02

The future Alpha. The boy who promised me a future if the Moon Goddess paired us together.

Caleb had been my secret, my warmth in the freezing dark of my life. Our meetings were always hidden. Whispers behind classrooms. Late-night walks in the woods. Kisses stolen between training.

He once told me, “If we’re fated, Lyra… I’ll make you my Luna. No matter what.”

A soft smile cracked my lips. For a moment, the hallway, the gossips, the whispers, they all faded. It didn’t matter that I was the granddaughter of a broken elder, or that I still wore my dead mother’s pendant like a prayer. When Caleb held me, the world stopped spinning.

I tucked the note into my pocket.

Tonight was the full moon. My eighteenth birthday. The night of the Fated Mating Ceremony.

The night when fated mates would be revealed. When bonds would form, and destinies would begin.

The night i had prayed for since I was fifteen.

And if the Moon Goddess had any mercy left in her… Caleb would be mine.

The bell rang, jarring me from my thoughts.

I slammed my locker shut and turned to the direction of my class and entered. Vanessa and her minions were already in class trying to flirt with Caleb who was sitting at the back. As i walked in, they both exchanged glances and he winked at me causing my cheeks to go red at that Instant as I found my way to my seat.

I sat through my last class in silence and also kept stealing glances at Caleb who was focusing on the teacher. I then stared at the snowy peaks beyond the Academy’s barrier walls. My l fingers toying with the pendant around my neck, a smooth bloodstone crystal set in silver.

The only thing my mother had left behind.

My grandfather claimed it was blessed. “It’ll protect you when your wolf is ready,” he always said. “Or when something tries to kill you.”

Sometimes, I wasn’t sure which would come first.

I haven’t shifted. Hadn’t heard my wolf’s voice. Sometimes, I even wondered if I had one.

Most omegas didn’t shift until late, if ever. They were considered weak. Servants, breeders, background wolves. They weren’t useful at all.

I hated that word.

Omega.

I didn’t want to be an Alpha, but I didn’t want to be nothing, either.

"Miss Grey?" The teacher called out to me.

"Yes madam Raveena." I quickly answered. This was the first time the teacher called me in class.

"Your mind isn't here. What is solitude in the pack?" Madam Raveena asked.

"What? I... I." I stammered, I wasn't actually listening to her teachings.

"You heard my question. I won't say it twice." Madam Raveena said, eyeing me up to down.

My eyes darted around as if the answer was written everywhere. I was so embarrassed, I couldn't even look at Caleb. "I... I don't know." I muttered, staring down at my desk.

"Anyone wants to answer the question." Madam Raveena asked, looking around for any raised hands.

Vanessa raised up her hands and Caleb looked at her. I glanced back at her too.

"Yes Vanessa." Madam Raveena said.

Vanessa smirked and stood up. " Solitude in the pack refers to a state where a pack member is isolated or alone, physically, emotionally, or socially despite being part of a community that is meant to be close-knit and united."

"Thank you Vanessa." Madam Raveena said and also told me to sit down.

I sat down, feeling so humiliated and almost immediately, a paper flew in my direction. I looked around and opened it.

📝Get out of here you dummy 📝

I sighed, burying my face in my palms, tears stung my eyes.

Few minutes later, the final bell rang and the school exploded with excitement.

I stood and was about to walk out of the class when Vanessa came and pushed me out of the way. I fell on my butt and yelped in pain. Vanessa chuckled and walked out.

I managed to stand up and walked to the door. Outside, I found girls running down the halls with curling combs and makeup bags. Boys comparing colognes and suits. Everyone wanted to look perfect. Tonight was the night they’d find their mate.

The ballroom was already being decorated. Silver lanterns lined the ceiling like miniature moons. Twinkling fairy lights and roses wrapped around the pillars. Lanterns glowing, silk threads of gold dancing in the air. Crystals pulsed with energy, set at each corner of the hall to guide fate’s magic.

I stood still in the middle of it all, watching the shimmer of hope and desperation in every detail.

Then I slipped out, going home.

I walked through the trees, past the training field, past the rusting garden gate where Caleb had first kissed me. I stopped and stared at the garden for a while before I headed back home.

My grandfather’s cabin sat at the edge of the woods, small and creaking, far from the heart of the pack. Smoke rose from the chimney. The scent of pine and brewed roots lingered in the air.

Inside, my grandfather sat by the fire, a glass of beetroot wine in hand. His eyes were heavy with thoughts and years.

“You’re late,” he muttered.

“I stayed after to clean,” I lied.

He didn’t say anything or argue, he just nodded and continued drinking his wine.

I entered the house and went up to my room which was tiny, neatly arranged, filled with dried flowers, old books, and a cracked mirror nailed to the wall.

I stood before the mirror and unwrapped the old box which i brought from beneath my bed. Inside was her mother’s dress. A cream-colored linen, simple but soft, stitched with a love that never died.

I slid it on carefully. It clung to my waist and fluttered just above my knees.

I stood staring at my reflection. The girl in the mirror didn’t look like someone that was going to become a Luna someday.

Didn’t look like power.

Didn’t look like someone the Moon Goddess would bless with powers.

But I would try.

I reached for my pendant, clutching it to my chest.

“Please… if you can hear me… just let him be mine.” I prayed, pleading with the moon goddess as if she could hear my prayers.

Inside my wolf stirred faintly. I could feel it but it stopped seconds later.