I - The Beginning Of An End

~AMARA~

My father raised me to be the epitome of purity, all just so I could be ruined by another.

My father, Amon Ulysses and the alpha of Redthorn pack, had remarried just two months after my mother passed when I was just eight years old, and before I was even born, I had been promised to Jerome, then heir—now Alpha—of Orion Pack as his future Luna.

Orion pack was the most powerful pack on the continent; they had an overwhelming population of over three hundred thousand wolves, if the legends were to be believed, their Alpha in turn held insurmountable power over all of Europe.

My father and the previous Alpha had ties that ran deeper than I could ever understand, and the marriage was promised as a deal to strengthen our pack's defenses and connections.

Old fashioned as people considered it to be, my father never cared what they said, and he made it clear to me that my purpose was to bring our pack to greener days. We were small, but thriving, and with my marriage to Alpha Jerome, we would do more than just thrive. I had no doubt Jerome would make us flourish.

I am now twenty—soon to be twenty-one—years old. I haven't set eyes on the man I have been promised to, but we have exchanged letters and emails over the years, so many.

He is a soft man, one whose words flow easily from his fingers as though he were poetry incarnate. He is a wise man who knows when to push and when to back down, and he would no doubt be a good husband and father.

Which is why I have to be a good Luna—no—a perfect Luna. One that Jerome will love and cherish, one who can stand by his side and be worthy of his affection.

It is my purpose, the only reason I leave my bed every morning.

Once I am married, I will be everything I was raised to be and more.

I will bear sons and daughters for him, cater to his every desire.

And I will be loved just as much as I will come to love him.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" My step-mother, Heather, asked me for the nth time as she held my hands in hers.

Her kind eyes bored into mine as she took in my dressed-up state.

I was in a red dress, the boldest color I had ever put on, but I was being sent off by my father two years earlier than planned for reasons he has refused to explain to me.

And now, Heather was given the task of getting me ready, and safe to say, my nerves were frayed.

My palms were sweaty and my stomach a jittery mess. Still, looking into my reflection, I saw the woman my mother and father and Heather had raised me to be, a woman with responsibilities and expectations from both myself and my pack.

Redthorn needs this. I cannot afford to lose myself to nerves.

Not now.

I gave Heather my best smile, because despite all the sweat, I was genuinely happy.

I would be meeting him for the first time after so many years of talking to each other!

I was more excited than I was nervous.

"This is it for me, Heather, you know that."

My step-mom—goddess bless her heart—has always been of the opinion that there could possibly be another path for me other than being Jerome's Luna. But I knew better; there is nothing else. This is my purpose.

"Not many people already know what to do with their lives at such an age, my dear," Heather sighs, pulling me into a warm hug. "I just want you to be sure this is what you want, to be tied to a man for the rest of your life and have your entire existence defined only by what he is." Her hug tightened, and I could have sworn I heard a suppressed sob.

Heather stepped up as our mother the second she was brought into our home. Once our mother's best friend, I couldn't bring myself to call her anything but what I'd grown up calling her, and she never put pressure on my brother or me to call her mom.

Regardless, she's the best mother I could ever ask for, and I would miss her dearly.

"Some women dream of lives like that, Heather." I pulled away to meet her teary brown eyes, her red lips trembling with suppressed tears. "I want to be someone's wife, someone's mother...and I want to be at least half as amazing a mother as you are."

Tears slid down her cheeks when I said that, and she managed a watery smile.

"I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy," I reassured her, even as my heart did a funny thing the second the words left my lips, almost as if I were lying to her, and myself.

There was an urgent knock on the door, heavy and impatient.

"It's time, Amara, Heather," my older brother, Andrew, informed from behind the door of my bedroom.

And I was all jitters again.

I inhaled deeply, rising to my feet without hesitation, Heather's hand still clutching mine.

"Amara..." She was giving it a try one last time; I could see it in her eyes.

"I will be happy. I have to be." After all, this is what I was born for, raised for.

"Come on." I was the one pulling her towards the door, wiping away the tears from her flushed cheeks.

"We'll see each other in two weeks or less," I laughed. "Stop crying so much."

Heather laughed as well, her soft eyes still uncertain, yet she accepted. As we walked out the door, my brother cast an impatient gaze in my direction, then his eyes widened a fraction.

"Wow, they managed to make you look almost..." He chuckled, not completing whatever it was he wanted to say.

I rolled my eyes. He's never complimented me, not once.

"Ignore him, you look beautiful," came my father's voice from the corner. His hard eyes took me in, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"The most beautiful woman in all of Europe, just like your mother," he praised. His intimidating presence caused my eyes to drop low to the ground instinctively.

Heather nodded in agreement. "Persephone would've been so proud." She patted my shoulder, and I gave them all a small smile. It was all I could muster.

I kept chanting in my head just so I wouldn't forget the reason I was doing this.

No one in this pack would lose their lives the way my mother did. I will make sure of it.

This marriage was the way, is the only way.

Happiness is a luxury I cannot afford to question.

My father held out a hand, the makings of what seemed to be a pleased smile resting atop his lips.

Which was a rarity.

I'd managed to please my father.

The thought left me giddy, more confident than I initially was.

"You have and will make me proud, Amara. You are a proper lady," he regards me sternly still. "Do not forget all that you have learned."

"I won't, dad."

"And remember, the world is a distraction to one with responsibilities such as yours," he repeated his favorite words yet again. "Your world should be your husband, your pack, and your duties as Luna," he reminded, and I nodded in response.

Unable to find my tongue.

Outside our pack house lay a fleet of sleek black cars that lined our entire compound, cars I knew we couldn't afford. They were from Jerome, from Orion pack.

"Your husband-to-be has sent these for your comfort and safety. You better appreciate him properly when you get there," my father ordered, letting go of my hand as he reached the cars. An unfamiliar burly man stepped down from the driver's seat of the car that was in the middle of them all, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses.

He bowed a little at my father, not me.

"I have come for the future Luna on Alpha Jerome's orders," he simply said before opening the door to the back seat for me to enter.

There was something off about the man, but seeing that door open, everything else faded away. I hugged Heather, and despite his protests, I hugged Andrew and wished him well.

He was to be married soon as well, to his fated mate.

A rarity, just like my father's smile.

I gave my father one last smile; he wouldn't accept a hug, I knew that much.

"We will see you soon," he informed, then he turned around and began walking back into our pack house.

That was just how my father was, and I wish I could say I was used to it by now, but I still wasn't.

One last look at Heather, I entered the car, and the door closed shut behind me with finality. The driver was seated in the next instant and our eyes met in the rearview mirror briefly.

It was strange how off I felt just meeting his darkened gaze.

But I brushed it off when I saw Heather's little wave from the corner of my eyes.

My stomach spun and dropped, and I willed myself to look away from my father's retreating back and the people I was leaving behind.

I was trembling.

Nerves? Fear? Excitement?

I really couldn't tell the difference anymore.

The car's engines roared to life, and in turn, so did my new life.

My purpose.

So why did this feel like the beginning of an end?