I never planned to attend the Blood Moon Gathering.
If anyone had asked me why I was there, I wouldn't have had a good answer.
I had spent most of the day helping prepare the pack house. Carrying supplies. Arranging tables. Restocking drinks. Fixing little things that no one else seemed to notice.
It was easier to keep working than to think about why I hadn't been invited as an actual guest.
By the time the Gathering began, leaving felt more noticeable than staying.
So I stayed.
I told myself I'd find a quiet corner, wait until things settled down, and disappear before anyone remembered I was there.
That was usually how I survived Silvercrest.
Quietly.
Unnoticed.
Invisible.
The pack house looked beautiful that night.
Golden lights hung from the wooden beams, reflecting against polished oak and stone walls. The Silvercrest crest had been placed above the hearth, surrounded by silver and dark green decorations.
Music filled the room.
Laughter followed.
Everyone looked happy.
Everyone except me.
I stood near the refreshments table, holding a tray of empty glasses I'd been asked to collect.
No one had bothered to tell me where they wanted them afterward.
So I waited.
It was almost funny.
I'd spent twenty-three years being forgotten, and somehow even tonight was no different.
I was about to put the tray down when I smelled it.
Warm cedar.
Smoke.
Something deep and masculine beneath it.
My breath caught.
My fingers tightened around the tray.
My wolf surged awake.
Mate.
The word exploded through me.
My heart stopped.
Then started beating so hard I could hear it in my ears.
No.
I couldn't have heard her correctly.
Mate.
She said it again.
My knees weakened.
I slowly turned.
And there he was.
Keiran Vale.
My mate.
Soon-to-be Beta of Silvercrest.
The son of the current Beta.
One of the most respected young wolves in the pack.
He stood across the room with a drink in his hand, surrounded by friends.
He was laughing.
Then he stopped.
His head turned.
His eyes found mine.
Silver eyes.
Glowing faintly beneath the warm lights.
For one breath, neither of us moved.
I couldn't look away.
Neither could he.
My wolf was practically trembling inside me.
It's him.
I swallowed.
After all these years.
After being told I might never have a mate.
After wondering whether the Moon Goddess had simply forgotten me.
She hadn't.
She had finally answered me.
And despite everything, hope came rushing in.
Maybe this was why I'd waited.
Maybe this was why I'd never given up.
Maybe—
Keiran began walking toward me.
My heart fluttered.
He was coming here.
Toward me.
I looked down at myself.
Black blouse.
Dark jeans.
Simple boots.
Suddenly, I became painfully aware of every flaw.
Was my hair messy?
Did I look tired?
Was my blouse too plain?
I wished I'd worn something nicer.
I wished I'd known.
I wished—
A whisper reached me.
"Is that his mate?"
I froze.
Another voice answered.
"You've got to be kidding."
I looked toward the group beside Keiran.
They were watching us.
One of them laughed.
"That's Elara Hale."
My stomach twisted.
Someone else lowered their voice.
"Seriously?"
"Apparently."
A pause.
Then someone snorted.
"Well… that's unfortunate."
Another laugh.
My wolf became uneasy.
Keiran was still walking toward me.
He hadn't stopped.
I could see his expression now.
He looked tense.
Confused.
Maybe even unhappy.
I couldn't tell.
Then the whispers grew louder.
Not because they intended for me to hear.
They simply didn't care if I did.
"Imagine being the future Beta and getting her."
"Poor Keiran."
"Maybe the Moon Goddess has a sense of humor."
Someone laughed.
Another voice said, "This has to be the fastest rejection of a mate bond in Silvercrest history."
My heart dropped.
I stopped breathing.
Someone else joined in.
"Do you think he'll reject her before they even reach the middle of the room?"
"I'd bet on it."
"Five minutes?"
"Five? I'd give it thirty seconds."
The laughter that followed felt deafening.
I stared at Keiran.
He had almost reached me.
His face was unreadable.
But now I could see the tension in his jaw.
He heard them.
Everyone heard them.
And suddenly, I understood what was about to happen.
My mate had found me.
And the entire room was already waiting for him to reject me.
Waiting to see how quickly he would get rid of me.
Waiting to laugh.
Waiting to prove that I really was as unwanted as everyone had always made me feel.
My chest tightened.
My wolf whimpered.
Wait.
She sounded hopeful.
I wasn't.
I couldn't.
Because what if he really did reject me?
What if he looked me in the eyes and told me I wasn't good enough?
What if I stood there while everyone watched?
What if he said the words?
I reject you.
I couldn't survive that.
Not here.
Not with all these eyes on me.
Not while everyone was waiting for it.
Keiran was only a few steps away now.
His lips parted.
He was about to speak.
Maybe he was going to introduce himself.
Maybe he was going to accept the bond.
Maybe—
I ran.
I didn't think.
I didn't wait.
I didn't give him the chance to say anything.
I turned and pushed through the nearest group of wolves.
Someone gasped.
"Elara?"
I kept going.
The music blurred behind me.
Voices followed.
Questions.
Laughter.
Confusion.
I didn't care.
I just needed to get out.
Behind me, I heard someone call my name.
"Elara, wait!"
Keiran.
My heart twisted.
I ran faster.
I couldn't let him catch me.
Because if he caught me, he'd have to say it.
Whatever it was.
Acceptance.
Rejection.
Pity.
I couldn't handle any of it.
