The sun had only just begun to drop below the horizon, painting theclearing red. It was an ominous feeling, the gathering of the pack felt more like an impending storm than a celebration She was taking too long in theroom as she wore a white gown, she was worried about what the elders would say. The sound of a knock on the door startled her out of hertrain of thought.

" Serena, it's time." Dorianwent to the door and told her. She was going to be crowned the Luna of Night Fang pack.

She was nervous, her mind racing a thousand thoughts a minute, pacing back andforth in her bedroom. Everythought collided with the one before it, the horrible ones blacker than the one before. The last time a ceremony was held for her, it had endedin disaster, the memories so fresh and painful in her mind. Everything had been broken in an instant: the aspirations, the anticipation, and what remained was nothing but complexity,sorrow, and a great sadness of being a failure. She could still recall the weight of the eyes that were watching her, thejudgment, the skepticism. It was a crossroads, even now ithaunted her. The thumping in her chest was a steady reminder of the pressure she wasunder, the fear that clawed at her insides.

“DorianI cannot do this, tell Lucian. What if this doesn't work out?” She said,ploping on her bed.

" You are our Luna, Serena. Youhave proven yourself worthy.” She nodded her head; halfbelieving Dorian.

" I'm coming." Doriannodded and left the room. One final glance at herself in the mirror as the golden marksupon her hand throbbed with every tick of the clock moving closer to midnight.

Serenafinally walked toward the clearing. As she stood inthe middle of the circle, heart racing hard enough to feel, figuratively and literally; this was on her. The Onyx wolf inside her started to awaken, ancientforce threatening to seize control. It was there, in there, scratchingto be seen. But that strength wasaccompanied by something more—a discomfort, a fight inside herself between both sides of her soul, as if the wolf did not want to accept her, and she would not fully give in to the beast.

The elders, arranged in a semi circle around her,whispered among themselves. Serena felt their stares, penetrating anddoubtful. They were uncomfortable with her, wondering whether shewas worthy of being the Luna. In the some cases, theLuna wielded more power than some Alphas. They were all petrifiedthat she was not worthy of such power.

“She’s not one of us,” the Elders’ leader muttered a voicethick with disdain as he glared at Serena. His eyes were piercing, fullof skepticism and distrust.

“A foreigner, a bloodline of Silver Ridge pack, at that, cannot and should not be allowed to wear the title ofLuna.” He spat out with suchvenom in his voice. "How can we trust one who has not been born into our ways, who does not have the blood of our pack flowing through herveins? The ideaitself is an insult.” His tone was harsh.

With Serena beside him, Lucian’s eyes never flinched, his stance firm and fierce. He raisedhis voice, full and hard, across the clearing.

“Enough. She is my Luna, and she is more thandeserving of the position.” Hisgaze met each elder, a challenge in its stare. “If youquestion her position, you disobey me too.”

The elders exchanged glances in a moment of tense silence before they slowly nodded, their whispers seizedby the order of their Alpha. The air changed,but the tension remained.

He turned his gaze to Serena, his expression softening as he took herhand. Hecould sense her internal struggle, the fear, the uncertainty. Butthere was no going back at this point. She had accepted the bond, and with it, she was stakingher claim at his side, equal to him, his mate.

“Do you feel it?” Lucian asked gently, his voice meant onlyfor her. “The cordthat binds us, you and the Onyx wolf. You are not alone in this. Together, wewill rule the darkness.”

Serena nodded,choking back the lump in her throat. She didn’t know all of it—how the moon goddess hadchosen them, why this bond felt so large on her heart—but she trusted Lucian. And with him, she could endure what was tocome.

As soon asthe spilling-red crimson moon was complete, the elder leading the ceremony raised arms. His voice boomed in thestillness as he spoke. “Then, by the power of the Moon Goddess, we bind you,Serena, as Luna of the Night Fang Pack. And by the same power, we declare you andLucian mates, for eternity.”

It was as if the air surrounding them had come alive with some sortof electric energy, charged with pure power. A rush of instinctive desire welled up in Serena as the Onyx wolf within came to life, filling herwith the strength of its nature. The connection she shared with Lucian was becoming stronger, clearer, the essence of their souls being spun together by tightly forgedstrings. Asif the darkness within her, which had always been wild, untamed and restless, was being softened, steadied by Lucian’s power. The wolf, who had been all restless and uncertainty, calmed within and settled into her with a quietacceptance. Itaccepted her as its true Alpha female, its rightful mate. The weight of the transformation bore down heavily on her, but instead of fear, there was overwhelming strength, and asense of belonging.

There was an electric crackle in the air, a pregnant hush hanging over the glade as the pack attatched themselves to thescene. No one would question itagain — it was a powerful sacred bond.

A howl resonated through thestillness, the high howl soon followed by a chorus of deep howls. Lucian's hand tightened instinctively, his fingers curling around Serena's with an unarticulated firmness, asense of urgency unquenched.

“They’ve sensed it. Theyknow you’re our new Luna now.” he said in a calm tone. Only now it was no longer echoing the soundsof the call of the wolf in the distance, these howls were a statement; an intimation that they have been heard, they had been acknowledged.

Serena glanced up athim, not sure what that meant. She gave his hand an eventighter grip hiding the fear that was slowly creeping.

And as the last ofthe ceremony’s words rang through the clearing, a new chapter for the Night Fang Pack had begun.

In that moment was sealed the birth of Two Alphas, bound forever. For it was the Onyx wolf, both ancient and powerful, and had found its rightful vessel inSerena, the fates now interwoven with Lucian’s.