Rhea pov
“Rhea, if you keep twisting your fingers like that, you're going to pull them clean off.”
I looked down. My fingers were in fact, twisted together so tightly that my knuckles had gone white.
“I’m not twisting them.”
Sable stared at me with a cocked brow. “You are.”
“I’m holding them.”
“You've been holding them for the last ten minutes.”
I loosened my grip with a huff.“There. Happy?”
“Very.” she said half laughing.
She then reached over and fixed the edge of my sleeve.
“You're acting like I'm gonna get married.” I said coyly, glancing up at her.
“Well you look like you're about to faint.” She retorted.
“I am not going to faint.”
“That's what you said five minutes ago.”
“And I still haven't fainted.” I was certainly pouting now.
Sable laughed. A warm rich sound that loosened something in my chest.
It made me forget about the hundreds of wolves gathered around us.
Forgot about the ceremony or the fact that in a few minutes, one name would be called and my entire life could change.
I looked around the clearing. Shadow Creek had never looked so crowded. Well as long as I can remember.
Pack members filled the ceremonial grounds, arranged according to rank and family. The elders sat closest to the altar. The warriors stood behind them in neat rows, their expressions solemn. Younger wolves clustered together farther back, whispering and stealing glances at one another.
Everyone understood what tonight meant. The Mate Ceremony wasn't just another pack celebration.
This could mean the beginning of a marriage for some wolves.
For some others, it was the beginning of a new position in the pack.
And for everyone, it was a reminder that the Moon Goddess could change your life with a single name.
Sable nudged me with her elbow. “Stop staring.”
“At what?” I said feigning confusion.
“The Alpha's table.”
I immediately looked away, my cheeks heating up.
“I wasn't staring.” I mumbled.
“You were and you're not a good liar.”
I huffed. “I was looking.”
“That's what staring is when you're embarrassed about it.”
I gave her a look before my face broke into a small smile “You're annoying.”
She bumped me with her hips “you still love me though.”
“Unfortunately.” I said with a roll of my eyes.
She bumped her shoulder against mine.
“I love you too.”
I smiled wide. Sable had always been able to make things feel lighter.
Even tonight when I was seriously nervous.
My eyes wandered back toward the altar despite myself. And there he was.
Kord Doros.
The Alpha's heir stood beside his father, dressed in the dark ceremonial clothes reserved for the future leaders of Shadow Creek.
He wasn't doing anything, but people noticed him anyway. He had the kind of presence that made a room seem smaller.
I had seen Kord countless times before. At pack gatherings. Training grounds. Council meetings when young wolves were allowed to observe.
But tonight felt different for some reason. Maybe because I knew what was about to happen.
I was eighteen now, after all
Old enough and eligible for the Moon Goddess to finally reveal my mate.
“Rhea.” Sable's voice pulled me back.
“Hm?” I answered meeting her eyes.
“You're doing it again.”
“Doing what?” I asked looking annoyed.
“Looking at him.” Heat rushed into my face once more.
“I wasn't.” I denied immediately.
Sable followed my gaze deliberately. Then she looked back at me.
“You definitely were.”
“Oh you, be quiet.”
“Do you want me to ask him to come over?”
My eyes widened.
“No!”
I said it so loudly I covered my mouth in embarrassment. She burst out laughing.
“Why are you panicking?”
“Because you would actually do it.”
“I might.” she agreed smugly.
“Sable.” I whined.
“Fine. I won't.”
She grinned.
I looked toward Kord again. This time, he was looking at me. My breath caught when I met his eyes and I quickly turned away.
Sable noticed.
“Oh.”
“Don't you start.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You were about to.” I argued.
“I was just going to say that he was looking at you too.”
My stomach fluttered at that.
“That doesn't mean anything.”
“Sure it doesn't.”
“Sable.”
“I'm quiet.” she said with a shrug.
I exhaled trying to calm myself.
Aurel stirred inside me, making me freeze. My wolf had been restless all evening, but this was different.
Aurel pressed forward so suddenly that I almost took a step.
Kord. She grunted.
My heartbeat quickened.
“What is it?” I whispered.
Sable frowned.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.” I replied quickly.
Aurel's attention was fixed on the altar.
On him… Kord.
There was something almost desperate in the way she said his name.
I swallowed. Why are you acting like this?
Aurel didn't answer. She just watched keenly.
The drums sounded and the conversations around us died instantly.
Our Alpha stepped forward.
“Tonight,” he began, his voice carrying across the clearing, “the Moon Goddess gathers what has been waiting to be found.”
I clasped my hands together feeling jumpy.
Sable leaned closer to me.
“Breathe rhea.”
Agh!! She can be really annoying sometimes
“I am breathing.” I retorted trying to get her off my neck.
“You're barely breathing.”
I paid no mind to that and inhaled deeply.
The ceremony had officially begun. Names were called and one by one, wolves stepped forward.
Some got matched and some weren't and had to wait for the next festival. Every time a pair was announced, cheers rose from the crowd.
