The first thing Aria Nightshade learned about being an omega was that people could look straight through you.
They could see you standing in front of them, hear you speak, watch you breathe—and still behave as though you weren’t there.
She had gotten used to it.
At least, that was what she told herself.
“Move.”
Aria’s fingers tightened around the basket in her hands.
She had been carrying fresh herbs from the healer’s cottage when the voice came from behind her.
She stepped aside.
Three girls walked past without thanking her.
Lena was in the middle.
She was one of the strongest young wolves in the Shadow Fang Pack, and she never missed an opportunity to remind everyone of it.
Lena stopped after a few steps.
“Actually…”
She turned around.
“Don’t move.”
Her friends laughed.
Aria stared at her.
“I have somewhere to be.”
“So do we.”
Lena walked toward her.
The difference between them was obvious. Lena carried herself with the confidence of someone who knew she mattered.
Aria had learned to make herself small.
Lena glanced into the basket.
“Herbs?”
“Yes.”
“How exciting.”
Aria said nothing.
Lena smiled.
“You know, Aria, the healer is always looking for someone to clean the shelves. Maybe that’s the highest position an omega like you can ever hope for.”
One of the girls laughed.
Aria looked down at the herbs.
She could have answered.
She could have told Lena exactly what she thought.
But she had learned that fighting back only made things worse.
So she walked past them.
“See?” Lena called after her. “She doesn’t even have a voice.”
The laughter followed Aria all the way to the healer’s cottage.
She didn’t cry.
Not yet.
She had become very good at saving her tears for when nobody was watching.
⸻
The Shadow Fang Pack was one of the oldest packs in the northern territories.
Their village sat between enormous mountains and a forest so deep that even experienced hunters avoided its northern edge.
At the center of the village stood the Alpha’s house.
Beyond it was the training ground.
And today, the entire place was filled with wolves.
Aria stopped at the edge of the field.
Young wolves were training for the annual Moon Ceremony.
The ceremony was tonight.
The most important night of the year.
Every unmated wolf would gather beneath the full moon.
The Moon Goddess could reveal a person’s fated mate at any time—but the annual ceremony was believed to be the night when the bond was strongest.
Aria had never cared much about it.
At least, she tried not to.
“Aria!”
She turned.
Mara, the healer’s daughter, waved at her.
Aria smiled and walked over.
“You came.”
“I had to.”
Mara glanced at the basket.
“Mother said these need to be delivered to the kitchen.”
“I’ll take them.”
“You always say that.”
“Because you always find more work for me.”
Mara laughed.
“That’s because you’re too nice.”
Aria smiled.
Too nice.
That was another thing people often called her.
She wasn’t sure whether it was a compliment.
A loud cheer came from the training field.
Aria looked over.
Kael Blackwood had just entered.
The future Alpha.
The entire field seemed to change when he appeared.
He was the son of Alpha Rowan, the current leader of Shadow Fang.
At twenty-two, Kael was already one of the strongest warriors in the pack.
He was tall, calm, and almost impossible to read.
People respected him.
Some feared him.
And most of the unmated girls in the pack secretly dreamed about becoming his Luna.
Aria had never been one of them.
She looked away.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t see him,” Mara teased.
“I wasn’t looking at him.”
“You were.”
“I wasn’t.”
Mara laughed.
“Fine.”
Aria shook her head.
Then she noticed something strange.
Kael was looking directly at her.
Their eyes met.
For one second, neither of them moved.
Something inside Aria’s chest suddenly pulled.
Hard.
Her breath caught.
A strange warmth spread through her body.
Her wolf stirred.
Aria.
She froze.
Her wolf hadn’t spoken to her like that in years.
What?
There was silence.
Then one word.
Mate.
Aria’s heart stopped.
No.
She had to be imagining it.
She looked away quickly.
But Kael hadn’t.
His face had changed.
The confidence disappeared from his expression.
His eyes widened slightly.
His wolf had felt it too.
