Chapter 1

I could feel everyone's eyes on me. My body ached badly from their non-stop gazing. It felt like they were throwing darts at me, sinking them into my flesh one by one, slowly.

Their whispering was even worse. It felt like maggots were tormenting my ears, slowly eating away my flesh from the inside. I couldn't take it anymore. I turned around and hurriedly returned home, not bothering to purchase anything.

"You're home already," my mother said, with a surprised look on her face when I entered the house. 

I sat beside her on the couch in the living room and sadly rested my head on my chest. 

"Why are you so sad and where are the goods you went to purchase?" my mother asked me.

"I couldn't," I told her, as I raised my eyes to her. "Everyone was staring and whispering about me. I couldn't take it anymore."

"I'm so sorry Bella; things will be better when the Moon Goddess remembers to give you a mate."

"I'm tired of hearing this from you, mom. I'm twenty-four and still I'm unlucky to find my mate. I'll forever be a forgotten wolf."

My mother rubbed my back, trying her best to cheer me up.

"I'll get the stuff you wanted," she told me.

I nodded and watched her as she left.

Why did the Moon Goddess want me to be mate-less? I wondered sadly as I went upstairs.

I sat on the edge of my bed, turned to face the mirror and stared at my reflection.

I saw a beautiful she-wolf with long, straight, honey colored hair and eyes that were bluer than the sky. To go with my beautiful face, my height and body weight and proportions were perfect, at least that was what I thought. I just didn't understand why I hadn't found my mate yet. I lay on my bed, feeling stressed about my mate-less life.

I heard a knock at the door downstairs. I exited my room right away, curious to know who it was. I opened the door and soon I was astonished to see two of the Alpha's guards, attired in their silver armor, standing at my front door.

"Bella Maloo?" one of them asked me.

"Yes, that's me," I answered politely.

"Luna Trina Bloode-Wolffinton sent us for you," the guard informed me.

"Why?" I asked, curious about what The Luna wanted from me.

"Come with us now and you'll find out," the guard who had spoken to me said.

Both guards took me by my arms and started to drag me from my house.

"No, let me go!" I yelled, terrified.

"Keep calm or we'll be violent," one of them said.

Immediately, I calmed down. I was scared of getting hurt. They took me away and placed me in a white carriage, drawn by two black horses. As soon as I entered, the carriage went off speedily. I turned my head to look through the window to see if I could glimpse my mother returning from the store, but I couldn't see anything. The windows were covered by drapery.

"Why does the Luna want me?" I asked the guard who was in the carriage with me.

He didn't answer.

After a few minutes, I felt the carriage slow down. Soon, it stopped.

"Don't get out until I tell you to," the guard sternly warned me while he exited the carriage.

My heart began to race in my chest as I worried about what was going to happen to me. I had never done any criminal act. I didn't understand why I was brought there.

The carriage door opened and I saw an elderly lady who appeared to be one of the pack leader's maids. In her hands, she had a large black sheet. She instructed me to get out. As I did, she threw the sheet over my head, covering my entire body. I screamed. The two guards grabbed me and started to run with me.

I felt my body land on something soft. I jumped up, screaming while I tried to remove the sheet that was covering me. My non-stop screaming turned to silence the moment I removed the sheet and noticed that I was in a stylish room. I was not alone. Luna Trina Bloode-Wolffinton of the  Iron Claw Pack was standing before me.

She was even more beautiful than the times that I'd seen her at pack gatherings. She was aging like a fine wine. The older she grew the more beautiful she got. Her long, curly red hair was as red as a rose and her eyes were greener than the trees of nature. She stood tall before me, her voluptuous figure. She was one fine-looking she-wolf.

I came off the bed right away and bowed to her. That's the right way to greet the leaders of our pack. Also, we were to keep our heads bowed until they instructed us to lift them.

"Do you know why you're here, forgotten wolf?" she asked me. I hated that name, but I was really a forgotten wolf. I'd never found my one true mate.

Her voice was as smooth as butter and wonderful to the ears. It was like birds singing beautifully.

"No, Your Luna," I answered her, still holding my position.

"Stand straight," she finally commanded me. 

I was happy to obey her because my neck was starting to hurt.

"You're chosen as a whore or concubine, whatever you want to call it, for my mate, Alpha Maximus Wolffinton." 

My eyes widened in shock. I couldn't believe what she had said.

"You will satisfy my mate's sexual desire until he chooses to let you go," Luna Trina informed me.

"I can't, Your Luna," I told her.

"Do you dare to disobey your Luna?" she asked me with a grave look on her face.

Immediately, I shook my head, realizing I had no choice. I must be her mate's concubine.

"Good," Luna Trina said.

I remained still, wanting to burst into tears, but I fought hard to hold them back, not wanting to cry before the Luna.

"Now, as my mate's concubine, there are some rules I want you to follow."

"Yes, Your Luna," I answered sadly.

"My mate will come to your room whenever he feels the need for you. You should never dare to refuse him, no matter what. You should never sleep with anyone else, fall for my mate or another wolf. Finally, your body should be hidden, including your face. Every part of you shall only be for my mate's eyes only.

"Yes, Your Luna."

"Good," she responded. "And oh, you shall never leave this castle or speak to any one of your family from now on."

I couldn't hold back my tears anymore when I heard the last rule. How could I not inform my mother about my whereabouts? I was her only child, and she would be deeply worried about me.

"Can't I let my mother know about my whereabouts? I am the only person she has," I said, pleading with the Luna.

"I'll let the guard inform her soon."

I felt so relieved that she had agreed. I wiped away my tears.

"Now, before we start your transformation from those ragged clothes, tell me how many men you have slept with during your mate-less life?"

"Zero, Your Luna," I said, telling her the truth. I was saving myself for my one true mate, if I was ever lucky to receive one.

Luna Trina stared at me, seeming to be shocked that I was still a virgin.

"Lucy!" she shouted. Her voice echoed within the room and soon a maid quickly entered the room.

"Why is she a virgin?" Luna Trina asked the maid.

"I didn't know she was," she answered.

Luna Trina turned back to face me. She stared at me hard.

"We have to do something about this now," she said gravely. "There's no way, I'm allowing my alpha mate to devirginize her."

I swallowed, worried about what she was going to do.