Lyra's POV
"You're going to ruin everything."
I freeze with my hand halfway to the silver moon pendant at my throat. In the mirror's reflection, Seraphina stands in my bedroom doorway, her arms crossed and that familiar cruel smile playing at her lips.
"I don't know what you mean," I say quietly, turning back to face the mirror. My fingers tremble as I fasten the delicate chain—the pendant Kael gave me four years ago, the night our mate bond snapped into place. The night the Moon Goddess herself declared we belonged to each other.
Tonight, that bond becomes official. Tonight, I finally become Kael's Luna.
"Don't you?" Seraphina glides into the room like she owns it. She's already dressed for the ceremony in a deep red gown that shows off her curves, her dark hair cascading down her back. Everything about her screams power and confidence—everything I've never been.
She circles me slowly, studying my simple white ceremonial dress. "You really think he wants this? Wants you?"
My heart stutters, but I force myself to stay calm. "The Moon Goddess chose us as mates. Kael and I have been bonded for four years—"
"A bond he's never completed." Seraphina's words are soft, almost gentle. That's how I know they're meant to hurt the most. "Four years, and he still hasn't marked you. Haven't you ever wondered why?"
Because we were waiting for the right time. Because Kael wanted to wait until he became Alpha. Because—
"That's enough, Seraphina." My stepmother Helena sweeps into the room, her face stern. For a moment, I think she's actually going to defend me.
Then she looks at me with those cold eyes and says, "You should be grateful, Lyra. An Alpha like Kael could have chosen anyone. The fact that he's going through with this ceremony at all is more than a girl like you deserves."
The words hit like a physical blow. My wolf stirs inside me—small, quiet, always so much weaker than everyone else's—and whimpers softly.
"I am grateful," I whisper, hating how small my voice sounds.
Helena adjusts the veil on my head with rough fingers. "Then act like it. Smile. Don't embarrass this family more than you already have."
They're talking about my wolf. They're always talking about my wolf.
In a world where strength means everything, where powerful wolves command respect and weak ones are invisible, I've always been the latter. My wolf is small. My powers are ordinary. I'm the daughter of the pack's former Beta, but I might as well be nobody.
Except to Kael.
I close my eyes and remember that night four years ago. I was eighteen, standing in the training grounds after a session where I'd failed—again—to shift as fast as the others. I was alone, crying, convinced I'd never be good enough.
Then Kael found me.
The moment our eyes met, the world exploded into color and sensation. The mate bond slammed into place with such force I fell to my knees. Kael caught me, and in his eyes I saw recognition, desire, belonging.
"You're mine," he'd whispered, touching my face with trembling fingers. "The Moon Goddess gave you to me."
That night, he gave me this pendant—a silver moon with our initials engraved on the back.
That night, he promised me forever.
"Lyra." My father's voice makes me open my eyes. Marcus Ashborn stands in the doorway, looking uncomfortable in his formal clothes. He's a shadow of the strong Beta he used to be, worn down by years of Helena's subtle cruelty.
"It's time," he says softly.
My heart starts racing. This is it. This is really happening.
Seraphina leans close as she passes me, her whisper barely audible. "He doesn't love you. He's never loved you. Tonight, you'll see."
But I don't let her poison touch me. Not tonight. Not on the night I've dreamed about for four years.
We walk through the pack house, down familiar corridors now lined with white flowers and silver ribbons. Pack members bow their heads respectfully as we pass, but I catch their whispers.
"Can't believe he's actually going through with it..."
"She's so weak, how will she survive as Luna..."
"The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake..."
My father's hand tightens on my arm. He doesn't defend me. He never does.
Then we step outside, and my breath catches.
The sacred moonstone clearing is filled with hundreds of pack members. Visiting Alphas from allied packs stand at the edges, their powerful auras making the air thick with dominance. White petals carpet the ground, leading to the ancient moonstone altar that glows under the light of the full moon.
And there, standing at the altar in his Alpha ceremonial robes, is Kael.
My mate. The man I've loved since I was a child. The one person who's supposed to see me as worthy.
He's devastatingly handsome—tall and muscular, with dark hair and eyes the color of amber. Every inch of him radiates power and authority. He's everything an Alpha should be.
I start walking down the petal-covered path, my heart pounding so hard I can barely breathe. This is it. After tonight, I'll be his Luna. His mate. His forever.
Kael watches me approach, and I search his face for the warmth I remember, the love I've held onto through four long years of waiting.
But his eyes...
His eyes are cold.
Ice runs down my spine. Something's wrong. Something's—
I reach the altar. The pack Elder begins speaking the ancient words of the mating ceremony. My hands shake as Kael takes them in his.
His grip is loose. Distant.
The Elder's voice carries across the silent clearing: "Alpha Kael Thornwood, do you accept this bond the Moon Goddess has given you? Do you accept Lyra Ashborn as your fated mate and Luna?"
The silence that follows is wrong. It stretches too long.
Kael's amber eyes meet mine, and in them, I see nothing. No love. No warmth. Nothing.
When he speaks, his voice is loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I cannot."
The world stops turning.
"What?" The word barely escapes my lips.
Kael's expression doesn't change. "I, Alpha Kael Thornwood, reject—"
"No." I'm begging now, tears already streaming down my face. "Kael, please, what are you—"
"—you, Lyra Ashborn, as my fated mate."
The pain is instant and excruciating. It feels like my chest is being ripped open, my heart torn in half. I gasp and fall to my knees on the white petals, clutching at my chest where the mate bond is dying.
My wolf howls in agony inside my mind—a sound so broken, so devastated, it makes me sob harder.
"Kael!" I reach for him desperately, but he steps back.
Above us, the full moon begins to bleed red.