I tried my best to focus. But every few minutes, my eyes found Kord again.
And every time they did, Aurel reacted.
Her reaction grew stronger each time.
Until finally, the Alpha paused.
The clearing became completely silent.
I felt it before I heard my name. My stomach dropped.
“Rhea Vale.”
I was struck in place and couldn't move.
Sable grabbed my hand, saying “Go.”
“I can't.” My voice came out smaller than I intended.
“Yes, you can.” she said, giving me a slight push.
“My legs—”
“Rhea.”
She squeezed my hand.
“You've got this.”
I looked at her uncertain. She gave me a small smile, so I stepped forward.
The walk to the altar felt impossibly long. I could feel hundreds of eyes on me and the whispers weren't helping matters.
When I got to the altar, the Alpha looked at me.
“Rhea, step forward.”
I did.
Then he turned toward Kord.
“Alpha's heir Kord Doros.”
The world stopped and I only heard the sound of my own heartbeat.
Kord lifted his head. My eyes met his green guarded ones.
Aurel exploded inside me.
Mate.
My mate bond had awakened. Heat rushed through my entire body.
I gasped.
Kord staggered slightly.
But I saw it.
His eyes widened. For one perfect second, he looked just as shocked as I felt.
Then something beautiful happened.
The invisible distance between us disappeared.
I could feel him. Not physically, in a deeper, more ancient way. Something that had been waiting for us.
My eyes filled with tears.
Kord.
He was my mate.
Kord Doros was my mate.
I smiled, I couldn't stop myself at this point.
I looked at Sable.
She had both hands over her mouth. Her eyes were shining with tears. She mouthed, Oh my Goddess.
I laughed softly.
Everything suddenly made sense.
All those stories, those dreams. All the times I had wondered what my mate would be like. I had known him all along.
Kord walked towards me.
One. Two. Three steps.
The bond pulled tighter.
Aurel was practically trembling.
Kord.
He stopped in front of me. I looked up at him shyly.
“Hi,” I whispered.
It was the stupidest thing I could have said.
But he didn't smile. His face was pale and set in a hard line.
“Kord?” I called out to him.
His jaw tightened. He looked at me as though he wanted to say something..
Instead, he looked toward the crowd.
Then back at me. His hand twitched at his side.
I waited, my smile slowly disappearing.
“What is it?”
He closed his eyes for a brief moment. When they opened again, there was something in them I couldn't understand.
“I reject you.”
I stopped breathing, it was as though the air had been knocked out of my lungs. The clearing went silent.
I stared at him.
“What?”
His voice was louder this time.
“I reject you as my mate.”
Whispers tore through the crowd as some people gasped.
My ears began ringing.
“No.” Aurel screamed.
Pain tore through my chest making me stumble.
Kord moved forward instinctively.
“Rhea—”
He stopped himself in time. I stared at him in pain.
“You…” My voice broke.
“You rejected me?”
His expression tightened “I did.”
“In front of everyone?” I asked with a shaky voice.
His eyes flickered.
“This is the Mate Ceremony.”
I looked around. Everyone was watching.
The elders. The warriors. The younger wolves. My friends. My sister. Everyone.
Humiliation burned hotter than the pain in my chest.
“Why?”
Kord's face became unreadable.
“You are not suitable to stand beside me as Luna of the clan.”
The words hurt more than the rejection itself.
I stared at him. “Not suitable?”
“Yes, you are not what Shadow Creek needs beside its future Alpha.”
My throat tightened.
“So that's it?”
Kord didn't answer immediately. Then he said quietly, “It has to be.”
Aurel snarled.
Liar.
I didn't know what she meant and I honestly didn't care.
I looked at Sable. She wasn't smiling anymore, she looked frozen.
Her eyes moved between Kord and me.
There was something in her face… Something I couldn't place.
“Sable?”
She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
I looked away. I wouldn't cry.
I couldn't afford to cry in front of them, in front of Kord.
I lifted my chin with the last piece of dignity I had left.
“Then I accept your rejection.”
The words tasted like blood on my tongue.
Kord flinched but didn't react. For a second, he looked devastated. Then his face hardened again.
I didn't understand him.
I turned around, steeling myself inwardly.
The crowd parted slightly as I walked away. Nobody stopped me.
I could hear the whispers.
“Did he really reject her?”
“That's the Alpha's heir.”
“Poor girl.”
“I can't believe it.”
My hands trembled.
Aurel was still furious.
I wanted to leave the gathering entirely. I just wanted to go home.
Suddenly I heard a whisper from somewhere behind me.
“That shouldn't have happened.”
I stopped and slowly turned. Hundreds of faces stared back at me, it could be anyone. My eyes searched the crowd.
Who had said it?
Then my gaze found Kord still at the altar, he was staring at me.
And for the first time since he had rejected me, I saw fear unmistakable in his eyes.
Then someone called my name.
I turned away and began walking out alone.
