There’s a tradition our pack undergoes on the night of a Bloodmoon. It’s where a Luna is chosen for the pack’s Alpha.

In front of the Bloodmoon estate, wolves of all hierarchies gather as Alpha Kael, CEO of Nightfang Corporation, mounts the podium, radiating power and dominance in a tailored suit.

I watch from the last row, where us omegas are required to sit, eager to watch the ceremony unfold.

I know I can never be a part of these things. That as an omega, the highest I’m entitled to is working as a cleaner in the Nightfang empire — which I wasn’t even qualified for. But I still can’t stop the excitement of watching these things. Especially Alpha Kael.

He stands with his spine straight, staring unseeingly at the crowd before him. Dark, tousled hair falls onto his narrow eyes. I can barely see what color they are, but I know from common knowledge. Red.

The seer steps onto the podium beside him, frail and weakened compared to him, but radiating wisdom.

“We are gathered here today to witness the choosing of the Bloodmoon Luna for our Alpha, Kael.”

Murmurs full of excitement erupt. I crane my neck to scan the first rows of eligible, high-ranked women who could very much become his Luna.

Lucky.

“May the moon shine her wisdom upon me….” The seer holds his hands up and starts glowing, his moon patterns lining up his wrinkled body.

Seconds pass. Minutes. But it feels like hours to me and everyone present.

Then the glow fades.

He pulls open his eyes with a gasp.

“Our Luna is… Lyra Vale?” The surprise in his voice is palpable, until I realize he called my name.

Everyone starts murmuring, wondering who the hell that is. Wondering who the hell I am.

“Lyra Vale?…” he echoes again, searching the crowd this time.

Slowly, I rise to my feet and the silence is deafening, bringing an intense shade of red to my cheeks.

Alpha Kael locks eyes with me, trying to pin my identity, while the seer gives me a once-over.

“An Omega?” he echoes, unsure, and as if on cue, murmurs rise.

“Come forward, child.”

I do.

I make my way to the podium, almost tripping as I attempt to climb the high structure. Then I stand awkwardly beside Alpha Kael, trying not to be intimidated by his immense aura.

The seer touches me with a frown, and disbelief takes over his features.

Someone in the crowd starts laughing, and immediately everyone starts talking at once.

“Have you lost your powers, Seer? She’s an omega!” an elder council member yells above everyone.

“An omega….”

“…a joke….”

“Poor Alpha Kael….”

The echoes of everyone talking hit me at once from all angles. The hateful stares from the women. The disgust from the elders. I instinctively step back.

“Silence!” the seer croaks, and though it’s weak, everyone shuts up.

“This is the wish of the moon’s spirit —”

“I refuse such.”

The silence is palpable. Everyone, including me, turns to look at Alpha Kael.

He’s staring at me, not with disgust, but with confusion. Like he’s unoffended that the moon spirit is playing such a game with him.

“I, Alpha Kael…” His eyes don’t leave mine. “…refuse Lyra Vale as my mate.”

He edges toward me, and I want to take a step back, but I’m at the edge of the podium. One more step and I’ll plummet to a fatal fall.

“You are not fit to be my mate.”

His words almost bring tears to my eyes, but I blink them back. I’m already pathetic. Crying would bring me lower.

“But Alpha Kael… it is the wish of the moon spirit. She’s the chosen Luna.”

“She is an Omega!” he growls, and everyone gasps at his thundering voice. “I refuse to be humiliated like this.”

He turns to the crowd. “This ceremony is over.”

Alpha Kael drops down from the podium and walks off, away to his penthouse in the Nightfang estate.

The murmurs continue. Everyone is staring at me, laughing at me. And the seer does nothing. He ruins my life, only to watch me face it, powerless to do anything.

Before a tear can drop, I climb down wobbly from the podium. The torches around the ceremonial clearing burn low as the crowd begins to disperse, their whispers spreading through the night like restless wind.

I keep my head down.

I don’t remember deciding to move. One moment I’m standing beneath the Bloodmoon with hundreds of eyes on me, the Seer’s voice still echoing through the stunned silence—

“Lyra Vale.”

—and the next moment my feet are carrying me away.

Past the stone platform.

Past the gathered elders.

My chest tightens painfully, but I refuse to look back.

The gravel path crunches beneath my shoes, each step sounding far too loud in the quiet night. The forest stretches around the clearing, branches swaying gently in the silver-red light of the Bloodmoon.

