EXPOSITION:Rhyanne Elric grew up in Ashenfall, she's the daughter of two omega servants who work directly under Alpha Prince Cassian Thorne and his father, King Aldric. Her mother, Maren, died when Rhyanne was still a pup, officially from illness, though no one ever speaks of it further. Her father, Kaelen, raised her alone, in a household that had no room for softness. Rhyanne is extremely bold though it never serves her. She talks back, she doesn't lower her eyes fast enough and to make it all worse, her wolf has always been weak, sluggish, faint, nothing like the wolves around her, she is always mocked for it, even by other omegas, even by the boy she's forced to serve every day – Cassian. At eighteen, she worked directly under him as his personal maid. He is everything a wolf is supposed to be — trained, elegant, commanding — but he has never once looked at her as an equal. At a grand ball, surrounded by nobles and admirers, Cassian summons her to serve him out of spite, trying to embarrass her when their hands touch as she hands him his plate. A growl tears out of him before he could stop it. They are fated mates. Cassian and the servant girl he's spent years mocking. INCITING INCIDENT:Cassian reacts badly, in front of the whole court, he announces that he'll take pity on her and accept the bond, framing it as a favor no one in her position should refuse. But Rhyanne refuses him and he is humiliated, Cassian grabs her arm to force the point and she slaps him in front of the entire hall. The whole court is stunned. Cassian, now furious and mortified, declares she's proven exactly how weak and disrespectful she is, and that she should be banished. She's given two choices: leave Ashenfall, or be executed for striking a future king. She left that night, saying goodbye to no one but her father and Fenna. For two years, Rhyanne survives alone, moving from territory to territory, working where she can, training even when her wolf refuses to strengthen, then she decides to teach herself poison-craft instead, precise and patient work suited to a girl who was never given brute strength to rely on. She and Fenna write letters to each other constantly. One day, while working in a remote territory to survive, she meets a supreme Alpha — Draven Kaelvor. The Alpha of Nightfall Sanctuary and a second mate bond happened. Rhyanne, who was still raw from the last time this happened to her, refuses him on reflex, but Draven doesn't force the issue. He simply convinces her that Nightfall would be safer than the life she's living now, and leaves the choice to her and she eventually agrees. Draven brings her into his fortress and announces to the entire territory, without ceremony or hesitation, that she is his. Not everyone accepts it, least of all Soren Luca, the Alpha right hand, who makes his contempt for her plain from the first day. During her bonding ceremony to become Luna, Thessaly the Bloodwarden stops the proceedings to say, flatly, that Rhyanne's wolf has been suppressed a long ago. RISING ACTION:Settling into Nightfall Sanctuary was not easy for Rhyanne, Soren, the Alpha's right hand, makes his contempt for Rhyanne plain from the first council meeting— an outsider, an omega, mated to their Alpha out of instinct rather than choice, as far as he's concerned. He challenges her every chance he gets, questions her presence in strategy meetings, and doesn't hide it from the pack that he disapproves her. Draven never wavers, he doesn't argue with Soren in front of others, he simply makes it clear, through small actions, that Rhyanne's place beside him isn't up for debate. He starts including her in territory matters, asking for her opinion in things. Sometimes, she suddenly goes quiet, he notices it but doesn't push, he shows he cares by only staying close. Slowly, the terse, guarded Alpha begins letting Rhyanne see parts of himself no one else does, the weight of ruling a territory built as a refuge for wolves no one else wanted, the loneliness of being Supreme Alpha and untouchable to everyone but her. Thessaly, meanwhile, takes an interest in the suppression marked on Rhyanne's bond. Rhyanne, who was overjoyed and still reeling from the discovery, writes to Fenna about it— the truth that her wolf was never simply weak, telling someone did this to her on purpose and asking her to help find out who. It's the last letter she sends before Fenna goes quiet. Weeks pass, then a month, then two months. Rhyanne already assumes Fenna was being cautious. Writing to a banished exile was risky enough without discussing bloodline secrets on paper. She doesn't let herself worry. Nightfall itself isn't without threat, there was a poisoning attempt during a border dispute meeting, which kept the pack on edge— Rhyanne, with her knowledge on posion craft, is the one who identifies the compound before it could take full effect, she was able to save two of Draven's men, Soren being among them. He doesn't thank her outright, but his beha