Asteria Griffin felt her life had fallen apart when she was rejected by the one guy who was supposed to be her mate. However, while her heart bleeds, a long-forgotten strength that is connected to a vanished royal lineage and a magically old realm begins to stir inside her. Asteria must now learn to manage the great power building inside her before it kills her and all she loves. She is being chased by foes she never knew existed and is being pulled between two strong forces. Asteria must make the final decision between reclaiming her heritage as the forgotten princess of the Moonlight Kingdom and paving her own way in a society that seeks to dominate her, all as ancient wolves and vampires struggle for her allegiance. Asteria will learn that destiny doesn't simply mold destinies-it shattering them-in this gripping contemporary fantasy. Will her previous secrets destroy her or will she rise to become the queen she was destined to be?
Chapter 1 A BROKEN PROMISE
The thick woodlands that encircled our pack's domain were illuminated by a silvery light created by the moon, which was high in the nighttime sky. Despite the refreshing wind caressing my skin as I stood on the edge of the trees, the fire inside me remained unquenchable. My chest thumped with an unrelenting heartbeat, and each breath I took seemed like I was breathing in a thousand uncontrollable emotions.
Standing a few steps away from me, with his steely gaze and powerful jaw tightly clenched, was Damen Phoenix, the Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack. He gave me a glance, but it didn't seem like he was seeing me. Between us, the quiet became heavier, the strain growing like a stretched-out thread ready to break.
"Asteria Griffin is not my mate, Damen Phoenix."
His words cut like shards of ice through me; his voice was distant and frigid. I briefly lost consciousness when the air abruptly departed my lungs. As my chest constricted, I fixed my gaze on him, tears gathering in my eyes and distorting my vision.
"However..." With a murmur of incredulity, I spoke the word. I felt as if something had moved under my feet and I was in a place I didn't know.
As soon as our eyes met two weeks earlier, I sensed the attraction, the indisputable connection between us. I knew it deep down when I first saw him. Damen was my partner. which the Moon Goddess had selected for me. the one for whom I had spent my whole life longing. And yet, there he was, dismissing me as if I were nothing.
Nothing at all.
I managed to mutter, "You can't be serious," at last, my voice trembling with pain. Why? What makes you want to act in this way?
There was a brief flash in his eyes that seemed to be sorrow. However, it vanished as swiftly as it appeared. He assumed the stance of a man resolute to maintain his dignity and show no signs of weakness, crossing his arms over his big chest. Damen was the most formidable Alpha in the area, a leader bred from decades of supremacy and strength. However, the guy I believed and anticipated he would be was not the one in front of me at that moment.
"I need a capable Luna to lead the pack. His voice was firm as he spoke, but there was a darker undertone to what he was saying. "Someone strong, someone who can lead beside me without hesitation." Asteria, you're not welcome here. You're just too... frail. I have to avoid getting sidetracked.
"Distracted?" Echoing, I felt the rage rising from the depths of my being. "Is power at issue here? For you, that's all this is?
"Try not to take it personally."
I laughed bitterly, my heart fracturing a little more each moment that goes by. Please don't be offended. Could I not take it personally that he was rejecting me and breaking the tie the Goddess herself had forged between us? His rejection lingered between us, raw and unsaid, and every part of my body hurt. Our relationship was already beginning to deteriorate.
How was I not going to take it personally? Herren, this is how it ends! This is fate, I thought to myself as I inhaled deeply and tried not to cry out. You are not allowed to ignore that.
"I've done it already." He ended any possibility of hope with a decisive tone.
I couldn't decide if to cry or scream. I had been waiting all my life for this, for him, for the connection that all wolves yearned to have. Furthermore, he was discarding it as if it had no value. As if my words had no meaning.
However, there was more to his refusal. To him, it was about more than simply my strength or lack thereof. No, a deeper issue existed. The way his hands clinched as if he was hiding something from me, and the way his gaze wavered with hesitation-I could feel it. Something he dared not even tell himself.
Subsequently, I realized.
Softly, more to my own benefit, I whispered, "You're scared."
His eyes met mine, and for the first instance, a fracture appeared in his armor. An nearly instantaneous burst of vulnerability that vanished.
He grumbled, but it was impossible to see beyond the blatant falsehood. "I'm not scared of anything."
You're afraid of being uncontrollable. Of becoming exposed. Is that not what this is? Moving closer, I uttered the truth that had been looking me in the eye with more vigor. Because I lack your level of power, you see me as weak. However, what you fail to see is that there are several sorts of strength. You're rejecting me because you believe it will be simpler for you. But all you really want is to be safe.
He said nothing at all. All I needed to know was that he was silent.
Refusing to have him see me cry any more than I had already, I wiped at my cheeks. But my heart, my soul, felt broken, our relationship still pulsating with a slender link that would not completely sever until I came to terms with his rejection.
Still, I wasn't prepared to let go.
I replied, quietly but firmly, "I'm not going to accept this." "Delmen, I understand that you rejected me, but I won't reject you."
His jaw locked as he tensed up. "Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be, Asterioia."
"I am not. I am bringing it to life. You may reject me as often as you like, but it won't alter our relationship. That is not erasable. We are not expungable.
A howl sounded through the night air and sent a shiver down my spine before he could reply. Tension mounting between us, we glanced toward the sound. Something wasn't quite right. The atmosphere got denser and more dense, carrying an unidentifiable presence.
Abruptly, a towering and menacing figure sprang from the forest's shadows. As the guy entered the moonlight, his eyes gleaming an unusually intense crimson, my heart skipped a beat. He was not a werewolf.
Yes, he was a vampire.
The stranger said in a suave yet menacing voice, "Damen Phoenix." "This is what I came for."
Damen made a quick move, standing in front of me and tensing up as he gave the invader the cold shoulder. "What the devil are you? "
The vampire looked at me and his lips curled into a slow, menacing grin that made my skin crawl. His gaze lingered with an odd intensity. "You are aware of my identity. You also understand my desires.
The vampire's eyes met mine, and I felt a quick chill go down my spine. I felt my blood chill.
Damen said, his voice low and menacing, "You're not taking her."
The vampire laughed quietly, although the sound was not very warm. "Oh, but Damen, she was never really yours."
And the earth underneath me moved once again in an instant. This vampire-who was he? And by that, what was he getting at?
With my pulse pounding and my head spinning, I glanced between the two of them.
However, before I could pose the queries circling through my mind, the vampire moved a step nearer, his eyes never taking off mine. "Asteria, let's get back to our true selves."
A rush of dizziness swept over me, making everything appear to tilt and spin out of control. Before the blackness engulfed me completely, all I saw was Damen's frightened expression as the earth came up to meet me.
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