Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2
The back door creaked as Cindy slipped inside with the empty casserole dish from Luna Lydia’s kitchen. She set it gently on the counter, palms still tingling from the warmth of the Alpha’s hearth and the even warmer kindness she’d been shown.
“You took long enough,” Mrs. Hale snapped, not looking up from the mirror where she pinned her hair. “Do you think Sebastian Moore’s family has time to wait on a kitchen maid?”
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Cindy murmured.
Mrs. Hale’s eyes lingered on her reflection in the mirror, but her words had carried another weight entirely. She had always measured herself against the Alpha’s family, feeding on their prestige like a shadow at the edges of their light.
When she was a girl, rumor had it she’d boasted often that her fated mate would be Richard Moore, back when he was heir. The disappointment had cut deep when the Moon Goddess had bound him to Lydia instead, and though she’d buried her bitterness, it never truly died.
In time, her envy twisted into a strange conviction, that what the Goddess had denied her would be restored through Anna. If her daughter could be chosen as Sebastian’s Luna, then all of Mrs. Hale’s old wounds would be healed.
It was a fantasy her husband detested; he’d told her more than once that it felt like she’d never stopped competing for the Alpha’s affection. Their arguments over it still echoed through the cottage, but Mrs. Hale clung to her obsession like a secret flame.
Anna swirled past in a pale blue dress, her dark curls bouncing. She looked radiant, glowing with the anticipation of the night. Mrs. Hale’s smile softened for her true daughter, “You look beautiful honey, Sebastian would be lucky to have you as his mate.”
Anna twirled around, her curves flying in the air, then made a dramatic pause.
“But mum, what happens if the goddess surely makes me Luna? Will Sebastian leave Sara for me?”
“Of course, no man can resist my beautiful daughter.” Mrs. Hale said with that soft smile still. “Now run along and finish getting ready. Tonight might be a big night for our family.”
Her face hardened again when her eyes cut back to Cindy.
“Keep to the back,” she warned. “Don’t embarrass us.”
Cindy lowered her head, as always swallowing the sting. She washed up quickly, smoothing her plain dress, the only one fit for the festival. Something in the air made her pulse quicken, the drums, the torches outside, the moon rising like a great silver eye.
By the time she followed Anna and Mrs. Hale onto the dirt path, the whole village was streaming toward the green. Torches lined the way, laughter and chatter filling the night. Cindy carried the family’s offering, hugging the basket as though it gave her purpose.
The festival green opened wide before her, blazing with light and life. Wolves howled from the forest edge, the bonfire roared, long tables groaned with food. The pack gathered thick around the flames, expectant, restless.
High on the platform, Alpha Richard Moore sat with Luna Lydia at his side, and beside them, Beta Cedric Hale leaned forward. Cindy caught only a glimpse before slipping into the crowd, but the two men’s voices carried, their tones warm but edged with pride.
“Just the other day he was a boy chasing shadows in these woods,” Cedric said, his gaze lingering on Sebastian. “Now look at him. Strong enough to inherit the pack, ready to be taught to lead.”
Richard nodded, his eyes bright with pride. “He has grown well. Tonight, perhaps, the Goddess will make it plain who will stand beside him. The pack needs to see its future Luna.”
Their words drew approving murmurs from nearby wolves. To the pack, Sebastian was the promise of strength and legacy. To Cindy, he was a reminder of everything she could never have. She slipped away to the edge of the tables, placing her loaves carefully among the offerings, doing her best to remain unseen.
And yet, when she dared a glance across the flames, Sebastian was already there, tall, broad, laughter easy on his lips. Sara clung to his arm, triumphant in crimson silk.
Cindy turned quickly, but her heart betrayed her, fluttering traitorously in her chest. She was, invisible, bound only to servitude. She had no place even dreaming.
The drums pounded louder, echoing the rise of the moon. The pack’s howls mingled with the crackle of the bonfire, but in the midst of it all Sebastian suddenly stilled.
His nostrils flared. His head lifted slightly, amber eyes narrowing as if he’d caught a thread of something the rest of them could not. A murmur rippled through those nearest to him. Luna Lydia steadied herself by her husband’s elbow, Speechless.
He inhaled again, sharper this time. The scent was undeniable. Warm, intoxicating, threaded with something wild and sweet, cinnamon and pine smoke, honey warmed by fire. It wrapped around him, pulling him taut, stirring something deep in his chest that no training, no will, could resist.
He pushed forward, ignoring the voices calling his name. The circle of young she-wolves shifted eagerly, each girl straightening, hearts racing as he drew near.
But Sebastian barely spared them a glance. His steps were sure, driven, as though the goddess herself tugged him by an invisible cord. He passed them all, his expression sharpening with every breath.
The crowd hushed, torches crackling in the silence. Even the drums faltered.
Cindy’s heart thundered painfully in her chest. She pressed back against the shadows at the edge of the green, desperate to make herself smaller, unseen. She wasn’t meant for this. She wasn’t meant for anything.
And then he stopped.
Right in front of her.
For one impossible, breathless moment, his eyes met hers, molten amber colliding with the dark pools of her fear. Heat shot through her veins, her knees nearly giving way beneath the weight of it.
“You,” Sebastian growled, the word torn from him, half snarl, half revelation. His lip curled as though the truth itself offended him. “The goddess… chose you?”
Gasps ripped through the crowd like a storm wind. Sara’s hand flew to her mouth, her face bleaching white. Wolves exchanged stunned looks, whispers rising sharp and disbelieving.
Cindy stood frozen, shame and terror crashing through her. Of all the girls, of all the worthy she-wolves the Goddess could have bound to Sebastian, why her? Why the invisible servant no one claimed?
Sebastian’s voice carried again, harsh and disbelieving with a tone of disgust like a blade cutting through the night.
“She’s my mate.”
The world tilted. The bonfire roared. And for Cindy, there was no air left to breathe.