The Wicked Alpha's Star-Crossed Luna

1.2 | MATE-ADJACENT

“Cari, tomorrow’s the day that the delegates from the royal pack come to visit,” I reminded my sister. “Dad asked us to show them around the festival.”

She rolled her eyes. “Ugh, do we have to? I don’t want to be stuck babysitting some uppity wolves from the capital.”

I scoffed. “That’s rich coming from one of the alpha’s daughters. You don’t think delegates from smaller packs see us the exact same way?”

She grumbled under her breath, something about how having class does not equate to being selfish, but I ignored her and took one last look in the mirror, inspecting my hair. Carina had worked her magick, braiding my hair in a style similar to hers, only mine was a single voluminous faux-hawk starting at the center of my hairline and working its way back, where it was bound tightly by a hair band and then twisted into a thick, tight braid. A quick half-turn proved that it landed just above the small of my back, with not a strand loose.

I let out my breath and simpered. “Thank you… And sorry for getting an attitude with you. I’m just not comfortable expressing mate-adjacent feelings before I’m even old enough to feel the bond.”

Carina arched her brow. “Mate-adjacent?”

“You know what I mean!” I huffed, stomping past her. My sister followed me out of our closet, smirking the whole time.

Our sister just wants us to be happy, Juliet reminded me, an amused lilt to her words. In her own irritating manner.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and nodded to an omega we passed, who bowed her head and smiled. Has Desdemona been pestering you about this, too?

Desdemona was Carina’s wolf. Much to the shock of the entire pack, my twin sister and I did not experience our first shift under the same full moon; in fact, she didn’t have hers for another two years. I still stood by her side for each Wolf Moon, holding her hand in encouragement as we waited for Desdemona to make her appearance. She was a beauty in her own right, with thick black fur and eyes like emeralds. She wasn’t as tall as Juliet, which further solidified our status as the next Alpha of Starry Sky, but she was still a sight to behold.

I could almost envision my pearl-white wolf shrugging her shoulders as we made our way out of the packhouse and toward the training grounds. No, not really--but she and I are in agreement that Utu is a strong wolf and warrior. It seems viable his human would be a worthy mate, fated or not.

I let out a sigh, allowing images of my unintended crush to resurface as I mulled over Juliet’s words. Not only would I not learn who my fated mate was for another ten months, but there was no guarantee that the man I had spent the better part of the last three years longing for would wait for me. Hell, I didn’t even know if he was aware of my feelings.

“You okay, Rena?” asked Tara, appearing suddenly beside us. She was taller than the two of us, looking more like other she-wolves in that regard, only the daughter of Gamma Ophelia put every other female to shame. She had a thin waist that models kill for, curves that have made her the envy of many, and slender arms that hid how truly muscular she was. Tara fooled many opponents with her appearance alone, lulling them into a false sense of security before putting them on their ass. She was a formidable warrior, one I was honored to admit had bested me on occasion.

On this particular morning, Tara had on a yellow baggy sleeveless tank over her hot pink sports bra--which I could only identify through the drop armholes of her top--and black tights. Her black hair, which normally fell to her knees, was pulled back in complex-looking high braided ponytail, ending only halfway down her back.

I frowned. Tara had said once before that she figured out a way to “fold” her braid using some sort of “pull through” method, but I never understood any of it. She and Carina spent so much time on their hair, and as much as I wanted to chastise them for it, I couldn’t. Not just because I cared about them and wanted to support their creative interests, but also because I had to admit that I was envious of their prowess when it came to all things beauty. I was grateful to let them practice new styles on me whenever they asked, I just wished I understood enough to recreate their work instead of bothering them for help.

“I’m okay,” I assured her, realizing I took far too long to answer. We had reached the field and found our usual spots at the front of the squad; Callisto was already there, chatting away with Mina and Jacob, two other warriors in our squad. All three nodded as we approached, though Cal was studying me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I was just thinking about some things.”

“I guess arguing with your wolf counts as thinking,” joked Cal, prompting the others to chuckle.

I merely shook my head, smirking. “We weren’t arguing--and that’s funny coming from you.”

Callisto’s hand flew to his chest as he feigned offense. “What?! What are you talking about? Arche and I get along great--he loves me!”

“I think he kinda has to,” snickered Mina, while Tara cackled, “Statistically, someone should!”

“If I remember correctly, didn’t the two of you fight the night of your first shift?” asked Jacob with a smirk. “You caused a scene and everything!”

“Hey, I livened things up!” Callisto claimed, before gesturing to me with a nod of his head. “Besides, shorty stole the spotlight anyway.”

I shoved him, grinning from ear to ear. Leave it to my goofball bestie to lift my spirits without even knowing I needed the distraction. “Whatever! Get in line, loser--Delta Connor should be here in a sec.”

My friends laughed before Callisto, Jacob, and Mina split off to assemble their squads, and Carina and Tara found their places in their designated teams. The rest of the platoon’s boisterous noise quieted as they followed suit. Our pack’s warrior recruits enter training following their first shift and are assigned a warrior trainer. Their trainer works with them for up to a year to determine their athletic skills, combat affinity, and eligibility to continue with the program. If the trainee isn’t up to par, or they meet the minimum standards but aren’t willing to become a warrior, they are dropped from the warrior program and encouraged to use their education to find the career path that’s right for them. The rest of us were enrolled as junior warriors and assigned to a squad that best suited our combat level.

By the time junior warriors turn eighteen, they are eligible to become privates by army standards, and are again given the choice to either become a full-time warrior or seek higher education. Some warriors have the option to do both if they don’t mind attending university part-time, which is what I opted to do more than two years ago. After a year of exemplary performance and promotions, I became the youngest sergeant in our pack’s history, and today I was the lieutenant tasked with leading our most promising warriors in morning training and drills.

Callisto, Jacob, and Mina were my staff sergeants, each in charge of their own squad. All three were invaluable fighters, wholly undefeated by everyone except myself and wolves holding rank. Tara was a warrior under Mina’s command, a specialist with no real desire to rise in rank, while Cari was a reserve warrior who only joined in as a way to stay fit. Her healing ability was an asset that helped sway Beta Dione and Delta Connor to allow her to train, as even our parents weren’t thrilled at the idea.

I backed my sister, though. I always did, and I always will.

After ensuring that my platoon was a solid unit, I swiftly surveyed the field, noting that the other three lieutenants had their platoons just as ready for whatever today’s training had in store for us.

“Morning, warriors!” boomed the all-too familiar voice of our lieutenant colonel, Beta Dione. He wore a serious expression that contradicted the mirth in his earthy eyes; he strode onto the field while our company captain, Delta Connor, jogged over to us. “We have a guest today, so I expect you to do better than your best!”

Then I saw our guest, and my heartbeat sped up.