CHAPTER 5

Adrian’s POV

I stood at the back of the crowd, my body stiff and my heart heavy. I couldn't bring myself to stand close to her casket. This day was the gloomiest day of my entire life. The sounds of sobs and whispers filled the air. My hands trembled on my sides, clenched so tight that my nails bit into my palms. But the pain there was nothing compared to the hollowness in my chest.

"They couldn't even find her body!" Someone cried, making my chest tighter.

“She was going to be such a good Luna,” someone sobbed nearby, their voice breaking with grief.

Those words twisted my inside like a sharp knife. I glanced over, catching a group of Elara’s friends, their eyes puffy and red from crying.

A good Luna. She was going to be my Luna. My fated mate. And now she is gone.

How was I supposed to accept this? How was I supposed to let go of her?

My mind drifted back to the first time I met her, a memory that felt so distant yet painfully clear. I was twelve, training day in and day out, pushing my boundaries, to hone my skills to become the future alpha of the pack. That day, despite repeated warnings, I stepped outside the borders of our pack, challenging myself and my skills.

And my negligence came at a cost. I was suddenly ambushed by rogues. There were too many for me to fight off, too strong for a boy who hadn’t yet mastered his abilities. As a result, I was severely wounded. But I managed to flee to an abandoned cabin by a waterfall, my body covered in cuts and bruises. My vision was blurring, and I thought I was going to die alone in this forsaken place. I couldn’t move, couldn’t even scream for help.

And then, like a miracle, she appeared.

Elara. But then I was yet to find her true identity.

A small figure appeared outside the cabin, her steps soft, almost cautious like I had trespassed on her private territory.

"Go away! Otherwise, I will kill you," I barely whispered, my breathing coming as ragged gasps as I tried to scare her off. I was suspicious, hurt, afraid, and angry. I didn’t know who she was. I had no reason to trust her.

But she didn't even flinch, as if understanding I needed help. "Let me come and check. I can help," she offered, keeping her distance to make me feel safe.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted, my voice was raw from exhaustion. "I don’t need help!"

She ran away and, for almost an hour, I regretted that decision. I knew I had scared her off and no one was going to find me again.

But she hadn’t listened. To my surprise and respite, she returned. With food, medicine, and bandages.

"Take this." She had just tilted her head slightly from above the window, her eyes full of concern. And without saying a word, she left a small pouch of food by the window and disappeared. I couldn't see her face, just her eyes. But she was already an angel full of kindness and benevolence in my mind.

For the next week, she kept coming back, always silent, always maintaining the distance I had requested, and always leaving the supplies near the window. She even didn’t try to see my face, though I knew she was curious. She was more sensible and understanding for her age. It was only on the last day that she had stayed a little longer, checking on me out of curiosity, when I got a glimpse of her beautiful face. She was just ten then, but her courage and kindness were far more. She looked like a fairy even though we were werewolves. I didn’t know her name, but I was determined to find out and get to know her.

When I finally returned to the pack, one day I saw her with our beta, Robert, during an event. She looked stellar in her beautiful princess gown. She looked just like an angel.

“Adrian, meet my daughter Elara.” He turned to his daughter whose eyes twinkled when she saw me. “Elara, meet Adrian, our future alpha.” Robert introduced us, noticing that I was watching them from far away.

Honestly, I was a bit embarrassed. But when she learned I was Alpha Adrian, she didn’t hesitate.

“Alpha Adrian, I am Elara. How are you?” She came forward and gave me a bouquet of flowers while greeting me. She had made me feel welcome. She had that beautiful smile and kind eyes that made my heart flutter for the first time. I was certain at that very moment that Elara was the girl I was looking for all this while. My happiness knew no bounds.

I was about to thank her for her kindness when at distant I saw another girl, her face way too similar to Elara's. Even if that event was their’s she had no understanding of its importance or respect for the guests as she returned from the woods with dirt-streaked clothes, disheveled appearance, and messy hair. There was even some dirt on her face. Her hand was full of some wild flowers and plants unlike the beautiful flowers in Elara’s hand.

