The moon, unsurprisingly, didn't answer.

I was pulling the pins out of my hair, which someone had tortured into an updo, when I heard voices in the corridor outside. Male voices. Arguing.

Oh no.

"...can't just leave her here unsupervised," someone was saying. It sounded like Theron.

"She's not a prisoner," another voice argued. Kieran.

"Then what is she?" That was Cassian, I thought.

"A problem," Darius said flatly.

"A problem we rejected," Zane added. "Therefore, it's not our problem anymore."

"The prophecy says..."

"I don't care what the prophecy says!"

I rolled my eyes and opened the door.

All five Alphas were standing in the hallway, apparently having followed me to continue their argument about what to do with me. They all froze when they saw me.

"Hi," I said. "Having fun?"

Kieran recovered first. "We were just discussing..."

"How I'm a problem?" I supplied helpfully. "Yeah, I heard. These walls are thinner than you'd think."

Theron had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. Slightly.

"Look," I said, leaning against the doorframe. "You all rejected me. Fine. I get it. I'm not exactly Alpha mate material. But can you please take your existential crisis somewhere else? I've had a really long day and I'd like to wallow in my humiliation in private."

"You don't seem particularly humiliated," Cassian observed.

"I'm an excellent actress."

His silver eyes gleamed with something that might have been interest. "Are you?"

"The best," I said flatly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can figure out how to work the bathtub in there because it has more knobs than any bathtub should reasonably have and I'm afraid I'm going to flood the palace."

Darius's lips twitched. It might have been a smile. It was hard to tell because his resting face was "bored aristocrat."

"We'll discuss this further in the morning," Kieran said, like he was dismissing a council meeting.

"Can't wait," I said, and shut the door in their faces.

I waited until I heard their footsteps retreating before I let out a long breath.

This was going to be harder than I thought.

I'd been planning to lay low, avoid attention, and work on stopping the Demon King from the shadows like I always did. But apparently, the Moon Goddess had other plans.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The dress was ridiculous. My hair was a mess from pulling out the pins. I had dark circles under my eyes because I'd been up until three in the morning last night dealing with a nest of rogue vampires in the eastern territories.

"What were you thinking?" I asked my reflection. Or maybe I was asking the Moon Goddess. "Why me?"

My reflection, also unsurprisingly, didn't answer.

I finally managed to get the dress off after contorting myself into several uncomfortable positions to reach the buttons. Whoever invented dresses like this hated women. That was the only explanation.

The bath was amazing, though. I'll give the palace that. The tub was huge and the water was hot and there were about fifteen different bottles of things that smelled nice. I used all of them. If I was going to be stuck here, I might as well enjoy the amenities.

When I finally climbed into the massive bed, wrapped in a robe that was softer than anything I'd ever touched, I stared up at the ceiling and tried to think.

The prophecy was real. I'd known it was coming, had known that the Blood Moon would choose someone this year. I just hadn't expected it to choose me.

The Void was growing stronger. That part was true too. I'd been fighting Void beasts for months now, watching them get bigger and more frequent. The barrier between our world and the demon realm was weakening.

And the Demon King was definitely trying to break through. I had sources. Information networks. I knew things that would make these Alphas lose sleep at night.

But I'd been planning to handle it myself. Quietly and efficiently. The way I handled everything.

Now I was in the middle of a prophecy, rejected by five Alphas who were supposed to help me save the kingdom, and stuck in a palace where everyone thought I was worthless.

I started laughing.

I couldn't help it. It was just so absurd.

The Moon Goddess chose the one woman in the kingdom who didn't need five Alpha mates to save everyone. The one woman who'd been doing it alone for years. The one woman who was powerful enough to handle this herself.

And those five idiots had rejected me without even knowing what they were giving up.

"Your loss," I told the empty room.

Tomorrow, I'd figure out a plan. Tonight, I was going to sleep in this incredibly comfortable bed and enjoy the fact that for once in my life, I wasn't sleeping in a basement with a leaky ceiling.

The Blood Moon shone through the window, painting everything red.

And somewhere in the darkness, I could feel the Void stirring, hungry and patient.

Let it wait.

I had bigger problems to deal with.

Like five Alphas who were going to be very, very sorry they rejected me.

Eventually.

Lysandra Pov:

I woke up to someone pounding on my door like they were trying to break it down with their bare fists.

"Miss Vane! Miss Vane, you need to wake up right now!"

I groaned and pulled the pillow over my face. The bed was too comfortable. The room was too quiet. And I really, really didn't want to deal with whatever fresh hell today was going to bring.

The pounding continued. "Miss Vane, please! The council has been summoned! You have to be there in thirty minutes!"

Council? What council?

I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled to the door, yanking it open. Mira was standing there looking absolutely frazzled, her hair coming loose from its bun and her eyes wide with panic.

"What's happening?" I asked, my voice still rough with sleep.

"Emergency council meeting. The High Priestess called it. Everyone has to attend." She thrust a dress at me. It was dark blue and looked even more uncomfortable than yesterday's torture device. "You need to get dressed. Now."

"Can I say no?"

"Not unless you want the Crown Prince to literally drag you there himself."

I took the dress with a sigh. "Fine. But I'm not doing anything fancy with my hair."

"I don't have time to do anything fancy anyway," Mira said, practically pushing me back into the room. "Just get dressed. Quickly."

Twenty minutes later, I was in the dress (which was indeed uncomfortable and had about a thousand buttons again), my hair was in a messy braid, and I was following Mira through the palace corridors at what could only be described as a speed walk.

Servants were whispering as we passed. I caught fragments of their conversations.

"...can't believe she's still here..."

"...heard the Alphas want her gone..."

"...disgrace to the prophecy..."

