His Wolfless Mate Is The Moon Sovereign

Chapter 1: The Girl They Called Wolfless

The knife stopped an inch from Elena Moonveil's throat.

"Hold still, defective."

Elena froze as the blade caught the light of the kitchen fire. Behind it stood Marcus, one of Alpha Driven Veyl's favored warriors, wearing the same cruel smile he had worn every time he found an excuse to humiliate her.

"Spill another drop of wine on the Alpha's guests tonight," he murmured, "and I'll give you a scar worth remembering."

Elena stared at him without blinking.

"Then you should pray I don't spill anything."

His smile vanished.

For one dangerous second, neither moved. Then Marcus pressed the knife closer, just enough for its cold edge to kiss her skin.

"Careful. Girls without wolves don't get to threaten warriors."

"Neither do cowards who threaten women holding serving trays."

A few kitchen servants gasped.

Marcus's face darkened. He snatched the tray from her hands, sending silver cups crashing across the stone floor.

"Clean it up!"

Elena looked down at the shattered glass. One cup had rolled beneath the table, its silver surface reflecting her tired face.

She wanted to throw the tray at his head.

Instead, she knelt.

That was how she had survived eighteen years in Blackthorn Pack: swallowing insults, hiding anger, and remembering that a person could be powerless without being weak.

At least, that was what she told herself.

"Look at her," someone whispered near the pantry. "Tomorrow's Moon Ceremony, and she still has no wolf. What a disgrace."

"Imagine being chosen as a mate by a woman like that."

"Chosen?" another servant scoffed. "No Alpha would be desperate enough."

Their laughter followed Elena as she gathered the broken pieces.

She had heard worse.

She had learned not to react.

But today, the words struck somewhere deeper.

Tomorrow was the annual Moon Ceremony, when unmated wolves gathered beneath the moon to honor the goddess and await the possibility of finding their fated partners.

For most wolves, it was a night of hope.

For Elena, it was another reminder of everything she lacked.

Every wolf in Blackthorn had shifted by sixteen. Some discovered their wolves earlier. Others waited a little longer.

Elena had waited eighteen years.

Nothing.

No wolf. No claws. No supernatural strength. Not even the faintest whisper inside her mind.

The pack healer had examined her repeatedly before finally declaring that she was wolfless.

The word had followed her everywhere since.

Defective.

Unwanted.

A burden.

She swept the final shards into a dustpan and carried them outside the kitchen. The estate was unusually busy. Servants hurried through the corridors with fresh flowers, polished silver, and expensive fabrics. Guards patrolled the grounds while the Alpha's council prepared for the visiting dignitaries.

Tomorrow's ceremony was more than a celebration. Alpha Driven Veyl intended to announce a political alliance that would strengthen Blackthorn's position among the northern packs.

Everyone knew he needed a powerful Luna beside him.

Someone with an influential family, a strong wolf, and enough political value to secure his future.

Someone nothing like Elena.

She had barely reached the servants' corridor when a sharp voice stopped her.

"You. Come here."

Madam Celeste, the estate's head housekeeper, stood beside a pile of folded ceremonial garments. Her gaze swept over Elena's plain dress with open disapproval.

"The Alpha's private dining room needs preparing. The visiting delegation has arrived earlier than expected."

"I was told to finish the silverware first."

"And I am telling you to prepare the dining room." Celeste pointed toward the staircase. "Unless you would prefer to explain to the Alpha why his servants cannot follow simple instructions?"

Elena swallowed her response.

"No, Madam."

"Then move."

She took the garments and hurried upstairs.

The Alpha's private dining room overlooked the eastern gardens. Through its tall windows, Elena could see warriors assembling along the courtyard walls. Blackthorn's black banners fluttered above the gates, each bearing the silver emblem of a snarling wolf.

She arranged the plates, checked the crystal glasses, and straightened the chairs.

She was placing the final silver goblet when voices drifted through the half-open door leading to the adjoining study.

"Tomorrow's announcement must go ahead," a man said.

Elena recognized the voice of Beta Rowan, the Alpha's second-in-command.

Another man answered, his tone lower and colder.

"It will. The northern alliance is essential. Blackthorn cannot afford another winter of border disputes."

Alpha Driven.

Elena's hand paused over the table.

She had seen him only a handful of times. He was young for an Alpha, but his authority was unquestioned. Warriors straightened when he entered a room. Council members chose their words carefully around him.

He had dark hair, a commanding presence, and eyes that could make even experienced wolves reconsider their arguments.

Elena had never spoken to him beyond the brief exchanges required by her work.

She had no reason to listen.

She should leave.

Then Beta Rowan said something that made her stop.

"And if the Moon Goddess reveals a mate who threatens the alliance?"

Silence settled inside the study.

When Driven finally answered, his voice was merciless.

"Then I will do what is necessary to protect my pack."

"Even if it means rejecting the bond?"

"A bond does not outrank my duty."

