Chapter 1
Arielle's pov
Father, before he died, used to tell me stories, fairytales and folklore about the Moon Goddess and her role in our fate.
He would say, “Dear Arielle, fate is kind to those who wait, the Moon Goddess decides our fate.”
“What is our fate?” I had asked.
“To be bound to our mates — the one we would spend the rest of our lives with. The bond between mates is a sacred gift. It is unbreakable and undeniable. The Moon Goddess who decides those to be bound together never make mistakes.”
“She doesn't?”
“Never.”
Well, he lied.
The Moon Goddess is a liar and I learned that the night my whole world turned upside down.
The Moonlit Festival has always been my favourite night of every year.
Well, not because of the music thrumming through the ballroom. Not because of the glowing lanterns and exquisite decorations that float like stars against the dark patterned ceiling or the way the entire pack came alive under the full moon. No. I loved it because of him — Asher Blackwood.
Asher, the Alpha's son.
Asher, my best friend. The boy I had spent years loving in silence. The boy I spent my entire childhood loving, praying to the Moon Goddess every Moonlight festival that she chooses him for me.
Tonight, I would finally know my fate.
I smoothened my dress and took steadying breaths as I stepped onto the festival floor.
The scent of spiced cider and cooked meat filled the air. Laughter and soft classical music rang around me, but I barely noticed it. My heart was pounding so loud in my ears.
My eyes drifted around the room, scanning the crowd for Asher, wondering where he is.
My heart was beating with anticipation but also with worry because Asher and I always attended the festival together. We would meet at his mansion and he would sneak me into the festival, but today was different I had turned eighteen and it was time for me to finally meet my mate, but Asher didn't show up to our usual spot so I had to come here alone.
I heaved a sigh of exhilaration when my eyes landed on a familiar silhouette.
“Asher.” Those words left my lips before I could think.
I took a step forward and another but I froze midway.
Asher wasn't alone.
He was with a woman, her red dress had a fitted bodice that clung to her like a second skin, her golden-blonde hair fell in waves with an elaborate headpiece placed above it. A smooth laugh escaped her lips and I instantly knew who she was.
Vanessa.
She draped over Asher like she belonged there, tracing the embroidered patterns on the tunic I had made for him myself.
I clenched my fists at my sides, horrified and angry at the sight playing before my eyes.
“Asher!” I called out.
“Ari.” he said when our eyes met, flashing me that sexy smile that always made my chest tight.
Ari was just a nickname. A casual, friendly nickname he always called me but my traitorous heart always fluttered whenever I heard it.
Vanessa smirked, her piercing blue eyes hiding her cruelty.
“Oh, look who decided to show up. I was wondering when you'd crawl out of whatever hole you've been hiding in.”
My jaw tightened but I refused to take the bait. I had learnt long ago that fighting back would only make things worse.
Asher frowned at Vanessa. “Don't say that. Be nice to her.”
Vanessa pouted. “But this is me being nice.”
She was a damned liar. Vanessa wasn't nice and she had never been.
For years, she and her twin, Rowan, had sworn to make my life a living hell. And they did it with little things — spilling ink all over my school books, ripping my ball gowns and stealing my food. And that was not all. The worst were their words. Their whispers would dig into my skin like thorns, telling me repeatedly that I was nothing.
And mom?
My mother had done nothing to stop them. And whenever I fought back, she would always defend them by saying, “You only know how to talk with your fist, Arielle. Don't touch your brother and sister or you'll get it.”
My fists tightened at the thought of my mother. Julia Slyden, now Julia White, who was once the mate of my father, now she is the mate of the Pack's Beta. I had barely grieved my Late father before she married Beta Marcus, throwing herself into a new life as if our old one had never existed.
Mother, my birth mother, had looked at me with dismissive eyes everytime I tried to tell her about Vanessa and Rowan. Even Marcus, my so-called step-father, would dismiss me with his normal casual reply.
“Learn to endure it, Arielle,” he would laugh. “They're just kidding around. You know they're your family now.”
Family.
I used to love hearing that word. But now, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Now, it made me sick.
“Are you excited to find your mate?” Asher asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
Our eyes met and he smiled again. The soft expression on his perfect face made my heart flutter again. He was watching me with his ocean-blue eyes. His luscious blonde hair trimmed perfectly and his smile gleaming against his chiseled jawline. He was perfect.
‘Are you excited to find your mate?’ I replayed his question in my head. Looking at him, I knew I was, and he was standing in front of me.
“More than anything.” I said with a soft smile.
He grinned at my response. “Maybe we'll get lucky.”
“Maybe…” I whispered. Maybe, we'll get lucky? Hope flickered in my chest as I stared at him. Asher wants me as much as I want him.
I nearly did a little dance. The butterflies won't stop rioting in my stomach.
“Don't get your hopes up,” Vanessa said, her cold voice cutting through the air. My happiness vanished instantly like it had never existed.
She continued, glancing at Asher with a smirk on her face.
“I wouldn't if I were you.”
I stiffened at her words. Don't get my hopes up? What did she mean?
I turned to Asher who still had her on his lap.
Realization kicked me in the face. How did I not notice that before?
Vanessa craned her hands around his neck and whispered something to him. And he laughed. They were flirting right in front of me.
What was going on?
Vanessa turned to look at me. “Oh. You're still here. Asher told you to go find your mate. What are you waiting for?”
He what?
My eyes flickered to Asher's but he refused to meet my gaze.
‘Maybe we'll get lucky.’ he wasn't talking about us but Vanessa. I recalled Vanessa’s words,
She wasn't warning me. She was telling me the truth and she was cruel about it. The worst of it all was Asher wasn't even denying it. He knows just how much I love him yet he doesn't want me as his mate but Vanessa.
My eyes began to water as tears threatened to fall, but I dared not cry in front of them, not in front of everyone. Without another word, I turned on my heels and walked away, ignoring Asher as he called my name.
I needed to get out of here.
I needed to be alone.
The festival was suddenly becoming too loud, too bright and too suffocating.
I shouldered through the crowd, heading towards the exit where the torches and candles didn't reach.
I didn't know how long I had wandered until I felt it.
A strange tug at my heart.
A distant pull.
I stopped dead in my tracks and my eyes trailed ahead. A figure stood, leaning against the oak tree. His face was half-shrouded in the shadows but I'd recognize him even in my sleep.
He was Damian Blackwood.
Asher's older brother.
The one they called “The Wolf Without A Soul.”