Moon Chosen

I never should have come.

The thought echoed in my mind as I perched in the ancient oak overlooking the gathering. Below, hundreds of wolves from our pack and visiting territories filled the sacred clearing, their excited murmurs carrying up to my hidden spot among the leaves. I'd chosen this tree carefully-far enough to remain unnoticed, high enough to see everything, but still within the boundaries required for pack attendance.

Not that anyone would notice if I wasn't here. The pack runt, the orphan herb witch, the girl who lived in the shadows. That's all I'd ever been to them.

My fingers absently traced the worn leather of my mother's journal, filled with her careful notes about healing plants and wolf lore. The only thing I had left of her, besides her lessons about herbs and the wild places where they grew. Those lessons kept me fed, barely. Trading healing salves and poultices for scraps of food and clothes, hunting small game when I could. It wasn't much of a life, but it was mine.

Earlier that day, I'd spent hours gathering moonflowers by the creek, knowing their healing properties would be strongest during tonight's ceremony. The delicate white petals had reminded me of my mother-she used to weave them into my hair when I was small, before the fever took both my parents in one cruel winter. "Beauty can bloom in the darkest places, little moon," she'd say. I hadn't felt beautiful in a long time.

The drums began, deep and primal, calling us to witness. Kieran Blake would become our Alpha today, following his father's death three months ago. I'd seen him from afar, of course-everyone had. He was everything an Alpha should be: powerful, commanding, beautiful in that dangerous way of apex predators. But I'd never been close enough to really look at him. Why would I? Someone like him would never notice someone like me.

I remembered the day his father died. The whole pack had felt it-a tremor in our bonds, a collective gasp of loss. I'd been in the forest, gathering herbs, when the howls began. Even then, I'd stayed away from the mourning ceremonies. My presence would only have been an unwelcome reminder of my parents' deaths, of the pack's failure to care for their own.

The ceremony began, ancient words echoing through the clearing as Kieran took his vows. His voice carried clearly-strong, unwavering. "I swear by moon and blood to protect this pack, to lead with wisdom and strength, to-"

Pain shot through my chest like lightning.

I clutched at my sternum, nearly losing my grip on the branch. What was happening? The pain spread, molten and insistent, but it wasn't exactly pain-it was something else. Something that made my wolf stir and whimper, desperate to break free.

When I managed to open my eyes, my heart stopped.

Kieran was staring directly at me.

His eyes blazed Alpha gold, but there was no warmth in them. Only shock, quickly morphing into disgust as the same realization that was dawning on me hit him. No. No, it couldn't be. The moon wouldn't be this cruel.

But my wolf knew. My body knew. Every cell in my being was screaming one word: Mate.

Moving like someone in a dream, I slipped down from my perch. The crowd parted as I walked forward, their whispers sharp as knives. I heard them all too clearly with my enhanced senses.

"Is that the orphan girl?"

"The herb witch?"

"She's nobody."

"Look how small she is-her wolf probably can't even hunt."