The Midnight Claim

Tessa's POV

The entire world screeches to a sudden, jarring halt. The silence descending over the gravel driveway is heavy, thick enough to crush the breath right out of my lungs. Beside me, Sienna’s flawless face twists into a vicious mask of pure, unadulterated disbelief. The transition is startling. One second, she plays the tragic, weeping victim. The next, her manicured fingers drop from Kaelen’s muscular arm as if his hot skin just singed her flesh to the bone.

"How..." Sienna stammers, her voice dripping with icy venom. The sweet, high-pitched facade shatters, revealing the ugly grating tone beneath. "How could you say that?"

Kaelen cuts her off without a single ounce of hesitation. He does not soften his imposing stance. He does not reach out to comfort his destined Luna. Instead, his broad shoulders square, casting a long, dark shadow over the gravel.

"Sienna, we are not mates yet," Kaelen states coldly. His deep voice is devoid of any warmth, ringing like forged steel in the quiet afternoon air. "In fact, we do not even know if the Moon Goddess will pair us tonight. We are not together. I am only mating to you because it is my strict duty to the pack."

My stomach performs a violent flip. I wince, the sheer blunt force of his words hitting me like a physical blow. Even I feel a brief, fleeting sting of pity for my sister. To hear the future Alpha explicitly state that his commitment is nothing more than a political obligation is devastating.

But Kaelen is not finished. He takes a step forward, his jaw flexing tight.

"Tessa and I have been best friends for years," he continues, his tone hardening into an unquestionable command. He raises a dark brow, his dark eyes daring her to spite him, to challenge his authority. "Of course she matters to me most."

Sienna gasps loudly. She takes a staggering step back, her chest heaving with genuine, unbridled fury. Her blue eyes flare with an icy rage, her nostrils flaring as she realizes she has lost this battle. She does not scream. She does not argue. With a sharp, furious humph, she violently pries the broken silver necklace from my frozen hands. She spins on her designer heels and storms back toward the massive pack house, her heavy footsteps echoing like gunshots until the heavy oak door slams shut behind her.

Left entirely alone in the driveway with Kaelen, my heart races erratically against my ribs. The blood roars in my ears. He has never, ever been so blatantly harsh and cold with her. He always managed his frustration, keeping the peace for the sake of the pack's stability. But today, the polite pretenses are gone.

"Kaelen..." I murmur, the word catching in my dry throat.

He turns his large body to face me fully. The cold, Alpha exterior melts away in an instant, replaced by a deep, stirring tenderness that makes my knees feel dangerously weak.

"I couldn't let her talk to you like that," he says, his voice dropping into a low, soothing rumble.

I drop my gaze, my fingers nervously fiddling with the frayed hem of my faded shirt. The blazing sun beats down on my neck, but the heat flooding my cheeks has nothing to do with the weather. It is a mixture of immense shame and a secret, forbidden warmth blossoming in my chest.

"You didn't have to defend me, Kaelen," I whisper, licking my dry lower lip. I force myself to look up, meeting his intense stare. "Sienna is going to kill me when you leave. She is going to be your fated mate tonight. You shouldn't anger her."

Kaelen lets out a rough snort. He steps closer, closing the distance between us until I can feel the raw, masculine heat radiating from his large frame. His intense, dark gaze locks onto mine, and then slowly, deliberately, drops down to intensely study my mouth.

"You don't get it, do you, Tessa?" he asks, his voice thick with a sudden, heavy emotion.

I stay perfectly silent, my stunned brain unable to process his incredibly loaded expression. My lungs forget how to function.

He sighs, a ragged sound that seems to tear from deep within his broad chest. He forces his eyes back up to mine. "You really have no absolute idea what you really mean to me."

Before I can even begin to formulate a response to that earth-shattering confession, Kaelen takes a slow, tense step back. He rubs the back of his neck, his jaw clenching as a dark shadow crosses his features.

"I should go now," he warns quietly, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. "I am afraid of what I might do if I stay around you any longer. Tonight is the full moon. My wolf is growing restless. He is pushing at the surface."

My brows furrow in confusion, but the raw hunger in his eyes keeps me rooted to the spot.

"I'm needed back home to prepare for the ceremony," Kaelen continues, shaking his head slightly as if breaking himself out of a dangerous trance. His lips curve into a devastating, crooked smirk. "But I cannot wait to see you tonight, sparrow. I want to see you wearing the delicate coral pink dress I gifted you."

