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The Blood Moon hung low over the Silver Moon
Pack,enormous and crimson, bathing the sacred
forest in an eerie red glow.
To everyone else, it was a night of celebration.
To Lyla, it was supposed to be the night her life
finally began.she stood at the edge of the Sacred Clearing, nervously smoothing the skirt of her whitedress.
She had saved for two years to buy it.
It wasn't expensive but It wasn't the kind of dress a Luna would wear.
But to Lyla, it was beautiful.
She touched the small silver pendant around her
neck that once belonged to her Mother and drew a shaky breath.
"Deep breaths, Lyla," she whispered to herself
"The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes."
At twenty-one, Lyla had almost given up hope of
finding her mate.
She was an Omega in the Silver Moon Pack.
The lowest-ranked wolf, barely noticed unless
there was work to be done.
For years, she had cleaned the Alpha's manor, served meals, washed clothes, and learned to keep her head down whenever the warriors passed.She had never been important.
Never been beautiful enough.
Never been strong enough.
But tonight could change everything.
The Blood Moon Ceremony was the night when
unmated wolves presented themselves before
the Moon Goddess.
If fate was kind, she would finally reveal their
destined partners.
Lyla desperately wanted to believe fate had not
forgotten her.
She stepped into the clearing where hundreds of wolves stood in a wide circle, their eyes glowing beneath the crimson moonlight.
The air was thick with the scents of pine, earth,
musk, and ancient magic.And then she saw him.
Alpha Kieran.He stood at the center of the sacred circle like he had been born to command it.Tall. Broad-shouldered. Powerful.
Six-foot-four of controlled violence and dark
authority.His black hair fell across his forehead, while his usually gray eyes shimmered with the golden glow of his wolf.The most powerful Alpha in the northern territories.
The man every unmated female dreamed of.
Lyla lowered her eyes quickly, She had no business dreaming about him.She was just an Omega and he was an Alpha.Their worlds could never touch. Her bare foot stepped onto the sacred stone and everything changed.
A violent force slammed into her chest.
Lyla gasped.Heat exploded through her veins, spreading from her heart to every inch of her body.Her knees nearly buckled as an unfamiliar
presence roared awake inside her.
Her wolf.
Her Mate.The word thundered through her mind.
Mate!
Lyla's eyes flew toward Kieran.
He had frozen too.His head snapped in her direction.For one breathless second, their eyes locked. His nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent of Vanilla and Rain
Something wild flickered across his face.
Recognition.Hunger and Shock.
Lyla's heart soared and he felt it too.
Oh he was her mate!
The Moon Goddess had chosen Alpha Kieran for
her. And for the first time in her life, Lyla felt like she mattered.She took a trembling step toward him.
"Kieran..." she whispered his name.
His jaw tightened.The warmth disappeared from his eyes as he said a screeching No.
The single word echoed through the clearing.
Lyla stopped in her tracks.
"What?" Kieran walked toward her, every step was slow and deliberate, but there was no tenderness in his expression.
He looked her up and down. At her simple white dress, her slender body, her trembling hands and the Omega mark on her wrist. His expression hardened with disgust.
"I expected a warrior," he said coldly.
The clearing fell silent.
"I expected a woman capable of standing beside
me.Someone strong enough to carry my name and lead this pack."
His eyes settled on her face.
"Instead, the Goddess gives me a servant."
A few wolves snickered.
Lyla's cheeks burned.
"I am your mate," she whispered.
Her voice cracked.
"The bond... it's sacred." She continued.
Kieran's expression darkened as he thundered,
"The bond is a shackle."
He turned toward the watching pack.
"A pack is only as strong as its Alpha And an Alpha is only as strong as the bloodline he leaves behind."
His eyes returned to Lyla.
"I will not weaken mine with an Omega who can
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