The News

Leora

The energy in the air today felt...different.

As I cleaned up the mess left behind by the entire pack after the full moon run, I could feel an energy in the halls that I had never felt before. There was a buzzing energy, as if something big was about to happen. I couldn't tell what, but many of the packmates were excited about it. For some reason, the females were especially enthusiastic about what was set to happen in a few weeks.

"I can't believe he is coming here! He hasn't visited in a long time," I heard one female say.

"I heard he is searching for his mate. That means every female in the pack will have to meet with him!" another chimed in.

Whatever was happening, it was clear that a strong male would be visiting the pack soon, and he was looking for his mate. That could be any number of powerful males in our kingdom. Alphas who weren't mated were always the talk of the pack when they planned to visit. Most of the females in our pack were omegas, and omegas tended to want an alpha as their mate. There was something appealing about being without power while the alpha held all the strength. I even hoped that I would be mated to an alpha.

But that was also so I could prove to my pack that I was worthy. If the Moon Goddess blessed me with an alpha as a mate, making me a luna, it would show everyone how I was deserving of our Goddess. That would be enough to make my life worthwhile.

Coda burst into the bathroom I had been cleaning once again to tell me the news. Her energy bounced off the walls as she spoke so quickly that it made my head spin.

"He's coming, Leora! Did you hear the news yet?"

I blinked several times at her as I tried to decipher what she said. Nothing came to me after at least a minute of staring at her. "What news?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Silly girl. The lycan king! Alpha of the Seagrove Pack. He's coming to Redwood."

Ah. I shook my head. "I heard some things through the halls, but I didn't know it was him who was coming. Is that confirmed?" My muscles ached as I got to my feet. Scrubbing the floors on all fours yet again brought serious pain to my body. My wolf had been sleeping after healing me from yesterday's round of cleaning and the attack from Amarie.

"He's bringing that sexy beta of his, too." Coda bit her lip. "What I'd give just to have a night with him."

Watching my best friend swoon was a hilarious sight. Gunner Alabaster was undeniably attractive. I'd give her that. But seeing Coda lick her lips and her eyes spin in her head at the very thought of him made my week. Gunner came into town four years ago, and Coda had been hooked on him ever since. I wondered if he was her mate, judging by the way she was drooling over him. Since we weren't of age at the time, the bond hadn't shown itself, which was something she had been salty about. That made it fun to tease her.

"I heard he likes to have fun and doesn't want to settle down anytime soon," I commented.

She scoffed at me while grabbing a sponge from under the sink along with a cleaning spray. "So did the king. Maybe they both realized they needed to find their mates." Coda paused and thought for a moment. "Well, find someone to call their mate. Fated mates aren't being handed out like candy."

I stifled a laugh that threatened to escape. Comparing a fated mate to candy seemed fairly accurate. It was a gift from the Moon Goddess herself. It was said she created each of us with the perfect half of our soul. Finding a mate was difficult since there were so many of us across the different kingdoms. Most of the time, chosen mates were what we had to settle for due to never finding their true mate. Add in the fact that our species couldn't find their mate or bond with one until they came of age and their lycan's soul connected with them, and it felt nearly impossible to find our mate. Those who tossed this blessing aside were driven mad by their lycan. If I wanted out of this hellhole, I needed to receive this blessing from the Moon Goddess. The relief I felt when I realized no one in my pack was my mate... I can't even put it into words. I didn't want to be stuck here in this pack.

I wanted to be free.

Free from this pitiful life I had to call my own. Free from dealing with people who believed I was unworthy to call myself a wolf. Even to find a mate.

So many people in this pack have said the Moon Goddess couldn't be so cruel as to give me away as a fated mate, and that I would be a punishment, not a blessing. It's been said so many times over the years that I started to believe those words. Except in times like this.

If the king was traveling to find his mate, maybe when he stopped here, I could ask him for a transfer. He was the king. Amarie wouldn't allow it because it would be a "burden" to let me go to another pack when I could barely stand on my own after my cleaning shifts. The king, however, could override her.

