The Wicked Alpha's Star-Crossed Luna

1.1 | JULIET

Over Seven Years Later - Serena POV

I woke with a gasp, sitting upright and fighting to catch my breath. My hand wiped my face--I was sweating. Or maybe I was crying? I couldn’t tell anymore.

Carina sat up in her own bed to the far left side of the room, her breathing far more regulated than my own. Her black hair was a tangled mess of waves, and her green eyes shone even in the darkness that preceded dawn. I didn’t need to so much as glance in her direction to know that she was studying me carefully.

You okay? She asked through the mindlink, her tone dripping with concern.

I will be, I grumbled inwardly, but I knew she heard me. She always did. It was just… You know.

I felt her nod through the link. I know. You’ve been dreaming about that night a lot lately.

One corner of my mouth twitched downward. I had forgotten for a split second that ever since my first shift, the twin sister that I shared many dreams with had lost the ability to dream on her own. Yeah, sorry.

Want to talk about it?

I faced her then, my expression a scowl. She grimaced. Right… Sorry.

Wordlessly, we both stood from our beds and got ready for training. My athletic wear consisted of all black pieces; black leggings, black sports bra, and a pair of black hiking boots. The long laces I used on my boots, however, were silver--a gift Carina gave me two years ago on Ostara, the spring equinox. It was custom for us to give loved ones small gifts, and our friends laughed when she presented me with the laces, but I was genuinely pleased. I wasn’t one to incorporate many colors into my outfits--the pack colors, sure, but not much beyond that.

“I knew you’d like them!” She beamed as I thanked her, her green eyes sparkling in the morning light. “Don’t you think they match your hair?”

My hair.

“Hey, who's leading today’s training again?” asked Carina, interrupting my thoughts.

I frowned and peered over at her. Carina was already dressed in a hot pink sports bra, army green camouflage leggings, and a pair of gray and hot pink running shoes. She was down on one knee, taking her time to tie the teal laces of her right shoe, her eyes averted in a manner that felt far too obvious as the silence between us grew thicker.

The reason I didn’t answer Carina right away was because she knew exactly who was training us today. Warrior training was usually led by Beta Dione and Delta Connor, though every now and again we received specialty training from the alpha, epsilon, or even the gamma.

Like today.

“You know damn well who’s training us,” I grumbled, turning to face one of the two floor-length mirrors in our shared closet. They stood side-by-side, allowing us to chat while we dressed, even though I was no longer in the mood to talk.

Carina let out a sigh as she stood, separating her hair down the middle as she began twisting her curls into twin French braids. “Are you gonna finally tell him how you feel?”

I said nothing, focused on my own hair. When I first shifted into my wolf, Juliet, everyone marveled at the way her iridescent white fur glowed beneath the light of the full moon. She was a large Alpha wolf, beautiful and prideful, and according to my sister, her blue eyes were deep and alluring, captivating everyone’s attention.

Then I shifted back, and I had undergone a different kind of transformation. My black hair had turned white, shining just like Juliet’s fur, and my green eyes had shifted to sapphire blue. As these changes in my appearance persisted to this day, I no longer marveled at myself in the mirror.

Carina rolled her eyes and pointed to the stool placed before my mirror. “Sit. I’ll do your hair in a sec, just section it off for me.”

Begrudgingly, I did as she said, secretly grateful that I wouldn’t have to struggle for the next twenty minutes before giving up and pulling my hair back in a top bun. My sister and I both had long hair, down to our waists now, and I didn’t have the patience she had when it came to my appearance. She loved experimenting with her hair and learning about different braids and up-dos and so on. Hell, Carina was so good that I couldn’t help but gawk at her reflection as she reach behind her head and expertly twisted one-half of her hair into a tight braid along her scalp, then did the exact same with the other, pausing only to scoop little globs of styling gel from her nearby vanity and smooth it over unbraided sections. She hummed mindlessly the whole time, her kind smile never leaving her face. After only three minutes, her hair was completed, and she had moved behind me and was already tugging on my hair.

“How are your arms not sore from doing that?” I asked through gritted teeth. Carina was always a gentle person, but even she couldn’t be too gentle when it came to doing hair right, so I let her do her thing and took the hard pulls and tight twists like a big girl. “I can’t even do a loose over-the-shoulder braid without having to take a break.”

Her smile deepened, and her humming was interrupted by a giggle. “They’re on f*****g fire, Rena. Trust me.”

We laughed quietly before falling into a more comfortable lull. The yanks turned to gentle tugs, and soon I had shut my eyes and was listening to her humming a song we both knew from our childhood. It was a lullaby our mother sang to us every night until I made a comment about how we were getting too old for childish nighttime routines. Even so, Luna Celeste made sure to sing the lullaby whenever one of us was sick or sad, her fingers tickling our scalps as she played with our hair.

I could practically hear her singing the lyrics as Carina hummed.

You’re the sun

As the sky cloud’s over

The only star I see

Just one touch could burn me

A rose in full bloom at the center of a storm

The prettiest flowers come with the sharpest thorns

Eyes shut to the world

Smile full of mourning

Sunshine, open your eyes and tell me your story

‘Cause dancing with a stranger

Can only get you so far

The risk that comes with danger

Could kill a fallen star

The way you dance under moonbeams

Haunts my every dream

Let’s make a wager

Someday you’ll give your heart to me

“I missed hearing you sing,” Carina whispered.

My eyes shot open, catching hers briefly in the mirror before she refocused on her task. My face was flushed with heat, and a glance down at my own reflection confirmed that I was blushing. I didn’t mean to sing out loud, it just sort of happened. Despite being Serena Vespera, the confident heir and the next Alpha of Starry Sky, I was reserved when it came to certain things… Particularly at the thought of having others hear me sing.

I fought the urge to sink down deeper and cleared my throat. “Sorry.”

Carina frowned. “Don’t be. I love hearing you sing--you should do it more often.”

Then, as she put the finishing touches on my braid, she let out a gasp. Her eyes were as wide as her smile as she said, “Holy crap, you should sing to him! That has to make him see your true feelings.”

“No!” I shrieked, aghast. “Actually, hell no. Why would I do that? When would I even do that?”

“At the Crow Moon Festival!” she suggested. “You’d have to pick a song and memorize the lyrics pretty quickly, though, since it's tomorrow.”

My eyes were even wider than hers. “Wait--Crow Moon? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, why? What’s the big deal?” Carina shrugged. “I’m not saying you have to perform it in front of other people, just that the karaoke machine will be set up if you decide you do. You could probably make an excuse to get him alone, though. You could tell that guy to jump, and he’d not only do it, he’d do it perfectly to your weird perfectionist standards without so much as asking for clarification.”

“I am not singing in front of anyone!” I shouted, standing from the stool and spinning around to face her. “I’m not confessing any feelings or making up lies just to get him alone. Besides, we’re busy tomorrow.”

Carina's brow furrowed. “We are?"