Elena's POV
The moon hung low and merciless over Darkmoon territory the night I turned eighteen — vast and silver, watching, waiting.
In every other pack, eighteen is a rebirth.
It is the night bones splinter and reshape. The night fire floods the veins. The night a wolf rises beneath skin and sinew and answers the moon's ancient call.
I felt nothing.
No fire licking at my spine. No savage strength clawing its way free. No second heartbeat rising to meet the sky.
Just silence.
And in that silence, the whispers grew louder. The Alpha's daughter, the future Luna.
Wolfless. Useless.
Each word followed me like a shadow that refused to fade.
My father, Alpha Corvin Blackwood, had been growing restless for months. Darkmoon's borders were strong, but not strong enough. To the north ruled Alpha Kale Draven of Ironfang — a name spoken with lowered voices and careful eyes.
Ruthless.
Disciplined.
Unforgiving.
Where my father ruled with pride, Kael ruled with fear. An alliance was necessary. Or at least, that was the justification.
I suspect it had been decided long ago — when Kael and I were still children running through the forest paths between our territories. When his stares lingered too long. When his hand gripped my wrist just a little too tight.
In our world, alliances are sealed in blood or marriage.
The morning after my birthday, I was summoned to the council chamber.
The air inside felt heavy, suffocating. My father stood at the head of the long obsidian table, hands clasped behind his back.
"You will marry Alpha Kael," he said, as if commenting on the weather. "Ironfang will merge with Darkmoon. Our lands will double."
No hesitation.
No discussion.
Just a sentence handed down like a verdict.
My fingers trembled despite my effort to steady them. "Father… I don't even have a wolf."
For a fraction of a second, something flickered in his eyes. Not sympathy but disgust.
"That is irrelevant," he snapped. "This is about power. Stability. The future of our pack." Not about you. He didn't need to say it.
I had known Kael Draven since childhood. He had always been larger than the other boys. Stronger. Quieter. Watching.
Possessive.
If I spoke to another boy, his jaw would tighten. If I laughed too freely, his gaze would darken. If I strayed too far from his side, he would drag me back without apology.
As if I already belonged to him.
He had an older brother once — Rian. Gentle where Kael was sharp. Warm where Kael was cold. Rian used to shield me, hiding me behind his broad frame when Kael's temper flared.
Rian used to laugh.
Until he died.
Kael was seventeen when it happened. The official story was a training accident, but rumors slithered through the pack like smoke.
Kael wanted the Alpha title.
Kael was tired of standing in second place and Kael always got what he wanted, I never asked him about that night.
I never dared.
As I left the council chamber, my father's final words echoed in my mind.
Not your weaknesses.
Weaknesses.
The word carved itself into my ribs.
Back in my chambers, reality pressed down on me in crushing waves. I would never find my true mate.
If the Moon Goddess had meant to bless me with one, she would have given me a wolf.
Instead, I had been handed to Kael.
And Kael did not love. He conquered. Even as children, he treated me like something claimed — not cherished.
When I once danced with a visiting Beta's son, Kael had dragged the boy outside and returned alone, knuckles bloodied, expression blank.
"He won't touch what's mine again," he had said.
Mine.
The memory made my stomach twist.
Would he be cruel in private?
Would he cage me inside Ironfang's stone walls and call it protection? Would he break me slowly, piece by piece, until nothing remained but obedience?
It wasn't love.
It was obsession.
Tomorrow is the proposal ceremony. A spectacle disguised as celebration. I should sleep. I should gather strength.
But how does one rest the night before her freedom is buried? My eighteenth birthday began with candles and ended with a funeral.
The funeral of choice, of hope, of destiny.
No wolf, no mate. Only Kael.
Sleep eventually dragged me under, heavy and dreamless.
Morning arrived without mercy.
My chamber doors burst open, and sunlight sliced across the room as maids hurried in. Behind them stood my stepmother, Selene, draped in silk the color of spilled wine. My stepsister, Sarah, hovered at her side, her smile delicate and venomous.
The curtains were ripped open, flooding the room with harsh gold light.
Selene's lips curved faintly. Satisfied."Oh, Elena," Sarah cooed, tilting her head. "How fortunate you are. To be chosen by such a powerful Alpha."
Her eyes glittered.
"I wonder what he'll do when he realizes his Luna cannot even shift." A soft laugh slipped from her lips.
They believed I was cursed by the Moon Goddess. Too beautiful, they said. Beauty demanded balance.
No wolf.
No mate.
A punishment wrapped in silk and skin. And as the maids began preparing me to be offered to a monster dressed as a alfa,a terrible thought crept into my chest.
Maybe this isn't a curse. Maybe it's a warning