Smile. Luna. Smile

Immediately Alpha Dorian and his new concubine left, Lyra slowly dropped to the ground, hugging her knees. She was not in the mood to party.

If she stepped out of the room, she would be expected to smile, to laugh and be the joy and strength of the pack, she did not have it in her.

Her heart felt like it was being squeezed over and over again. Thoughts of her future kept rolling around in her head. It was too bleak. She was loosing. She was loosing everything.

The first tear dropped on the floor between her feet, then the rest followed. How could she do this? How??

A gloved hand appeared in front of her blurred vision.

Lyra started. Stood quickly and immediately began to wipe her eyes.

The last person she needed to see her crying was the pack's priestess.

Freya. The High Priestess, as well as the mouth of the moon goddess herself.

She had taken it upon herself to teach Lyra her duties as the Luna of the Night Light Pack.

And so far, Lyra has been a great student but not great enough by Freya's standards.

And right now with Lyra's tear streaked face and snotty nose, she was helping herself gain points with the young priestess.

As Lyra righted herself, cleaning her face and clearing her eyes, Freya's dark eyes scrutinized her.

"My Luna, You act like a simpering girl!"

Lyra dragged in mucus in response. She dared not speak when the lady was speaking even though they were almost the same age, and by hierarchy, Lyra was higher than her, as Luna second to the Alpha.

Freya just had a way of commanding attention and respect.

"As much as it hurts any woman to have to share her man with another, you must remember the bigger picture"

"What picture? Freya, I'm loosing my family. I'm loosing everything"

"Forgive me, Luna, but you do sound like a loser. Like puny little girl with no upbringing. Wet behind the ears." Freya said and leveled Lyra with a disapproving look.

"I am doing my best, but Alpha doesn't see that, and now we're going ten steps backward!" Lyra said feeling the anger rise back up within her.

"What about everything I have taught you? You are not just Luna for our Alpha. You are Luna for all of us. The entire pack. And the pack needs our Luna today" Freya said as she walked with calculated steps towards Lyra and stood right in front of her.

"You were born on such a dreadful day in the history of our kind, and you bear the mark right on your head to show for it." Freya lifted her gloved hand to touch Lyra's pure white hair, but quickly dropped her hand.

"It is a pity you were burdened with this predicament, but it is all the more reason you should do your duty. Show the pack that prophecy or not, you are with them. You are on their side. You are their Luna"

Lyra nodded, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do.

When she had first been announced as Luna of the Night Light Pack, Freya had been with her as a companion even though she kept a healthy distance from her so Lyra could not even pretend they were friends.

Lyra did not complain too—not when Freya knew everyone in the pack and outside of it. She would  linger by Lyra's side at events and dinners, teaching her how to respond like a Luna, talk like a Luna, walk like a Luna and even going as far as feeding her information and details about those in attendance of those events and was the main reason why Lyra survived the first early years as Luna in the Night Light Pack.

She’d been the one presiding over the various ceremonies, before Lyra showed up—and with Lyra's presence, she had also been relieved of all those duties.

But Lyra was still more than happy to let her choose what manner of wreaths and garlands should adorn the pack house or palace like Alpha Dorian called it.

Before long, she began to choose what dress Lyra could wear, what silverware complemented each meal, even what meal the alpha would prefer at a certain period of time, it was all for her own good, she had told Lyra severally.

She was the heart of her people, ordained by the Hand of the Goddess to lead them from despair and darkness. Especially after the dreadful prophecy hanging on the necks of their kind, Lyra was in no position to doubt.

She hadn’t led her astray yet— and Lyra had learned so much from her that made her life easier. Even now, Lyra still got sweaty if she had to face the people of the pack without Freya beside her.

"Today, the pack does not need a jilted bride, we need our Luna. You must remember that as much as it is your birthday, it is also the anniversary of the death of our former Alpha, and the day, the curse came to be"

She walked a steps away from Lyra and turned towards the door before saying

"Remember Luna, you're a reminder of so many bad things. You should try to make us remember the good things too"

And then walked out, her temple cape fluttering behind her.

Lyra recognized that tone of finality. Whenever she began to act 'difficult', She knew that Freya's next point of action would be to subtly remind her of her 'curse'.

As much as Lyra tried not to, she was slowly beginning to believe she was truly the subject of the damned prophecy everyone had been talking about since her birth.

There was no one with pure white hair amongst the werewolf clan. It was always midnight black to dark blonde.

There was a no one else.

With a deep sigh and her still broken heart, Lyra decided to go out there and pretend everything was fine.

                    *************   *************

The party looked like it had been made for Wren.

There was pink everywhere!! The linens and ribbons and towels were all various shades of pink.

Not a hint of the black and white that Lyra preferred.

And yet, Lyra smiled.

When Freya began the prayer of blessing, asking the moon goddess to bless and increase Lyra's years, she nodded in solemnity. Ever the picture of the perfect Luna

When Alpha Dorian stepped up to the raise podium and everyone hushed in respect, Lyra smiled.

"Today, marks the beginning of so many things. The day of the death of our former alpha, my father. The day our very own Luna, Lyra , was born and now, a new addition to our ever-growing family, my new  concubine, Wren Danor."

The auditorium first went into a chill silence, everyone's eyes turned towards Lyra's direction, almost like they were asking for her opinion on it.

The silence turned into low murmurs with everyone's eyes and lips moving.

"Do your duty, Luna. Smile" Freya said from behind her through closed teeth, it sounded like she had her own smile on already.

So Lyra smiled.

And then everyone clapped, smiling back at the Alpha while people waved at Wren as she walked up to the Podium to stand behind the smirking Alpha.

Even when Wren moved forward to stand beside him, on her position, Lyra smiled.

Even when the alpha kissed her on the forehead, Lyra smiled.

And when they hugged with broad smiles on their faces, Wren winking subtly at her mate, Lyra smiled even when her heart was breaking inside.

Even when she could feel her wolf howling in pure agony, Lyra smiled.