Behind me, the murmurs are already rising.

I can still hear them.

“…an Omega…”

“…the Alpha’s mate…”

“…that can’t be right…”

My arms wrap around myself as I walk faster.

The Omega quarters sit at the far edge of the pack grounds, half-hidden behind the storage sheds and herb gardens. The wooden building looks smaller tonight, the lantern by the door flickering weakly in the wind.

Home.

Or at least the closest thing I have to one.

I push the door open quietly and slip inside.

The hallway is empty.

Most of the Omegas attended the ceremony tonight. They’re probably still there, lingering in the clearing, watching the aftermath of the disaster I’ve somehow created.

My lips press together.

Disaster.

The word echoes in my mind as I make my way down the hallway toward my room.

The floorboards creak beneath my steps.

When I reach the door at the end of the corridor, I slip inside and close it gently behind me.

My room is small—barely large enough for the numerous narrow beds, dressers, and the window that overlooks the forest. A folded blanket rests at the foot of my mattress, and the faint scent of dried lavender lingers in the air.

Simple.

Quiet.

Mine.

I lean back against the door, my knees suddenly weak.

For a moment I just stare at the floor, the events of the ceremony replaying in my mind whether I want them to or not.

The moon has chosen.

A shaky breath leaves my lungs.

“Of course,” I whisper.

Of course it would choose me.

The forgotten Omega.

The girl everyone either pities or ignores.

My fingers curl against the wood behind me.

For years I’ve watched him from afar—Alpha Kael standing at the head of the pack, tall and unyielding, his presence commanding every room he enters.

Strong.

Untouchable.

A storm no one dares to challenge.

And I—

I’ve loved him quietly.

The admission settles heavily in my chest.

Not that it ever mattered.

I never expected anything from those feelings. Never allowed myself to. It was easier to hide them in silence, to tuck them away where no one could see.

Because girls like me don’t belong in the Alpha’s world.

Girls like me belong here. In the Omega quarters. Cleaning the kitchens. Tending the gardens. Staying out of the way.

I push myself off the door and cross the room slowly before sitting on the edge of my bed.

The mattress dips beneath my weight.

My gaze drifts to the small wooden pendant hanging from the knob of my dresser.

My mother’s pendant.

I reach for it without thinking, my fingers closing around the smooth, familiar surface.

A dull ache spreads through my chest.

Three years.

It’s been three years since the Silverline attack.

Three years since the night everything fell apart.

The memories come in flashes sometimes—the sound of wolves howling in the distance, smoke drifting through the trees, warriors shouting as they rushed past our home.

And my father’s voice.

“Lyra.”

My throat tightens.

I can still see him clearly, kneeling in front of me while chaos roared outside.

His hands gripped my shoulders, his eyes fierce and urgent.

“Listen to me. No matter what happens tonight… you keep living.”

My mother stood beside him, pulling me into her arms like she could shield me from the entire world.

“Promise us,” she whispered as she pressed the pendant into my hand.

“Promise you’ll survive.”

I close my eyes.

“I promise,” I murmured softly.

And I kept that promise.

Even when the pack started looking at me differently afterward.

Even when the whispers followed me through the halls.

Even when loneliness wrapped itself around me like a second skin.

I survived. One day at a time. Working. Cleaning.

Helping wherever I could.

Breathing.

Living.

Because that’s what they asked me to do.

My grip tightens around the pendant.

But tonight…

Tonight the moon chose me. Chose me to stand beside a man who clearly wants nothing to do with me.

A hollow laugh escapes my lips.

“Mate,” I whisper.

The word feels strange.

The bond is supposed to be sacred. Unbreakable. Something that brings two wolves together like fate itself designed them to fit.

But the look in Kael’s eyes when the Seer said my name—

That wasn’t recognition.

It wasn’t relief.

It was cold.

Disbelieving.

Almost angry.

My chest aches.

I pull my knees up onto the bed and wrap my arms around them.

Outside my window, the Bloodmoon still hangs in the sky, glowing deep crimson against the darkness.

The moon that changed everything.

I stare at it for a long moment.

Then I whisper quietly into the stillness of my room.

“I’m still trying.”

Trying to live.

Trying to survive.

Just like I promised.

Even if the moon itself seems determined to make that promise harder to keep.