The Bride of the Moon

Chapter 1

“My light,” A voice whispered hauntingly, as though the sound came from every direction. “Come to me.”

Danger was in the air, filling my lungs with panic and fear until I couldn’t breathe. There was a shadow looming over me, following wherever I went and it made all the hair on my body stand on its ends as I hugged myself tightly.

I closed my eyes, willing for an escape, but it never came. The feeling of danger just got closer and thicker until I was blinded by its suffocating darkness. I coughed and I heaved. I felt weak and lightheaded with every second that I was in this cloud of black.

The need to scream for help is there, but I don’t. I take it as I’ve taken everything bad in my life because, in truth, no one will help me. Not my mother. Not my father. No one. Instead, I continue to hug myself and brace myself for the pain but it surprisingly never comes.

There is never pain in the darkness.

Only solitude.

Jolting awake, I opened my eyes and blinked away the sleep. The morning sun from my open windows greets me and I’m thankful for the brightness it gives.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had one dream and it was dreams of darkness. It consumed me completely until I was nothing. Maybe it was a foreboding of my awful birth. Whatever it was, it came for me every night when I closed my eyes.

I suppose it wasn’t enough that my birth is a curse or that every person in our pack hates me for it and thinks I am some sort of plague. I just had to have horrible dreams too, and if I told anyone, told my parents for example, they would jump away so fast it’s as if I was made of silver.

“Never speak of it again if you know what’s good for you.” My mother warned me with a sharp glare. “My husband is a Beta to the strongest pack in all the lands and you will not tarnish it even more with your odd dreams.”

My husband, she said.

He’s my father though. They just don’t want to be associated with me.

If they had a choice, I’m sure my parents wouldn’t have anything to do with me. They would most likely toss me out to the humans or let the monsters of the woods eat me. My mother once spoke of attempting to drop me when I was a baby in hopes I would leave their lives for good. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Alpha is very superstitious and worries about what would happen if I’m harmed in any way.

His order and command is the only reason why I’m still breathing.

My mother is an Alpha’s daughter of another pack and was said to be the most beautiful in all of the packs. My father is a Beta with strong Alpha blood. Many have imagined that their child would be the best, the brightest, the strongest and the most beautiful— one that may rival the Alpha’s own children, but out came me and everything changed for them.

I feel bad sometimes.

If it weren’t for me, they would have had it all.

That’s why I do everything I can to not get into trouble and lie low as best as I can. But this pack and its members were just another thing that was out of my hands sometimes.

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get out of bed.” My mother’s snapping tone barked from the attic’s entrance- my room that I couldn’t even fully stand in. “You still have to make breakfast.”

I put my head low, the way she likes it. “I’m sorry. I’m coming down right now.”

“Well, hurry up!” She snapped again, throwing a book at my head. “If you’re late, you won’t be allowed to go to that library you always go to.”

Which is what she wants.

She doesn’t want the reminder of my birth out and about. If the Alpha hadn’t ordered it, she would keep me in the attic forever, hidden and forgotten. Away from everyone.

Just then, my mother’s head pops out from the door once more. “Didn’t I just tell you to hurry? You’re really testing my patience today, aren’t you?”

“Coming!” Panicked, I jumped out of my bed so fast I forgot how low the ceiling was and smacked my head so hard I momentarily saw stars. My hands fly to my head, rubbing at it and wincing when I feel a bump.

I ran around the room, looking like a mad man as I hurriedly wiggled into old clothes before sliding down the small ladder that’s used to go up the attic and continuing my run down the stairs to prepare breakfast. The Beta’s house that we live in is large, nearly a mansion like the Alpha’s and, as I’ve been told multiple times, is almost twice the size of any of the other Alpha’s houses in the other packs.

My parents were a proud bunch and being in our pack is a privilege greater than anything else.

I wash my hands quickly before starting the morning chores, dicing and chopping, frying and pouring juice. When I’m done cooking breakfast, I clean up the kitchen and mop the floors, dusting and then wiping the way my mother demands it. I was just putting away the cleaning supplies when she and my father walked in.

My father doesn’t acknowledge me. He’s kind that way. Less cruel. He does not ridicule me or remind me of how I have dishonored the family. I cannot say the same about my mother. She is quick to shoot me a glare that has me stare down at my feet. She inspects the food, sniffs it and then looks around the kitchen to see if there’s any mess.

Satisfied with everything, she gave me a dismissive wave. “Get.”

Wasting no time, I left them and made another quick run back to the attic to get myself ready for my trip to the library. I’m not allowed to go to school like the other children. Another tactic to hide me away. They tell everyone I’m sickly and can barely leave home.

I was once asked by one of the omegas in the pack— the ones that serve the higher ranking members— if I resented my parents for how they treated me. My rank and rights as a Beta’s daughter is supposedly high, but I was regarded worse than the omegas. The treatment shouldn’t be as cruel, but that is what it is and I don’t resent my family for it.

