Temptations of a Luna

Scriptures of a Replaced Luna

"Let me see your hand." Hailey said, a small, mischievous glint passing her face.

It was her best way to pass time, doing things for the pack members that would come to her for it.

The woman gave her hand eagerly, then took in a deep breath. Hailey accepted it, then slowly closed her eyes, the fingers of her hands passing the lines on the palms of the other woman.

She had learnt how to read them a thousand times, and for someone who was born to be priestess, she was born with a bit of skill herself.

And it was absolutely beautiful, especially for the poor women who wanted to know who their mate was.

"I can see him," Hailey suddenly said, raising a brow. The woman nodded and moved closer, her eyes sparkling.

"Tell me. What is he?"

"Hmm...he seems to be an omega."

The woman's smile fell. "An omega?"

Hailey nodded, but just before she could say anything more, the door opened with a loud bang, causing her to jolt backwards and opened her eyes.

It could only be one person, and she wasn't wrong.

"Grand priestess!" She said, breathily, then stood, clasping her hands in front of her.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to invite random wolves into the priestesses temple? Do you even know how sacred this place is?"

Hailey swallowed nervously as the other woman scrambled around for her belongings and made a run for it, leaving Hailey to deal with the trouble alone.

"W..well, I swear she begged so hard I couldn't resist. I won't ever do it again." She raised her head, and the Grand Priestess had her eyes thinned.

"How irresponsible can you be, Hailey? Do you even know what tonight is? Do you know how important it is to be pure in front of the moon on this night?"

Hailey nodded. This was the night of her life. She had trained all of her life just for this night. When she would eventually become the pack's priestess.

Priestesses were born only once in twenty years, and they always came with a small crescent on their left arm.

Hailey had that, and she never grew up with any of the other wolves. She was always in the temple, learning to pray and see the future, make prophecies, and anoint mates for others.

She could only anoint mates, but never have her own mate. It didn't bother her, though. She never felt the need. She could count on one hand how many times she had run into a male wolf.

And she definitely had never been touched by one either, as that would take her purity from her. It was the biggest thing she had learnt, and she did well to abide by it. The other rules however, not so much.

She always helped desperate girls find out their mates before they came of age, even though she didn't understand the need to know. To her, it was something they could do without.

"It's not. It is the very core of a werewolf's being. To be loved by only one. To be bonded to them, possessed, mind, soul and body, marked all over...it is not something werewolves can do without, Hailey. But you won't understand."

Hailey had scoffed then, as she tried to search for her best friend's Anna's mate on her palm.

"If it is so important, why does the alpha not even seem to care? He has a different girl on his arm everyday."

Anna had simply shrugged. The alpha was the alpha. The rest were mere wolves, and he ruled over them. Whatever he did, was right and even if it wasn't, they would gladly turn a blind eye.

"Make sure you are ready the way I have told you, Hailey. Let the wolf in you thrive tonight and take over your body."

Hailey nodded at the Grand priestess again, as the other woman walked to a small cabinet, and pulled out a white dress.

"Here. You are to wear this and wait in the small room in the pack house till the full moon comes out. Let your hair down, and make sure to take a bath in the shallow part of the pack's waterfall."

"Yes, Grand priestess. I will go right now."

The woman did not reply, and Hailey walked away to her small room. It was made for just one person, and she carefully lay the clothes on her bed. There was a full length mirror, and she let her hair down.

Her hair was black, so black it appeared to shine. But just towards the ends, it burned into a bloody red. It was beautiful, but nobody quite understood the strange colour of hair.

Only one person had an explanation for it, and it had made absolutely no sense.

"If I hadn't seen the mark on your arm, I would think you were a replaced Luna." The grand priestess of their sister pack, First Crescent had said, during the annual meeting of the priestesses.

The Grand priestess had allowed her to tag along, not because she was supposed to be there, but because she had thought it would be good for her to get used to attending it.

"A replaced Luna?"

The woman gave a downward smile. "This colour is mostly associated with Lunas who are born to replace the dead Lunas. To become a second mate. A sort of second chance. A lot don't know, because the scriptures that contain that had been burnt off in the last werewar. Since werewolves are born with the belief to have only one mate, nobody cared to rewrite that. Also, you are a priestess, so I don't see how that will happen. It would be a taboo."

Hailey swallowed, her hand touching the red strands. She shook her head slowly, then grabbed a large towel. She had to go to the waterfall as soon as possible, before it was evening.