Alora’s POVThe nausea and headaches always felt manageable each time Morgan was near. This morning was the best I've had in a long while because Morgan had been with me all night and even this morning. After the study incident, he was more clingy and present than he had ever been. It felt like everywhere I turned, he was there. Today was the first meeting of the committee in charge of the mating ceremony, and it was mandatory for me and Morgan to attend.I sat in my vanity chair, trying to tie my hair into a ponytail. I needed to dress well and composed, maybe then I will feel like my old self.I used to love getting dressed, picking out clothes that made me feel like me. Lately, though, every time I pull something from the closet, it feels like it doesn’t belong to me anymore, like someone went and stitched it a size smaller just to remind me my body isn’t the same.I sat there staring at myself in the mirror. I looked different, I felt different.I frowned and stood up, looking a
Alora’s POVI should have turned away. Should have spared myself the wound. But I stood rooted, body taut with dread.I felt the dizziness again. This time it was so strong it made me double over and heave. My heart sank because the sage was right. A thin coil of dread threaded through my chest. I was a hybrid standing on the brink of being Luna. It was a great honor, but I couldn't stop feeling like a fraud, like I didn't deserve it, like I was going to let everyone down.It wasn't helping my case when I walked up the halls and I got weird stares while some worshiped the ground I walked on. The Luna title was not child's play. It was an honor, yes, but also a crown that many whispered I had no right to wear. Their words haunted me as many others thought I was capable. It was a lot of pressure on my shoulders. Morgan’s voice brought me out of my reverie. “The signs are enough.”“Enough for you, perhaps,” the Sage countered, and my heart stuttered. But the pack is restless. They q
Alora’s POVThe bed was cold on his side again.I didn’t know why I still reached for him every morning. Habit, maybe.My hand brushed over nothing but sheets, smooth and empty, and the ache hit me before I could stop it.Since the attack, I have been at the Bloodfang pack for over a month. I had only worked remotely, so I had gotten used to waking up with Morgan beside me, his arm heavy across my waist, his warm breath fanning my cheeks.But for over a week now since he declared the mating ceremony, he was gone before dawn. Meetings. Plans. The pack. Everyone else seemed to have more of him than I did.And me? I woke up to an empty cold bed.I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, listening.The packhouse was already alive below me. They were humming, the clattering of plates, pack members laughing, and little wolves running around. The preparations never stopped.And then the headache began.I've been having them for a week now. At first, I believed it was the stress from t
Alora’s POVThe arena looked more like a sports ground than anything sacred. From the way it looked, one could see that it had seen some good days. There was a wide circle cut into the earth, flat dirt in the middle, ringed with rows of concrete seating that climbed in rough tiers. The steps were cracked in places, patched with cement that didn’t match. Grass pushed through in the corners where nobody bothered to clean.Four steel poles stood at equal points around the ring, each one wired with floodlights. There was a roof that made it look like a mini stadium. It also doubled as the training arena. Some omegas who had been sparring on hearing the commotion left their morning routine and stepped forward to have a glimpse of what was going on. Around the edges, the warriors, who acted as coaches while some doubled as pack security, lined up on the wall. The arena was not a sacred place. It was a place where the pack solved problems, settled challenges, and aired dirty truths in f
Alora’s POVMy grandfather’s eyes turned to the elders, his eyes sweeping across them with anger. “I heard everything that you said about my granddaughter. So this is how you speak of my blood,” he said, each word deliberate, cutting deeper than any shout. “Behind closed doors, questioning her worth as though she hasn’t already proven more loyalty than any of you.”The room was dead still.One of the bolder elders rose, his voice trembling despite his attempt at defiance. “With respect, Your Majesty, this is a matter of our pack. Our prophecy…”“Your prophecy?” The Lycan King’s lips curved into a smile that held no warmth. “You dare invoke shadows to condemn my granddaughter? If this pack does not value her, then she will leave with me. Effective immediately.”The chamber erupted again, protests and gasps filling the air.I felt Morgan’s eyes turn towards me, then he moved close and held my wrist, his grip tightening around my hand, as if he feared I might actually be pulled away. My
Morgan’s POVThe moment the Lycan king had swept into the room, stifling the air and making everyone unable to breathe, I felt it again. The same way I had felt when he had walked in and rescued me from the hands of Xavier. I knew him.I knew this man, but it was hard to figure out where. Something was very familiar about him. I began to wrack my head looking for answers. The Lycan King’s blank, icy gaze swept over the chamber. When his eyes landed on my mate, they softened, if only slightly. I felt my body stiffen. What if he liked her? You cannot say no to a Lycan king. All they do is take take take. But when he turned to the elders, his voice was like a blade, cutting through the tension his presence had brought. Then a carbon copy of me emerged from his back. She was a spitting image of me, and I felt a connection to her so strong I instinctively stood up and walked over, unable to take my eyes off her. My heart thudded in my chest and a thought occurred to me, but I waved