The Lost Wolf

CHAPTER 1

The wind screamed through the open area on Raven’s Peak, a spot known for old ceremonies and the core of the Stormclaw pack’s customs. Lucy’s hands shook as she stood with her heart in her throat. “Priestess Tarot,” she asked with her voice,shaky “It worked, right? You felt something didn’t you?” She looked at the priestess while hoping for comfort.

Tarot looked at Lucy without wavering but the silence was thick. “Lucy, my dear…” she started, but Lucy interrupted her.

“I feel nothing.” she insisted with worry creeping under her skin. “Not yet. The others said they felt it on their fifteenth birthdays but I... I...”

Ian and Nina Drew Lucy's mom and dad looked at each other with worry on their faces. Alpha Stormclaw stood nearby serious but uneasy. Lucy's heart was pounding. They should have been happy. Instead fear felt heavy in her stomach.

“Lucy, take a breath.” her mom said while moving nearer. “You still have time. Sometimes… it just takes a bit more time.”

“A little longer?” Lucy repeated with her voice full of disbelief. “I’m twenty today! Why hasn’t my wolf shown up? Why am I still just...me?”

The elders of the pack—looking serious and worn from time—fidgeted. Marcus, the oldest man full of stories, gave a slow nod to Tarot. It was something Lucy wished she hadn’t noticed.

“What’s going on? What’s the problem?” she asked while looking at their faces for a clue and an answer. She felt like the world was falling apart under her. Her eyes raced around while searching for something , anything —but all she found was sadness.

Tarot took a deep breath. “There could be reasons—”

“Reasons?” Lucy cut in her voice getting louder. “Like what?” The panic weighed heavily on her. It was more than just fear, it was panic and a strong need to speak out.

At that moment the truth flowed from the priestess’s mouth like fallen leaves. Lucy noticed the looks they shared with her mother’s tense jaw and her father’s worried brow. It was obvious they were hiding something under a mask of comfort.

“Lucy...” Ian began but she interrupted him and stepped back.

“I don’t want to hear any more lies!” she shouted with her voice breaking. She held back tears as feelings of despair filled her heart. “Why me? Why can’t I just find my wolf? All my friends are with theirs and here I am… an adult with no sign of my wolf.”

“Lucy, please,” Nina said gently while reaching out. “You’re not by yourself. A lot of us took time to find our wolves. Just… just be patient.”

“Time?” Lucy said sharply with her anger mixed with sadness. “Is that meant to make me feel better? I’m twenty! What if I never find her? I can’t… I can’t handle this! This should be special and I’m just… shattered!” Her voice trembled and she hugged herself tightly as if protecting against unseen hits.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Ian said softly but firmly, “you’re not broken. You just need to have faith.”

“I don’t want to believe it!” she yelled with her voice bouncing off the stones. With every word, her heart beat faster, with a deep pain rising in her chest.

“What if I never find my wolf? Am I not good enough to be Luna? Am I just going to be some kind of… outcast?”

“She’s correct.” Silas, one of the elders, finally said. “This situation is strange. It has happened before but we don’t get it. We don’t have all the answers.”

The words hurt her a lot. “But this was supposed to be my day! My birthday! The day I find…find my Wolf!” Tears ran down her face. “I should be having fun! I shouldn’t be here feeling lost and confused!”

A thick silence settled over the group like fog. The elders looked on with understanding showing their feelings of regret. Lucy's heart raced wildly and panic began to grow. “I can’t do this,” she said softly with her courage slipping away. “I can’t stay here.”

Without saying anything Lucy quickly turned and ran away from them while feeling their stares hitting her back like arrows. “Lucy!” Ian shouted. “Lucy, wait!”

But she was already running faster, like a lightning bolt on the path, as her strong feelings almost took over. Panic pushed her feet forward as she ran through the trees with the branches scratching her skin but she kept going. Her heart beat wildly like a drum with her uneven breath. She had to get away, she had to escape their pity and her sadness.

“Lucy come back!” Her dad’s voice was getting quieter behind her along with her mom’s cries.

But she couldn’t go back. Not now.

The trees turned into a blur as she ran further into the woods with her eyes filled with tears. She tripped over tree roots with her mind a mess of worries and thoughts...

She was meant to be tough but now she felt weak and unimportant. Every step moved her further from the love of her family and friends taking away the security they provided.

Finally falling to the cool ground beneath her Lucy struggled to breathe with her body shaking with sobs. She covered her face with her hands with tears soaking her palms.

At twenty she was still a girl without a wolf—a girl lost in a world that was supposed to give her so much. The truth hurt her more than any thorn.

“This isn't right,” she quietly said to the trees around her, with the stillness making her sadness stronger. “I was meant to find my wolf when I turned fifteen. Everyone was waiting for it. They all depended on me.”

The shame felt heavy on her chest. What did they think of her now? Would she ever be seen as good enough for Prince Geoffrey? The idea hurt more than anything. Would he be stuck with a fate he didn't want because she couldn’t figure out her own?

She looked up at the sky, which was colored with fading light, while hoping for the impossible—hoping for magic, for signs,s, for anything to show her she wouldn’t be lost forever.

And there it was Geoffrey.

Thinking of him Lucy felt a little warmth in the coldness of her heart. Geoffrey—the good-looking prince with a smile that lifted her spirit. Would he still love her if she never became the Luna everyone wanted her to be?

She got up from the ground while wiping her tears away with tough hands. She had to find him more than anything. She wanted to see him and to feel their connection. She needed to hear what he thought about all of this.

She stood up and took a deep breath and tried to push away her sadness. With every step she took, she thought about the bond they shared—the unseen link that kept their hearts close even though they were far apart.

Lucy started to walk with her heart guiding her through the woods. As she thought about Geoffrey, she followed their connection, their mate bond, a light that pulled her away from sadness.

An unseen guide led her with a promise she held onto. If their bond felt stronger with each step maybe their future wasn't decided yet.

After a while, she climbed up a small hill with her heart beating fast as she got closer to the open space below. When she got to the top she looked down at the familiar person standing under the trees. It was him—Prince Geoffrey who represented all the best things in her life.

But when Lucy moved closer her feet got stuck to the ground. She was shocked and couldn't breathe. Geoffrey wasn't by himself. He was with another girl with her arms around him as they shared gentle kisses in the darkened clearing…!