chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Lessie's Standpoint.

My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst through my chest. The moon shone bright above me, like the Moon Goddess was mocking me in my helplessness.

Each breath burned in my lungs, but I couldn't stop. This was the price for freedom.

“Princess Lessie!” An angry voice called somewhere behind me. “Your father demands your return!”

I pushed hard, my wolf, Alexa, urging me to run faster. “Faster, Lessie. They are getting closer, I can smell them.”

My long brunette hair whipped behind me as I dodged between trees and leaping over fallen trees. For nineteen years of my life, I had been the perfect Princess of Wales Moon Pack, doing everything my father commanded. Nineteen years of “yes, father” and elegant dresses and proper etiquette.

And for what? To be handed over like property to some Alpha I've never met? To someone I don't love?

“I won't go back,” I whispered to myself as I ran, the words fueling the rage in me more. “I won't go back!”

The border of our Pack came into view, it was only a few blocks away. Once I crossed it, I would be beyond my father's immediate reach.

Of course, being Alpha Shane's only child meant he wouldn't give up on me easily, but I needed time to disappear, to build a new life where I could find my true mate.

The howls and screams behind me grew more distant as I ran towards the border. My father's warriors were strong, but I was faster. I had always been faster, though few knew it. A Princess wasn't supposed to outrun her guards during training sessions.

I crossed the border at a sprint speed, and an unfamiliar feeling washed over me as I left my home Pack. For the first time in my life, I was truly alone, terrified and tired.

No maids to call or guards to yell at. It was just me.

I slowed to catch my breath, resting against a thick oak tree. My dress was torn at the hem, my feet were dirty and scraped. I had left with nothing but the clothes in my backpack and the small pouch of valuables hidden in it.

“We did it,” I whispered to Alexa with a half smile, her happiness mingling with mine. “Now, we just have to find our true mate.”

Finding my fated mate has been my dream since childhood. I had grown up on stories of that perfect connection, that moment when the world stops and stares for a while when two souls recognize each other. My dad called it a foolish fantasy, I called it my destiny.

I dipped my hand into my side pocket and brought out a small leather pouch. It contained some money, a diamond necklace that had belonged to my mom and a fake identity card I got last week.

I opened the card and my fingers crapped over the new name. According to the Identity card, I was now Kayla Green.

I thought of my dad's face when he told me of my engagement to Alpha Noah of Blue Nicoline Pack. His eyes were cold and distant, just as they had been over the years, and his voice echoed sternly, leaving no room for my opinion.

“You'll marry Alpha Noah next month,” He said while we were at the dining table, chewing his meal gently. He didn't even spare me a glance. I guess that was how much of a coward he was.

I barely had time to process his words, but he continued. “Your marriage to him will form an alliance that will strengthen our position.”

Our position? I let out a disbelieving scoff at the thought. This was about him, about his position as the Alpha.

“But father,” I pleaded as I looked at him, hoping he would look at me too. “I haven't even met him! What about finding my true mate?”

He slowly lifted his gaze from the meal with a brow raised, before he let out harsh laughter that echoed in the room.

“True mate? And what would that do for you? Would that make our Pack whole again? Return it to what it used to be?” The laughter on his face faded completely, and he chewed the meat in his mouth with rage that made me clutch to my dress.

“And even if you get one, duty comes first. Always! The Pack survived a coup fourteen years ago. We lost your brother, and I won't let sentimentality weaken us again.”

I saw the pain that flashed across his face as he mentioned my brother. His death during the coup, as his only heir, had changed my dad, left him damaged. But it also changed my view of life.

Life is too precious and too fragile to waste it on things I didn't want.

So, I nodded, played the obedient daughter and planned my escape.

I walked further into the Pack with my hands clutching my fake identity card and the address of my destination; Silver Crest University. It was the perfect place for me to find my true mate…

I halted in my steps as my dad's words echoed in my ears. “True mate are fantasy… Fantasy that would never become reality.”

“What if he was saying the truth, Alexa? What if we can't find our mate?” My voice was barely above a whisper, tired.

“Then you'd get a fair trial to fall in love with someone you know, not just being thrown off like a bargaining chip.”

The Pack was nothing like the Wales Moon Pack, the Silver Crest Pack was artistic and beautiful that I stopped to stare around. Everyone went about their businesses without a fuss. Nobody bowed as I passed, and no one looked at me twice.

“This is awesome,” I screamed, a part of me seeking for an attention I didn't get.

As I stood in front of the Silver Crest University, squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and took in a deep breath as the cold morning breeze hit my face.

“It's breathtaking, isn't it?” An excited voice whispered close to my ear, startling me as I pulled back to the present.

“Who are you?” I snapped at him, my lips curled in disgust and my voice clouded with rage. Being a spoiled princess made me that way.

Rather than getting angry at me, the boy standing in front of me stared for a second before smiling.

“Relax,” he laughed and shifted his gaze to the school building. “You're nervous. You must be a new student.”

“Transfer student,” I lied smoothly and quickened my steps, but the boy followed me.

“I'm Trent, by the way. I just moved in from the Red Moon Pack, you?”

I stopped abruptly and turned to him, realizing I wasn't prepared for the question. “Oh… I'm from… far away. Just a small Pack, nothing interesting.” I said and continued walking.

He shot me a curious look but followed me. “Well, Silver Crest is a good school. Tough Alpha running it, though. My cousin says professor Duaine is a real hardass.”

“Professor Duaine?” My curiosity got piqued.

“Yes, Alpha Duaine Bert. He teaches at the university, despite being the Alpha of the Pack. It had been that way for like fifteen years.”

An odd chill ran down my spine around the name. “What is he like?”

Trent shrugged. “I'm also new here, I've never met him personally. My cousin says he's brilliant but strict. He's totally devoted to the Pack. Word is he helped build Silver Crest from practically nothing after some big Pack war years back.”