LUNA'S TRUE MATE

Celestine

"Pack up, we leave in the morning." my father said in finality. I couldn't believe this was happening to me, not on the same day my wolf showed up. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was meant to be the Luna and find my Alpha mate so we could run the pack. But no my father saw it best to sell me to the highest bidder.

"But father, what about my true mate? I can't marry that old Alpha, I don't even like him!" I tried to reason with my father but it fell on deaf ears.

"Quit your whining and do as you are told, you are the eldest and we still need our bloodline on the throne." My mother shushed me. Clearly, nobody gave a fvck about me. Our pack had been at war with the neighbouring Pack over territory. It got so bad we couldn't even hunt or trade. After returning from a meeting with the other Alpha, my father announces that to end the war, I must marry him and provide him an heir. The thought of marrying anyone who wasn't my mate made me sick to the bone as couldn't picture being mated to a wolf I didn't love.

"I can't do this, I won't!" I cried out. I was about to protest when a sharp sting echoed on my face.

Smack!!

"Watch your mouth! Do you know we are in this situation because of you! Why were you born a female, you were supposed to be an Alpha, maybe that way we could still afford to fight. You will go to the Riverside Pack and you will marry the Alpha!" I heard my mother shout after the shock from the slap settled. This was the first time my mother had raised her hand to me. Often, she would just shout and yell at me for being a useless daughter, good for nothing but marriage she said. When I made no move to speak or react, she forcefully grabbed my chin, her claws digging into my cheek.

"Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?" she accentuated the words in my face with so much venom that all I could do was nod.

"Good, because I have a plan, your father will not be humiliated like this for nothing. He is going to step down as Alpha and assume the Beta position. You better produce an heir for my plan to go through. Now start packing!" My mother ordered. With a heavy heart and a hot face, I made my way to my room. Once behind the confines of my room, I let the tears flow freely. I did not dare make a sound knowing very well she would hear me if I let out a whimper. My mother hated it when I showed signs of weakness. She always wanted a son, an Alpha that would protect her and the pack she said, to her I was an unlucky charm, to make matters worse, she couldn't get any more pups after I was born. I wasn't sure whether I was happy or sad that she couldn't get more children. Some wolves did not deserve to be mothers.

That night, sleep was a rumor as I spent it entirely packing and crying simultaneously. When I got to bed, all I could muster was more tears at the loss of my freedom. I was now 20 years and happy after my wolf appeared. I never thought I would meet her. I had almost thought that I was indeed unlucky. All I ever wanted was to be with my one true mate, I wanted nothing more but I guess fate had its own plans for me. All my life I had fantasized about the moment I would meet my mate, stare into his eyes ad feel the instant connection. I had endured years of torment from my parents who never saw me as anything but a childbearing wolf. Whenever I thought of the Alpha I would be mated to, my heart broke over and over. From what I heard from my pack members, he was a handsome Alpha, tough but handsome. Was that his only saving grace? Surely he had to be more than that. I shed more tears when I realized I did not even know anything other than his name and his alleged handsome face.

"Moon Goddess, is this your will? Is this what you want?" I cried to the Moon goddess and begged on my knees as I faced the full moon.

Morning arrived way too fast for my liking. I did not feel like opening my eyes, let alone leaving the bed but I knew mother would be on my neck faster than an allergic reaction. I sluggishly got up and washed as clean as I could, put on my best clothes, made myself pretty as my mother would have said, and headed downstairs, ready to begin the new phase of my terrible life.

"Hurry up and eat this, we have a long drive north. " My father said, pushing a hefty serving of eggs and sausages, a pint of juice to go with. I had no appetite but I forced myself to eat, knowing I would need the energy for this trip. After eating I went back upstairs and dragged my two suitcases, one full of my books and the other my clothes and shoes, my parents would bring the rest later, they said. In silence, we walked out of our family home and into the lavish car awaiting us. I dreaded the fact that we had cars, today of all days. I wished us back in the days when only horses existed, so we could spend as much time on the road and even get lost anything to delay the inevitable.

The drive to the pack borders too three hours much to my disappointment. We were soon welcomed to a large mansion that was located deep in the forest. I was about to ask where the other wolves lived until we reached the front of the mansion and I saw the houses lined on the opposite sides of the mansion. We got out of the car and ushered into the mansion by an older wolf in some sort of uniform.

"Right this way, Alpha is expecting you," he said. My parent followed the man and minutes later, we were inside the lavish mansion, with all the expensive furniture one can think of.