Great. So the gossip mill was already in full swing.

The council chamber was packed when we arrived. And I mean packed. It looked like every important person in the kingdom had showed up for this meeting. Council members, pack representatives, nobles, advisors. All of them were staring at me the moment I walked in.

The five Alphas were already seated at the head of the long table. Kieran sat in the center like he was holding court, his expression cold enough to freeze fire. Theron was sprawled in his chair, looking at me like I was something he'd scraped off his boot. Cassian had those weird silver eyes fixed on me with what could only be described as clinical disgust. Darius was examining his fingernails (again), but I could see the contempt on his face. And Zane was in the shadows, radiating pure murder energy.

The High Priestess stood beside the table, looking ancient and exhausted.

"Miss Vane," Kieran said, his voice like ice. "How generous of you to finally join us."

"I was asleep," I said. "Some of us actually need rest."

"Some of us also need to learn punctuality," he shot back.

"Some of us didn't ask to be here at all," I countered.

His eyes flashed gold. His wolf was close to the surface. "Sit. Down."

There was an empty chair at the far end of the table, as far from the Alphas as possible while still being in the same room. I walked over and sat, feeling every single pair of eyes tracking my movement.

"Now that we're all present," Kieran began, his voice formal and cold, "we can address the disaster from last night."

"Disaster is putting it mildly," said an old Alpha with grey hair and a scar across his face. "We had a prophecy ceremony. The Blood Moon chose. And all five Alphas rejected their mate. This is unprecedented."

"Because the choice was ridiculous," Theron said bluntly. He didn't even glance at me. "The Moon Goddess chose a wolfless orphan to save the kingdom. That's not a prophecy. That's a joke."

Several people nodded in agreement.

"The Moon Goddess does not joke," the High Priestess said firmly.

"Then she made a mistake," Zane said from his corner, his voice flat and cold. "It happens."

"It does not happen!" The High Priestess slammed her staff on the ground. "The Blood Moon has chosen mates for thousands of years. It has never been wrong."

"There's a first time for everything," Darius said, finally looking up from his nails. "And this is clearly it."

I sat there, listening to them talk about me like I wasn't in the room. Again. This was becoming a pattern.

Lysandra POV :

"The prophecy states that five Alphas must unite with the chosen woman to stop the Void," the High Priestess continued. "Without that unity, the kingdom will fall."

"Then the kingdom will have to find another way," Kieran said. "Because I will not be bound to someone who weakens my bloodline."

"She doesn't even have a wolf," Theron added. "How is she supposed to fight Void beasts? Ask them nicely to leave?"

A few people actually laughed at that.

I felt my face burning but kept my expression blank.

"The girl is useless," said the scarred Alpha. "No power. No wolf. No training. She's a liability and not an asset."

"Exactly," Cassian said, speaking for the first time. Those silver eyes were cold as they landed on me. "I've examined her thoroughly. There's no magical signature. No power. Nothing. Binding myself to her would actively weaken my abilities."

"So we're all in agreement," Darius said. "The rejection stands. We find another solution to the Void problem."

"There is no other solution!" The High Priestess looked like she was about to cry. "The prophecy is clear!"

"Then we'll make a new prophecy," Kieran said dismissively. "Petition the Moon Goddess for a different ceremony. A better candidate."

"You cannot simply petition for a new prophecy!"

"Watch me."

The High Priestess turned to look at me, her eyes desperate. "Child, please. Say something. Make them understand."

All eyes turned to me.

I looked at the five Alphas. At their expressions of disgust and contempt. At the way they couldn't even stand to look at me properly.

"Actually," I said, standing up. "I agree with them."

Dead silence.

"What?" the High Priestess whispered.

"I agree," I repeated. "They don't want me. I don't want them. So let's just end this now."

Kieran's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I reject this bond too." I looked at each of them in turn. "I reject you, Kieran Silvercrest. I reject you, Theron Ironfang. I reject you, Cassian Nightweaver. I reject you, Darius Goldmane. And I reject you, Zane Shadowmere."

I felt something snap inside my chest. Five threads breaking, five bonds severing completely. It should have hurt. The legends said mate rejection was supposed to be agonizing.

Instead, I felt... lighter.

The five Alphas looked surprised for about half a second. Then Theron actually smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.

"Well," he said. "That makes things easier."

"Agreed," Darius said. "No more pretending we have to tolerate her presence."

"This is perfect," Kieran said, and he actually looked relieved. "The bonds are broken on both sides. We can move forward without this... complication."

"Finally," Zane muttered. "I was getting tired of smelling weak blood every time she walked by."

"This is madness!" the High Priestess cried. "You're all mad! The prophecy..."

"Is over," Cassian said coldly. "The bonds are severed. We're free."

"You're not free!" The old woman looked like she was about to collapse. "You've doomed yourselves! All of you!"

"What are you talking about?" Kieran asked, finally showing a hint of concern.

"The prophecy is a binding," she said, her voice shaking. "Once the Blood Moon chooses, the connection is formed. Rejecting it doesn't break the bond. It damages it. And damaged bonds kill."

The room went dead silent.

"Kill how?" Theron asked slowly.

"Slowly and very painfully." The High Priestess looked at each of us. "The broken bonds will drain your life force. All six of you. You'll grow weaker, sicker. Within a year, you'll be dead."

"That's ridiculous," Darius said, but he didn't sound as confident as before.

"It's in the sacred texts. The bonds cannot be broken without consequence."

"Then we'll find a way to reverse it," Kieran said firmly.

"There is only one way to reverse it," she said. "Accept the bonds. Properly. All six of you."

"No," Zane said immediately.

"Absolutely not," Theron agreed.

"I'd rather die," Cassian said flatly.

I almost laughed at that. Almost.