The Month Before Certain Doom

The pack house was huge. So many werewolves flitting about, betas and omegas busy with one job or another in one vast, overwhelming community. Sometimes they would pass by me, quiet down, and give me a low respectful bow, saying;

"May the Moon Goddess illuminate your path, Luna, and may her favour forever be upon your royal blood."

Then they would wait patiently until I acknowledged them before going right back to their regular loud business. It was so bizarre, I felt like Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.

I wasn't technically coronated as the Luna yet, but apparently it was an open secret that Kieran and I were mates, and that was good enough for everyone.

If I remembered the timeline right, this was a month before the mating ceremony, where every pack wolf would drop by for a grand, star-lit gathering around a bonfire as the mated alpha couple would claim each other and solidify their position as pack leaders.

It was supposed to be beautiful and romantic, it was also supposed to end with the heroine dramatically throwing herself off a cliff in heartbreak and despair after having a meltdown about whether to run away with her first love or go full furry with her mate.

Yes, you read that right folks. In the original ending of the book, at least according to the summary I read online, the female lead would die dramatically, so the readers could sob and post long, heartfelt comments about love and sacrifice or some other poetic bullshit.

I’m not into that, I was only reading it for the smut, and I don’t plan to die a second time for someone else’s entertainment. I will only play my part as long as it takes to survive, then best believe that I’ll find a way to get myself the hell out of here.

“Oh, goddess, you’re glowing,” some random pack girl squealed as she shoved a tray of meat at me, not before bowing in deference to who she considered to be her future queen. “You must be so excited!”

Excited was definitely one way to put it. I wasn’t at all used to being treated like that, usually in my old life most people didn’t even notice I existed. And why would they? I was just another ordinary girl.

“Yeah. Thrilled,” I muttered, grabbing the smallest piece of meat possible because I didn’t trust werewolf barbecue not to be… suspicious. Also I hadn't fully gotten over the terror of being viciously hunted last night, before getting bundled here, so I had very little appetite.

“I definitely would be if I were to have Kieran as my mate. No offense, Luna, I don't mean to disrespect you, but isn’t he so handsome? So manly too!” she said, straightening out the great dining room, a chair here, a table there.

I made a face. “He’s… fine.” Maybe if fine was another word for breathtaking. Of course I wasn’t going to admit that.

She grinned knowingly. “Fine, huh? That’s not what you said when you couldn’t stop staring at him last week, Luna Iris.”

Hold on one second, I clearly remember the book’s female lead having a different name, something mystical, something ethereal, like Elowyn or Elspeth or something. I never told anyone here my real name, I had barely even been here a full day, so how the hell did she know my name was Iris?

“Oh. I was just staring at the weird scar on his eyebrow,” I lied, trying to deflect from the fact that I had no idea what the fuck she was talking about, “Trying to find out whether it was from a fight or a tragic bread-slicing accident.”

She opened her mouth wide and her eyebrows shot up in shock as she took in my comment, then a strange combination of fear and humor crossed her face while she struggled to hold in her laughter.

I caught my golden haired first love, well, not really mine, but you get it, leaning against the far wall as he watched me, his gaze like heat on the back of my neck. He didn’t look particularly pleased, but he didn’t look angry either, he looked… curious.

In the book, the female lead (or fl for short) El-what’s-her-name would practically swoon when Rowan walked into a room. But all I could think about was how to avoid eye contact so I didn’t accidentally blow my cover by acting like an insane person.

On second thought, maybe I was swooning a little bit, it was hard not to when someone so handsome caught your eye, a dashing fairytale lycan prince, the stuff of wet dreams.

Ooh. TMI, sorry.

The girl got up and scurried away as he approached my table, apparently her kind didn’t hang around Alphas unless they were specifically asked to, the werewolf hierarchy demanded it. Later I would try to find her and ask her how the hell she knew my name.

“You’re not eating,” he said, appearing at my side like some kind of broody ninja.