"You think Alpha Brennan would allow me to have an audience with him just to ask for a transfer?"

Coda's eyes widened but then softened at my question. This wasn't the first time I had talked about transferring to another pack. She didn't like the idea of that happening because it meant I'd leave her here by herself to deal with this pack. No one in this pack respected the omegas. Everyone left trash around the pack house and made everything dirty enough that it required a complete cleaning by the crack of dawn. It was a mess for the omegas to clean every day, mostly for me to clean along with Coda, because we worked harder than everyone else. I tried to tell Coda not to befriend me because she would become a pack reject, just like me. She wouldn't listen.

I loved that about her.

"Well, from the sounds of it, he wants to meet with every female to find out if she is his mate or not. If she isn't, she is to meet with Beta Gunner. Use your time to ask him for the transfer if he isn't your mate."

It was my turn to scoff. "Me? His mate? Yeah, right." I returned to all fours to continue the deep cleaning of the floors. "I am weak because my wolf has no power. I'm basically a human who can somehow shift into a furry creature every few months. That doesn't sound like the makings of a queen."

Coda gasped. "Do you really think that low of yourself?"

I looked at her.

"You are so much more than that, Leora. Maybe the reason your wolf isn't strong is that you don't have faith in her."

That, I knew, wasn't true. I believed in my wolf more than anyone else in the pack. Even if she was weaker, my wolf was a patient creature. She had to be when she was tied to me. On my bad days, she was the gentle soul who coaxed me into relaxing instead of falling into the rapid, harmful cycle of my thoughts. As I healed every night from pushing my body past the limit it could handle from cleaning, she was there to work through the pain and bring me enough relief to get some sleep.

My wolf was an incredible creature. I was more than blessed to have her as mine. I just wished she had bonded with someone far superior to myself. She deserved to be queen more than I did. From her patience alone, she deserved a mate who would shower her with all the gifts and love throughout her life.

You deserve that, too. Not just me, she rumbled in my mind.

I don't feel that way since I can't seem to make anyone happy, I replied.

Shush. You make me happy. I chose you because you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You survived Amarie and the alpha all these years.

I survived because of Coda.

No, Leora. You survived because of you! You are strong and worthy of love. Coda is drawn to that, and someday soon, others will be as well.

My wolf always says these things to me, but I haven't been able to fully believe those words. Every time I do, that's when my stepmother or a member of Alpha Brennan's family comes along and berates me for something I did or didn't do.

It's kind of hard to believe you are meant for something greater than cleaning a pack house when you are told that's all you're worth every day since you were a kid. You'd think I would learn to be more careful throughout my day to make sure everything is perfect and not give my father a reason to be angry. Mistakes happen, but to Amarie, the demand for perfection was unmatched.

No one is perfect, little one. Not even that wicked stepmom of yours. If she were perfect, she'd treat you like a daughter and not a burden.

The gentle caress of my wolf's presence flooded through me. She needed me to know she was here for me, something I always loved about her. The comfort of her presence also brought on a wave of healing, loosening the tension in my shoulders.

"It's hard not to think like that with a dad like mine."

Coda poked her head out into the hallway, making sure no one would overhear me speaking ill of the alpha—something my father would punish harshly if he found out. Something I knew all too well.

"Well, the alpha doesn't understand that what you lack in power, you make up for in heart. You care about the pack more than he does, for the most part. As you clean, you also leave uplifting notes for the pack for them to find—yet none of them know it's you. You also make sure everyone's favorite snacks are always in the cabinets and fridge, so no one has to go through a bad time without their comfort food." Coda kneeled down to be eye level with me and wore a sympathetic smile. "I see you, my friend. You are so much more than what your father makes you believe. If it weren't for you, this pack would descend into chaos."

Oh, how wonderful would it be if that were true? I wasn't the heart of this pack. My mother was, when she was alive, and before my father made Amarie his new bride, he was the heart—a rapidly blackening heart who ruled with an iron fist.