Chosen without consent

The next morning starts like every other one, quiet, heavy, and full of the same horror it always brings.

I wake up before dawn, because sleep never stays long these days. My dreams are filled with the sound of laughter from the mating ball, wolves dancing with sparkles in their eyes while I stood alone, my hands squeezed behind my back, trying not to look like the only girl no one wanted.

My aunt bustled around the kitchen like she’s preparing for something big, humming a shaky tune under her breath. She never hums unless she’s nervous or excited, and the memory from last night,her staring at me too much returns like a bad taste on my tongue.

“Wash your face,” she snaps when I walk in. “You look half-dead.”

“I didn’t sleep well,” I mumbled.

“When do you ever?” she says with a wave of her hand.

She sets down two bowls of porridge but only fills one. She never fills mine. “You don’t need breakfast,” she says. “You’re already… enough.”

Her eyes drag down my figure like I’m an overstuffed bag.

I swallow hard and sit quietly. Silence is the only thing that protects me in this house.

Outside, voices gather in the distance. Wolves are awake early, probably still talking about the new Alpha. My wolf senses the tension running through the air.

“Something is coming,” she whispers.

Then……

A loud knock echoes through the house.

Three sharp bangs.

My aunt stiffens. “Who is knocking at this hour?”

I stand slowly, the hair on my arms rising. The knock repeats, harder this time filled with authority.

My aunt hurries to the door, her fingers shaky as she fixes her hair. She opens it with a bright, fake smile.

Then she freezes.

Standing in our doorway is Beta Antonio.

The second most powerful wolf in the pack.

He has the height of a warrior, with sandy hair pulled back tightly and an expression carved from stone. His eyes sweep the room and land on me instantly.

My stomach drops.

“Good morning,” he says coldly. “I am here on orders from Alpha Damon.”

My aunt beams like she’s won something.

“Yes! Yes, please come in,” she gushes.

Antonio doesn’t step inside. He simply looks at me again.

And that is when the dread hits me fully. This visit is about me.

“Alpha Damon has sent me to every household,” Antonio begins, “seeking suitable candidates.”

“Candidates?” I repeat, confused.

“For Luna.”

The bowl almost slips from my hands.

Luna? Alpha Damon needs a Luna?

My chest tightens until breathing hurts.

“The Alpha remains without a mate,” Antonio continues. “The elders demand stability. He must choose a Luna to strengthen the pack.”

My aunt nods vigorously. “Of course! Of course, Alpha Damon must have someone.”

Antonio’s eyes narrow. “Someone obedient, calm, dedicated. Someone who will not challenge him. A wolf with the qualities of a proper wife.”

My aunt grabs my arm so hard I gasped.

“Lena is perfect.”

My head whips toward her. “Aunt no….”

“Quiet,” she snaps, pinching me sharply through my sleeve.

Antonio’s gaze stays on me, studying, measuring.

Heat rushes through my skin, not from pride but from pure terror.

“I….I don’t think I can”

“She is shy but loyal,” my aunt interrupts loudly. “Always quiet. Always doing chores. She will obey Alpha Damon without question.”

My wolf growls inside me.

“We will not obey a monster.”

Antonio nods slowly. “The Alpha will meet her tomorrow at dawn. She is to arrive at the pack house prepared.”

Prepared? For an Alpha like Damon Prepared for what?

My heart feels like it’s folding in on itself.

“Very well,” my aunt says proudly. “She will be ready.”

Antonio’s expression doesn’t change. He simply says, “Do not be late.”

Then he turns and leaves, disappearing into the morning fog as swiftly as he came.

The door closes with a soft thud.

My aunt grabs my shoulders, her eyes glittering with excitement.

“Do you know what this means? You’re going to the Alpha!” she squeals.

“I don’t want this,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “Aunt… I’m not ready “

She slaps my arm not hard, but sharp enough to silence me. “Don’t be ungrateful! For once in your life, you are being useful!”

“I’m scared,” I admit. “You’ve heard the stories about how wicked he is.”

“Stories?” she scoffs. “Rumors are spread by weak wolves. Damon is strong and Powerful. He’ll keep you alive.”

Alive? That’s not comforting.

My aunt grips my chin and tilts my face upward.

“You will do this,” she says firmly. “You will go tomorrow. You will bow your head,You will make him accept you. If you fail…” Her grip tightens. “Don’t bother coming back.”

My head spins.

I wanted to scream, but my voice won’t come out. I want to defy her, but my legs feel numb.

I want to run, but it’s too early to move.

My aunt releases me as if she’s done talking to a stubborn child. She pulls out a dusty dress,oversized, shapeless, exactly like all the others.

“You’ll wear this when he sees you,” she says. “It hides… everything.”

It hides the real me.

Since morning, she forces me to walk in it, sit in it, bow in it, greet imaginary Alphas in it. She makes me practice curtsying until my knees ache, then practicing speaking softly until my voice goes hoarse.

“Say ‘Yes, Alpha.’ Again.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Louder! Not too loud, You sound desperate.”

“Yes, Alpha.” I repeated.

“Better. Don’t forget your place.”

My place? I never had one.

Afternoon dragged into evening. My aunt visited neighbors, bragging loudly through the open window.

“Yes, yes, Damon’s Beta came to our house! My niece might be Luna soon! Imagine that? Her a Luna!” She laughs like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard.

“She’s lucky,” a neighbor says.

Lucky? My stomach twisted.

As twilight falls, my aunt pulls me close, face serious.

“You should be praying right now,” she says. “If the Alpha rejects you tomorrow, I’ll throw you out myself. I won’t feed a wolf who can’t even please an Alpha.”

My breath catches.

“I…” My throat dries. “I understand.”

She pats my cheek roughly. “Good. Sleep early.”

But I didn’t sleep.

I sat on my bed, staring at the moon through my tiny window. The whole world outside looks peaceful, but inside me… everything is wrong.

My wolf shifts anxiously under my skin.

“We cannot do this,” she whispers.

“He will break us.”

Tears fill my eyes. “I know.”

Silence sits heavy in my room.

Until I whisper the words that change everything. “I’m not going.”

My wolf perks up. “Run,” she urges.

“Run far, Lena.”

My hands shake as I grab my cloak, my real cloak that fits me and my tiny pouch. I pack only what I needed. A loaf of bread, a water flask, and the little wooden wolf carving my mother gave me before she died.

I tie the bag tightly, took a shakey breath, and crept towards the door. My aunt’s snores fill the house, loud and ugly, reminding me she will never choose my safety over her pride.

This house was never home. This pack was never mine. I was just around so their flaws seemed silly.

And being Luna to a ruthless Alpha….It might kill me.

I open the door quietly. Night air floods into my lungs like freedom.

My wolf whispers softly.

“Go.”

And for the first time in my life, I ran, fearing for my life.