The doors flew open.
Cold night air slammed into me.
I stumbled outside, sucking in a breath.
My lungs burned.
My eyes burned.
But I didn't stop.
I ran down the steps and into the trees.
Branches scratched my arms.
My boots slipped over damp earth.
I didn't care.
I just ran.
Behind me, the pack house grew quieter.
Eventually, I couldn't hear anyone anymore.
No voices.
No music.
No laughter.
Just the sound of my own breathing.
I finally reached the ridge.
My place.
My comfort.
The only place in Silvercrest where I could breathe without wondering who was watching.
I stumbled toward the fallen log and dropped onto it.
For several seconds, I couldn't do anything except breathe.
My hands were shaking.
My heart was pounding.
And my wolf was crying.
I pressed both hands against my chest.
"Stop."
She didn't.
"I know."
My voice cracked.
"I know he's our mate."
The word felt strange coming from my mouth.
Our mate.
Keiran.
I looked toward the lights of the pack house in the distance.
What was happening right now?
Was he still standing there?
Was he angry?
Embarrassed?
Relieved?
Maybe everyone was laughing about me.
Maybe they were saying I'd run because I knew he was going to reject me.
Maybe Keiran was relieved that he didn't have to do it himself.
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
A tear slipped down my cheek.
I wiped it away.
"Why would he want me?"
The question came out before I could stop it.
My wolf stirred.
Mate.
"That doesn't mean he'll accept me."
My voice trembled.
"It doesn't mean I'm good enough."
I looked down at my hands.
They were rough from years of working.
There were small scars across my fingers.
Nothing like the perfectly manicured hands of the ranked she-wolves inside.
I thought about Keiran.
He was everything I wasn't.
Strong.
Respected.
Beautiful.
Important.
He had a future.
I had a small cabin behind a storage shed.
He belonged in the center of the room.
I belonged in the shadows.
How could the Moon Goddess possibly think we belonged together?
Maybe she had made a mistake.
Maybe fate could make mistakes.
My wolf whimpered.
"I know."
I closed my eyes.
"I know he's our mate."
My voice became quieter.
"But what if he doesn't want me?"
Silence.
The question hung between us.
What if he didn't?
What if all those whispers were right?
What if he rejected me?
What if he looked at me and saw exactly what everyone else saw?
Nothing special.
Nothing worth choosing.
My chest hurt.
I hugged my knees.
"I should've stayed home."
Another tear fell.
"I shouldn't have gone."
I thought about the way everyone had looked at me.
The laughter.
The whispers.
The bets.
Thirty seconds.
Fastest rejection in Silvercrest history.
My stomach twisted.
Maybe I'd done the right thing by running.
At least I hadn't heard the words.
At least I hadn't stood there while everyone watched.
At least I still had the illusion that maybe—
Maybe he would've accepted me.
That thought hurt more than anything.
Because now I would never know.
I pressed my forehead against my knees.
"Would he have accepted me?"
My wolf didn't answer.
"Would he?"
Nothing.
I laughed weakly.
"Of course you don't know either."
I looked toward the moon.
It was enormous tonight.
Bright.
Beautiful.
Almost cruel.
"You chose him for me."
My voice shook.
"Why?"
The wind moved through the trees.
No answer came.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Why would you give me someone I could never have?"
For the first time that night, anger pushed through my sadness.
Not at Keiran.
Not even at the pack.
At myself.
Maybe there was something wrong with me.
Maybe I wasn't meant to be loved.
Maybe being forgotten was all I deserved.
The thought frightened me.
Because some part of me had always believed I would eventually find my place.
Now I wasn't so sure.
I stayed there for a long time.
Alone.
The pack house remained glowing in the distance.
Somewhere inside, Keiran Vale was probably still standing among the wolves who had laughed at the thought of becoming my mate.
I wondered what he thought of me now.
Coward?
Embarrassment?
Problem?
Or maybe he was relieved.
I wiped my cheeks.
"I didn't even let him speak."
The realization came quietly.
I had run before he could say anything.
Before he could accept me.
Before he could reject me.
Before I could know the truth.
My heart ached.
Maybe that was the cruelest part.
I didn't know.
And I was terrified that I wanted to know.
I looked back toward the pack house.
For one foolish moment, I wondered if Keiran would come after me.
If he would find me.
If he would stand beside me beneath the moon and tell me that none of those whispers mattered.
I almost smiled at the thought.
Then reality returned.
Men like Keiran didn't chase girls like me.
Especially not girls who ran away from their own mate.
I lowered my gaze.
"I'm sorry."
My wolf finally stirred.
Not with words.
Just warmth.
Small.
Fragile.
But there.
I placed a hand over my chest.
"We'll be okay."
I didn't know if that was true.
But I needed to believe it.
So I sat beneath the Blood Moon and tried to convince myself that running away had been the right choice.
I didn't know that, back at the pack house, Keiran was still staring at the doors I'd disappeared through.
He had followed me only as far as the entrance before stopping.
He had been trying to reach me.
Trying to speak.
But I had never given him the chance.
And while I sat alone at my favorite place, drowning in every cruel thing I'd ever believed about myself, Keiran stood surrounded by the very wolves who had laughed at the thought of us.
Neither of us knew what the other was thinking.
Neither of us knew what might have happened if I'd stayed.
And neither of us knew that my decision to run would change everything.