CHAPTER 1
Mona was out in the fields that day when it happened. It was her 18th birthday, and up till this moment, she could only dream about who the goddess had prepared for her to be destined with, her first mate. She was going to meet him today.
She’d finished her chores and headed back home when she suddenly began to feel the attraction. She’d just stepped into the house when the funny feeling started taking over. Her mom and dad where there when she arrived, and when they saw the look on her face, they held nothing but excitement for her in their hearts.
“It has started. Your mate is pulling you, dear,” her dad, senior Omega Jack Ryan informed her.
Mona knew it was happening then because her body suddenly began to feel as if it was being drawn by a magnet, a powerful force, the mate bond beautifully crafted by the moon goddess herself.
“Go… go and meet your mate now,” her mom, Kate nudged her.
Mona then ran out of the house, took her wolf and ran in the direction of the pull. The closer she got, the stronger the bond became, pulling her closer and closer. It surprisingly led her out of crimson territory, and then she reached the middle of the forest, she took sight of a bold male wolf standing there. It must have led him here too. Their bond was present on neutral territory, and Mona wondered why the pull had mated her with someone outside her pack.
Then he took his human form, and Mona knew right then that he was an alpha from his prevailing dominance, an alpha wasn’t always hard to spot. He was handsome with a large body, different tattoos, among others. So then, she would become Luna if they both accepted the bond, a small blush crept up her cheeks then. What pack did he belong to? She asked herself, doing a small investigation in her mind.
In this part of the southern wolf tribes, only five wolf packs were eminent. The first was the one she belonged to, the crimson pack, and she already knew her alpha Simba who certainly was not this wolf standing in front of her. The second pack was the Dark moon pack, she knew of the Dark moon alpha who was the second most feared and powerful in the southern tribes after the Lycan; she also knew alpha Douglas because he never failed to show his face whenever he had the chance to. Douglas was always in a constant feud between the other alphas, but none matched the enmity he had with the Lycan alpha.
The third pack was a neighbor to crimson territory, the night bane pack, she also knew their alpha well, and she knew this wasn’t the night bane alpha because that one was already mated. The fourth pack was the Delta pack, and Mona knew he also wasn’t the Delta alpha because the Delta terrain was ruled by a female alpha. So now, there was only one option left, one option Mona felt certain of because she had never met the Lycan pack’s alpha. This must be him. Her wolf confirmed it too, as this neutral ground was the one standing between the Crimson and Lycan packs. Mona had been mated to the Lycan alpha.
All the blood drained from her face as she began to understand what this realization meant. She still stood in front of him, none of them uttering a word, it was either because of the shock of the pull, or because they appeared to be dumbfounded by the surprise the moon goddess had thrown at them both today. Mona had always thought herself loved by the goddess for giving her a good home and family, but why would the goddess decide to do this to her today? Why would the goddess mate her with the last person she ought to relate to? The most feared alpha in all of the five southern wolf packs, alpha Ri Dylan of the Lycan pack. This was the first time in her life ever meeting him, and she never expected, nor wanted it to be in this type of situation.
All her life, Mona has been warned to stay away from a lot of people, alpha Dylan topped the list of those people; he was famously called the manipulator, because he loved to use things to his advantage, not giving a hoot about how it would affect others. He stole the goddess’s mighty stone, and locked up his borders, for fear of the stone getting stolen by perpetrators. Now his lands flourish, his people prosper, and he does not even care if the others are left to rot in peril. How selfish could one wolf be?
Mona shifted back to her wolf then, comprehending that she’d been standing there for too long. The goddess must have probably made a mistake, because she cannot be mated to this man, she just cannot. She took one, two, three steps backwards, before making a full turn and running back in the direction in which she came. She didn’t look back, but she knew that he didn’t go after her, he didn’t stop her from running away, and neither did the mate pull.
After the long journey back, Mona finally reached her house and shifted back to her human form, panting frantically and wishing she would wake up from this dream at any moment, she went to her room and slumped on her bed, burying her head into her pillow. Her parents entered shortly upon realizing that she was back. They had worried looks on their faces, because they knew that if things had gone the way they were supposed to, Mona wouldn’t have been back so soon.
“Mona?” Kate called. “What happened sweetie?”
Mona didn’t answer, her head was still buried in the pillow, she was still hoping she’d wake up, but sadly this was the reality.
“Mona?” She heard her name again. “Please, tell us… how did it go?”
When they saw that they weren’t going to get any answers from her then, they decided to leave her alone, as this wasn’t a good time.
“Mona… we’ll leave you alone now and when you’re ready to talk about it… we’ll be downstairs, we love you honey…” she then heard the sound of the door closing, as she slowly allowed her mind to drift when she was left all alone.