*picture of Lyra

Two years after accepting Alpha Gabriel's offer to become his provisional Luna, I had moved in the pack house where I was surrounded by the ladies working there. The ladies were none other than the three sisters, Josie, Alana and Jasmine. They hated my guts.

"Gabriel's with Jas again."

"At this rate she will become the Luna."

"As she should, it's rightfully her place."

I tried not to listen in on their conversation, but that proved to be difficult when the pair were hardly two metres away from me.

The blond turned her torso my way, before trailing her index finger along the bookshelf. "Lyra?"

I cocked a brow at her, knowing exactly what she was going to say next.

"You have missed this spot," she chimed, examining her finger.

"Over there too," the brunette next to her added, pointing to the windowsill.

I gave them a bored look, already tired of their games.

According to Gabriel, living in the pack house was being at the front line of the pack and the girls living there were going to help me navigate my way around. However, the only thing that I had learned being in the pack house was how sly the girls were.

The girls grew up working for Gabriel and his family. And, for me to suddenly appear, it must have been a shock to them. I was under the impression that they thought Gabriel would make one of them the Luna. They thought it was unfair when I was not destined for him, and I didn't particularly disagree but it was my only token to remain in the pack.

"Are you deaf?"

Alana's voice rang in my ears, bringing my attention back to the pair, but I only narrowed my eyes at them.

She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder before sighing. "Josie, you can hear me, right?"

The brunette scoffed. "Loud and clear," she confirmed, narrowing her eyes at me.

"You don't want the Alpha to find dust, do you now Lyra?" Alana taunted, turning back to me.

A shudder coursed through her body at the memory. The last time that Gabriel had found dust, he had tortured the sisters. Now, they ensured I cleaned more thoroughly to prevent a reoccurrence.

The chores were to be divided amongst us. But given that Jasmine, the oldest sister, had earned her spot in Gabriel's bed, she had managed her way out of the tasks. As I was Gabriel's 'favourite', they picked on me.

Before they could taunt any further, a commotion downstairs caused us all to go in to a panic. The pair were always afraid of getting caught. They knew Gabriel would not be happy with the way they treated me. As for me, I was dreading seeing Gabriel. I didn't want to be his Luna, but my days were nearing and that scared me.

When I heard Gabriel call for my name, I thought I had just imagined it. But when Josie pushed me toward the hallway, I panicked, realising the Alpha was really here.

Sighing with defeat, I quickly scurried toward the stairs where I knew he would be.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, my eyes immediately zoned in on the tall male. He was dressed in a black suit. Gabriel was a very good looking man, and I was sure any woman felt lucky to be near him. I just wished he had found his mate, so he could stop bothering me.

Frankly, I didn't understand why he had given me that ultimatum two years ago. It hardly made sense since he wasn't that lenient with other orphans in the pack.

"Ah, Lyra," his voice brought me back to reality when he noticed me. "There you are, my love."

He stalked towards me in a hurry and roughly pulled me in to him.

"I missed you, my dear," he muttered, making me cringe.

Being around Gabriel made me nervous, and not in a good way. He intimidated me and had made his authority clear when I first moved here two years ago. He wanted me to be his under every circumstance.

Lucky for me, he had given me enough freedom until I had turned eighteen. Now that I was eighteen, I knew things would be different. I wanted to avoid him at all costs. The other girls called me ungrateful, but it was wrong. I no longer wanted to be his Luna. I wanted to leave the pack.

We weren't mates. Gabriel refused to accept that, and fought with anyone who told him otherwise.

"My Luna?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced myself to speak. "You're here."

"You don't sound too happy," he whispered through clenched teeth into my temple.

"I wasn't expecting you today," I responded quickly, my breathing hitched.

"I've been too kind and understanding, Lyra." he said, his voice hard. "But I will not accept this behaviour anymore."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Gabriel inhaled a deep breath. "You're mine. You made the decision and chose to be my Luna, and you will."

I bit the bottom of my lip. I wanted to tell him I regret the decision, because I did.

