Marked By Moon, The Female Alpha Who Rejected Her Mate

Years back, when Aria and Leo were younger:

Aria’s pov

I caught his scent before I saw him. It was warm and sweet, like fresh bread and sunlight. A second later I heard him crashing through the trees, running straight toward the stream where I liked to think.

I turned just as he stepped out from the bushes. Little Leo stopped when he noticed me sitting on the rock. He quickly hid the plastic bag behind his back. His eyes widened. He clearly thought he would have the place to himself.

“What are you doing out here, little wolf?” I asked, watching him closely. A smile tried to pull at my mouth even though I had come here to be alone. “Running from your mother again?”

He blew out a breath and walked over like he owned the ground. He climbed onto the rock beside me without asking.

“How did you know?” he demanded. “Did you track me? And why are you here anyway? This is my spot. You are not supposed to sit here.” He looked at me as if he expected me to apologize.

Most days I would not have tolerated anyone disturbing me. Being Alpha at fourteen meant everyone watched me, waited for my orders, expected strength I sometimes had to force. This was the one place where I could sit without the pack weighing on my back.

Still, the way he tried to stand tall in front of me made it hard to stay annoyed.

“I did not realize I needed permission to be on land that answers to my name,” I replied calmly.

I picked up a small stone and threw it across the stream. It skipped over the water before sinking. “This territory belongs to the Black Shadow Pack. I lead the Black Shadow Pack. That makes it mine.”

His jaw dropped. Then he lifted his chin.

“I do not care, Aria. If I say this is my place, then it is my place.” He pointed at a nearby tree. “See that carving? Leo Valerius. I put it there. That makes it official.”

I shook my head, amused. I had no interest in arguing with a boy who still smelled like sugar and dirt.

“So,” I said, keeping my voice easy, “what did you steal this time?”

Three months had passed since my grandfather died. Three months since the elders stood before the pack and declared me Alpha. I had trained since I was eleven, but training beside him was different from standing alone in front of wolves twice my age.

Some nights I wondered if they saw me as strong or if they only saw a girl trying to fill a space too large for her shoulders.

“Just cupcakes,” Leo muttered, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“How many?”

He stiffened beside me. His fingers tightened around the plastic bag.

I reached over and messed up his hair, then tugged him against me for a brief hug. Not because he needed comfort, but because I did. “Tell me the truth,” I said more softly.

“Three,” he answered, staring at his shoes.

I looked at him. “You are lying.”

He groaned. “Fine. Seven. I took seven. They are my favorite. And I will give you one if you promise not to tell my mom.” He shoved a cupcake toward me, frosting smashed and uneven. “Only one though.”

I took it. The icing looked terrible from being crushed together in the bag, but I knew how good his mother baked.

“You know she will find out,” I said before taking a bite. “She is making those for the pack meeting tonight. She will not be happy when she counts the tray.”

He grinned, crumbs at the corner of his mouth. “That is why I took seven. If she is going to be angry, it has to be worth it.” He lifted his hands like claws and growled in a dramatic way. “Like that.”

I laughed before I could stop myself. The sound felt strange coming from me lately, but it was real.

We sat there eating in silence for a while, just listening to the water. For once, no one expected orders from me. No one called me Alpha with careful respect.

Then he spoke again.

“Do I really have to call you Alpha now?” he asked, frowning. “My mom keeps telling me I should. It sounds weird. You are not old. Alphas are supposed to be men with gray hair.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling too much.

“Why did they choose you?” he continued. “Could not someone older do it? Sometimes I get scared for you. What if leading makes you tired all the time? What if it changes you?” His voice dropped. “You could have said no.”

I studied him carefully. Even as a boy, there was fire in him. Concern did not make him small. It made him honest.

“My mom says you are strong,” he added quickly. “She says you will protect everyone. So maybe it is fine.”

Something inside my chest softened at that.

“Do not get gray hair like your grandfather though,” he said, trying to look serious. “It will ruin your image.”

I turned toward him fully and took his face between my hands.

“I wanted this,” I told him. “I will do whatever I have to so this pack keeps standing. If gray hair is the price, then I will earn every strand.”

I meant it.

He searched my eyes like he was trying to catch me pretending. Finally he nodded, though he still looked doubtful.

“Will you take a mate one day?” he asked. “My mom says the pack needs an alpha consort. We have not had one in forever.”

The question made my body go still for a moment.

A mate meant vulnerability. It meant someone close enough to matter. Close enough to hurt.

I had thought about it long before the title of Alpha settled onto my head.

“No,” I said quietly, turning back toward the water. “There will be no alpha consort.”

I did not look at him when I said it. Because even then, something in the air between us

shifted in a way I did not fully understand.