Anastasia Vale stood beneath the moon arch with blood on her hands.

Not her blood.

A warrior had collapsed near the outer fire just before the ceremony, ribs split wide from a border clash. She had stitched him on a stone bench while girls in silk whispered behind their palms.

Anastasia's thumb ground into the stone mortar. The wolfsbane resisted. It stained the granite a bruised, heavy purple, seeping green juice into the fine lines of her skin.

She washes it off.

Outside, the pack howled in rising rhythm. The Succession Ceremony was beginning.

----

Black Hollow had not celebrated in years. Not like this.

Torches burn across the mountain cliffs. Wolves pack the stone terraces shoulder to shoulder. Music thunders through the winter air while servants pour silver wine beneath banners carrying the Varros crest.

Tonight, Kaelen Varros becomes Alpha King.

And everyone knows Anastasia Vale loves him.

The old king's daughter. The forgotten princess. The girl who looks at Kaelen like he hangs the moon itself.

Nobody mocks her for it anymore.

Anastasia stands near the upper ceremonial stairs in a dark silver gown lined with old royal embroidery. Snow gathers lightly in her crimson curls.

Below her, Kaelen walks through the center of the arena while the crowd roars his name.

Massive. Untouchable. Born for power in a way few men are.

The crown guards follow several steps behind him, but nobody looking at Kaelen notices anyone else. His wolf is close tonight. She can see it in the way he moves—sharp, restless, barely contained beneath his skin.

Beside Anastasia, an older noblewoman leans toward another.

"He'll choose Selene by winter."

"Of course he will. The bloodlines make sense."

"What about Anastasia?"

A soft laugh. "She was raised around him. Men grow fond of familiar things."

Anastasia keeps her face still. Years ago, those whispers destroy her night. Now they only exhaust her. Her fingers tighten around the balcony stone instead.

Below, Kaelen climbs the black ceremonial platform beneath the moon altar. Snow settles briefly across his broad shoulders before melting against his skin.

The crowd erupts instantly.

"Alpha King!"

"Varros!"

"Howl for Black Hollow!"

The wolves answer together, and the sound shakes the mountain. Kaelen raises one hand. Silence falls immediately. That kind of authority still unsettles people.

The High Elder steps forward carrying the moon blade wrapped in white cloth.

"Tonight," he declares, his voice echoing across the cliffs, "Black Hollow crowns its new king."

The crowd erupts. Wolves howl toward the moon. Ancient drums pound against the mountain walls.

Kaelen steps before the ceremonial flame wearing black armor trimmed in silver fur. Snow melts across his shoulders from sheer body heat.

The High Elder cuts his palm with the moon blade. Blood hits the fire. Silver flames explode upward.

The ceremony begins.

Anastasia watches from above while old prayers roll through the arena in the ancient wolf tongue. Kaelen kneels before the fire, and the High Elder presses a blood-marked hand against his forehead.

"Do you swear your blood, wolf, and soul to Black Hollow?"

Kaelen's voice rolls across the arena. "I swear everything to Black Hollow."

The fire roars higher. Wind tears across the cliffs.

Then the moonlight changes.

Anastasia frowns. The silver glow flooding the arena suddenly sharpens into something almost liquid.

The High Elder stops speaking. Every wolf in the territory goes still.

Kaelen's head jerks upward violently. A sound rips from his chest—not human, but wolf. Raw. Ferocious.

The entire arena freezes.

Anastasia feels it a second later. The bond hits her like a blade through the ribs.

Her breath vanishes. Silver heat explodes beneath her skin.

Gasps spread across the crowd as a glowing mark ignites along Anastasia's wrist. At the exact same moment, Kaelen roars.

The sound shakes the mountain. His wolf surges to the surface so hard several guards stumble backward instinctively. Cracks split through the ceremonial platform beneath his feet.

"Mate bond…" someone whispers.

The mate bond activates publicly. During the coronation. Impossible.

Anastasia stares at the glowing silver mark spreading across her arm. Her heartbeat slams painfully against her ribs.

Across the arena, Kaelen turns toward her with terrifying speed. Every instinct in his body locks onto her instantly. Not subtle. Not restrained. Possessive. Ancient.

The crowd follows his gaze. Then the entire territory realizes who the Moon Goddess chooses.

Silence swallows Black Hollow whole.

Anastasia stands perfectly still beneath thousands of eyes. For years, she hides her feelings carefully behind royal posture and practiced dignity. Now the Moon Goddess herself drags everything into the open.

Anastasia's heart pounds hard enough to hurt.

Just say it. Just once. Acknowledge me.

Kaelen cannot take his eyes off her.

The High Elder looks between them carefully. "My King…"

Kaelen ignores him completely. His wolf overwhelms the ceremony. He breathes rough, his jaw clenched hard enough to crack, like every instinct inside him suddenly locks onto one singular truth.

Anastasia..."This cannot happen," the words leave him in a whisper, still audible in the dead silence. Anastasia's breath catches.

Kaelen stares at her like the Moon Goddess curses him personally. Shock spreads naked across his face. Disbelief. Anger. Something close to betrayal.

His wolf pushes violently beneath his skin, demanding proximity, demanding contact—but the man himself looks at Anastasia like she is something growing inside him against his will.

Like a tumor.

Whispers explode through the crowd.

"Did he just—"

"Obvious he doesn't like her."

Anastasia stands perfectly still while humiliation crawls slowly up her spine.

Even now? Even after the Moon Goddess herself chose her?

That hurt more than she expected. The silence stretched. Whispers spread again through the arena.