Looking for link
Chapter 1
I stood before the floor-to-ceiling mirror in my quarters, staring at the woman reflected back at me. I was draped in the traditional white and silver silk of the Blood Moon Pack, the ceremonial attire of a Luna. For ten long years, I, Emelia Mitchell, had poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this pack. I had fought rogue invasions on the front lines, sacrificed my youth, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with my fated mate to build our territory from the ground up. Today was supposed to be the culmination of it all—our official Mate and Marking Ceremony.
My fingers absentmindedly brushed the bare skin on the side of my neck, right where Kendrick's teeth were meant to claim me in front of the Moon Goddess and our people.
The heavy oak door swung open without a knock. Alpha Kendrick Sullivan stepped into the room. He was dressed in his formal black suit, but his posture was rigid. He aggressively rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit I knew all too well, and his eyes deliberately focused on the wall just past my shoulder.
"The ceremony is canceled," Kendrick said.
The words hung in the air, cold and abrupt. I turned to face him, keeping my expression perfectly neutral. "Excuse me?"
"We can't proceed." His voice suddenly dropped an octave, vibrating with the heavy, commanding pressure of his Alpha tone—a cheap tactic to force compliance and shut down any argument. "The sacred Luna Ring has been misplaced. It's a vital pack heirloom, Emelia. We cannot hold a Marking Ceremony without it. We're postponing until it's found."
Deep within my mind, my inner wolf, Athena, let out a vicious snarl. *Liar,* she growled, pacing furiously against the confines of my consciousness. *He reeks of guilt.*
I felt the deception radiating from him, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of a public scandal. I smoothed the front of my silk gown, my voice calm and unyielding. "I see. Then I suggest you instruct the guards to search the grounds. We wouldn't want such a sacred artifact falling into the wrong hands."
Kendrick flinched slightly at my even tone, unable to meet my gaze. He turned on his heel and walked out, leaving me alone in a dress that suddenly felt like a burial shroud.
A few hours later, the atmosphere in the packhouse shifted. As I walked down the main corridors, the usual bustling energy was replaced by hushed whispers. Pack members averted their eyes as I passed. My senses, honed by years of warfare, immediately went on high alert.
Then, I caught it.
Drifting through the open hallway windows was Kendrick's distinct, sharp scent of cedarwood. But it wasn't alone. It was sickeningly intertwined with a cloying, overly sweet vanilla and floral fragrance. Aurelia White. His wolfless Omega assistant.
Following the scent trail, I navigated away from the main packhouse and toward the secluded East Gardens. The closer I got, the more my stomach twisted. Soft, melodic notes from a string quartet floated over the manicured hedges.
I stepped silently through the dense foliage and froze.
The clearing had been transformed. Archways dripping with white roses and lilies framed the center of the garden. Musicians played a romantic ballad in the corner. And there, standing beneath the floral canopy, was Kendrick. He was holding the hands of Aurelia White, who was draped in a lavish, flowing white gown that looked suspiciously like a Luna's ceremonial dress.
He hadn't canceled our fated ceremony because of a missing heirloom. He had canceled my ten years of dedication to host a private, mock Luna ceremony for a weak, wolfless Omega, just to indulge her pathetic fantasies of being a cherished mate.