“She is my twin, Isla. She loves plants.” Elara said, trying to cover up for her sister, her eyes shining with genuine warmth and concern.

But Isla had no courtesy to greet us. She simply gaped at me with indifference, almost as if my existence was irrelevant. She was cold and aloof, making me immediately realize she couldn't be the one who would have helped someone she didn't even see or know.

And at that point, I just knew it was Elara.

"Did you save me?" I still had to confirm.

“You know?" she was surprised that I had actually found her. "I couldn't leave you out there.” she had confessed, her voice soft but firm.

From that moment, I believed in the destiny that had drawn us together. I knew she was the one for me. I was lucky to have found my mate even before her eighteenth birthday.

That was the beginning of everything. Our love story.

I can still see her, that bright smile she always had, the way she laughed, the way she held my hand, reassuring me when things got tough. She was more than just my girlfriend, more than just a future Luna. She was my light, my hope, my eternal love.

But now she was gone, leaving me alone for an eternity.

Tears burned in my eyes as a small group tried to console me. I couldn’t focus on the words. They all sounded empty to me. I could only think about how unfair it all was. How Elara didn’t deserve this.

“Our Elara is with the Moon Goddess now,” someone whispered behind me. My fists clenched tighter.

I glanced up, desperate for a distraction from the crushing grief. And then I saw her.

Isla.

She walked in the corridor on the first floor almost unfazed and unaffected by Elara's loss. I felt a surge of anger rise within me. She hasn't shed a tear. Not once. How could she be so detached, so indifferent at her own sister’s funeral while the rest of us were falling apart? I scoffed, maybe because it was her who killed my Elara. She is just waiting for all this to be over so she can take her place. I wouldn't let that happen, ever.

But then again, her indifference was not something new.

She had always been cold and aloof, like she didn’t care about anyone or anything. Like she had no emotions at all. And my Elara was warm and kind. It was like they weren’t even related, let alone twins. Yet she adored Isla like she was someone precious. She was that good.

“Why were you always worried about someone like her?” I whispered to myself, cursing myself again to let her go last night.

As our relationship grew, I found how amazing Elara was. But also about her worries about Isla. I often listened to her talk about Isla, her concerns evident in every word, even though she was always trying to paint Isla as someone who was struggling and needed help.

“She has such a temper,” Elara would say. “I try to help her, but she just pushes everyone away. I wish she was kind, like me.”

“But why do you care so much?” I had asked once, confused. “She seems so different from you.”

“Because she is my sister,” she would reply with a fierce protectiveness. “I will never give up on her. She is my twin. I just want her to be happy, Adrian. I want her to find her way.”

But no matter what Elara did, Isla never changed. She just grew darker, more isolated. Elara once told me that Isla was experimenting with strange herbs, doing cruel things just because she couldn’t shift. I remember feeling disgusted, thinking how anyone could be that bitter, that broken. And yet, Elara had still hoped to save Isla. Even after everything, she still loved her sister.

And one fine day, Elara sobbed for an entire day because, no matter how much she was trying, Isla was simply slipping away. Apparently, Isla was isolating herself from everyone and bullying other students. She had no respect for the rules of the school or the elders. She often disobeyed and even protested against the strict teachers who would punish mischievous students. It never ended well of course. She would only create more trouble. They all would be reprimanded for her and get even a harsher punishment. She was down with concern that Isla would one day ruin their family's name. I had thought it was the final straw and Elara would finally give up on her dark, evil sister. But I was wrong. The next day she was back with more determination to help her. The love she showed for someone who saw her as a threat, and nothing else stupefied me.

“She is still my precious twin,” Elara's kind voice echoed in my mind.

I stared at her now, watching the way she stood there, emotionless. Did she even care that Elara was gone? Did she feel anything?

My grief was intertwined with a sharp anger towards Isla as I watched her disappear into a hallway. I couldn’t understand how she could be so disconnected from Elara's loss while the entire pack was grieving. My resolve to take revenge on Isla only firmed.

I turned my gaze back to Elara’s coffin, my heart aching for the future we would never have.