Chapter 1

The Bitter Morning

~Eleanor Pov~

"I reject you."

The words cut at me like a slap, each syllable like a blade cutting into the fragile hope that had dared find harbor in my chest.

"I will never accept you as my Luna," Hadin added, his voice unfeeling and merciless. Gray eyes—eyes which only this morning had regarded me with warmth—seared my skin with their disdain.

I stared at him, without blinking, my breath caught in a catch. "What …?" My voice was less than a whisper, shaking over while trying to make sense of what was going on.

"You heard me," he sneered, his lips twisting with distaste. "You are nothing to me. You are the daughter of my enemy, Eleanor. You are tainted with his blood.".

The more these words rang in my ears, the louder and more sharp they sounded. Impossible! this couldn't be, this was the only man who kissed me like a bird, cuddling me like I was made of crystal, saying my name, and enunciating it so great that only this one single word left in the dictionary can bring fulfillment to him. How would he?

"Hadin, please…". I held out an entreating hand. "You can't mean that. I'm not like him-I'm not my father. You know that. Please".

"Don't touch me," he spat, recoiling a step as if he'd seen something foul. The loathing in his tone shook the last bit of composure that had held me together.

"I didn't choose this!" I shrieked, my voice breaking. "I didn't choose to be his daughter! The Moon Goddess paired us for a reason. Please, don't do this—don't leave me like this."

But his face didn't soften. He didn't seem to care that I was begging him. "I don't care what the Moon Goddess thinks. You don't deserve to be by my side."

There was a finality to his tone, and my body siphoned out with his words. My legs started shaking, the muscles threatening to buckle out under me.

Without another word, Hadin turned and disappeared into the forest, the great mass of him swallowed whole by shadows. Footsteps faded to silence.

I fell to my knees, the damp earth seeping through my skin, but I didn't care. Tears streamed down my face, and I clutched at my chest as if the pain were a weight too heavy to bear.

"No," I whispered, my voice breaking into sobs. "No, no, no."

I wanted to scream, to shout, to scratch at the cruel fate that put me here. What had come out, though, was crying, heaving of the shoulders with all the anguish pent inside my heart.

I had finally thought that the Moon Goddess heard my prayers, sending me a partner to help me get out of this existence drowning me. Yet, even this slim hope was utterly ripped clear. I lay in a prone position, feeling shattered and left all to myself, with my agonies from the past running once more to tell everyone that life had never been kind to me in the least.

My mother died giving birth to me.

That was the first thing anybody said to me about her.

"She gave her life for somebody like you, good for nothing," my father had spat his words, dripping them all with disdain.

He hated me from as far back as I could remember. I was that unwanted child who had snatched away the love of his life. He never touched me with kindness, never smiled at me, and never even looked at me without disgust in his eyes.

His new mate was no better. If anything, she was worse. When my father ignored me, she was busy trying to make my life a misery. She treated me worse than the servants in the pack, barking orders and punishing me for even the smallest mistakes.

The pack followed suit with her, and I was the shamefully born Omega daughter of their Alpha: jeered, belittled, and made well and truly aware that I did not belong.

I grew up feeling worthless, unloved, and invisible. My only consolation was knowing that someday I would find my mate. The Moon Goddess would not abandon me. She would send someone who would love me, cherish me, and see me as I am.

And yesterday, I thought that day had finally come.

It was during an inter-pack gathering in the forest. I hadn't wanted to go though being surrounded by people who despised me was unbearable my father had insisted.

"Stop embarrassing me," he growled. "You're still my daughter, whether I like it or not."

For most of the event, I sat at the edges, just trying to avoid their sneers and whispers. It was after hours of enduring hatred that I couldn't bear it anymore. I slipped into the woods, away to be alone with my silence.

It was to the forest that I went, the only place that was my refuge from life's suffocating weight. The trees shielded me from prying eyes, and their branches whispered promises of peace.

That was when I saw him.

He was standing in a clearing. His back was to me, with the sun catching the gleam of his short, wavy strawberry-blonde hair. He stood tall, broad-shouldered, commanding even from afar.

Something in my chest shifted, an invisible thread tugging me toward him. I didn't even realize I was moving until he turned, and our eyes met.

Gray. His eyes were a stormy gray, piercing and intense.

My breath caught. My heart raced.

Mate.

The words echoed in my mind, undeniable and absolute.

"You…," he said, his deep voice full of wonder. "Who are you?"

"Eleanor," I whispered, my throat dry.

He took one step closer and closer until his eyes never left mine. Frozen in place, I could not think. The taut connection between us hissed in the air, electrical and overwhelming.

He reached me, his hand cupping my cheek, running a shiver down my spine. "You're beautiful," he whispered, stroking his thumb over my skin.

Tears welled into my eyes unbidden. No one had ever said that to me. No one had ever looked at me the way he was like I was some kind of treasure.

"Hadin," he said, and it sounded like a gift. "I'm Hadin."

The world behind and around us melted to nothing. He was there: his touch, the sound of his voice, the look in his eyes as he looked at me.

And then he kissed me.

I shut my eyes, and the memory of that kiss ballooned into my head.

His lips were soft and insistent, his mouth moving against mine in such a hungry fashion, that it left me out of breath. His hands had traveled my body, tracing each curve with a reverence that made me feel cherished.

For the very first time in my life, I felt wanted and loved.

We had given in to the bond, letting its pull drag us together until there was nothing left but us. His whispers of my name, his promises, his moans of pleasure, they'd all felt so real.

But that was a lie.

I opened my eyes and stared back at the desolation of the forest in front of me, the tears welling into my cheeks. This ache in my chest just wouldn't bear, nor was it my heart alone; my whole body ached, a hard reminder of that night and finally giving myself to him.

I heaved myself onto my feet and my legs were shaking underneath me. Every step hurt, but I didn't stop.

Instantly, I was dressed, fumbling over my clothes with shaking hands. Then I stumbled from the clearing onto the meadow, and down the path to the trail-my eyes were blurry with tears.

"What am I doing?" I breathed, my body shaking.

It just seemed to hang in the air as I meandered through the forest.

The trees filtered a golden sunlight down to me which did much to rouse the chilliness that had burrowed deep into my bones.

For the very first time in my entire life, I finally felt alone and utterly.