How could I?

I know what they lost the moment I was born during the total eclipse.

So I understood and I followed what was asked. There were times though, when she throws things at me and cries her eyes out, begging for a better daughter, when I wish I could drift away, go somewhere far, and never come back.

But it’s not like that.

When I am done, I look at myself in the mirror and again I see a glimpse of who I could have been if things were different. A proud daughter of a Beta with Alpha blood. I think I look pretty, not as pretty as my mother, but pretty enough. I was of average height with black hair and these big amber eyes. Below my eyes I’m peppered with freckles and a small bump of a nose. I looked normal and happy… I looked like I could be someone.

“Put your hood up!” My mother screamed from the dining room when I opened the front door to leave.

“I will!” I shouted back, pulling the hood of my sweater up before bolting out of our impeccable front lawn.

I take my time to walk to the pack library. It’s an abandoned place right behind the school and not many people go there, which is the whole reason my mother allows me to go. She’s sure no one will see me.

All around me there are trees as far as I can see, small houses of other pack members and colorful chirping birds and other things that I don’t get to see from inside the house. I don’t go out much and so when I do, I enjoy it as much as possible. I took a deep breath. The smell of fall is in the air with the leaves falling all around me and the breeze becoming a bit colder.

I know I am close to the library when the sound of excited chatter can be heard. From behind the school, I’m able to see the rush of students coming from all directions, all coming towards the main entrance. They talk loudly and laugh even louder.

Their happiness was so infectious that I was tempted to go over the fence to join them, but I am not a fool and my fear of my mother is much stronger than my curiosity to be normal like them.

I settled on sitting by the front steps of the library, hidden by the pillars and listening to girl’s banter. If I closed my eyes and thought hard enough, I almost felt like I belonged with them and that I am one of them.

“James’ older brother is coming back.” A group of girls whispered giddily by the entrance. “There’s to be this really grand party in celebration of his return and every unmated girl in the pack is invited.”

James is the Alpha’s son. My parents talk about the Alpha’s family a lot, their two sons in particular. I think James and I are around the same age. And his older brother, Daniel, is the next in line to be our Alpha. He’s a few years older than I am and is currently doing his rounds in other packs, showing himself and basically reminding everyone that he is next in power. Not that Daniel needed any of that. He’s a big guy. A strong Alpha to be and everybody respects him.

I don’t see much of Daniel though, but I do see a lot of James. The Beta’s house is right next to the Alpha’s mansion and James is all I see from my small window in my room in the attic. He’s always playing around and constantly screaming, ordering the omegas around.

“And James is looking for his mate!” The girls shrieked, fanning themselves. “That's why they invited all the girls to come.”

They make noises of disappointment. “Not Daniel?”

The gossiping continued and I couldn’t help but listen in. “Daniel is the next Alpha and he must mate with an Alpha’s daughter to keep the blood pure.”

I know this. My mother hasn’t stopped talking about it since she heard from her brother, the Alpha of the neighboring pack. The girl to mate with Daniel is my cousin.

“I’ve seen her.” The girl pouted, arms crossed. “She’s so pretty and perfect and beautiful. I’m jealous.”

She’s also very mean. I wanted to add but I didn’t want anyone to know where I was.

“At least we have James. He’s as handsome as his brother and not to mention naughty.” Laughter burst from the group and eyebrows were wiggled at the mention of James being naughty.

A girl waves off the wiggling of eyebrows and flutters her eyelashes, hands pressed together in what looked like a prayer. “I like Daniel. He’s like his father. Calm, controlled and beautiful. He’s an angel.”

I like Daniel better than James too. He’s nice. He once spotted me looking through the attic window and smiled, giving a small wave.

“When is the party happening?” The girls continued.

“This weekend!” They made another excited cheer. “I just got the invitation this morning. It looked so important.”

I close my eyes and imagine the invitation that I would never receive. A pack messenger would bring it, explaining Daniel’s return and of James’ search for a mate. My mother would smile for the first time since she’s been deprived of such invitations when I am involved. I wasn’t invited to James’ birthday parties nor was I asked to attend the extravagant balls held for Daniel. I would watch it all though from my small window in the attic. The lights are always bright and the laughter is always loud, the clothes are colorful and come in all shapes and sizes, the music playing is festive and exciting.

Just then, James arrives at school in a big black car. He jumps down, his brown hair messy and billowing in the wind. James casually brushes it to the side, grinning from ear to ear and emitting a kind of confidence that only an Alpha can have.

He flashes everyone a smile that makes the girls go red in the face. Naughty. That’s how they described him as and his smile said it all. This boy was naughty and he was proud of it.

“See you at the party girls.” He winks at the group of girls that have been talking about him. “Wear your prettiest and sexiest.”