Mara noticed.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Aria…”
“I said nothing.”
Across the field, Kael took one step toward her.
Then another.
The crowd slowly became quiet.
Everyone had noticed.
Whispers spread through the training ground.
“What’s happening?”
“Why is Kael walking toward her?”
“Wait…”
Someone gasped.
“The bond.”
Aria’s hands began to shake.
No.
Please.
Not this.
Kael stopped in front of her.
They were close enough for her to see the confusion in his eyes.
His wolf was fighting inside him.
Aria could feel it.
Mate.
Her own wolf was certain.
The bond between them grew stronger.
Someone whispered:
“The future Alpha found his mate.”
Aria looked at Kael.
For the first time in her life, she allowed herself to imagine something different.
Maybe she wasn’t destined to be alone.
Maybe she wasn’t as worthless as everyone said.
Maybe—
Kael stepped back.
The hope disappeared from his eyes.
His expression became cold.
“Aria Nightshade.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Yes?”
He looked around at the watching crowd.
Then back at her.
“I reject you.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Aria couldn’t breathe.
Someone behind them whispered, “An omega?”
Another voice answered, “He rejected his mate?”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“I, Kael Blackwood, future Alpha of Shadow Fang, reject you as my mate.”
The words echoed across the field.
Aria stared at him.
She had imagined many things happening tonight.
That wasn’t one of them.
Her wolf whimpered.
Something inside her cracked.
“Why?”
The word barely left her lips.
Kael looked away.
“You know why.”
Aria swallowed.
“No. I don’t.”
“You are an omega.”
The crowd became restless.
Kael continued.
“I cannot have an omega as my Luna.”
Aria felt everyone’s eyes on her.
Some were pitying her.
Others were amused.
Lena was smiling.
Aria looked back at Kael.
“So that’s it?”
His expression hardened.
“That’s it.”
She nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
It was the only word she could find.
Then she turned around.
She walked.
One step.
Two.
Three.
She refused to run.
Not while they were watching.
She made it past the training field.
Past the healer’s cottage.
Past the edge of the village.
Only when she reached the forest did her legs finally give up.
Aria fell against a tree.
Her hands covered her mouth as the tears finally came.
Her wolf was hurting.
Why did he reject us?
Aria closed her eyes.
“I don’t know.”
We are not weak.
Aria’s eyes opened.
That wasn’t something her wolf usually said.
“What did you say?”
Silence.
Then pain.
A sharp, burning sensation spread through her arms.
Aria looked down.
Thin silver lines were appearing across her skin.
“What…”
The markings continued upward.
They glowed beneath her skin like moonlight.
Aria stumbled backward.
Her breathing became faster.
The forest around her seemed to grow strangely quiet.
Even the insects had stopped.
Then she heard a howl.
Far away.
Another answered.
Then another.
Aria looked toward the sky.
The full moon had risen.
But something was wrong.
The moon wasn’t white.
It was turning silver-red.
Her entire body suddenly became hot.
She screamed.
The silver markings spread across her arms and shoulders.
Her eyes burned.
And somewhere deep inside her, a voice she had never heard before whispered:
Wake up, little Moonborn.
Aria froze.
“What did you call me?”
The voice disappeared.
Then the forest went completely silent.
A shadow moved between the trees.
Aria turned.
Someone was standing there.
An old woman in a long dark cloak.
Her eyes were silver.
She stared at Aria’s glowing markings.
Then she slowly dropped to her knees.
“After eighteen years…”
Her voice trembled.
“You’re finally awake.”
Aria stared at her.
“Who are you?”
The woman looked at the moon.
Then back at Aria.
“My name is Selene.”
She bowed her head.
“And you, child…”
Her voice became almost a whisper.
“…are not an omega.”
Aria’s heart pounded.
“Then what am I?”
Selene looked directly into her glowing silver eyes.
“The last Moonborn.”
And somewhere beyond the forest…
a wolf began to howl.
