Rejected by the Alpha crowned by the Moon

Chapter 1: The Invisible Omega

Lila crested the ridge just as twilight surrendered to night, the sky above swirling with stars. The moon, a pale orb, hung low on the horizon. Its light spilled silver onto the forest, and Lila felt a tug in her chest so strong it took her breath away. Every instinct screamed at her to reach out for that moonbeam, to touch it if she could. But she was an omega-an invisible omega-and no one would notice her if she vanished in the dim light.

She knew she was already late for her chores, yet something held her on the hillside. Her heart thundered with excitement and fear. The other wolves were busy preparing for tomorrow's Moon Rite, a ceremony that could change lives. Lila had always watched it from a distance, baskets full of herbs for the healers or brooms to sweep the gathering place. They never gave her a real role-only chores fit for someone meant to remain unseen.

It was true. Being an omega meant she was meant to vanish into the pack, ghostlike. She had accepted that: the dismissive glances, the cruel jokes whispered just loud enough to be heard. She held her head down and kept busy. She was "done," one of them had said, "finished-what use could she serve?" She had stopped asking questions a long time ago. In the mornings before dawn, Lila would find her chores, and she would do them-silently, so nobody would even notice.

But now, as the sky darkened, she was not thinking of her chores. Instead she watched the moon. It was beautiful, full and round. The first wind of night picked up her long auburn hair, setting it dancing around her shoulders. She closed her eyes, feeling the moonlight warm her face. A tremor passed through her body. The world shifted just a fraction, as if she had stepped off the ridge in a dream and floated in the night air.

The sensation was deeper than anything she'd ever felt. She opened her eyes to see the moon again, and she swore the pale surface seemed rippling with energy, sending silver arteries down toward her. Lila could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. Every muscle felt alive and charged. She leaned forward and dipped a fingertip into the icy lake at her feet, skimming ripples across her reflection. She didn't recognize the woman looking back at her: broad-shouldered and tall, with secrets in her eyes. The ripples made the image blur – as if fate itself was distorting her.

Had any other wolf seen it, they would have thought she was mad. But if being mad meant feeling the moon as intimately as if it was a heartbeat, Lila would accept that label without caring. Tonight, under this waxing gibbous moon, she felt something new awaken in her-something strong and ancient. Perhaps tonight, one of these nights, the moon would crown her with purpose.

A cold whisper of wind rustled the pines behind her. Lila turned, watching the branches sway in silver shadows. The forest sighed around her in hush. There, at the tree line, a shape moved-or maybe it was just a trick of shadow and light.

She thought she saw a woman, tall and slender, stepping from the trees. Her hair was the color of night, and in her eyes glowed pale moonlight. Heart thrumming, Lila gasped softly. Every instinct told her to run, to go back to camp and never think of these strange visions.

But as if compelled by the same force that drew her to the moon, she remained rooted. The figure didn't speak. She did not have to. In the silence of the forest at midnight, the woman and Lila simply looked at each other. There were no words, yet Lila felt the woman's gentle smile, like warm moonlight on skin.

Before Lila could gather courage to speak, the figure stepped into the moonlight-and vanished.

Lila blinked. There was only the wind through the pines, and the moon, and the night. Her mind raced. That woman couldn't be real. Or if she had been, perhaps she was a spirit-a vision?

Shakily, Lila lowered herself to the ground at the base of the ridge. She closed her eyes, uncertain what she had seen. Her heartbeat slowed, but the moonlight stayed.

Lila bit her lip. The Moon Rite was tomorrow. Her pack's entire focus would be on crowning the next Luna, the Alpha's mate who would stand beside him. Rumors swirled every night: some whispered the healer Rhea (though Rhea was hardly young) would be chosen, others hinted at a secret prophecy. But they never mentioned an omega like Lila. Why would anyone consider the invisible one?

A loneliness settled in her chest, colder than the night air. She did not even have the courage to cry in these woods. But she clasped her hands around her knees, chin resting on her arms, and felt tears as insistent as blood behind her eyes. She felt them collecting, but still refused to let them fall, clinging to the last of her pride.

Lila wiped at her eyes and stood stiffly. Tonight's vision-if it had been real-had shaken her. But it had also lit a fire. The air around her throbbed with meaning now, as if the moon itself insisted she had a part to play. If this communion had been a mistake, she would have to show the pack tomorrow that she was worth seeing, after all.

With that thought she gingerly reached out as if to touch the moon's cold face. "Please," she whispered, voice raw and tiny, "if there is someone out there I'm meant to meet-show yourself at the Rite. Don't forget the invisible omega."

She closed her eyes and let the silver light settle on her, tracing the lines of her face. Hope and dread were woven together in her heart as tightly as a braid. The moon was silent and unblinking overhead, and Lila was alone. For a moment she wavered on the threshold of courage and fear: her breath, visible in the night's chill, steadied beneath the stars.

"You won't know I'm here until the time is right," she said to the sky, though she wasn't sure if the moon could hear. After all, the night was cold, and she was supposed to be hiding. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

With one last glance at the shimmering moon, Lila hurried back down the ridge. The shadows of the camp moved ahead of her-bonfires lighting the early preparations for the Moon Rite-and for a moment she thought she could smell smoke and hear distant voices of wolves she wouldn't claim as friends.

There was still so much to do: bedding for the elders, offerings for the goddess, small tasks that would keep her small.

And she would do them-all of them-because tomorrow, she promised herself quietly, everything would change.