THE AWAKENING OF ADELIA

Adelia ran for days, sometimes as a human, sometimes as a wolf. The forest was a damp, wild labyrinth. Her body was exhausted. Her soul was shattered.

The leaves crunched under her bare feet. The branches scratched her skin. The cold penetrated her bones. But nothing hurt as much as the betrayal.

Kael. Her partner. Her bond. He had denied something sacred. And he had done it in front of everyone, without compassion, without hesitation.

***

The air was thick with moisture and mystery. The clearing in the forest, sacred among their people, was illuminated by a full moon so white it seemed to have been plucked from a dream. Torches surrounded the ceremonial circle, their flames flickering as if whispering ancient secrets. The Blue Moon pack was gathered. The elders, in their dark cloaks, formed a semicircle. The rest watched, silent, expectant. Something important was about to happen.

Adelia stood in the center of the clearing, her back straight on the outside and her heart trembling on the inside. Her fingers clenched and unclenched at the side of her linen dress, and her breathing, though calm in appearance, betrayed her anxiety. She was young—only eighteen winters old—with a slender figure, silver hair that fell to her waist, and blue eyes reminiscent of a calm lake... or one on the verge of a storm.

In front of her stood him.

Kael. The Alpha. Her predestined mate.

The impact had been immediate. As soon as their eyes met that morning, the bond between them vibrated. An ancient, visceral, powerful connection. Her inner wolf roared in recognition, shaken by the magical bond that united them beyond reason. But Kael did not react in the same way. His deep, silent brown eyes showed no joy, surprise, or acceptance. Only... resistance.

Now, under the moon and before the entire pack, that resistance was transforming into something else.

"I do not accept this bond," Kael finally said, his voice grave and firm.

A murmur ran through the circle like a collective shiver. Several wolves leaned forward, bewildered. The elders said nothing. They just watched.

Adelia felt a sudden dizziness. The world spun, and her feet seemed to lose contact with the ground.

"What...?" she murmured, barely audible, her throat tight with disbelief.

Kael did not look away. He stood tall and imposing, his twenty-four years of strength and leadership marked in every line of his body. His broad shoulders, his height of nearly two meters, his determined bearing... everything about him radiated dominance. But also coldness.

"The bond may exist," he continued, "but that does not make it valid. You are not fit to be my Moon."

"Suitable?" she repeated incredulously. The air in her lungs burned, and she didn't know if it was from anger or shame.

"You are weak, Adelia. You cannot control your transformations. You do not have a worthy lineage. You are just a lowly wolf. How could someone like you lead this pack with me?"

His words were not just a rejection. They were a public condemnation.

The young woman couldn't help but take a step back. The other wolves' gazes were like knives: some pitiful, others contemptuous. Some were simply morbidly curious. None were understanding.

"Destiny has chosen!" exclaimed a male voice from the crowd. It was the Beta, the second in command. He had seen what happened when the two met. He had felt the thrill of the bond.

Kael remained unmoved.

"Fate can be wrong," he snapped.

Silence.

Adelia trembled. But not from fear. Her inner wolf, usually silent, whimpered with a mixture of pain and fury. The bond was there. She could feel it, still vibrant, still alive. How could he ignore it?

"You can't just deny it," she said, her voice trembling but determined. "This... this is bigger than us."

Kael looked at her for a long time. For a moment, a shadow of doubt crossed his face. A moment when his pupils seemed to soften. But it was fleeting. A spark of compassion, crushed by the weight of his own decisions.

"What you feel is not mutual," he lied.

He looked at her with disgust and repeated, "I reject you. You will not be my Moon, and with this oath, I sever our sacred ties."

And with those words, he destroyed everything.

Adelia took another step back. Her legs gave way and she fell to her knees. The circle did not move. No one came to comfort her. No one defended her. The law of predestined bonds was sacred, but not binding. An Alpha could reject. Although few did. And even fewer in such a cruel way.

"There is no place for you here," Kael declared, and turned his back on her.