"Alpha Martin will be down shortly, wait here. " the man said as he excused himself. Minutes later, an ominous feeling filled the room making me shiver in fear.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my future Luna. What a sight for sore eyes."A deep voice said from the top of the stairs. If this was a different occasion, the voice would be making my body react in different ways. I dared not look up at the Alpha and so I fixed my gaze in the lavish floor in front of me.

"Greetings Alpha." both my parents said while bowing in respect.

"You may rise, Look at my wolf." Alpha martin said, no, ordered and I did just that. I dared to lift my eyes and look at him. Handsome was an understatement when it came to Alpha Martin. The man was sculptured, the moon goddess said 'let there be perfection' and Alpha martin appeared. He looked down at me with so much pride and dominance I almost passed out. While my body reacted to him, my wolf was anything but impressed,in-fact she had started to inwardly snarl at the man, not giving a single fvck in the room that this man could literally crush us.

"When you are done staring, introduce yourself, wolf," he ordered. His voice vibrated in my ears. Ho was I supposed to be mated to this man? Most importantly, Damn he was sexy, I guess it wouldt hurt to like him a little.

"My name is Celestine Moon, from the Blue Moon Pack." I rushed out, proud of the fact that I was able to form a coherent sentence.

"Good, as you know I am Martin, your future husband and Alpha. The union ceremony is tomorrow, my butler will show you to your room take bath while you are at it, your parents can leave , I hate the scent of other wolves in my territory," he said and walked away.

Okay, what the hell was that attitude? I asked myself as my parents turned and left without as much as a 'Goodbye'.Awesome, not only had my parents abandoned me, they had also left me in the hands of a handsome and arrogant Alpha.

"Ahem!" the butler from earlier cleared his throat loudly, dragging me back to reality.

"This way, my lady. " he gestured and began walking towards the stairs. Once we were on the first floor, he made a turn right and we were in front of a large mahogany door.

"This is your room the next door down is the Alpha's room and the ones upstairs are his private room and office. The common kitchen is downstairs. Everything you need is in your room, I shall bring you... things later. " he said in that even tone butlers always carried around, it was creepy.

Without warning, he turned and left, leaving me in front of the slightly open door. I sighed heavily and pushed the door to the room.

"Wooooah..." I exclaimed when I entered the larger-than-life room. The first thing that caught my attention was the large bed in the middle of the large room. The rug on the floor was so white I had to remove my shoes in fear of soiling it and it felt just as soft. I explored the luxurious room to my fill, struggling to keep my mouth closed. I then made my way to the door I was sure led to the bathroom and was twice amazed by the size. On the counter lay a bottle of body wash and body spray and a fluffy bathrobe. I suddenly remembered the comment he made about the scent of other wolves and my disdain for him returned. I too a whiff of the bath products and realized they smelled entirely of him, the scent of pride and arrogance if you asked me.

"Let's get this over and done with, the sooner the better. " I told myself. As I took the bath, reality finally caught up with me as I summoned the tears that refused to fall.

I was going to be mated to the handsome, arrogant Alpha.

Fvck my life.

"... "

Valarie

"Hi Val, today is the day right?" my friend asked as we made our way to the bonfire. Today would be my 18th full moon. I was happy that I could barely walk right. If anything I had been looking forward to this day, the day I get to meet my wolf. On top of that, I would also meet my mate, so this night was way too special for me. I was giddy with expectation as we reached the opening of the secluded piece of land. I made my way to where the other teenage wolves were. The rest of the pack sat around the bonfire, almost everyone in the pack was mated so it was a cozy sight. In an instant, the clouds cleared up and the moon shone full and bright down on us.

Our Luna broke into a wolf song and soon half of the pack had turned and was joining in the song of the night. The young wolves, I included, held hands and we danced around the bonfire to the sounds of the pack's harmonious singing. One by one the wolves dropped to the ground and changed into their majestic wolf forms, for the males, they were a dark shade of gray, while the female wolves took a soft brown color. At that exact moment, they also found their mates and those that dint knew they would have to find their mate in other packs, it wasn't unusual.

Eventually, it was me and another male wolf left, Dean. I hope that he was my mate since the thought of looking for a mate did not sit well with me. I started to hear the murmurs of the pack members as the singing died down. I don't why but I could feel like this night wasn't going to be as exciting as I thought. In a flash, Dean dropped to the ground and changed into his wolf, and what a majestic sight that was. His wolf was literally just as handsome as he was. I felt all eyes on me, I was the only one who hadn't changed yet and I started to panic. My parents walked up to me, in their wolf forms to try and help me calm down as I had started to hyperventilate. The rest of the pack had totally stopped singing and was now giving me sorry looks. One by one they started walking away as the fire started to die down. This was not happening to me, right?

