The future Alpha. The boy who promised her a future if the Moon Goddess paired them.
Caleb had been her secret, her warmth in the freezing dark of her life. Their meetings were always hidden. Whispers behind classrooms. Late-night walks in the woods. Kisses stolen between training.
He once told her, "If we're fated, Lyra… I'll make you my Luna. No matter what."
A soft smile cracked her lips. For a moment, the hallway, the gossips, the whispers, they all faded. It didn't matter that she was the granddaughter of a broken elder, or that she still wore her dead mother's pendant like a prayer. When Caleb held her, the world stopped spinning.
She tucked the note into her pocket.
Tonight was the full moon. Her eighteenth birthday. The night of the Fated Mating Ceremony.
The night when fated mates would be revealed. When bonds would form, and destinies would begin.
The night she'd prayed for since she was fifteen.
And if the Moon Goddess had any mercy left in her… Caleb would be hers.
The bell rang, jarring her from her thoughts.
She turned to the direction of her class and entered. Vanessa and her minions were already in class trying to flirt with Caleb who was sitting at the back. As she walked in, they both exchanged glances and he winked at her causing her to blush as she found her way to her seat.
She sat through her last class in silence. She kept stealing glances at Caleb who was focusing on the teacher. She then stared at the snowy peaks beyond the Academy's barrier walls. Her fingers toyed with the pendant around her neck, a smooth bloodstone crystal set in silver.
The only thing her mother had left behind.
Her grandfather claimed it was blessed. "It'll protect you when your wolf is ready," he always said. "Or when something tries to kill you."
Sometimes, Lyra wasn't sure which would come first.
She hadn't shifted. Hadn't heard her wolf's voice. Sometimes, she wondered if she even had one.
Most omegas didn't shift until late, if ever. They were considered weak. Servants, breeders, background wolves. They weren't useful at all.
She hated that word.
Omega.
She didn't want to be an Alpha, but she didn't want to be nothing, either.
"Miss Grey?" The teacher called out to her.
"Yes madam Raveena." Lyra quickly answered. This was the first time the teacher called her in class.
"Your mind isn't here. What is solitude in the pack?" Madam Raveena asked.
"What? I... I." Lyra stammered, she wasn't listening to her teachings.
"You heard my question. I won't say it twice." Madam Raveena said, eyeing lyra up to down.
Lyra's eyes darted around as if the answer was written everywhere. She was so embarrassed, she couldn't even look at Caleb. "I... I don't know." She said, staring down at her desk.
"Anyone wants to answer the question." Madam Raveena asked, looking around for any raised hands.
Vanessa raised up her hands and Caleb looked at her.
"Yes Vanessa." Madam Raveena said.
Vanessa smirked and stood up. " Solitude in the pack refers to a state where a pack member is isolated or alone, physically, emotionally, or socially despite being part of a community that is meant to be close-knit and united."
"Thank you Vanessa." Madam Raveena said and told Lyra to sit down.
Lyra sat down and almost immediately, a paper flew in her direction. She looked around and opened it.
📝Get out of here you dummy 📝
She sighed and buried her face in her hands, tears stinging in her eyes.
Few minutes later, the final bell rang and the school exploded with excitement.
Lyra was about to walk out of the class when Vanessa came and pushed her out of the way. Lyra fell on her butt and yelped in pain. Vanessa chuckled and walked out.
Lyra managed to stand up and walked to the door. She found Girls running down the halls with curling wands and makeup bags. Boys comparing colognes and suits. Everyone wanted to look perfect. Tonight was the night they'd find their mate.
The ballroom was already being decorated. Silver lanterns lined the ceiling like miniature moons. Twinkling fairy lights and roses wrapped around the pillars. Lanterns glowing, silk threads of gold dancing in the air. Crystals pulsed with energy, set at each corner of the hall to guide fate's magic.
She stood still in the middle of it all, watching the shimmer of hope and desperation in every detail.
Then she slipped out.
She walked through the trees, past the training field, past the rusting garden gate where Caleb had first kissed her and headed home.
Her grandfather's cabin sat at the edge of the woods, small and creaking, far from the heart of the pack. Smoke rose from the chimney. The scent of pine and brewed roots lingered in the air.
Inside, her grandfather sat by the fire, a glass of beetroot wine in hand. His eyes were heavy with thoughts and years.
"You're late," he muttered.
"I stayed after to clean," she lied.
He didn't say anything or argue, he just noddedand continued drinking his wine.
She entered the house and disappeared into her room which was tiny, neatly arranged, filled with dried flowers, old books, and a cracked mirror nailed to the wall.
She stood before the mirror and unwrapped the old box which she brought from beneath her bed. Inside was her mother's dress. A cream-colored linen, simple but soft, stitched with a love that never died.
She slid it on carefully. It clung to her waist and fluttered just above her knees.
She stared at her reflection. The girl in the mirror didn't look like a Luna.
Didn't look like power.
Didn't look like someone the Moon Goddess would bless with powers.
But she'd try.
She reached for her pendant and clutched it to her chest.
"Please… if you can hear me… just let him be mine." she pleaded with the moon goddess as if she could hear her prayers.
Inside her wolf stirred faintly.