Prologue

Luna Odessa

“Push luna! Yes, the baby is coming”

Reika, my trusted omega and midwife's voice barely reached me through the haze of pain as I travailed to bring my babies into the world that forbids them.

Yes, twins were forbidden in the Blackthorn pack, and as Luna and their mother, I had to secretly birth them.

“mmmmmmm,” I muffled as another wave of pain tore through me.

I bit down on the folded piece of cloth that was lodged between my teeth.

I was trying so hard to bear the pain.

“You are almost there Luna, you can do this” Reika whispered as her hands steadied my trembling knees. “Just one more push.”

My grip on the rough blanket beneath me tightened. My sweat-soaked hair was plastered to my face. I shut my eyes as another wave of contraction shot through me.

And with all the strength in me, I pushed.

My body trembled as the first sharp cries of my child filled the confined space.

My body sagged with relief.

“It's a girl,” Reika whispered with a smile as she wrapped the baby with a soft cloth and placed her beside me.“She's strong and healthy.”

But before I could admire her, another wave of contraction hit me strongly.

My second child was coming.

I clenched my teeth and pushed.

But this time, something felt wrong.

The agony dragged on, my body trembling as I forced the child into the world.

And then, silence.

Reika’s face paled as she held the second baby in her arms, rubbing her tiny back in hopes of strengthening her. “She’s alive,” she murmured, “but weak”.

A strange coldness settled over me.

My exhausted eyes moved between them.

The first child was crying beside me, full of life

The second child was small and quiet.

My heart pounded as the prophecy I had received months ago echoed in my mind:

"You will birth twins, one unlike any wolf the kingdoms have ever seen—strong, powerful, destined to unite three packs. The other will be ordinary, weak.”

I reached out and brushed my fingers over the first twin’s cheek. "Mira," I named her.

Then, my gaze shifted to the frail child in Reika’s arms.

A flicker of hesitation crossed my face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

“Take the other child away.”

Reika looked up sharply. "The other?"

I sat up, the exhaustion from childbirth forgotten as I proceeded to wrap Mira in furs.

"You must take her away, Reika, far from the Blackthorn pack. You can raise her as your own. But no one from this pack must ever know that she was born here."

Reika’s eyes widened as she caught her breath . "Luna, she is still your—"

"My daughter, yes," I cut her off with a determined tone. "But she is not the one the prophecy spoke of. The Moon goddess has helped me decide from their birth. Mira is the child who will unite the packs. She is the future, so she will stay with me and I will raise her myself to walk in line with her destiny. But as for her…" I swallowed, my voice trailed at what I wanted to say next, "She is nothing more than an ordinary wolf. She cannot stay here.”

I saw the hesitation in Reika's posture.

“You must leave now. If the pack finds out I had twins, they will kill them both. Do you want that?”

Reika clutched the baby to her chest, her heart aching. "At least…name her.” She pleaded.

A flicker of something—perhaps guilt or regret—passed through me.

But I crushed it before it could take root.

I turned my head away. “Kira.” I said to her at last.

Reika held back tears as she pressed a soft kiss to Kira’s tiny forehead. "I will protect her," she whispered, her voice filled with strong emotions.

“She has no place here, she should never return.” I reminded, turning my back without another glance at Kira, my tone final.

My attention returned to Mira, the daughter I had chosen.

She was the future of the Blackthorn pack.

***

Reika stepped away, disappearing into the dark with Kira in her arms.

Two sisters, bound by blood but torn apart by fate.

One chosen, the other abandoned.

But fate had its own plans, ones that even Luna Odessa could not control.

That same fate had a way of turning even the strongest decisions into the greatest regrets.