"Mom. Dad. Why is this happening to me?" I asked my parents when almost half the pack members had left.

"Does this mean I have no mate as well?" I asked again. From a distance, I could see that Dean had turned back to his human form and was looking rather feisty. When my parents did nothing but hug me, I closed my eyes and called out to my wolf; "Do not be scared, I will love you no matter what." I spoke silently. Something in me kept telling me that my wolf was scared. Why would she be scared? And just like that, I felt myself getting drawn to the moon. My parents stood and gave me the space I needed. There was no exact way to describe how I was feeling. Suddenly everything around me was too loud and I could hear the voices of my parents in my head telling me to calm down and let the change take place. I closed my eyes as I felt the wolf within me come to the surface. Something did not feel right so I opened my eyes and stared in awe as I watched a white wolf approach me, but that was not the factor that caught my eye. In a blink of an eye, I had transformed into a white, male wolf.

Wait, what? Male?

As if that wasn't enough, everyone in the pack had somehow come back to bear witness to my transformation. I could tell my wolf was scared as he crouched to the ground and whimpered helplessly as the pack members look on with disgust. A minute went by and no one had said anything, that was until Dean walked up to me, shock plastered on his face. Without warning, my wolf stood up and walked up to him, rubbing his white fur on his bare legs. Making Dean jump back in disgust.

"What! There is no way I am mated to this freak! I cannot be mated to a male wolf! I reject this mate bond, I Reject you Valarie Hope as my mate!" He spat out, not caring that my wolf was calling out to him in pain. I had barely recovered from the shock of rejection when the harsh words followed.

"Freak !"

"Abomination !"

"Bad luck !"

"Disgusting !"

The words played over and over in my head as my wolf ran frantically to escape the jeers and harsh words. I looked around for my parents when I spotted them,in their human form, I ran up to them, hoping to hide behind them but was surprised when my father turned his face away from me, and my mother did nothing but stare at me. With nowhere to run, my wolf threw himself on the ground and curled into a ball, hiding his face with his large tail. This was not how it was supposed to be! I was supposed to be happy, to be loved. I cried out as my heart broke whenever I remembered the way Dean rejected me without a second thought. With no one else to talk to, I focused my voice on my wolf, at least I had him, he would never leave me for I was him and he was me.

"Do not worry, you still have me ..." I said to my whimpering wolf. Once I was sure everyone had left, I willed my wolf back into my consciousness. I looked around for my clothes that had been trampled over and put them on with a heavy heart. I still couldn't believe what had just happened to me. In less than 4 hours I had met my wolf, found out it was a male, found my mate, and ended up being rejected. It all seemed like a dream , a nightmare. While my heart was torn open by the pain of the rejection, it was slowly starting to heal when I thought of my male wolf. How had I never known that he was a male? I did recall seeing a white wolf in my dreams but I paid it no attention as it was just that, a dream. What I did not understand was the reaction from my parents, weren't they supposed to love me unconditionally? I wasn't like I had murdered someone, I just happened to have a male wolf. Its not like I even made myself. I dragged my body back to the Packhouses, there was no need to wallow in self-pity, the sooner I accepted my fate the sooner my life went on, Right?

Wrong! My life going on indeed, going to hell because the moment I reached the main gate,i was immediately dragged by two men towards the social hall where we met for urgent meetings.

"Wha- whe- what is going on?" I frantically asked, not liking how I was being manhandled, like I was some sort of thief. Without as much as a glance, the men threw me right in the middle of the waiting pack members. Had they not insulted my wolf enough? Now they wanted to say the same things to me?

"What is going on?" I asked, looking around for my parents once again.

"Be quiet!Mr and Mrs Hope, step forward. " the alpha commanded. I watched as my parents step forward, keeping their distance from me.

"Can you explain what happened? Because the only other logical explanation is that you have been raising Miss hope here as a girl while she was in fact a boy?. " The Alpha asked, causing the crowd to laugh out loud. Great, next they will want to see the proof. I rolled my eyes at Alpha's crazy idea.

"No Alpha, we are just as confused. She was born a girl, the Pack doctor can confirm that. We had no idea she would be this... freak. We are just as surprised!" my mother shrieked. Wow, I was now a freak? If my own parents saw me as a freak then I stood no chance with the pack. Silent tears streamed down my face when I heard my wolf whimper.

"While this is shocking, I will not forgive you for breaking my son's heart. As punishment, you are to stay away from communal pack activities. I can't banish you as you are still young but when you turn 20, you must leave my pack!"Alpha ordered and my heart broke for the nth time today.

