CHAPTER TWO

~Elara's POV~

I WOKE SLOWLY, rolling over in bed. My whole body ached, and I had a migraine.

"What happened?" I muttered under my breath.

"The moon goddess heard our cry," my wolf, Freya, replied. "We have been given another chance."

What? How was that even possible? I asked myself. I had read about something like this happening a very long time ago, but it was never confirmed… and now it had happened to me.

"But why?" I asked.

"She paired us with Alpha Silas, thinking it would bring something fruitful, but things did not go as she planned…"

So even the moon goddess felt pity for my life.

Silas was in his room, which was adjoined with mine. He was still sleeping, but the stench of alcohol and sex hung in the air.

I was reborn the day after he slept with me. That was the night my baby was conceived.

I snorted angrily. In my previous life, I had not known about my baby, I was too focused on trying to win my mate back.

"I will not make that mistake again," I vowed to myself as I went downstairs to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

I had fixed myself a breakfast of pancakes and eggs when the front door opened and my sister sauntered in.

She smiled at me in her sweet manner that had fooled me for years in my previous life, but I was wiser now. I saw it for what it was.

"Oh I would die for some breakfast…" she said, her voice dripping with honey.

"There is some coffee left in the machine," I said coldly, but she was so engrossed in herself that she did not notice my tone.

"What of breakfast?" she asked.

In my past life, I was happy to be their maid, cooking meals from scratch for Silas and Iris everyday, cleaning and doing the menial chores for them even though I was the Luna.

Not anymore.

"If you want breakfast, you can make it yourself!" I snarled.

"What?" she froze. Just in that moment, Silas came down the stairs. He flashed her a discreet wink which he thought I would not see, but he didn't even look at me. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table, waiting to be served.

When nobody moved, he finally looked at me and asked, "Well? Where is my breakfast?"

"She did not make any breakfast for us," Iris said, tears immediately filling her eyes.

How did I never see my twin sister as the snake that she is?

"She knows how much I love us to eat as a family," Iris continued. "And she just made breakfast for herself… see the pancake and eggs… that is just selfish!"

I wanted to wrap my hands around her neck and squeeze the life out of her, but I took in a deep breath. "As I said before," I started. "If you are hungry, you are welcome to cook and make yours."

"Elara!" Silas growled. "What is the meaning of this?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him defiantly.

"You are my Luna! It is your duty to cook for me." he said, stamping his fists on the table.

"Really?" I said sarcastically and walked away before any of them could respond to that.

"What is wrong with her this morning?" I heard Iris ask Silas, but I did not hear his response as I closed my room door securely behind me.

I ate my breakfast alone and in peace but my mind raced with different possibilities. "Freya?" I called to my wolf, and she was there, as usual.

"We need to get stronger," I said.

"For our pup." She agreed.

Silas banned me from ever shifting, and the more my wolf was trapped in my head, the weaker she became.

"Can you feel him yet?" I asked her, rubbing at my stomach.

She purred in confirmation. It had only been a day, but the pup spirit was already connected with mine. It was one of the joys of motherhood – something I never thought I would experience in my lifetime.

A few years ago, Iris was involved in an accident while she was out in the woods with Silas. He had carried her back to the pack, soaked in blood and panicked. The pack's doctor noticed that she had lost a lot of blood, and needed a blood and bone marrow transfusion. I immediately offered myself, after all I am her twin sister, and we matched, but after the surgery, they noticed that I had a complication with my ovaries that would never make them able to hold any baby till maturity. It was a sad compromise, but at least my twin sister was alive and getting better, so I was happy.

I never thought about what she had been doing with Silas in the woods alone, but now, I could not help but think about it.

What had they really been doing?

Had their "affair" been going on since then – over 4 years ago?

The door to my room opened and a maid came in. She bowed deeply and said, "Good morning Luna, I came to make sure you are well comfortable for tonight."

I frowned in confusion. "What is happening tonight?" I asked.

"It is a full moon," the maid replied. "Alpha Silas is leading the pack run."

I had forgotten. Silas always led the full moon pack runs, but he had restricted me from shifting, so, while everyone else let their wolf take over every full moon and run in the woods, I was usually confined in the pack house, knitting by the fireplace to keep myself busy as Freya paced in my head.

"Is there anything else you would need?" the maid asked me. "So I can have them brought over before evening."

I smiled and shook my head. "Everything is fine, Abigail. I am fine." She nodded, bowed and exited the room again. I scoffed and walked to my window. I would not be confined ever again. After Silas and the pack begins their run in the Southern woods, I would shift and let Freya loose in the Northern woods.

*****

HOURS LATER, MOST of the pack had gone on the run. Elders and the children remained behind, locked in their homes. The guards patrolled the borders, but they were few..

That was my cue. I left the house, wrapping a shawl around my head and neck against the night breeze. The moon was full, and smiling down on me as I made my way to the Northern woods.

Silas never took the pack on runs there because it had a very dangerous terrain, it was constantly raided by rogues.

I would be careful and stay within our border, I said to myself as I slowly undressed. And I would run for just a short while, I did not want Silas to know that I was rebellious just yet.

When I was fully naked, I went down on all fours and released Freya. There was a moment of blindness and pain as I shifted, but it only lasted for a minute. When I opened my eyes, my senses were sharper, and the sand was cold under my feet.

I shook my fur, happy to be free once again before I began running. The northern terrain was rocky and dangerous, but I manoeuvred well, enjoying the breeze on my face and my paws on the ground.

Suddenly, I stopped. Things did not feel right, looking around, I realized that I had crossed our borders without knowing. I didn't even know how far away I was… but I knew one thing; I was not alone in the darkness.

My hackles rose to make me look bigger, but my wolf was malnourished and weak. I looked around, baring my teeth and praying to the moon goddess that this would not be my death.

I could not imagine being given another life, and still wasting that because I went on a stupid run. I should have remained at home, safe and knitting baby sweaters.

Out of the shadows, 3 wolves emerged. They were the biggest wolves I have ever seen, dwarfing Freya as if she was nothing but a house pet dog. I snarled, stepping back, and planning how I would escape, but the thoughts died in my head too when he stepped out from the shadows.

He was tall, almost 7ft, with long brown hair that hung loosely down his broad back. Intricate tattoos lined his chest and arms. As he came closer, the wolves bowed, and I could feel his aura pressing down on me too. He raised his head, his eyes were crimson red and pinned me with a stare colder than the Arctic pole.

"This one is a Luna," he said softly, looking at me all over. "A weak, sorry state of a Luna, but a Luna nonetheless…"

I growled, snapping my teeth at the wolf closest to me.

"Don't kill her yet," the man said. "She comes with us.”