Fated to the Alpha King

ad gathered for the Mating Ceremony, the most sacred night of the lunar year when the Moon Goddess revealed fated mates to bonded souls. The stained glass

rations, and built Lycoria into the most powerful werewolf nation the world had ever known. He had faced death without flinching, made decisions that determined the fate

d to walk through eternity together. Every werewolf dreamed of this night, of feeling the sacred bond snap into place, of knowing without doubt that they had found their other half. Damien had waite

pectant faces, wolves from the noblest houses standing shoulder to shoulder with warriors and common folk, all gathered to witness their king receive th

ce carrying through the vast space with supernatura

mmering against his ribs, the wolf inside him stirring with an

of the disgraced

ildfire, growing to murmurs, then to a roar of disbelief that echoed off the stone walls. Dam

the knowledge he had tried to forget. The Thornwood Pack. The traitor pack. A minor house that had been disgraced a generat

lfless outcast from a disgraced house to be his Luna. The goddess was supposed to choose someone wo

e crowd, and Damien's heart sa

plain braid that did nothing to enhance her ordinary features, and her skin was pale to the point of translucence. She moved with the hesitant steps of so

wind. She looked like a strong breeze could brea

as his fa

ls for eternity reaching toward him with invisible fingers. He slammed his mental walls shut with brutal force,

ng for him to accept her, to complete the bond, to claim her as his. She looked up at him with those huge, frightened eyes, and

ice barely audible above the whi

t from the Moon Goddess, as if he should fall to his knees in thanks

. He saw his enemies in the crowd already smiling, already planning how to use this weakness against him. How could he rule with this

his de

ject

the hall with devastating force. The silence that followed was absolu

up, her eyes wide wi

old and final, each word a knife cutting through the air. "You are not wor

at him, devastation written across her face in lines of incomprehens

breaking. "I don't understand. The Moon Go

pain any longer, afraid that if he did, he might falter. "Leave this kingdom. You have

He heard the crowd's shocked murmurs, the whispers that would spread through every pack in the kingdom by morning. He h

lling the hall in a wave that made every wolf pres

doom. He told himself it was for the best. He told himself the Moon Goddess had made a mistake. He

f these lies f

gan to die. Until the prophecy revealed th

woman he had destroyed an

ess did not m

ien

would pay