Siena's POV
The word "mate" hit me hard. Kael walked right past me—past ME—to claim that weak omega girl who was hiding in the darkness. My perfect smile stopped.
The birthday crown on my head felt heavy all of a sudden, like a joke I hadn't been told.
"No," I mumbled, but the shocked gasps filled the room and no one could hear me. Plans for tonight didn't go like this.
Everything went exactly as I had planned. The golden dress that made my skin glow. In what way I was sitting next to Kael's chair.
I had even practiced how to look shocked when he claimed me as his mate. He touched HER neck instead, though. I had dreamed for years about being amazed by HER sparkling eyes.
"Congratulations," someone said beside me, their voice sounding far away.
I turned and nodded, keeping that plastic smile glued to my face even though my heart was breaking into a million pieces. Around me, pack members muttered excitedly about the shocking turn of events.
"An omega Luna," one old woman murmured. "Who would have thought?"
"The Moon Goddess works in mysterious ways," another answered.
Mysterious ways? This felt more like a nasty joke. I watched Arin's face turn red as Kael led her to the front of the room. She looked terrified, overwhelmed, totally unprepared for what was happening. Good. She should be scared.
Alpha Vaughn stepped forward, his face unreadable.
"The mate bond has been declared," he stated formally.
"We welcome our future Luna." Future Luna.
The title that should have been mine. My hands clenched into fists under the table as polite clapping filled the room.
Luna Calista looked like she'd swallowed poison, which gave me a tiny bit of pleasure. At least I wasn't the only one shocked by this development.
"Siena," my brother Callen appeared at my side, worry written across his face.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course," I lied easily.
"This is wonderful news for the pack." But inside, rage burned like flames.
How dare fate steal what belonged to me? I was the Beta's daughter. I was beautiful, smart, perfectly trained to be Luna. What did Arin have that I didn't? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
As the evening dragged on, I watched everyone fawn over the new pair. Arin looked unhappy, which should have made me happy, but somehow made everything worse.
She didn't even want this! The job I'd dreamed of my entire life, and she acted like it was a burden.
"The Moon Goddess has quite the sense of humor," a voice said behind me.
I turned to find Elder Mava standing there, her old eyes twinkling with something that looked almost like amusement.
"I don't understand," I said carefully.
"Don't you?" The old woman tilted her head.
"Fate rarely gives us what we think we want, child. Sometimes it gives us what we need instead."
"What if what I need and what I want are the same thing?" Elder Mava's smile was strange.
"Then perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough at what you truly need."
Before I could ask what she meant, she melted back into the crowd, leaving me more confused than ever.
The party finally ended near midnight. I helped clean up, playing the perfect daughter, the polite friend who was happy for Arin's good fortune. But every smile felt like glass cutting my face.
"You handled that beautifully," Mother said as we walked home. "I'm proud of you."
Proud. She was proud of me for losing the most important thing in my life with respect.
"Thank you," I managed.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. There are other Alphas' sons in nearby packs. Your beauty and blood will—"
"I don't want another Alpha's son," I snapped before I could stop myself.
"I want Kael." Mother's eyes rose.
"Siena, you can't always have what you want. That's not how the world works."
But she was wrong. You could have anything you wanted if you were ready to do whatever it took to get it. That night, I lay in bed looking at the ceiling, my mind racing.
There had to be a way to fix this. Mate ties weren't unbreakable, were they? There were stories, old tales about magic that could change fate itself. I slipped out of bed and crept to my father's study, where he kept all the ancient pack papers.
If there was a way to fix what happened tonight, I'd find it. The leather-bound books were heavy and old, filled with stories about pack wars, ancient rules, and forgotten magic.
I read until my eyes burned, looking for anything that might help. Then I found it. Hidden in a book about pre-pack history was a part about fate manipulation. The writing was faded, but I could make out enough words to understand.
There were rituals, old magic that could redirect mate bonds, change fate itself. Dangerous magic. Forbidden magic. But possible magic.
My heart raced as I read about the components needed: rare herbs, moonstone powder, and... blood from the one whose fate you wanted to change. Arin's blood. The ritual was complex, needing perfect timing and absolute secrecy. One mistake could be deadly.
But the reward... the reward would be everything I'd ever wanted. I remembered every detail before carefully replacing the book exactly where I'd found it. Father would never know I'd been here.
As I snuck back to my room, a plan started forming in my mind. It would take time to gather everything I needed. I'd have to be patient, careful, smart about this. But I would have Kael.
The Moon Goddess might have chosen Arin tonight, but fate wasn't finished with us yet. I had one month until the next full moon.
One month to prepare, to gather components, to figure out how to get close enough to Arin to take what I needed. One month to steal back my fate.
As I finally drifted off to sleep, I smiled for the first time since Kael had said the word "mate."
Let Arin enjoy her win while she could. Soon, very soon, everything would change. But I didn't know that someone else had been watching me read that book. Someone who understood exactly what I was planning. Someone who had plans of their own.