The sentence was pronounced. But it was not he who had the last word.

A firm, high-pitched female voice rose from among those present.

"We cannot allow a rejected and uncontrolled she-wolf to remain among us. Her presence jeopardizes the balance of the pack."

It was Selira. A high-ranking wolf, close to the Alpha. Always ambitious. Always waiting for an opportunity to shine.

"I propose her banishment," she added, with a venomous glance at Adelia.

The elders murmured. One of them nodded slowly. Another simply closed his eyes. No one objected.

Adelia wanted to speak, to defend herself, to scream. But she had no strength. She had no words. Only emptiness.

And then, without trial, without defense, without consolation...

She was banished.

Adelia ran for days, sometimes as a human, sometimes as a wolf. The forest was a damp and wild labyrinth. Her body was exhausted. Her soul was shattered.The leaves crunched under her bare feet. The branches scratched her skin. The cold penetrated her bones. But nothing hurt as much as the betrayal.

Kael. Her partner. Her bond. He had denied something sacred. And he had done it in front of everyone, without compassion, without hesitation.

"You are weak."

The phrase echoed in her mind like a cruel echo.

She didn't know how many times she fell. She didn't know how many tears she shed. She only knew that she had to keep running. Because if she stopped, the pain would overwhelm her completely.

At some point, without knowing how, she began to remember fragments of her childhood: the first time she partially transformed into a wolf, at the age of nine, out of fear of an older wolf- y who was bothering her. Her mother, who comforted her that night, said, "Not all of us have the same strength at first. But that doesn't mean we don't have it."

And then, it was her body that decided.She fell.

Her dreams took her back just a few days earlier. She would never forget the first time she felt the bond burning inside her. It was proof that destiny had chosen her... and also the beginning of her downfall. Because instead of acceptance, she received rejection. Instead of love, condemnation. And that night, under the gaze of her entire pack, she understood that even the sacred could be destroyed with a single word:

"Rejection."

She woke up wrapped in rough blankets, smelling of smoke and dry herbs. The room was small and cozy. Outside, she could hear birds singing and the murmur of a nearby stream.

She tried to move, but a groan escaped her lips. Everything hurt.

"Don't rush," said a deep, calm voice.

An old man with a long white beard leaned over her with wise eyes and a kind smile. He wore a simple robe and carried a gnarled wooden staff. The air around him smelled of ancient magic.

"Where... am I?" she managed to ask.

"In Aster. A small human village, far from the lands of your people. Here, hatred has no claws," replied the old man.

"Who are you?"

"Cedric. Retired wizard, amateur gardener, and occasional collector of lost wolves," he said with a smile.

She frowned.

"Why did you save me?"

Cedric sat down next to the bed and sighed.

"Because the world is changing. And you... you are a key part of that change. Even if you don't know it yet."

Adelia didn't answer. She closed her eyes. She didn't trust him. She didn't understand. But she was alive. And for the first time since she had been banished, she felt no fear.

Cedric stood up, leaving a steaming cup beside her.

"Drink when you can. And rest. Your story isn't over, little wolf. It's just beginning."

And so, amid shadows and pain, Adelia took her first step toward a new life. One she did not yet understand. One she would write with her own claws.

Life in the village of Aster was calm, almost like a balm for the wounds Adelia still carried. The first few days were difficult: the looks of distrust, the whispers as she passed by... but little by little, thanks to Cedric's patience and intervention, the villagers began to accept her.

"Don't worry if they stare at you too much," he said one afternoon, as he served her an herbal tea. "They've never seen anyone like you, especially with that light in your eyes."

Adelia lowered her gaze. That "light" was something she felt more and more strongly. Inside her, a new fire seemed to burn, a core that responded to everything around her. A breeze could make her skin shiver as if calling to her, and sometimes objects would tremble without her touching them.

"What exactly am I, Cedric?" she asked him one night as they shared bread and hot soup. "I don't feel the same anymore."

He was silent for a moment and opened an old book with yellowed pages."There is an an