No Hope

The Alpha Mansion was lit as bright as Christmas day. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the flowers adorning the walls and banister added charm to the Full Moon Banquet.

Naira entered the ballroom with her parents on either side, her hands clenched as nervous sweat slid down her back.

She felt like puking. 

The closer it drew to midnight, the more nervous she became. And the more nervous she became, the harder she found to concentrate on anything but her pounding heart.

'Zain, Zain...Moon Goddess, please...'

She couldn't imagine herself mated to anyone else but him. She wouldn't know how to love that poor wolf.

After giving her entire heart away, Naira didn't even have the confidence to like someone other than her childhood friend, let alone love.

He was her first friend, her first confidant, her first crush, and her first love.

More than Yvone and Karim, her adopted parents, she loved and trusted Zain. Her entire world revolved around him.

If soulmates were meant to complete each other, then the Moon Goddess would connect their souls, because the only one who could complete her was him. 

"Ira, you're here!"

Looking dashing in a blue suit, the man of her every thought walked towards her with a charming smile.

His dark silky hair gleamed under the chandelier light, enhancing his abnormally tall and lean stature. His strong jaw and deep blue eyes, set in his defined facial features, made him look like a Greek god.

Her heart picked up speed, and Naira couldn't help but blush. "Of course, I'm here. It's not like you're the only one turning 18."

"Haha! That's true. My Ira and I will turn 18 together. How do you feel? Nervous?" Stopping a few steps away from her, Zain studied her with a peculiar gaze.

My Ira...

The way he said it was so...sweet and claiming!

"I am. I...I don't know who'll be my mate..."

She said this to test his reaction. But his unruffled expression made her heart sink.

Zain. Did he not even feel anything for her? The thought of her becoming the mate of another male...it didn't affect him even the slightest bit?

Just a few seconds ago, she had been desperately praying for him to be her mate. But if he didn't even love her after 10 years...would he feel something because of the manipulation of some mystical being?

Would what he felt then be true love or mere attraction caused by the bond?

"Ira, there's no need for you to be nervous. Whoever becomes your mate, he'll be one lucky guy."

Like a cool breeze on a hot summer day, his casual words swept away her worries.

Naira felt her restless heart slowly settle down in her chest. 

This was her Zain. His one sentence had the power to settle or shake her. Move her to tears or laughter. If he wasn't her mate, Naira couldn't imagine who else could be.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as I'm sure you're all aware, today we are gathered here for the coming of age ceremony of our pack's Alpha Heir and his best friend, Naira. Please wish them luck in finding their destined mates!" Alpha Adeel's voice boomed through the hall, and like some sort of a trigger, the pack members erupted into joyous cheers.

"Good luck Alpha Heir! Good luck Naira! May the both of you get the mates of your heart!"

Their thunderous cry echoed throughout the room, and filled her heart with hope. 

"Ira...I wish you happiness. May you get the mate of your heart." Zain whispered.

"If the Moon Goddess wills, I will." Naira hesitated slightly, before raising her gaze and looking him in the eye. "Zain, whoever your soulmate turns out to be, I hope you'll give her a fair chance."

Zain's gaze flickered, and for a brief moment, she thought he was going to refuse. But in the end, he released a deep sigh and slightly nodded.

That was all Naira wanted. For Zain to give her a chance and not reject her when they turned out to be each other's true-mates.

With this knot resolved, she began to look forward to the full moon. To when their wolves would make an appearance and claim their mates.

Time seemed to flow at the speed of a snail. The lights winked out and couples gathered in the center of the ballroom.

When Zain asked her for a dance, Naira smiled, and followed him on the dance floor with butterflies fluttering in her stomach. They were friends who had accompanied each other since the age of 8. 

From studying to training, they learned everything together, including dancing.

As Zain expertly spun her around, her red dress flared and bloomed around her like a gorgeous rose whose petals aspired to be only touched by him. Her dark eyes glowed, and when they connected with his blue orbs, a smile stretched out on her face.

"You are an amazing dancer, Naira. And in this dress, you look like a queen."

"No need to flatter me so much. I might misunderstand and think you like me..." She lightly teased, with a hint of shyness in her voice.

"Of course, I l..."

"Zain!" 

A sharp cry cut him off mid-sentence. As Zain stopped and looked over her shoulder, Naira was in a trance, internally wondering what he was going to say.

'Did he mean to say he likes me?'

Naira's heart pounded in her chest.

Zain. Her Zain. He liked her as well, right? That's what he wanted to say.

The thought filled her with anticipation. She expectantly lifted her gaze to hear him finish his words. But the smile on her face froze when she saw his vision fixed on Jules Hayden.

A foreboding feeling invaded her heart.

Jules...she was Zain's girlfriend. Could she also be...?

Naira felt her heart tremble, then completely shatter. Because Zain only hesitated slightly, before he released her and walked off to the she-wolf.

Some claim heartbreak leaves a deep ache in the chest, and others say it makes one feel as if it's the end of the world.

For Naira, the feeling of seeing Zain walk past her and say 'Mate' to a woman other than her was like falling and falling into a bottomless abyss with no end in sight.

A blood-curdling howl echoed from the back of her mind, but she was too far gone to pay it any attention.

In a matter of an instant, she fell from heaven to the darkest pit in hell.

White agony blinded her vision. She held her chest, backed away from the congregating crowd, and staggered out of the Alpha Mansion.

She had entered with a nervous smile, but in the end, left in tears.

She would've liked to believe she had left to maintain her self-respect. To not embarrass herself by crumbling in front of everyone and bawling her eyes out.

She would've loved to believe she wished her Zain happiness with the one he was fated to be with.

However, that wasn't the case.

Naira knew she had escaped like a coward, because the sight of Zain standing besides the mate the Moon Goddess chose for him, the one deemed more worthy of him than her, had shattered both her heart and soul.

She was afraid she would lose her mind and attack Jules Hayden. Because for a split instant, an intense flare of hatred, and blinding jealousy, had welled up in her heart.

She had wanted to rush forward, yank the she-wolf's hair, and claw out her greedy eyes so she would never look at her Zain again...

There was no hope. It had been smothered. The tiny flicker completely snuffed as surely as if the flame had been doused.

Like an aged wine, her love had only fermented and grown deeper over the years. Unfortunately, even though it was strong enough to riddle her heart with wounds, it didn't seem to be strong enough to move the Moon Goddess.

Because now, there was no hope of it ever being reciprocated.