5

A WEEK LATER.

LYRA.

It was one week since I had found my mate. He hadn't returned for me since then, and my heartache only grew worse each passing day.

I sat on a rock close to the lake, as I watched Elektra's wolf do another lap around the water.

This was our usual routine. Her wolf ran, while I just sat and watched. I couldn't run because I was yet to have my first shift.

While I saw myself as a disappointment, Elektra and madame Jo always insisted that I was rather unique.

Maybe I was.

It had never been heard that someone could feel and communicate with their wolf, without having shifted first. But somehow, that was my case.

At 22, I was yet to have my first shift, but somehow, ever since I turned 16 -- the ideal age for a wolf's first shift, I had inexplicably begun to feel the presence of my wolf.

I could hear her voice in my head, connect with others through mindlink, and experience almost everything wolves who had already shifted could. The only thing I couldn't do was physically shift, and that was a problem.

It had been quite shocking when I found my mate. I never thought it was possible to find my mate without having shifted yet.

I wondered if he was ever going to come back for me. Even if it was only to officially reject me.

"Don't tell me you're sulking again."

Elektra's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as she made her way toward me. I hadn't even realized when she shifted out of her wolf form.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I can't help it."

My eyes began to sting again, and I wondered when this torment in my heart would finally end.

I had thought I would get over Alpha Ronan's silent rejection after a few days, but every day this hole in my chest only seemed to grow wider.

It was strange to feel this deeply for someone I had only met once. But I guessed that was how the mate bond worked.

"Maybe it is all for the best," I muttered.

"What is?" she asked as she got busy throwing on her clothes.

"His rejection. If he had accepted the bond, he'd be more disappointed when he finds out I'm wolfless. Not to talk of this horrible scar I have to carry on my face forever. He would probably feel repulsed if he sees me now."

Elektra silently watched me for a moment. I thought she was going to scold me again, but instead, she flashed me a warm smile.

"First of all, you're not wolfless, Lyra. You can literally feel your wolf within you. You just haven't shifted yet," she pointed out, but it didn't make me feel any better. "Secondly, here I was, thinking you were going to say that being rejected by him means we are never going to be parted from each other."

I gave a genuine smile now.

Elektra had been the only family I had ever known, and now that I thought about it, being away from her was going to be different. Difficult.

"You're not wrong." I nodded in agreement and she engulfed me in a warm hug.

*************************

By evening, the entire household was chaotically busy. It was always this way during this time of the month. The night of the full moon.

All unmated she-wolves usually fell into heat, releasing pheromones that drove the male wolves crazy with lust.

Though dangerous, it was still nothing compared to the Blood Moon, which was far worse.

Within noble households, preparations for nights like this usually began long before sunset, and the noble ladies were always the priority. Protective herbs were burned within their chambers while charms were placed around their doors and windows.

Selected guards who were fortified to withstand the pull of the full moon were stationed across the halls to ensure no male wolf wandered too close after the moon fully rose.

As for the omegas and servants, our safety came last.

After spending the entire day securing the noble ladies, we were usually herded into the fortified grounds built behind the residence, where we remained locked in until morning.

It was safer that way. Or at least, safer than being hunted by males driven mad by the scent of heat in the air.

The atmosphere became more chaotic as soon as the gong sounded, indicating it was eighteenth hour of the day. Dusk had fallen and the full moon was going to be out soon.

"Are all the ladies' chambers secured?!" Madame Jocasta's voice rang through, and she was given a chorus of positive responses.

"Good." She gave a satisfactory nod, before signaling for me to come to her.

"Lyra," she whispered. "You may not fall into heat tonight because you're now mated, but it doesn't exempt you from being prey. Get to the fortified grounds now."

Did it really count that I was mated when my mate didn't want me?

Nonetheless, I nodded obediently and made a dash for the omega's quarters. I needed to pick a blanket or wear something thicker, knowing it was going to be a cold night.

On my way out of the quarters, I bumped into someone, not expecting to see Aurelia.

Reflexly, I took a step back, my heart falling.

Her father may have promised she was never going to hurt me again, but the current scar on my cheek left me too traumatized to take chances.

The entire place was literally in a frenzy and she was supposed to be locked up in her chambers by now. What was she doing here..?

"D.. D...do you need anything my lady?" I stuttered.

"I do." She nodded. My heartbeat accelerated as I wondered what she could possibly want from me, now of all times.

"My body terribly burns during the full moon, but my personal maid forgot to run me a cool bathe like she always does," she said.

I wondered what that had to do with me.

"There's still time before the moon fully emerges. Quickly run me a bathe."

I froze for a few seconds.

"But..." I hesitated. "I can't. It's almost time for the..."

"If I sustain any injuries during tonight's full moon, be sure that you would suffer greatly for it," she warned, glaring so hard at me.

I gulped.

"If I were you, I'd run along and get the work done before the full moon emerges."

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving me caught in between.

My mind told me to defy her orders and run to safety first, but I feared the repercussions of that decision by morning. So I ran out of the quarters and headed for the well.

About twenty minutes later, I had finally carried the water to Aurelia's chambers and was now hurrying through the long, frustrating stretch of hallway.

The chaos outside had grown worse, and soon I could hear guttural growls all around. Male wolves.

My heart pounded hard against my chest as hot tears burned at my eyes.

"Goddess please..." I whispered as I kept running, hoping to somehow make it to the fortified grounds unscathed.

I finally reached the end of the hallway and dashed through the doorway leading outside, toward the fortified grounds.

I hadn't even taken ten steps when something heavy slammed into me and I hit the ground. I looked up to see a crazed looking guard hovering above me, another one closing in behind him.

My heart dropped and fear locked my body in place. I couldn't scream or fight back because I knew I was outnumbered.

All those years of escaping the attention of noble men, only for it to end like this with guards instead?

I scrambled around, trying to stand up, but one of them aggressively grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head.

I could feel the other one's hand underneath my gown, making my wolf feel repulsed.

"Please..." A desperate whisper left my lips as hot fluid seeped out of my eye. But they didn't stop.

My body shook violently when I felt cold fingers trying to penetrate me.

"Arrgghhh!!!!"

A sudden loud scream tore through me and the next thing I knew, the weight of the guards on top of me disappeared.

I was still trying to comprehend what was happening when an angry snarl ripped through the air.

"MINE!!!"

Slowly, I looked up, and my breath caught. The last person I expected stood there.

Alpha Ronan.