CHAPTER 6

(Aurora's POV)

"What just happened?" I asked Malani in shock after my father walked out of my room. His words, "Aurora, do not get annoyed over your sister's comment about having you banished. I will speak to all of them tomorrow morning. Goodnight," echoed in my mind.

My father left my room, gently shutting the door. I knew that apart from my father, my mother had the worst behavior toward me. If I hadn't seen a picture of her when she was pregnant with me, I would have thought I was adopted and she wasn't my real mother.

Malani exhaled and said, "I do not know what happened, but I am certain that your sister is troubled over something."

"Like what? Why would Quincy order for me to be banished over mere earrings? She just hates me, and this is no ordinary hatred. Is she afraid that I will take the Luna position from her?" I asked Malani, my hand rubbing my jaw as I thought about my sister's behavior.

"Maybe she is scared about you taking everything from her. After all, you have me, and you are not alone," Malani replied softly.

Laying in bed, as the night was still fresh, I sighed. "I do not want them to know that I have you. Are you sure that we can go out for a run? If I shift to you, my family will find out," I said worriedly.

"Hmm. Then we do not shift," Malani said, but I was eager to shift to her.

"Can we escape the house tonight? After all, my family is back from attending Alpha Xander's birthday party. I am curious. I want to shift to you so that I can see what it feels like," I told Malani, and she sighed.

"Alright. Let's give it a shot, but you should wait a little until your whole family falls asleep," Malani replied. I felt refreshed, since I had already slept a little.

I got out of bed and sat in my chair. Despite working as a waitress, I wanted to pursue a course in medicine development, so I sat at my study desk and turned on my laptop. Dad bought this for me after I graduated from high school a year ago, and Quincy wasn't happy about it.

When I turned my laptop on, I browsed and researched about some herbs for a while, before I decided to add new friends on my social media account. They were all werewolves and beautiful people. I wanted to add humans, but I was scared, especially since we were blocked from adding them.

There was a werewolf pack group that we all had to stick to, and I looked at the Autumn Pack Group. My best friend, Nora Edmond, was the Gamma's daughter. Her brother, Steven Edmond, was married to Alpha Xander's younger sister, Bailey. They were real mates.

So, I decided to text Nora.

Me: What's up, Nora?

It was past 1:00 a.m., and I was shocked when Nora sent a text message back.

Nora: Aurora, are you still awake?

Me: Yeah. I am awake. I just woke up and I do not feel like going back to bed, so I decided to browse online.

Nora: Okay. Why didn't you attend Alpha Xander's birthday tonight?

Me: *Pouted.* My family refused.

Nora: Why? Why do they not bring you around? Are they not your real family?

Me: Do not bother yourself. Did you attend it?

Nora: Yes. Guess what happened?

Me: What happened?

Nora: Alpha Nico refused to let Xander marry your sister as the new Luna Queen.

Me: What? Why?

Nora: Only Alpha Xander's fated mate is allowed to be the new Luna. Do you know that Luna Jasmine is feral because she is not Alpha Nico's real mate?

Me: What? And they hide it from all of us?

Nora: Yeah. They didn't want us to know about her health conditions. So you see? She is sick because she is not the real Luna Queen. I feel sorry for her.

Me: So this is why Quincy got back annoyed. She nearly took her anger out on me, but I am fine now.

Nora: Hmph. Do you think you're Alpha Xander's real mate?

Me: No way. I do not like him. He's a playboy. I am surprised he took his relationship with Quincy seriously.

Nora: I am feeling sleepy now. Let's meet up tomorrow, Saturday. I will tell you everything that happened.

Me: Alright. Goodnight.

I continued staring at my laptop screen after I closed the chat. Turning off my laptop, I stood up and moved to the window to peer out. The full moon was still shining above the clouds, so I pushed the window aside and peeked out. My room was on the ground floor, but I couldn't jump out; there were guards around.

"How do we escape, Malani?" I asked her nervously.

Malani replied, "I can put them all to sleep. Do you want me to do that?"

"Wow. Alright. Let's give it a shot," I replied. I peeked out of the window once more and watched the guards.

Malani took charge of my body, and a white light glowed from my hands. The guards were alerted by the ray of light, but one by one, they all fell asleep on the ground.

Smiling, I walked to the door and pushed it open gently to avoid waking my father. I slipped out of the house and made my way toward the gate. All the guards were asleep, so I rushed out, dressed in a flowing white nightdress. I wanted to shift to Malani to exercise my wolf.

"Are you ready?" I asked Malani as we arrived at the woods. I had watched some of the pack members shift while they played, running in the woods and fields or swimming in the open river.

"Yes, but you need to undress to shift to me. You cannot shift with your clothes on. It's a must to strip yourself naked," Malani said. I was nervous about it.

"Are you certain that there is no one else around? I do not want anyone to see me and report to my father," I informed Malani, anxious about getting caught.

"Trust me, Aurora. I have put everyone to sleep. It's an easy task," Malani said proudly. I stood aside and stripped off my white dress in a path in the woods. There was a grape tree in front of me, so I went to the tree to hang my white dress to avoid losing it.

Once I was completely naked, Malani took charge of my body, and I felt slightly uneasy, as if I were being watched.

"Are you ready?" I asked her, but there was silence.

"Malani," I called my wolf, and she replied, "I am ready, but I am nervous too. Aurora, what if we find our mate?"

"No way. Well, I thought you said everyone is asleep, so we cannot find our mate tonight, right?"

"You're right. Let's do this," she said. She took over my body and shifted.

I was stunned by the huge white wolf I had shifted into. When I first met Malani as a spirit wolf, she was small, but shifting to her now, I was stunned at how massive she was.

"How do you like me?" Malani purred, but we heard a deep growl from afar that made us tremble.

"That's the Alpha! Oh no! We have to shift back!" Malani said. I felt dread run down my spine as she shifted back to me, before I could even go for a run.

"Damn it! What's Alpha Xander doing out in the woods this late at night?" I cursed as my hands trembled, trying to find my underwear and nightdress.

"Hurry! He's coming!" Malani screamed, and I cursed my bad luck, knowing that I would be reported to my father.