a bond between mates!
Why such pain?
Chrystal wondered, her mind racing as she glanced up at Darius who was staring down at her, his lips parted as his eyes widened.
He's not affected?
Nothing is happening to him?!
"Argh!" Chrystal cried out as her knees buckled.
The bond was forming – but not with Darius.
Pain coiled around her ribs, burning, twisting, causing her to almost double over as the whole crowd stepped forward as one.
The connection yanked at her soul, pulling her toward someone else.
Someone who was not in the circle.
There was a collective gasp from the crowd as Chrystal staggered forward, away from Darius.
Darius' eyes shifted to where Chrystal was heading.
From the shadows, beyond the ceremony, a low, dark chuckle echoed through the night as a deep voice that sounded like water running over rocks droned, "Well now, isn't this something?"
The crowd began to buzz as many who recognized the voice jolted, gazing among themselves in disbelief.
Darius' eyes widened, and his body stiffened as the man with the voice stepped into the clearing.
Chrystal was being pulled toward someone forbidden.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with storm-gray eyes and a face carved from stone, the rogue Alpha, once a member of the Barone pack – the Moonblaze pack – approached the gathering with long slow strides.
Scars lined his forearms, a testament to countless battles. His black cloak barely concealed the lethal muscles beneath as the night breeze pulled at it, revealing his broad chest and taught torso.
Whispers swept through the crowd.
A name fell from someone's lips, tinged with horror.
"Castian Rhodes."
"The rogue Alpha," another whisperer said.
The traitor. What no one said.
And now, Chrystal's mate.
Chrystal's breath hitched as she struggled against the pull.
No. No, this can't be happening! Chrystal wailed in her mind.
Darius! I'm supposed to be with Darius!
Not Castian! Anyone but him!
Why is the moon goddess punishing me?!
She screamed in her head as Castian's gaze met hers.
His expression was unreadable, but there was a flicker of dark amusement in his cold eyes.
The mate bond pulsed between them, hot and undeniable.
He can feel me fighting it.
Fighting him.
Crystal mused as she watched his steady approach.
As she gazed at him, she knew why he had come forward – the pull was affecting him too.
He could not have stayed hidden if he had tried.
Her dry lips pursed as she struggled to stand.
Darius's expression twisted in fury.
"This is a mistake!" he growled, stepping forward between Chrystal and the advancing rogue.
"She's mine!" he spat, his piercing blue eyes on the man striding leisurely toward the stone ring.
The magic disagreed.
The runes on the ground flared red, binding Chrystal and Castian's fates together.
Her father, Alpha Mason Barone, stood frozen on the dais, his face pale as death.
From the moment his daughter cried out, he had been on his feet. But as the Alpha King, he had to maintain his poise.
The first person Chrystal's eyes had gone to after the pain stared, after Darius, had been her father, but the intense pain had drawn her eyes toward the source of the fierce pull on her heart – Castian Rhodes.
Without any warning, chaos erupted.
"Kill him!" Darius bellowed as he lunged backward, toward Chrystal, his hand reaching for her arm, fury blazing in his eyes.
The warriors surrounding the circle drew their weapons.
"She's my mate!" he snarled, as if directing his rage at the magic circle, the world, or the moon goddess herself.
"End the traitor!" someone else shouted, and the warriors rushed forward.
Blades flashed in the firelight as the pack warriors turned against Castian instantly.
Chrystal barely had time to scream before Castian moved toward her, faster than any wolf she had ever seen.
One moment, he was standing still; the next, he was a blur of motion, taking down three warriors in the span of a breath.
He did not hesitate. Did not falter as he swept toward her, the mate bond still fresh and pulling them together.
Darius lunged at Castian, claws unsheathed, but Castian wasn't there.
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