Heat crawls rapidly up my neck, settling deep in my burning cheeks. The dress. The beautiful, expensive silk garment he surprised me with last week. I already have it steamed and carefully laid out on my bed, waiting for the party.

I try to force out a casual laugh, but it comes out as a shaky, breathless sound. "In a crowd that big, you probably won't even notice me."

His smirk vanishes. The playful energy evaporates, replaced by a solemn, fierce vow.

"Out of everyone in the room, I will always notice you first," Kaelen promises, his husky whisper sending a shiver straight down my spine. "You always stand out to me, Tessa."

My heart stutters. Does he know what those words do to me? Does he know they plant seeds of impossible hope in a wolfless girl's shattered heart?

"Go inside," he instructs softly. "Get some rest before tonight."

With one last lingering look, he climbs into his roaring car. I stand frozen in the gravel, watching the vehicle speed down the long road until it disappears from sight. The exact moment the taillights vanish, the protective warmth of his presence fades, and an icy dread heavily settles deep into my bones. Kaelen is gone. I am alone in enemy territory.

I turn around and slowly head for the house, dragging my feet up the grand staircase. I need to find my old cleaning clothes. My mother made it perfectly clear that I am expected to scrub the kitchens before the guests arrive.

I walk down the dark hallway, dreading the inevitable confrontation. I reach the threshold of my bedroom door and push it open, only to freeze dead in my tracks.

Sienna is sitting casually on the edge of my mattress. Her legs are crossed, a wicked, triumphant grin plastered across her face. Her manicured hands are viciously and aggressively clutching a pile of shredded, ruined fabric.

It takes my brain a full second to recognize the color. Coral pink.

My breath hitches. The beautiful silk dress Kaelen gifted me—the only beautiful thing I own—is completely destroyed. It is torn into jagged ribbons, the delicate seams ripped apart with brute force.

"Only thought I'd return the favor, sister," Sienna snarls. Her sweet scent sours with malice. She callously throws the completely shredded, destroyed fabric onto the floor like it is a piece of disgusting trash.

My heart drops into my stomach. I cannot speak. I cannot move. I just stare at the ruined silk pooling on the dusty floorboards.

"Don't worry," Sienna sneers maliciously, standing up and smoothing down her designer jeans. "I brought a pretty dress for you to wear tonight, since you clearly don't own anything suitable for my birthday."

She kicks a crumpled ball of fabric directly at my feet. It is a filthy, stained cream dress. It smells like damp mildew and is covered in dark, unidentifiable grease stains. It is nothing more than a used floor rag.

"Sienna..." I choke out, my voice trembling.

She strides over to me, her heels clicking aggressively against the wood. She stops inches from my face, her blue eyes flashing with a cruel, dominant light.

"Listen to me very carefully, you dumb bitch," she hisses, stepping into my personal space. "If you don't wear that filthy rag tonight, I will make absolutely sure that the second I turn Luna at midnight, you will be permanently banished from this territory."

I stutter, stepping back. "Kaelen would never let you—"

"I will be Kaelen's fated mate by then!" she snaps, cutting me off with a vicious laugh. "Do you honestly think he won't listen to the demands of his Luna? I will be his equal. His destined partner. Do you think he, or the entire pack, will go against my first official order?"

I freeze. The blood drains from my face. She is right. Kaelen defended me today, but he cannot protect me forever. Once the mate bond snaps into place at midnight, the ancient laws of our kind take over. An Alpha must honor his Luna. And if that Luna demands the banishment of a wolfless Omega, he will have no legal choice but to comply. Banishment for a girl without a wolf means certain death in the rogue lands.

Sienna tilts her head, her smirk widening as she watches the sheer terror dawn in my eyes. She reaches out, her fingers tightly gripping my chin, her nails digging painfully into my skin.

"I cannot wait for midnight," she whispers, her breath fanning across my face. "I will make your pathetic life a living hell."

She shoves my face away with a look of pure disgust. She brushes her fingers against her own clothes, acting as though touching me has contaminated her.

"That dirty dress suits you perfectly," she sneers, glancing down at the stained rag on the floor. "Filthy. Broken. Just like you."

Leaving me completely alone with those final, venomous, life-destroying words, she marches out of the room. The door slams shut behind her, rattling the hinges.

