Chapter One

It was finally time for the mating ceremony where Alpha king Aiden was meant to be bestowed with a mate and a Luna. Alpha king Aiden walked down the corridor with his gamma and his beta trailing behind him as he walked and finally, the door was opened.

When Aiden stepped out of the mansion, he stood outside the seat out, and stared at the ladies all lined up for him. A smile crept on his lips when his eyes caught hold of Kiara, the love of his life, and deep down, Aiden hoped and prayed it would be her. He hoped she would be the chosen one as his mate.

Meanwhile, when Kiara raised her eyeballs and saw him, she smiled widely at him, and immediately took her gaze away. This was the day she had been waiting for since she started dating Aiden and now that it was finally here, she couldn't wait to be his Luna.

The pack witch stepped forward, and turned towards Aiden. "Please step forward Alpha." She announced. Aiden took the lower steps and stepped down till he was standing on the last low step. She handed him a blindfold, and asked him to put it on. Aiden gave Kiara one last stare and placed the blindfold on his eyes to ensure he couldn't see.

"Follow your heart.. Your wolf will lead you to your mate." The witch announced. Aiden walked slowly and steadily, trying as hard as possible to feel the presence of Kiara, but sadly her scent was masked. How was that even possible! She always had a raspberry scent. He halted immediately. There must be something wrong as his breath turned fast and heavy.

Suddenly, his wolf, Bolt, began to jump restlessly inside of him, and that was enough to tell Aiden that his mate was closer to him, but there was a different scent this time. It was no longer the scent of raspberry, but that of lavender.

The smell of lavender was stronger!

Kiara stood, waiting for him to come to her, but he halts just a few inches away from her and turns,

Silently, she murmurs, "I'm here." But it was impossible for the Alpha king to recognize her voice.

Bolt howled again at the mention of lavender, and as if being drawn by a magnetic force, Aiden took a few steps backwards to the left and stopped the very moment he heard Bolt howl the word, 'MATE'. At the mention of mate, Aiden immediately took off the blindfold, and gazed at the lady he was standing right in front of

A wave of thick cold air passed through his body and he shivered as beads of sweat began to appear on his face and arms. What an irony! Aiden thought, staring at the lady in front of him. Why the hell was Scarlett his mate?

"It's an honor Alpha." Scarlett said lowering her head in respect, but instead received a silent cold stare from Aiden. As Aiden turned his gaze around to find Kiara, she was no longer there. She was gone!

Kiara continued to run without stopping even though her feet were hurting so bad. It seemed like a dream, a bad dream that she badly wanted to wake up from. How could Aiden not be mated to her. How could the man she had loved and dated for two years not be her mate? Why was the moon goddess playing tricks on her because Kiara was sure that she was going to be his mate, but this reality hurt like a knife being used to stab her in the heart.

Soon, she tripped on a dried branch and fell on the floor, slightly leaving a cut on her knee cap, and it made her groan in pain. The real pain wasn't the bruise, but the real pain was in her heart. There was no possible way Aiden would accept her, that would be going against the pack's tradition, and most importantly that would be making the pack loose it's strength. She sniffled, telling herself that maybe something could be done. It might have been a mistake.

Now, she was going to be a laughing stock in her home. Her step sister was chosen as Luna for Alpha king Aiden, the man everyone thought she would be his Luna. Scarlett had it all now, leaving her with absolutely nothing, except the sweet memories she and Alpha Aiden shared. Still sitting amongst the dried leaf, Kiara let out a soft whimper. The decision was left for Aiden to choose between their love or the tradition and welfare of the pack, but Kiara had it in mind that the pack was supposed to come first, it was the bitter truth.

*********

Giggling noises filled the air. Noises of joy and also that of mockery. Kiara strode into the house tired and dirty, and the very moment she heard the noises, she needed no one to tell her that Scarlett had come to share the good news with the family, and yes, they were all laughing at her now.

Kiara had lost her mother when she was only 5 years old to a deadly disease, and because her mother was simply an Omega, it was hard surviving the sickness. Her father could have saved her mother because the only thing they needed at that moment was enough money to get her treated, but he bluntly refused to spend a dime on her. A few days later, Kiara watched him spend a lot more than she needed in marrying her step mother after her mother's death.

"How did the ceremony go?" Kiara heard her stepmom's voice. She sniffled, but remained silent knowing fully well that they were only trying to mock her and nothing else.

"I guess someone cried their eyes out today" Scarlett giggled as she spoke, "It's such a pity that you lost on this one, Kiara. You lost the opportunity to become the Alpha's Luna, and Queen of the Blood Moon Pack. You thought you had it all, but how's this for a start? You should know your place now Kiara," Scarlett rose to her feet, and took steps closer to Kiara, "Don't you fucking come an inch close to my man, close to my mate, close to my king, and close to my Alpha. He's mine now, and not yours anymore."

Once again, tears rolled down Kiara's eyes. Those words were so hurtful to her especially because it was Aiden Scarlett was talking about.

"He hasn't claimed you yet so he isn't yours. It's left for Aiden to make his choice, and not you to–"

Kiara received a hard slap across her face before she could complete her statement. "How dare you! How dare you talk to your future queen in that manner. Weren't you at the ceremony? Wasn't it clear to you that Scarlett was chosen as the alpha's mate? Stop being so jealous of her, and if you dare do that again, you'll get out of my house and go live on the streets.!"

Kiara whimpered, but didn't say a word to any of them. She was always being maltreated, and even her father couldn't say a word about it. He loved Scarlett way better than her, and now the only person who loved her with all his heart had also been chosen for Scarlett. Why was life so cruel to her? Why was the moon goddess not on her side? She continued to watch them giggle and talk to each other about the claiming ceremony, and it was only then Kiara realized she had to meet Aiden.

Would he really chose Scarlett over her even if she wasn't mated to him? That was her greatest fear, loosing the love of her life, losing Aiden, and losing everything they ever shared.