Elena stared at the goblet in her hand.

Rejecting a fated mate was possible, but it was not a decision wolves took lightly. A true bond could bring pain to both parties, sometimes leaving lasting damage.

Driven spoke as though it were nothing more than signing a document.

"The woman I choose to stand beside me must strengthen Blackthorn," he continued. "I will not allow sentiment to endanger everything I have built."

Elena lowered the goblet onto the table.

She had never imagined being chosen by an Alpha. She was not foolish enough to dream that the goddess would suddenly reward her with a powerful mate.

Still, something about his words unsettled her.

Perhaps it was the certainty with which he dismissed a bond neither he nor his council could control.

Or perhaps it was the strange ache that had begun beneath her ribs.

She pressed a hand against her chest.

The sensation disappeared almost immediately.

"Elena?"

She spun around.

A young servant named Mira stood in the doorway, carrying a basket of folded napkins. Her eyes widened when she saw Elena's expression.

"What happened? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"Nothing."

Mira glanced at the open study door. "Were you listening to the Alpha?"

"No."

"Elena."

"Fine. A little."

Mira set down the basket and lowered her voice. "You need to be careful. The council has been in a terrible mood all week. They say the Alpha's political bride will arrive before the ceremony."

"I'm sure Blackthorn will survive."

"That isn't funny."

"I wasn't joking."

Mira studied her for a moment, then sighed. "You always act as if nothing hurts you."

Elena looked away.

"If I let everything hurt me, I would never get out of bed."

Before Mira could answer, the study door opened.

Driven Veyl stepped into the corridor.

Both women immediately lowered their heads.

"Alpha," Mira murmured.

Driven's gaze passed over her before settling on Elena.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Elena felt an inexplicable pressure behind her ribs, stronger than before. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table.

Driven's nostrils flared.

His expression changed.

It was brief, barely more than a flicker, but Elena saw it. His shoulders stiffened, and his eyes narrowed as though he had detected something he could not explain.

Then his gaze dropped to her hands.

A thin silver light glimmered beneath the skin of her left wrist.

Elena jerked her sleeve down.

Driven took one step toward her.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Alpha."

His eyes sharpened. "I asked you a question."

Elena forced herself to meet his gaze. "And I answered it."

Mira made a tiny choking sound beside her.

Nobody spoke to the Alpha like that.

Driven's jaw tightened. "What is your name?"

"Elena Moonveil."

Something flickered across his face at the surname, but it disappeared before she could understand it.

"Moonveil," he repeated quietly.

For one strange heartbeat, the pressure beneath Elena's ribs became almost unbearable. Somewhere deep inside her, something seemed to stir.

Then it went silent.

Driven looked away first.

"Finish your work," he ordered.

He walked down the corridor, his guards following close behind.

Elena watched him disappear around the corner. Only when his footsteps faded did she realize her palm was burning.

She pulled back her sleeve.

A silver crescent glowed against her wrist.

It was no larger than a fingernail, but its light pulsed beneath her skin like a living heartbeat.

Elena stared at it in disbelief.

She had never seen the mark before.

"What is that?" Mira whispered.

"I don't know."

The crescent brightened.

A sudden wave of dizziness swept through Elena. She grabbed the table as images flashed through her mind: a woman in a silver crown, a throne beneath a blood-red moon, and a pair of frightened hands pressing a tiny child against a stone altar.

Then came a voice.

Not Mira's.

Not anyone she had ever heard.

When the Alpha rejects you, the moon will remember.

Elena gasped.

The light vanished.

She stumbled backward, knocking a glass onto the carpet.

Mira caught her arm. "Elena! What's wrong?"

Elena shook her head, struggling to breathe normally.

"I heard something."

"Heard what?"

She looked down at her wrist.

The skin was smooth again. No crescent. No light. No evidence that anything had happened.

"Nothing," Elena whispered.

But she knew that was a lie.

Across the estate, in the Alpha's private study, Driven stood motionless beside the window.

His Beta had already left, but the strange scent lingering in the corridor remained trapped in his senses.

Moonlight.

Cold silver.

And something ancient enough to make his wolf recoil.

Driven clenched his fists.

His wolf had been silent for years, controlled beneath discipline and rank. Yet the moment he had looked at Elena Moonveil, it had stirred with a violence he could not understand.

One word had echoed through his mind.

Mine.

He had never heard his wolf sound so certain.

Driven turned toward the door.

"Find out everything about Elena Moonveil," he ordered the guard outside.

The man bowed. "Yes, Alpha."

"And no one is to touch her until I know what she is."

The guard hesitated. "What if the council asks why?"

Driven's expression hardened.

"Tell them nothing."

The guard departed.

Driven returned his attention to the darkening sky, unaware that far beyond Blackthorn's borders, an ancient seal had just begun to break.

And beneath Elena's skin, the silver crescent appeared once more.

This time, it did not fade.

Deep in the forest, something answered it with a howl.