Mira Ashwood's POV
The flower hit me right in the face.
I stumbled backward as pink petals stuck to my cheek. Around me, everyone was laughing. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst right out of my chest.
"Did you really think he'd pick you?" someone shouted from the crowd.
I wiped the petals away with shaking hands. This couldn't be happening. Not here. Not in front of the whole village.
Just five minutes ago, I'd been standing near the stage with hope bubbling in my stomach. The Harvest Moon Festival was supposed to be magical. This was the night when wolves found their mates. I'd spent weeks picking out my dress, practicing what I'd say when Alpha Silas called my name.
But he didn't call my name.
"Mira Ashwood," Alpha Silas said from the stage, and my heart soared for exactly two seconds. Then I saw his face. Cold. Disgusted. "You are genetically inferior. I reject you as a mate candidate."
The words punched me harder than any fist could.
Around me, my packmates started throwing festival flowers at my head, my arms, my back. Each petal felt like a tiny slap. My best friend turned away like she didn't even know me.
Then Silas did something worse.
He grabbed my sister's hand.
Elara stood there looking perfect. Her blonde hair caught the festival lights. She smiled at me not a happy smile, but a mean one. The kind that said, "I win."
"I choose Elara Ashwood as my mate," Silas announced.
Everyone cheered. The band started playing. People danced and hugged. Nobody looked at me anymore. I was invisible. No I was worse than invisible. I was the joke everyone would laugh about tomorrow.
My throat felt tight. Don't cry, I told myself. Don't you dare cry in front of them.
But my eyes were already stinging.
I pushed through the crowd. People moved out of my way like I had some kind of disease. Mrs. Chen, who used to give me cookies, turned her back. Tommy, who sat next to me in school, laughed and pointed.
The music got louder. The lights got brighter. Everything was too much.
I ran.
My shoes slapped against the stones as I raced toward the parking area. Behind me, I could still hear the celebration. They'd already forgotten about me. In five minutes, I'd gone from hopeful to humiliated to completely erased.
I found old Mr. Peterson's truck with the keys still in it. I didn't think. I just jumped in and started the engine.
The truck roared to life. I slammed my foot on the gas and took off. In the mirror, I could see the festival lights fading. Good. I never wanted to see any of them again.
The road curved ahead, heading toward the one place nobody ever went.
The Mistwood.
Everyone knew the stories. Wolves who went into the Mistwood never came back. There were monsters in there. Ghosts. Things worse than death.
Right now, I didn't care.
I pressed harder on the gas pedal. The Mistwood's dark trees rushed closer. A huge wooden sign appeared in my headlights: DANGER - DO NOT ENTER.
I drove right past it.
The moment I crossed into the forest, everything changed. Thick fog rolled across the road. The trees pressed in on both sides, their branches scraping the truck. I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight they hurt. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should turn around.
Then I remembered Silas's face. Elara's smile. The flowers hitting my skin.
I kept driving.
The fog got thicker. I squinted, trying to see the road. Something darted across in front of me.
I screamed and yanked the wheel. The truck swerved. My shoulder slammed into the door. The world spun trees, fog, sky, trees again.
CRASH.
The truck smashed into something hard. Metal crunched. Glass shattered. My head snapped forward and back. Pain exploded through my body.
Then everything went still.
I sat there, breathing hard. My chest ached. My head throbbed. The engine clicked and died.
Silence.
No, not silence. Through the broken windshield, I heard footsteps. Lots of them. Moving through the fog.
I tried to open the door, but it was jammed. I shoved harder. Nothing. My breath came faster. I was trapped.
That's when I saw the eyes.
Red. Glowing. Dozens of them, surrounding the truck.
Wolves.
But not normal wolves. These were huge, with fur as black as midnight and teeth that gleamed in the fog. They moved closer, circling the truck.
I screamed and tried the door again. This time it flew open, and I tumbled out onto the cold ground. Mud soaked through my dress. I scrambled to my feet and ran.
Branches whipped my face. Roots tried to trip me. Behind me, I heard snarling and the thunder of paws hitting the earth.
They were chasing me.
I pumped my legs as hard as I could, but it wasn't enough. I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong enough. I was just Mira, the weak omega nobody wanted.
A wolf leaped out of the fog and knocked me down.
I hit the ground hard, all the air whooshing out of my lungs. The wolf stood over me, its hot breath on my face. Drool dripped from its fangs.
"Please," I whispered.
The wolf didn't move. But then, from somewhere in the darkness, a voice spoke.
"Bring her to me."
The voice was deep. Powerful. It made the ground vibrate.
Two wolves grabbed my dress with their teeth and dragged me through the mud. I tried to fight, but my body wouldn't work right. Everything hurt.
They pulled me into a clearing where the fog was thinner. In the center stood a man.
He was tall taller than anyone I'd ever seen. Dark tattoos covered his arms, glowing with a faint blue light. His hair was black, and his eyes were the color of silver fire.
He looked at me the way you'd look at a bug you were deciding whether to step on.
"A village wolf," he said, his voice dripping with disgust. "In my forest."
I tried to speak, but only a squeak came out.
He walked closer, each step making my heart beat faster. The wolves around us went quiet. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
I shook my head.
His lips curved into something that might have been a smile but looked more like a threat. "I am Shade Nightborne. King of the rogues. Ruler of the Mistwood." He crouched down until his face was level with mine. "And you, little omega, just made the biggest mistake of your worthless life."
He reached out one hand toward me, and I knew I absolutely knew that whatever happened next would change everything forever.
His fingers touched my arm.
And the world exploded with light.