Chapter 1 The Altar of rejection
The lunar altar was a rough big stone rising from the heart of the south, it was a place where the moon goddess was supposed to join two souls together in a knot that no man could break. But to Astraea, the night did not feel that way.
Astraea stood in the middle of the stone, her thin white dress hanging on her shoulder. Her hands were shaking, but she joined them together, trying to hide the way her skin looked transparent under the full moon.
To everyone else, the ‘sickly omega’ was just cold, but to Astraea, it felt like her entire bones were freezing, a sickness she had carried from birth that the southern sun could never melt. The healers called it a ‘failing heart.’ They said her wolf was too weak to sustain her body.
“Look at her,” a voice said from the front row of the iron ridge pack. “Is that really the woman that is supposed to lead the shadow fang pack? She looks like something that would blow away if the wind blows too hard.”
“She is a curse,” another whispered. “Have you seen the crops in the valley? They have all turned to dust they started the year she reached her shifting age.”
Astraea kept her eyes on the ground, but she could feel the heat coming from the man standing some feet away. Jaxon, her fated mate, the Alpha of the south. His golden aura was so thick it was visible, a heat that made the air around them vibrate.
Jaxon did not look at her, he looked at the crowd. His fingers switching, as if he was already looking for a way to get rid of her.
“Alphas of the four realms, wolves of the south,” Jaxon said, his voice sounding like a command. “Tonight was meant to be the night that I accept the moon's gift. Tonight was meant to be the start of a new dawn for the Shadow fang pack.”
Then he turned his golden eyes on Astraea. There was no love there, only a cold disappointment.
“Astraea, he said, her name sounding like bitter medicine. “Step forward.”
She moved towards him, her legs feeling heavy. The cold feeling in her chest spread throughout her body. It was so strong that she stumbled, nearly falling.
Jaxon did not reach out to help her. He moved back, a sneer curling his lips.
“Look at her,” Jaxon said, turning to talk to the pack’s that were in attendance for the ceremony. “Look at the woman the moon goddess chose to be the luna of the Shadow fang.”
He turned pointing at her, “an omega who cannot even walk five steps without falling. A wolf who, when she shifts, is the color of a corpse.”
“Jaxon,” Astraea whispered, her voice soft. “The bond… I can feel it. It's supposed to make us stronger together, if only you would take my hands….”
“Take your hands.” Jaxon laughed, a harsh loud sound. That made others from the surrounding pack also laugh. “And do what? Let your sickness drained the rest of my strength.”
“Look at our land, Astraea. The south is the land of the sun. We value fire, strength, power, and the hunt. We are the bread basket of the world. Yet our fields are turning dry, tell me why?”
He came into her personal space, his aura so hot I felt like it was physically burning her skin. “Because the moon goddess played a costly trick on us,” Jaxon growled, his face very close to hers.
“She gave us a Luna who is empty. You are not a wolf, Astraea. You're a parasite. You've been sucking the luck out of the shadow fang pack. Since the day you shifted
“That's not true,” Astraea said tears coming into her eyes. “I've served this pack. I've worked in the kitchen. I've healed the wounded.”
“You have been a burden,” Jaxon roared, turning back to the crowd.
“A high alpha needs a queen who can hunt beside him in the day and produce heirs who will rule the night. He does not need a broken toy that needs to be babied because a wind might break her bones.”
The Alpha of the mist claw pack, a man wearing gold fur, leaned forward from his seat. “The law is clear, Jaxon. A fated bond is the goddess's will. To reject it is to risk her wrath.”
Jaxon's jaw tightened. “The goddess wants the wolves to survive, and we cannot survive with a white plague as Luna. Look at her, Have any of you seen anything as pathetic as that? It is an insult to our pack.”
He turned to Astraea his eyes narrowing. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Astraea felt a strange sensation building behind her ribs, a cold pressure that wanted to scream, it wanted to explode, but she pushed it down. She has been taught her whole life that her cold was a sickness.
“Jaxon, I love you,” she begged, tears falling down her eyes. “We are fated for a reason, my mother always said that when the sun and the moon meet…
“Your mother was a concubine who died of the same disease you have.” Jaxon snapped. “Do not talk to me about fate. Fate is what I will make with my own two hands.”
He reached out grabbing her hands so hard it was enough to bruise. “You think you are special. You are nothing. You are a defect in this world, and tonight I'm fixing that mistake.”
He pushed her away and Astraea fell to the ground on the altar. The impact of the fall sent a jolt through her, and for a second the ground under her turned to ice. No one noticed, they were too busy watching Jaxon.
Jaxon turned to the high seer who stood by the alter sacred flame. “Seer, record this before the moon and the packs of the realm.”
“I, Jaxon, Alpha of the Shadow fang pack, sovereign king of the Southern Sun, hereby declare that I will not be mated to this wolf. I will not let my pack die because of a faulty bond.”