The bell rang, warning them of the start of their classes and I couldn’t help but frown as I watched them all filter into the school. If invitations were being sent out today, my mother would be in another awful mood as she was reminded once more that her only child is an outcast of the pack. I already know she won’t receive anything and when I get home, she will let her anger out on me.

I retreated into the library, ducking my head low in my usual precaution of not being seen… not that anyone ever comes to the library. Most of the werewolves of the pack are warriors and they spend all their time in combat training.

My feet took me to the rare books section. These books were old and leather bound. It was my favorite kind, the ones that looked to be older than me and had so many stories and lessons to tell. My hesitant fingers glided through the spines, feeling the bumps and the worn leather. I went on my tippy toes and was just about to pull back one from the very top shelf when I felt someone hover above me, grabbing for the book.

His strong chest is pressed to my back and I can’t help but yelp, pushing myself further into the shelves. I felt him pull back a little and I turned to face the man.

I had to suck in a breath at the sight of him.

Daniel.

There is no doubt that it was him. For how could I forget the only person to ever wave at me?

Unlike his brother with this proud bravado of confidence, Daniel had a more calmer presence. His expression is always in this thinking look, calculating but genuine. He has similar features to his brother, with the same soft brown hair and blue eyes. They say the eyes are the window to one’s soul and his eyes spoke of how gentle he is, intelligent and kind.

A great Alpha to be.

“Interesting choice.” He mused, inspecting the book I was trying to reach.

I swallowed, unable to find the right words to say. I’ve never spoken to anyone outside my mother and her omegas. Never did I think I’d have to speak to the golden boy of the pack.

Daniel handed the book to me, his fingers almost touching mine. “It’s your birthday today, right? Emma?”

My stomach flipped over in a summersault and my heart felt like it would explode. He knew who I was? He knows what today is? Not even my own parents know what today is. “It… is.”

He smiled and it was not like James’ at all. It was a smile that was sweet and unmalicious. “Happy Birthday, Emma Noor.”

My lips parted, still shell shocked by the interaction. I want to tell him thank you but he’s already walking out of the library, his hands in his pockets as he whistles a soft tune.

I held that book in my chest so tight up until the very last minute when I had to go home. My cousin was a lucky girl. She would be with someone powerful and warmhearted. I walked back slowly, my eyes staring up into the sky.

Distracted, I didn’t notice a black car that had stopped beside me. I wasn’t prepared for the man that got out of it, slapping the book that his brother gave me out of my hands. James’ kicks it away and grins down at me when I try to reach for it.

“If it isn’t the freak,” He mocked, eyes bright with harshness.

At this, a shrill of cruel laughs came from his car. The girls talking about him earlier from outside the school were in it, staring hungrily at our interaction.

He steps on the book with his dirty boots as my fingers grasp it. “Isn’t it your birthday today? Do you have some deathly prophecy to bring to us, freak?”

Oh.

I forget that everyone knows my birthday. I had thought it was special that his brother knew, but how could anyone in our pack forget the day of my birth? The day everyone was told of the horror of what I signified?

Of course Daniel knew.

Everyone knew.

I was foolish to think it meant anything significant other than reminding people that I was some plague.

“Shouldn’t you be locked in an attic or something?” James continued, making the girls laugh all over again. “A menace like you should be kept under lock and key. I’ll make sure to tell my father this. Because you? Walking around our proud lands in broad daylight? Whatever could that mean for us?”

The girls whispered their agreement. That I was the living death walking around. That I was a freak. That living shouldn’t even be allowed for me. After years of gossip and harsh jabs behind my back, the pain of the cruelty of their words, I thought I would get used to it by now, but their whispers still managed to choke me.

I don’t fight back even if I want to. My mother would be mad enough that someone spotted me. I didn’t need to cause a bigger problem.

James quickly becomes bored of my blank stare and shrugs, turning back to his girls. “She must not speak our language. You know how weirdos are.”

They leave me soon after and when I’m alone, I let out a shaky breath. I pick up the dirty book, wiping at it with my equally dirty fingers and continue my walk home.

It didn't take long, but instantly, I knew something was wrong when I entered the front door. The omegas were running around looking panicked and my mother’s screams penetrated the walls of the house. My eyes automatically check the clock on the wall and I let out a relieved sigh when I am not late on my return.

Then what was wrong? Why was everyone in a hurry when it was still mother’s nap time and father was still out working?

Sensing my arrival, the pounding of my mother’s feet came barreling down the stairs. “EMMA!”

I flinched, pressing myself against the wall and preparing for the worst. James told her I was caught outside. That’s the only explanation. She was going to lock me in the attic and leave me in there forever. I was going to…

“You’re going to the party!” My mother shrieked, brandishing a piece of shiny paper in her hands. “You’re invited! It came a few minutes ago!”

I was… I was going to the party?