Chapter 1 The Crimson Moon Ceremony
Chapter 1:
Sera's POV
"Step forward, Sera."
The words sliced through the ceremonial hall like a blade. Every eye in the Crimson Fang Pack turned toward me. some pitying, most curious, a few openly hostile. I forced my legs to move, each step echoing against marble floors that suddenly felt like they stretched for miles.
Alpha Dante stood on the raised platform, magnificent in his formal leathers, the Blood Moon's crimson light streaming through the vaulted windows behind him. My heart hammered against my ribs. Tonight, he would claim me. Tonight, everything would change.
"Dante." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "I'm here."
His jaw tightened. For a fraction of a second, something flickered in those storm-gray eyes...regret? No. Couldn't be. I'd imagined it.
"Sera of no bloodline," he announced, his voice carrying to every corner of the hall. "You have served this pack faithfully."
My stomach dropped. Served? Not 'my mate.' Not 'my Luna.' Served.
"But the Crimson Fang requires strength." He descended the steps slowly, deliberately. "We require a Luna who can stand beside an Alpha, not behind him."
"What are you saying?" The question escaped before I could stop it.
Lydia emerged from the shadows beside the platform, her red dress clinging like a second skin, triumph written across her beautiful face. My stepsister. The woman who'd made my childhood a living hell.
She touched Dante's arm with casual possession.
"No." The word ripped from my throat. "Dante, we're...the bond-"
"There is no bond." His words fell like stones. "I, Alpha Dante of the Crimson Fang Pack, reject you, Sera, as my mate and Luna."
The hall erupted. Voices crashed over me in waves....shock, approval, cruel laughter. The world tilted sideways.
"You can't." My voice broke. "The mate bond-"
"Was a mistake." Lydia's smile could cut glass. "Surely you felt how weak it was? An Omega mated to an Alpha? Nature corrects its own errors."
"I'm not...I'm not that weak." But even as I said it, doubt crept in. My wolf had always been quiet, small. Different.
Dante's expression hardened. "Your wolf can barely shift. You have no combat training. No political value. You would make us vulnerable."
"Then let me prove myself." Desperation clawed at my throat. "Give me a chance-"
"I'm giving you one." His hand shot out, gripping my chin and forcing me to meet his eyes. The touch that should have sparked with mate-bond electricity felt cold. "The Forsaken Hollows. Survive three days, and perhaps I'll reconsider."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. The Forsaken Hollows...where rogues hunted and darkness ruled. Where even strong wolves feared to tread.
"That's a death sentence," someone whispered.
"Exactly." Lydia's voice dripped with false sympathy. "But it's her choice. Prove you're worthy, little sister. Or die proving you never were."
My hands clenched into fists. Every instinct screamed at me to fight, to rage, to make them see. But the circle of wolves closing around me, the guards stepping forward with silver-laced chains...I was alone. Powerless.
"Fine." I lifted my chin, meeting Dante's eyes with every scrap of pride I had left. "I'll go."
Surprise flickered across his face. Good. Let him be surprised.
"But know this, Alpha Dante." I let the title drip with acid. "When I survive...and I will survive...you'll regret this night for the rest of your life."
Lydia laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "Such bravado. Almost makes me sad to watch her go."
The guards grabbed my arms. Silver burned against my skin, but I didn't flinch. Wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
They dragged me through the hall, past faces I'd known my whole life. Some looked away. Others smirked. Not one person stepped forward to defend me.
The massive oak doors groaned open. Beyond them, the forest waited. Dark, endless, hungry.
"Any last words?" the head guard asked, almost gently.
I looked back one final time. Dante stood frozen on his platform, Lydia draped across his arm like a trophy. Our eyes met across the distance.
"See you soon, Alpha."
They shoved me forward. I stumbled, caught myself, and walked into the darkness with my head high.
The doors slammed shut behind me with brutal finality.
Cold bit through my thin ceremonial dress immediately. I wrapped my arms around myself, scanning the tree line. The Forsaken Hollows stretched before me. Ancient oaks twisted into grotesque shapes, shadows moving between trunks, the distant sound of something howling.
"Just three days," I whispered. "I can do three days."
A branch snapped to my left. I spun, heart racing.
Nothing. Just darkness and the whisper of wind through dead leaves.
I forced myself to move deeper into the forest. Each step took me farther from the only home I'd ever known, farther from the man who'd just destroyed me.
My wolf stirred for the first time in years. Not the pathetic whimper I was used to, but something stronger. Something that felt almost... angry.
Finally paying attention? I thought bitterly.
Another sound. Closer this time. Definitely not the wind.
I broke into a run, branches tearing at my dress and skin. My lungs burned. My legs screamed. But I ran, because stopping meant dying, and I refused to give Dante and Lydia that victory.
A shadow detached from the darkness ahead. Then another. And another.
Rogues. Their eyes gleamed red in the moonlight, saliva dripping from bared fangs.
I skidded to a stop, trapped. Trees behind me. Rogues ahead.
"Well." The largest one spoke, his voice like gravel. "What do we have here? A little lost Omega?"
"Stay back." I tried to summon authority I didn't possess.
He laughed. They all laughed.
I closed my eyes, accepting the inevitable. At least it would be quick. At least I wouldn't have to see Dante's face again.
But instead of teeth ripping into my flesh, something strange happened.
Heat exploded through my chest. Not painful, but intense. Blinding. My wolf, silent for so long, suddenly roared to life inside my mind.
Not a whimper. A roar.
"Run," she commanded, her voice nothing like the weak whisper I remembered.
Run.
My eyes snapped open, and the world looked different. Sharper. Brighter. The rogues had frozen, confusion replacing their hunger.
Power I'd never felt before surged through my veins like liquid silver.
"What-" the lead rogue started.
I didn't wait to hear the rest. My wolf pushed forward, and I ran. Faster than I'd ever moved, faster than should be possible for an Omega.
The forest blurred around me. Behind me, the rogues gave chase, but their howls grew distant.
What's happening to me?
My wolf didn't answer. She just kept pushing, kept running, until the Forsaken Hollows gave way to unfamiliar territory.
Until I crossed an invisible boundary and collapsed on the other side.
The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was a crescent moon tattoo glowing silver on my collarbone was a mark that definitely hadn't been there before.
A mark that changed everything.