“I’m… savoring the atmosphere.”

“The atmosphere?” His smirk deepened. “You used to say the air tasted sweeter when I was around.”

Oh, for fu— Of course she did. “Yeah, well, maybe my taste buds changed.”

His brow furrowed and I could see the unspoken question in his expression, What happened to you? But before he could dig deeper, my mate Kieran, walked in. And when I say “walked,” I mean stalked like a predator surveying his territory, with a razor sharp gaze locked on me and the unwanted man standing beside me.

Cutlery stopped clanking on plates and all side chatter ceased as the room fell into an abrupt hush. Pack members cast their eyes down and bowed deeply as he passed, the women falling to their knees offering their subservience, not daring to utter a word. He took one cursory glance at Rowan, then looked away, not bothering to acknowledge him.

“You’re avoiding me,” he said, low enough that only I could hear.

No shit. After last night, it was hard to see him as anything but a cold blooded killer that must be avoided at all costs, even though he saved my life and gave me a place to stay on his pack grounds, but I didn’t want to find out how he would react to my telling him that. “Oh no, not avoiding. Just… strategically repositioning.”

One brow arched. “That’s what you’re calling it?”

I swallowed.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said, voice all husky command. “Training. You’ve been… off lately.”

Off, yeah. Like off my rocker.

Now, we all know training is code for, it basically means “we’re going to spar until all the main characters are sweaty enough to make fanfic readers drool, glistening muscles and all.” We know that because the books usually go into very vivid detail, but calm your tits, nothing like that is going to happen this time... hopefully.

Sigh. Someone get me out of here.

That night, the training ground was empty except for us. Kieran tossed me a wooden sword, saying. “Show me what you’ve got.” Maybe he was hoping he'd figure out what was going on with me, especially since the pack healer hadn’t had any luck.

Well, unbeknownst to him, I had the muscle tone of a failing college student and junk food aficionado, and my idea of a workout was flopping off the side of my bed to reach a fallen pillow because I was too lazy to actually get off the bed to get it. Still, I gripped the sword and channeled every action movie I’d ever watched into the duel.

Side step, swing, duck. It went… okay enough for the first 5 or so minutes. I was even starting to get a little impressed with myself, that was until I tripped over nothing, stumbled forward, and slammed into him.

His hands caught me, steady but tense.

"That’s enough for today, Elowyn. You fight like a pup."

He sheathed his sword, then continued, "This is ridiculous, if I didn’t know any better I would think you were a whole different person.” He said, head slightly cocked to the side as he tried to figure me out.

He set me down steady on my feet and gestured with his hands for me to leave, and despite being embarrassed at my obvious lack of skill I was grateful that he let me go so I could finally find somewhere to lay down.

I retreated to my room, flopped onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling, bones aching. I had barely a month until the mating ceremony, until the book’s final act and tragic ending would be set into motion.

I needed allies, someone who wouldn’t think I was nuts for saying I didn't belong here, and I needed a plan to get the hell out of this world and go back to my sister and my best friend.

I was busy trying make some kind of scheme or plan to get out when I heard a short rap on my window. It was Rowan with his Prince Charming antics, hanging around the princess’s window at night like a lovestruck creep. The kind of behavior that would’ve earned him a restraining order in the real world.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” I whispered, a bit touched by the gesture.

“It’s a bit too late for that though, Isn’t it?” he murmured back, but his bright smile didn’t fade. “I wanted to see you, my love.”

He took my hand, warm and sure. “Meet me tomorrow night by the old willow at the river bend. Just us.”

I hesitated. What the hell did he want? “Whatever for?”

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said softly. “And I think you still feel the same, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

He continued, “Is this odd behavior of yours a pretense so Kieran,” he spat his rivals name out like it was bitter, “doesn't suspect our love? Because it’s a little too late for that.”

Ha. I wish. "Oh, u-um…”

“Tomorrow night, Iris. Meet me and we'll discuss it. No one has to know but us.”