My knees buckle. I immediately drop to the cold floor. I ignore the dirty cream dress and crawl toward the shredded coral pink ribbons. My trembling hands gather the ruined silk, desperately hugging the torn fabric tightly to my chest. A choked sob tears from my throat. I bury my face in the ruins of Kaelen's gift, physically suffocating under the heavy, crushing weight of my deep hatred for this abusive family. I hate my sister. I hate my mother. I hate this cruel, unforgiving pack.

Hours relentlessly pass.

The extravagant birthday party is in full swing down below. The loud bass of the music thumps through the floorboards, vibrating against my bare feet. Laughter and cheers drift through my open window, a harsh contrast to the deafening silence of my bedroom.

I did not put on the dirty cream dress. Instead, I am still wearing my dirty, oversized, stained cleaning clothes. I spent the entire afternoon scrubbing the grand kitchen floors, washing endless stacks of greasy pots, and hauling heavy bags of supplies. I am entirely covered in white baking flour. My knees are bruised, my knuckles are raw, and my hair smells horribly like rancid dishwater.

I remain hidden away in the dark shadows of my lonely room, standing just behind the lace curtain. I gaze sadly out the window, watching the celebration unfold in the massive courtyard.

Sienna looks absolutely radiant. She stands in the center of the manicured lawn, glowing under the twinkling fairy lights. She wears a stunning, silver gown that catches the moonlight, making her look ethereal. She is surrounded by pack members handing her gifts, bowing their heads in respect. She laughs, sipping expensive champagne, happily celebrating her eighteenth birthday like a true, worshipped queen.

My chest violently aches.

It is my eighteenth birthday tonight, too. Midnight marks the sacred age when wolves are meant to feel the supernatural pull, the exact moment they find their true fated mate. But I am a broken, wolfless werewolf. I cannot shift. I cannot hear the Moon Goddess's voice. I deeply doubt a defective Omega like me even possesses a mate. The universe would not waste a soulmate on a girl destined for banishment.

I swallow the massive lump in my throat, my sad eyes scanning the buzzing crowd.

Then, I finally catch sight of him.

Kaelen navigates through the dense throng of dancing bodies. He looks breathtakingly handsome in his formal wear. His black suit is tailored perfectly to his broad shoulders, his dark hair slicked back. But he does not look happy. He does not look like a man about to claim his beautiful Luna.

His sharp jaw is clenched extremely tight. His broad chest rises and falls with heavy, erratic breaths. His dark eyes dart frantically around the courtyard, desperately searching the crowd for someone. He pushes past the pack elders, ignoring Sienna entirely as she tries to wave him over.

He is looking for me. I know it in my bones.

The buzzing crowd enthusiastically begins the loud, chanting countdown to midnight. It is the exact, fated moment the Alpha is legally and traditionally meant to claim his Luna.

"Five!" the pack roars, raising their glasses into the crisp night air.

Sienna stands proudly in the center, a confident, victorious smile plastered on her flawless face.

"Four!"

Kaelen’s head whips back and forth. His panic is palpable, radiating even from this distance. What is he desperately looking for? Does he think I ran away?

"Three!"

My heart speeds up, hammering against my ribs so hard I fear it might break through bone. My sweaty palms grip the windowsill. I am leaning forward, my breath fogging the cold glass.

"Two!"

Suddenly, as if physically feeling the heavy, desperate weight of my stare from two stories above, Kaelen stops dead in his tracks. He snaps his head up. He lifts his intense, burning gaze upward, bypassing the fairy lights, bypassing the crowd, zeroing directly onto my dark window.

Our eyes violently clash through the glass.

I physically stumble backward. A sharp gasp rips from my lips as a sudden, overwhelming electric jolt hits my very soul. It strikes like a massive lightning bolt, searing through my veins, igniting every single nerve ending in my tired body. The air in my bedroom turns scorching hot. The scent of pine and heavy musk floods my senses, so thick I can taste it on my tongue.

No. My trembling hands fly to my mouth. It absolutely cannot be. I am wolfless. I am broken.

"One!" the crowd screams in unison. Midnight strikes.

Down in the courtyard, a loud, terrifying, primal growl suddenly rips through the crisp night air. It erupts directly from Kaelen's massive chest, silencing the cheering pack instantly. His eyes bleed into a glowing, ferocious crimson.

He feels the electric jolt, too. He knows the truth, too.

The impossible, earth-shattering reality settles permanently between us in the pale moonlight, binding our souls together with an unbreakable, ancient magic.

We are mates.