Chapter 1

Standing by my father’s bedside, Beta Lake spoke in a low, tense voice.

“Miss Anna, Alpha Brian is in a severe condition. The silver poison has begun corroding his wolf soul… Are you sure you don’t want to speak to Alen one more time about the choice?”

I knew exactly what Beta Lake was worried about.

My father had personally selected four strong young Alphas from our allied packs—groomed as candidates to become my mate and future partner in leading Silver Claw.

And anyone with eyes could see that I had always favored Alen.

But Alen… never responded to my mating scent.

I shook my head firmly. “No, Beta Lake. The Moon Goddess has already given her judgment.”

“I trust her to choose the Alpha best suited to help me protect and strengthen Silver Claw.”

My father, Alpha Brian, looked down at the ancient parchment, the one bearing the Moon Goddess’s verdict, revealed through the sacred ritual. With a weary sigh, he murmured, “But Alen… Never mind. May the Moon Goddess watch over us.”

⸻

I stepped out of my father’s room and entered the front hall.

There were the four chosen Alphas: Jack, Daniel, Alexander, and Alen.

The air was thick with unspoken rivalry and quiet tension.

Jack, Alpha of the Wind Howl Pack, gave me a crooked grin.

“Anna, done chatting with Alpha Brian? Were you two deciding how to crown the strongest among us—which, let’s be real, is obviously me—as your Alpha?”

His eyes sparkled with ambition.

Daniel, the candidate from Black Forest Pack, draped an arm over Alen’s shoulder and said with a teasing lilt,

“Oh, please, Jack. Everyone knows that if Anna had her way, Alen would be the one chosen. She’s had a thing for him forever.”

Alen—the proud, aloof Alpha of the Blue Shadow Pack—shook off Daniel’s arm with a glare. He turned to me, voice cold and cutting.

“Anna, even if the Moon Goddess chose me, I would never mark you.

My heart—everything I am—belongs to Vivian. Don’t think you can order me around just because you’re the Alpha heir.”

His words cut deeper than any blade. My wolf soul recoiled at the rejection.

The undeniable bonds meant nothing to him.

I still remembered when my wolf was just awakening, when I was ostracized by the other young wolves… it was Alen who stepped between me and them, driving them away with the first flare of his Alpha aura.

Back then, I truly believed he was the guardian the Moon Goddess had sent for me.

Now, faced with my silence, Alen sneered and added with cruel clarity:

“We can go through the motions—pretend we’re mates for the sake of the pack. But you understand this: Vivian will always be my Luna. You may have the title, but you have no right to hurt her. And don’t even think about earning my mark.”

His words hit like a whip soaked in silver.

What did he take me for? Some desperate fool willing to accept a hollow bond and public humiliation just to claim an Alpha?

I gave a cold, sharp laugh. “And what makes you think the Moon Goddess would choose an Alpha who rejects her bond and defies her will?”

Alen narrowed his eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips. “If not me, then who? Anna, I’m the only one with a true bond to you. These three are just circling for power. Do you honestly think they’ll ever be loyal to you and not your Alpha seat?”

His arrogance made me sick.

“My Alpha,” I said, voice steady with fury, “should be someone loyal to Silver Claw Park. Loyal to me. Completely and without questions.”

He stared at me, stunned. “You’d defy the Moon Goddess? Reject your fated mate?”

Before I could answer, a fragile figure stumbled into the hall—Vivian.

Tears streaming down her face, she collapsed to her knees before me, her voice trembling:

“Miss Anna, I beg you—don’t punish Alen. Please forgive his rudeness and don’t force him to mark you. He… he only acted this way because he loves me so much. I’m begging you. Let us be together.”

Before I could respond, Alen rushed forward and shielded her behind him, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Anna! Look what you’ve done! Just because of this damn fated bond, you’d torment an innocent girl like Vivian?”

Holding her close, he glared at me with venom.

“She’s endured years of scorn and isolation because of you and this unwanted mate bond! And now you push her so far that she has to grovel at your feet?”