The night air was thick with tension, the moon high and bright, casting its silver glow across the gathering place. The entire pack had assembled for the Moon Ceremony, a night that held great significance for them all. It was tradition, a night of recognition and bond-making, but for Alina, it was something far worse. Her stomach twisted in knots as she lingered at the edge of the clearing, barely breathing as she watched the preparations unfold.
Everywhere she looked, the pack was buzzing with excitement, voices chattering in anticipation. Alina had tried to avoid this night, had wished with everything in her that she could have simply stayed home. But no one missed the Moon Ceremony—not even the outcast daughter of the disgraced former beta. She was here because it was her duty, no matter how much it hurt.
From where she stood, she had a clear view of Lukas at the center of the clearing. His tall, commanding figure was impossible to miss, and the way the others gravitated toward him made it clear that he was the heart of the event. His presence was magnetic, pulling everyone's attention like a force of nature. Alina couldn't help but stare, despite the pain it brought her.
Lukas had always been the shining star of the pack, ever since they were children. He was destined for greatness—everyone had known it. He had the strength, the confidence, and the loyalty of the entire pack. Alina had once believed she was a part of that loyalty, once believed that Lukas might have seen her as more than just another pack member. But those dreams had been shattered long ago, on the night he rejected her so coldly.
"Tonight marks a new beginning," Alpha Blackwood's voice boomed, commanding the attention of the entire gathering. He stood tall and proud beside his son, his eyes gleaming with pride. "My son, Lukas, will choose the woman who will become his mate and the Luna of this pack."
The words cut through the air like a knife, and Alina felt the first stirrings of dread deep in her chest. She tried to prepare herself for what was coming, tried to brace for the inevitable, but her heart was already pounding in her ears. She should leave. She shouldn't be here. She didn't need to witness this moment, didn't need to stand here and watch her heart be crushed all over again.
But she couldn't move. Her feet felt like they were glued to the ground, and her eyes remained locked on Lukas.
He was looking out over the crowd, his expression calm and focused. For a brief, foolish moment, Alina allowed herself to wonder—would he even glance in her direction? Would he acknowledge her at all?
As the pack waited with bated breath, Lukas stepped forward. His eyes scanned the faces in front of him, and Alina's pulse quickened. The whole world seemed to narrow down to this one moment, the space between his gaze and her heart. For just a second, hope fluttered in her chest—a weak, desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, he might choose her after all.
Then his gaze found Celine.
Alina felt the world drop out from under her.
Celine stood toward the front of the crowd, tall, elegant, and absolutely radiant in the moonlight. Her long, dark hair flowed over her shoulders like silk, and her confident posture made her look every bit the Luna she was destined to become. She was everything Alina wasn't—strong, beautiful, and loved by the pack.
Lukas's voice rang out clearly, breaking through the silence that had fallen over the gathering. "I choose Celine as my mate."
A deafening cheer erupted from the pack, their voices rising in a wave of excitement and celebration. Alina stood frozen, her mind unable to process what she had just heard. She had known this was coming. She had known. But the reality of it, the finality, hit her harder than she could have imagined.
Her chest tightened as she watched Lukas reach for Celine's hand, pulling her forward into the center of the clearing. The two of them stood together, side by side, the perfect image of the future leaders of the pack. They looked so right together, so perfect, that it made Alina's heart ache.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. The noise of the celebration swirled around her, drowning her in a sea of joy that didn't belong to her. The pack cheered and clapped, their faces filled with happiness as they celebrated their future Luna. But Alina? She was invisible to them, just a shadow on the outskirts of their joy.
No one noticed as she turned and slipped away into the forest. No one cared.
Her legs carried her swiftly through the trees, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she tried to outrun the crushing weight in her chest. She ran until she reached the edge of the river, her heart pounding in time with the rush of the water. She collapsed to her knees, her hands sinking into the soft earth as the full weight of Lukas's rejection crashed over her.
Tears burned in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Crying wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't take away the years of rejection and isolation she had endured. It wouldn't change the fact that Lukas had never seen her as anything more than a forgotten girl, a nobody.
Alina stared down at her reflection in the water, the moon casting a silver halo around her pale face. Who was she now? What was left for her?
Her father had been a respected beta, a warrior who had once commanded the loyalty of the pack. But when he died, that respect had died with him. Her mother, once so vibrant, was now too ill to leave the house, and Alina was left to fend for both of them. The pack didn't care about her, didn't care about her family's legacy.
They had forgotten her.
The truth was harsh, but undeniable.
Alina was nothing.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging into the dirt. She wanted to scream, to rage against the injustice of it all. But what good would it do? She couldn't change the way the pack saw her. She couldn't make Lukas care about her, couldn't make him undo the choice he had just made.
Celine was his mate now. His Luna.
And Alina? She was just the girl they all wished would disappear.
The wind rustled through the trees, and Alina's heart clenched with a deep, aching loneliness. She had never felt more alone in her life. But as she knelt there by the river, her tears finally falling, she made herself a silent promise.
This was the last time she would let herself cry over Lukas Blackwood.
The last time she would let herself feel this weak.
One day, she would find her strength.
And when she did, she would make them all see her.