"But we aren't mates," I whimpered.

His brows furrowed in frustration. "Don't forget your decision."

This conversation wasn't new. Many times, I had tried to make Gabriel realise what he was set to do was wrong. What would happen if he found his mate? Or if I found mine? The outcome of the conversation was always the same; that I was his Luna, and no one else's.

When his hands cupped my face, I was forced to look directly in to his eyes.

"You know," he began to say. "The girls here would die for your position. Why can't you see how I feel about you?"

"It's wrong," I whispered, tears collecting in my eyes.

Gabriel exhaled a breath, before using his thumbs to wipe at the wetness on my cheek.

"I don't mean to hurt you. But you will be mine. You are mine."

My eyes narrowed at his words, not understanding where he was going with this.

He heaved a sigh. "As promised, you are eighteen now. The pack will officially meet their Luna tomorrow."

At his words, panic took over. My eyes widened in shock. These were words that I had never heard from him. I had manage to delay this moment, but it was finally catching up to me.

"I'm not ready," I urged, shaking my head in his hands.

"Shh," he ushered. "You will be. I have everything prepared. Everyone are already expecting you."

"But," I managed to croak before he cut me off.

"I gave you two years, Lyra. I can't wait any longer. I want you, and I will have you."

My brows knitted together at his words. I felt too shocked to even react to his words. They meant nothing to me. I felt sick. All I could do was stare at him, dumbfounded.

"I have a few things to do before tomorrow," Gabriel finished by saying, his hands trailed down to my arms, holding me in place.

"I will see it so that you have everything. And if there is anything else that you need, you let me know."

With a smirk on his face, the man darted away, leaving me alone completely frozen.

The sobs that I had held back for so many months finally escaped my mouth and I dropped to my knees. My dream of leaving the pack and finding my mate was completely shattered. I had only turned eighteen a few days ago, and yet to receive my Wolf.

She would be turning up at any point now. Marrying the Alpha that I was not mated to was defeating the whole purpose of mates.

I shouldn't have been shocked when I had entered the pack house knowing Alpha Gabriel wanted me to be his, but the sudden realisation and the reality of the situation frightened me.

It baffled me that Gabriel wanted me as his Luna. What about his mate? She hadn't appeared yet, but that didn't mean she would never.

I lost track of time and wasn't sure how long I stayed on the ground. But when my bones started to radiate pain throughout my body, I trudged towards my bedroom and dumped myself on the bed, not caring to change.

That night, I fell asleep quickly but my sleep was interrupted when I had a nightmare about my mother. The dream was disturbing and prevented me from being able to sleep again. I decided to go for a run in the early hours of the morning to calm myself down.

For some reason, I was more worked up than any other time. My body was hot and sweaty.

Despite my body temperature, I needed the run. The thought of the day ahead caused a surge of anxiety to run through my body. The feeling radiating through my body made me run harder and faster. I wanted to sweat all my problems away.

My legs were burning from the speed and power. But that didn't stop me. The more I ran, the worse I felt. Strong, painful electrical currents shot through my body. The currents made me scream out in pain as I slowed my pace. I couldn't comprehend what was happening until realisation hit me.

I cried out in pain as the burning sensation that I had felt multiplied, and soon enough the sounds of my bones breaking rang in my ears. Within a few minutes, I had turned in to a white furry Wolf, with brown streaks dispersed throughout the fur. To say she was beautiful would be an understatement. I was stunned as I took in the shredded pieces of fabric on the ground.

My Wolf was beautiful, and I was surprised at the way my ears perked up, and how much clearer my vision seemed. It felt odd at first to know I had someone else with me now constantly, but the thought was comforting since I had been alone for a while now.

After what seemed like hours, my Wolf urged for us to head back.

I let my Wolf carry us as we ran back to the house. It felt weird to run in my wolf form, with my bones aching from how weak they were, but with each stride they grew stronger. Now that I had received my Wolf, I was silently praying that I would find my mate before I became Gabriel's Luna.

But the chances of that were slim.