The kitchen smells like blood and smoke. I scrub the stone floor on my hands and knees. My fingers are raw. The water is cold and filthy. The wolves had a feast last night and left a mess.My name is Aria. I am a slave. That is all I have ever been.A she-wolf walks past me. Her dress drags through the wet I just cleaned. She does not look down. I do not exist to her. To any of them.I learned long ago to be invisible. Do not speak. Do not look up. Do not breathe too loud. Just work until you cannot anymore. Then work more. That is how you survive."Aria." A voice behind me.I turn. It is Bren. He works in the stables. He is the only person here who knows my name. The only one who talks to me like I am human."You look half dead," he says quietly."I feel half dead."He glances around. Then he pulls a piece of bread from his pocket and hands it to me. "Eat. Quick."I shove it in my mouth. Stale. Dry. The best thing I have tasted in days. My stomach stops screaming."Thank you," I whisper."Listen. Tonight. The Mating Ritual."I know about it. Once a year, all the unmated wolves gather under the full moon. The Moon Goddess is supposed to guide them to their mates. The mate bond is sacred. Unbreakable. More important than anything.But it has nothing to do with me. Humans are not allowed at wolf rituals."Why are you telling me?" I ask."They need extra servants tonight. They might pick you." His face is serious. "Be careful. The wolves get wild during the ritual. Dangerous."A chill runs through me. "I will."Bren leaves. I go back to scrubbing. Hours pass. My back aches. My knees bleed.Then the head housekeeper appears. Greta. A mean Beta she-wolf who hates humans."You," she says, pointing at me. "Mira is sick. You take her place tonight."My heart drops. "But I am human. I cannot go to the ritual.""You will serve drinks. Stay in the shadows. Do not look at the wolves. Do not speak. If you cause trouble, you die. Understand?"I understand I have no choice. "Yes, ma'am.""Be at the servants' entrance at moonrise."She walks away. I stand there shaking. This is bad. Very bad.But I cannot refuse. Slaves who refuse orders get beaten. Or killed. So I will go. I will be invisible like always.Maybe I will survive.Night comes too fast. I put on my cleanest dress. It is still gray and stained. I am still nobody.Other servants wait at the entrance. They are all Omegas. Low-ranking wolves. I am the only human. They look at me like I am dirt.An older Omega gives me a tray. "Outer edge only. Pour drinks when they signal. Do not enter the sacred circle. Do not touch any wolf."I nod. My hands shake.We walk through the forest. The moon rises huge and bright. I hear howls in the distance. My skin prickles. Something feels wrong. Like the air itself is watching.We reach the Moon Grove. It is a big clearing with ancient trees. In the center is a circle made of white stones. That is the sacred space. Where the magic happens.Wolves are everywhere. Beautiful. Powerful. Wearing fine clothes. The air hums with energy. With anticipation.I stay at the edge. In the shadows. A servant hands me a wine jug. I pour drinks for wolves who signal me. I keep my eyes down.The Alpha King arrives. He is tall with golden hair and cold blue eyes. He sits on a high platform. Guards stand around him.Then an old she-wolf walks to the center. Elder Maris. Her white hair glows in the moonlight. She raises her arms and starts chanting. Old words I do not understand. Calling the Moon Goddess.Unmated wolves walk into the sacred circle. They sit on the white stones. Waiting to see if the bond will appear. Waiting for their mate.I pour more drinks. Stay invisible.Then everything changes.The crowd goes quiet. Completely silent. Everyone turns to look at something.A figure walks out of the darkness.He is massive. Taller than everyone. Dressed in black. His hair is long and dark. His face has three scars cutting down the left side. His eyes are silver. Actually silver. They almost glow.I know who he is. Everyone knows.Kael Ashenblade. The King's Blade. The Cursed Alpha.The most dangerous wolf in the kingdom. Five women were chosen as his mates. All five died. Mysterious deaths. Everyone says he is cursed. That the Moon Goddess marked him. That anyone who gets close to him dies.He walks through the crowd and no one moves. They are all frozen. Terrified. Even the Alpha King looks nervous.Kael walks to the sacred circle. He sits on a white stone far from everyone else. Alone. His face shows nothing. Like he is made of ice.I realize I am staring. Stupid. Dangerous. I look away fast.Keep working. Stay invisible.A she-wolf near me signals for wine. I move toward her. But the crowd is thick. Wolves are everywhere. I get pushed. Shoved. I lose my direction.I stumble forward. Too far forward.I look down. My feet are inside the sacred circle.Oh no. No no no.I need to get out. But there are wolves on all sides. If I push through them, they will notice me. I will cause a scene. I will die.There. An empty space. Between two wolves. If I sit there for just a moment. Stay small. Wait for the crowd to thin. Then I can slip out.I move to the empty space and sit down fast. Pull my knees to my chest. Make myself tiny. Just for a minute.Elder Maris is chanting louder. The ritual is reaching its peak.Then it happens.Pain explodes in my chest. Like lightning. Like fire. I cannot breathe. Cannot think.Silver light bursts out of me. Out of my heart. A glowing thread. It shoots across the circle and connects to someone beside me.I turn my head.Kael Ashenblade is staring at me. His silver eyes are huge. Shocked.The mate bond. I feel it. A pull so strong it feels like my soul is trying to leave my body. Like something deep inside me recognizes him.No. This is not possible. This cannot be happening.The clearing explodes.Wolves jump up screaming. Elder Maris stops chanting. Her face goes white."A human!" someone shouts. "A human in the sacred circle!""The bond activated!""With the Cursed Alpha!""Kill her!"I cannot move. Cannot breathe. The silver light connects me to Kael. Everyone can see it. Undeniable.Elder Maris points at me. "Seize her! She defiled the ritual! She must die!"Guards run at me. I try to stand. Try to run. But I am frozen.Then Kael moves.He is faster than possible. One second he is sitting. The next he is standing in front of me. Between me and the guards. His hand is on his sword."She is mine." His voice is quiet. But it cuts through all the noise. Through all the screaming. Everything goes silent.The guards stop. Everyone stops.The Alpha King stands. "You would claim a human slave?""The bond chose her." Kael does not look at the King. His eyes stay on the guards. "She is mine. Touch her and die."No one moves. The threat hangs in the air. Real. Everyone knows Kael can kill them all. Has killed more wolves than anyone can count.Elder Maris looks between us. "This is forbidden. Against all laws. The Moon Goddess would not bond a wolf to a human.""Yet she did." Kael's voice is ice.The Alpha King's face goes red. But he is careful. Even he cannot challenge a sacred mate bond. Not openly. Not without looking like he is defying the Moon Goddess."Take her to your fortress," he says finally. "The Council will meet. We will decide her fate. But if we say she dies, Ashenblade, not even you can stop it."Kael turns to me. Looks at me for real for the first time. His scarred face shows nothing. His silver eyes burn into mine.He holds out his hand.I stare at it. At him. The most feared wolf in the kingdom. The cursed one. And somehow I am bound to him. Somehow the Moon Goddess chose this.I have no choice. I never have choices.I take his hand.His grip is warm. Strong. The bond flares where we touch. Silver light pulses."Come," he says.I stand. My legs shake. He keeps hold of my hand and walks. I follow because what else can I do.The crowd parts. Everyone stares. Whispers. As we leave the Moon Grove, I hear them."An abomination.""She should die.""He will kill her like the others."The forest swallows us. The sounds fade. We walk in silence.My heart pounds. My mind races. Everything just changed. My whole life just ended and started again in the same moment.I am bound to the Cursed Alpha.And I do not know if that means I am saved or already dead.