"Bu- but Alpha!Mom. Dad help!" I tried pleading, why was I being punished while it was him that rejected me! Why?

"Silence! You will get new pack duties Valerie, do not show your abomination of a wolf in front of anyone, I should cast you out!" Alpha added. Why was this happening to me?

That night was the beginning of my miserable life. What hurt me the most was the way my parents sided with the whole pack. They threw me out of the house, leaving me to occupy one of the small sheds, furthest away from the pack members. I swore to find a way and leave the pack before they cast me out like a plagued animal. All I needed was to get strong, and make them regret.

I looked forward to the day I would be free and meet the wolf destined for me because clearly, it was not Dean.

Celestine

I got out of the bathroom after a thorough soaking and scrubbing, I decided to bask in the luxury that came from a miserable life, it was like a consolation of some sort. I left the steaming bathroom and noticed that my luggage had been brought up to my room while I was busy enjoying my bath. I unpacked my luggage that barely filled half of the massive closet I was provided. I put on my best pajamas and climbed the fluffy bed to read one of the many books I had brought along. As if fate was trying to laugh at my situation, I had picked up the 'Happily Ever After' book. I had been keeping the book at bay but I soon found myself stuck on the first page of the fairytale book. My brain had finally processed my situation and had come to the conclusion that unlike the main character of the book, I wasn't getting any happy ever after. My heart sunk when I realized I was never going to be with my destined mate. Another part of me, the delusional one, had convincedmyself that maybe this was my true mate and that it was just a different circumstance. I wanted to cry and shed some tears in hopes of relieving the pain in my chest but, nothing came out. So instead I just lay under the covers and sent a prayer to my true mate, 'Please save me.

I had just closed my eyes to start sleeping when my bedroom door was flung open. I dint need to know who it was as the air was suddenly filled with the pheromones that could only come from the Alpha, my future husband. Like clockwork, my wolf was on high alert and had even begun a low growl. She really did not like the Alpha, she did not even pretend.

"I see you have made yourself comfortable. " Alpha Martin said after I had climbed out of the covers and knelt on the bed. I don't why I did that but my body suddenly felt the need to be as submissive as I could.

"Yes Alpha ..." I said meekly, keeping my eyes fixed on my hands. It was a real struggle to keep my wolf at bay when all she wanted to do was lunge at the man and scratch his face. I suppressed a smile when the image flashed before my eyes.

"Stand up I need to see what I just got. " he said and I immediately got down from the bed. My meek self dissipated into the air as I stood in front of him. While I was willing to be submissive, the was no way I was going to let him humiliate me, I was not some kind of product to be displayed around. I lifted my eyes and gave him the best glare could afford while still managing to look small. Now I got why my wolf resented him.

"Not bad, you could be a little cuter but I guess it is what it is, all I need from you is an Heir anyways." He said after walking around me twice. I felt sick to my stomach, gone was the hope that he would be my destined mate and that I would grow to like him. I dared not say anything as I was afraid I wouldn't be able to choose my words wisely. I took a deep breath and thought of our pack members and the peace this union would bring. I also let my mind wander and smiled at thought of my wolf attacking and tearing this arrogant man's face, handsomeness be damned.

"You like that idea? " he asked, mistaking my smile for what it clearly was. Oh if only he knew.

"Yes..." I gritted out behind my forced smile.

"Good, tomorrow we will have the union ceremony. After that, you will begin your Luna duties for both packs. Now show me your wolf. " He ordered and my heart skipped a beat. I was not entirely sure that she would behave so made an excuse since I needed to make sure we wouldn't attack the Alpha, it wouldn't end well.

"I got my wolf at a later age, so she can only present during the full moon, apologies," I said, hoping my lying skills were on point. I couldn't risk us dying because everything in me told me that we wouldn't make it to our union if I let my wolf have her way.

"Why wasn't I aware of this?" he asked rather irritated. I couldn't help but scoff under the guise of sneezing.

"You never asked. " I meekly said, pretending to be clueless.

"She better not be deformed or I am breaking this peace treaty, I can't afford to have a freak heir. " he retorted and fled the room in annoyance. Once the door was closed behind him, let out the breath I had been holding. I couldn't believe his arrogance. Why did I have to be the one married to such a jerk! I internally cussed as I was afraid he would hear me. I turned off the lights and went back to bed, my mind, thanks to my wolf – conjuring all the possible ways we could end this Alpha.

