Crowned by the shadows

Everyone said today would be the happiest day of my life.

The day I'd meet my fated mate. The day the Moon Goddess would stitch my soul to someone else's and whisper, This one is yours.

I'd tried not to believe the fantasy, but it lived in me anyway.

I stood outside the Moon Circle, my hands shaking and my feet numb, surrounded by girls who looked like they'd been plucked from the pages of fairytales. Tall, slim, delicate. Polished to perfection like glass dolls. Their laughter drifted around me like perfume ...too sweet, too sharp.

I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders and glanced down at myself.

I wasn't ugly. I told myself that often enough to almost believe it.

But I wasn't what the pack wanted.

At 5'8", I was taller than most of the she-wolves here. Broader in the hips, thicker in the thighs, with arms that could carry more weight than they should for someone without a wolf.

They called me names when they thought I couldn't hear. Big Red. Brick Luna. Bear-girl.

My red hair was thick, untamable, and bright as fresh blood... the final nail in the coffin. In our pack, beauty meant blonde, sleek, small. Red hair was wild. Unrefined. Unwanted.

But still... I had hope.

Because the Moon didn't choose based on beauty. She chose based on soul.

And mine burned for someone I hadn't even met yet.

The ceremony was cruel in how beautiful it was.

Lit by moonfire, the whole pack gathered beneath the open sky, cloaked in white and silver. The Alpha stood at the center, his presence commanding, while the unmated wolves circled in slow steps, waiting for the bond to snap into place.

I stood at the outer edge, heart racing, breath shallow.

Then I felt it.

Like lightning down my spine. Like a second heartbeat echoing against my ribs.

And I turned.

He was looking right at me.

Aiden Thorne.

Heir to the Alpha. The pack's golden boy. Tall, lean, perfect.

His eyes locked on mine, and I knew.

The bond roared to life in my chest.

I waited for him to step forward. To speak. To claim me.

But he didn't.

He blinked once.

Then turned away.

I froze.

And then-

He walked up to Lila Fairborn.

Tiny. Blonde. Beautiful.

And he said, in front of everyone:

"The Moon Goddess made a mistake. My mate is not her. It's Lila."

Gasps echoed around the circle. My body went cold.

Lila blinked. "Aiden, you can't just..."

He took her hand and raised it, smiling.

"I reject you, Seris Wynn."

The words hit like a blade to the chest.

I staggered back, breath stolen from my lungs.

Laughter rose somewhere behind me. Quiet. Cruel.

The world tilted.

I heard my mother gasp. My father's silence.

And then I ran.

The cold hit harder the farther I went from the ceremony grounds.

I didn't know where I was going. I just ran.