The Alpha’s Blind Mate

The scent of damp earth and pine filled the night air, mingling with the distant howls of wolves running beneath the moonlit sky. Aria Blackwood stood at the edge of the training field, her fingers tightening around the fabric of her worn dress as she listened to the sounds of her pack—the Silver Crest Pack—preparing for the arrival of an Alpha unlike any other.

Alpha Kieran Wolfe.

Even without sight, Aria could feel the tension crackling in the air like a brewing storm. The pack warriors were restless, their excitement and apprehension bleeding into the atmosphere. The women gossiped in hushed tones, their voices laced with anticipation. The men spoke in clipped murmurs, their words laced with reverence and fear.

Alpha Kieran was a legend.

A ruthless leader. A wolf with no weaknesses. A warrior who had carved his way to power with blood and fire.

And he was coming here.

Not for her, of course.

Aria had long accepted that she was invisible in the eyes of her pack. The blind, unwanted daughter of Alpha Darius Blackwood. A burden they tolerated but never embraced. She had spent years as little more than a servant, fetching water, cleaning the training grounds, and enduring the sneers of those who believed she had no place among them.

A blind she-wolf was useless. Weak.

Unworthy.

The whispers had started the moment she was born.

And they had never stopped.

But Aria had learned to navigate the darkness in her own way. She did not need sight to sense the world around her. She could hear the heartbeat of a liar, feel the weight of a secret unspoken. She could trace the emotions of those around her, their energy painting pictures in her mind more vividly than any set of eyes ever could.

It was not enough to make her valuable in the eyes of her pack.

But it was enough to remind her that she was more than they believed her to be.

“Aria!”

The sharp voice of her half-sister, Cassandra, cut through her thoughts like a blade.

Aria turned her head slightly, bracing herself. Cassandra had always been cruel, her venom disguised beneath a sugary-sweet smile that fooled nearly everyone—except Aria.

“You’re still standing there?” Cassandra scoffed, her voice laced with mockery. “Shouldn’t you be fetching wine or something? The Alpha will be here any minute, and the last thing he needs to see is your pathetic excuse for a presence.”

Aria remained still, refusing to let the words pierce her. “He won’t see me at all, Cassandra,” she said calmly. “I doubt a man like Alpha Kieran would concern himself with a blind servant.”

Cassandra laughed, the sound as hollow as her heart. “Oh, Aria, that’s the first intelligent thing you’ve said in years.”

There was a shuffle of movement, then a deliberate shove against Aria’s shoulder. She stumbled back a step, catching herself before she fell, her fingers clenching into fists.

She could hear Cassandra’s smirk.

“Don’t embarrass us,” her sister said. “Stay out of sight. Stay silent. Like a good little ghost.”

And with that, she was gone, her footsteps fading into the crowd of gathered wolves.

Aria exhaled slowly.

A good little ghost.

That was all she had ever been.

But the night was far from over.

And fate had other plans.

The arrival of Alpha Kieran Wolfe was not subtle.

A hush fell over the Silver Crest Pack as the first scent of him filled the air—a powerful mix of cedar, smoke, and something darkly intoxicating. The unmistakable presence of an Alpha unlike any other.

Then came the sound of boots against the earth.

Slow. Measured. Predatory.

Aria stood at the farthest edge of the crowd, her hands clasped before her, head slightly tilted as she listened.

The whispers started immediately.

“Gods, he’s massive…”

“I heard he killed an entire rogue pack in one night.”

“Look at those eyes… he doesn’t even seem human.”

“He doesn’t believe in mates, you know. Says they make Alphas weak.”

Aria listened.

And then she felt it.

A shift in the air. A change in the energy surrounding her.

The moment Alpha Kieran stepped into the clearing, his presence swept over the pack like a tidal wave. Even without seeing him, Aria could sense the raw dominance rolling off him in waves, his very essence demanding submission from everyone in his path.

The pack bowed.

All except the Alphas.

And yet, even without seeing it, Aria knew they wanted to.

Then, his voice came.

Deep. Rough. A command wrapped in silk and steel.

“Alpha Darius,” he greeted. “I assume the arrangements have been made?”

“Of course, Alpha Kieran,” her father responded, his voice smooth with practiced authority. “We are honored to welcome you to our lands.”

Aria’s hands curled tighter.

Liar.

Her father was honored by nothing except power. The only reason Alpha Kieran was here was for negotiations—a potential alliance between the Blood Moon Pack and the Silver Crest Pack.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

And then, the moment she had not anticipated arrived.

Because suddenly, Kieran’s gaze shifted.

To her.

There was no explanation.

No warning.

No logic behind it.

But in the sea of wolves, in the chaos of voices and movement, his attention snapped to where she stood.

Aria felt it like a lightning strike.

Felt the moment his eyes landed on her.

The air changed.

The energy around her shifted.

And then it happened.

The bond.

Like fire searing through her veins, like a string of fate wrapping around her chest and pulling tight.

A connection so sudden, so visceral, it stole the very breath from her lungs.

No.

No, it couldn’t be.

Not him.

Not her.

But the moment stretched into eternity, the silence between them thick and suffocating.

And then Kieran spoke.

A single word.

Low. Dangerous.

Filled with something she could not name.

“Mate.”

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

Shock. Confusion. Disbelief.

Aria stood frozen.

Her heart pounded in her chest, her entire world tilting on its axis.

No.

This couldn’t be real.

And yet, deep in her soul, she knew.

The Moon Goddess had chosen.

And she had chosen him.

But as quickly as the moment came, it shattered.

Because the next words that left Kieran’s mouth sent ice through her veins.

“I reject you.”

The world fell silent.

Aria’s breath hitched.

Her chest ached, the weight of his rejection pressing down on her like a crushing force.

She had been rejected before.

But never like this.

Never by the one who was supposed to be hers.

And yet, through the pain, through the roaring storm inside her, one thought remained.

You cannot reject what you do not understand, Alpha.

And Alpha Kieran Wolfe did not understand her at all.

But he would.

One way or another.

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

“I reject you.”

Aria felt the impact of Alpha Kieran’s rejection like a blade slicing through her soul. The bond—the very thing that had sparked to life in her veins only moments ago—strained, twisted, and burned with the force of his words. It was like having the universe give her a taste of something she had never dared to dream of, only to rip it away in the next breath.

The silence that followed was deafening.

No one moved. No one spoke.

The weight of Kieran’s declaration settled over the crowd like an oppressive force, leaving even the strongest wolves struggling to breathe.

Aria clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms as she struggled to ground herself, to stay standing.

She had always known she was unwanted. She had lived her life in the shadows, unacknowledged and forgotten. And yet, the finality in his voice cut deeper than she expected.

It shouldn’t hurt.

But it