When I opened my eyes next, It was daybreak and the sun had just started rising, its soft rays shining through the curtains. The first thing I would do as Luna was change the curtains to darker heavier materials, a representation of my dark and sad future. There was no way I would be happy in this mansion, not when I wasn't with my true mate. I walked up to the balcony and noticed that it faced the Pack residence, while most of the houses were identical, some were bigger than the others. I cast my eyes further and saw what looked like the training grounds, with a few wolves running, some in their human form, some in their wolf form. In general, the pack looked more affluent than ours.

A knock sounded on my door and I rushed over to see who it was. I opened the door and was greeted by the house butler, his face blank as ever.

"Alpha has summoned you, follow me," he said curtly and turned. I rolled my eyes and followed the robot-like man. Thoughts ran in my mind as to why the Alpha had summoned me, who even summoned people, was I some kind of servant. A few steps later, we were at the front of his large double doors. He knocked twice and when the booming "Come in " followed, he pushed the door open and literally announced my arrival. Dumbfounded, I went into the room that awfully reeked of his hormones, what caught my attention was the scent of another wolf, a female wolf. Great! My future husband was a promiscuous fella.

"This is my room, you shall be spending the nights here whenever I call for you,other wise you can sleep in your room. After our union today, you will spend the week here, no need to tell you why. We eat together as a pack once every full moon,on other day I will have my food served here or at the hall. Our union will take place later tonight, take this time to be familiar with the Pack, Albert will show you around, Any questions? " he asked, later rambling for three minutes too long. My mind was still processing what he said and so when i said nothing , he stood from his study table and walked toward me .

"Good, now leave , I have... unfinished business. " He said while running his rather warm hand on my cheek. Naturally, my body reacted to his advances, blood rushing to my cheeks. He smirked at my reaction and turned to his bed. I swiftly turned around and left his room. I did not need psychic powers to know what was going on. I was more upset with my body for reacting the way it did, I blame it all on his pheromones. I hurriedly made my way to my room, ignoring the butler who was positioned outside. I went straight to my bed and buried my face in the pillows and let out a muffled scream. Why was I so worked up? Its not like I liked Martin or anything. Once I had screamed to my hearts fill, I prepared myself to begin my tour of the Riverside Pack.

Evening came around quicker than it should have. After forcing myself to eat, I had spent the entire morning and afternoon being shown around the pack. I got to meet the beta of the pack and his family that wasn't too happy about being demoted so my father could take the position. I met a few un-mated wolves who I was sure were looking at me with some sort of disdain. I was shown the training grounds which I promised myself I would make good use of. If I was to rule the Packs side by side with that arrogant dog, then I would need my strength. Lastly, I was introduced to the elder who would officiate our union later that day. By the end of the tour, I had gathered a few things. One; this pack was rich as hell, two; they feared Alpha Martin more than they respected him. Three; He got his Alpha position after fighting the previous Alpha to death. Through the murmurs of the pack members, I also picked that he wanted a male heir to continue his legacy, much to everyone's dislike. One thing was clear though, his pack was happy and content with the provisions and privileges of belonging to the Riverside Pack. He seemed rich enough, so I did not get why he had to merge our Pack with his already flourishing Pack.

I dragged my heavy feet to my room, I had to get ready for our union ceremony, my parents and a few members from our pack would be coming to witness this union, more like a business transaction. I saw the dress that was laid on my bed, together with extravagant Jewelry next to it. If this was a different situation, I would be thrilled to be getting ready, but I wasn't, this was nothing more than a business partnership, I did not love the man and neither did he like me. It was all for the sake of peace, the end of bloodshed. I jumped into the bathroom and soaked my tired limbs in the tub. "Give me strength... " I said out to the Moon Goddess. I would need strength for this union an the days to follow as the Luna of the Riverside and Blue Moon Packs.

I heard a knock on my front door and immediately knew it was about time. I put on my robe and went to the door where I was greeted by an elderly female wolf as well as a younger one.

"My lady, I am elder Grace and this is my daughter, Rose. We are here to help you get ready. " the woman said and I let them in. In silence they helped me get prepared, and soon I was ready. All along I couldn't help but notice how much Rose awfully reeked of the Alpha. My blood boiled in annoyance at the realization that she could have been the one in Martin's room this morning. The butler made an appearance and announced that everything was ready. They helped me walk down the stairs where almost everyone had gathered. I scanned the room and recognized a few of my pack members including my parents. I took a deep breath and pasted my best 'Here comes the bride ' smile on my face. "Let's get this over with... " I told my wolf who had suspiciously gone quiet, and I couldn't blame her, not today. Not when our lives were about to change drastically.

This was it, this was the beginning of my miserable life.

.

.

.

I hate it here.