I stared at my desk tapping the tip of my pencil on the worn wood tuning out my strategy teacher. It was so late in the day and I was beyond ready to leave.

"Miss Lunaire, can you answer the question?"

I was drawn back to class as everyone turned to stare at me.

"Oh, um. Hmm, what was the question again?" I asked, sheepishly as everyone around me snickered.

"Why is the battle between the Misty Pines and Winter Lake so important?"

"Oh..." I trailed off.

"This is why it's important to pay attention, Miss Lunaire."

"That battle is important for two reasons. The first was the Misty Pines pack were the first in 150 years to challenge the Lycan royal family at Winter Lake. And the second reason was that that battle was the first that saw a combination of human form and wolf working in tandem to defeat an enemy. Before then all battles were fought in only wolf form. This changed how warfare was till today."

"Correct. Please make sure you pay attention."

I nodded my head and felt my face burning. I hated being called out or any attention called to me.

"Good job, dumbo," my sister, Harmony, yelled across the room.

"Other Miss Lunaire, that's enough."

Harmony flashed her perfect smile while flipping her perfect blonde hair over her shoulder. "I am so sorry, Mr. Batch. I'll leave my little sister alone."

"You're only 2 1/2 minutes older, Harmony," I shot back.

She shrugged her shoulders and everyone burst into laughter.

*Ding ding ding*

Thank god for the bell.

I hurriedly put everything into my bag and ran out the door before Harmony or anyone else could stop me.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" a beautiful voice said, putting his arm around my waist.

"Alex! Oh, thank God it's you. It's Harmony. She's a terror!"

"She's not so bad."

"What are you talking about? She's a monster!"

"She looks just like you."

"No, she has blonde hair, mine is silver."

"My bad. Your hair is different," Alex said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not stuck up either," I mumbled, pouting.

"Future Alpha. Hello," a teacher said as we walked past a class.

"Uh, hey."

Alex shook his head and led me towards the front doors. He was always treated nicely. Nobody ever embarrassed him in public. You would think that I would be shown at least a smidge of the same courtesy considering I'm his girlfriend.

"Don't let it get you down, sweetheart. We're almost finished here. We're turning 18 soon. We have an entire life to look forward to."

"Yeah. I know." I twirled my hair on my finger and looked up at him.

His face was very handsome. He had chocolate-colored eyes and jet black hair that hung loosely in his face. He always wore tighter-fitting shirts to accentuate his perfectly lean body. He was perfection, but I didn't feel the spark.

"Do you think it's weird we haven't felt anything yet?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know. A spark. A need. An urge. Anything?"

"No. I mean we aren't eighteen yet. We're not supposed to have that spark until then."

"I suppose."

"I mean look at Prince Edmond. He's almost nineteen and he still hasn't found his mate yet."

"Almost nineteen? That's odd. At least for a royal lycan, right?"

"Perhaps. I don't think a royal hasn't mated at eighteen in a few hundred years."

"Oh," I mumbled as he opened his car door for me.

I stared out the car window, something just nagging at the back of my mind. Something was off but I didn't know what.

I turned to look at Alex who was fussing with the radio.

"Do you feel different at all?" I questioned.

"Different? How?"

"I don't know. There's just something not right. I don't know what, but there's something."

"I haven't noticed anything. Maybe it's those crazy dreams you've been having."

"Yeah, maybe."

I turned back the window and stared at the other kids heading toward cars and buses as we pulled out of the parking lot.

One of the perks of being a lycan, is we didn't interact with the human world so there weren't a lot of us. Our pack was the largest aside from the royal pack in Winter Lake. Moon Mist was one of the original packs that descended from our great goddess Artemis. According to our ancient recorded history, the Alpha's have been from the same family since the first lycan's were introduced. The only other family that has maintained control all of these millennia is the royal family.

The feeling of dread and unease didn't leave though.

It's probably because your birthday is in two days and you're being paranoid.

Alex, Harmony, and I shared a birthday. It has been expected that he would mate with one of us. Our father, Kenrick, has been the beta of the pack since his father died and it's expected that our younger brother will become the next beta.

It only seems fitting that one of his daughters would be mated to the next alpha, Alex.

And everyone assumed that someone would be me.

"So we're still on for Sunday?"

"Huh?" I looked over at Alex as he pulled into our driveway.

"The party? We're still doing it right?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. Your mom and my mom have been planning for months. It's all they talk about."

"It is a big birthday for all of us."

"I suppose it is." I opened the door and climbed out. "Talk later?"

"Yeah."

I waved and walked into the house. Servants and pack members bustled about as my mother shouted out orders.

She acted more like a Luna than the actual Luna.

Alex's mother, Luna Celeste, was a very gentle and sweet woman. Nothing like the no-nonsense woman who had an iron grip on our house.

"Ellie! You're home! Where is your sister?"

I kissed my mother on the cheek. "Hi, mom. I don't know probably parked somewhere with Rich."

My mother rolled her eyes and stormed off to another room. "I don't like him."

"Nobody does," I muttered, walking up to my room.

The weekend went by so quickly. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for the big party. Our birthday parties were always late at night. The moon was our goddess and the source of our power. Our celebration was not just a celebration of our life but also a thanks to Artemis for the gift bestowed upon us.

I stood in front of my mirror staring at the icy blue dress my mother had made for me. It matched my eyes and went beautifully with my silver hair. The soft fabric hugged my every curve perfectly.

Harmony's dress was exactly the same as mine but amber-colored to match her eyes.

"Hurry, girls! The guests are arriving. There's a big surprise for all three of you tonight!"

It was the giddiest I had ever seen her.

"What is she going on about?" Harmony asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. I put on the matching blue shoes and walked to the stairs with my sister.

"I love you," she said as we stood, pausing for a moment before the insanity of turning eighteen started.

"What?"

"I love you. I know I pick on you a lot, but I love you."

I smiled at her. "I love you too."

"You ready?"

"I guess. Let's get this over with."

We walked down the stairs and into the grand ballroom where all high-ranking members of our pack, their families, some of our friends, and leaders from every other pack mingled.

"That's a lot of people," Harmony whispered.

"How often do the future Alpha and twin daughters of the Beta turn eighteen on the same night?"

"I guess never."

She pulled me into the middle of the dance floor as the music blared. Lights flashed and a smoke machine filled the area with weird-smelling fog. We twirled and laughed as our friends and a few of the other kids joined us.

The music cut out suddenly and the lights turned on mid song.

"It's not time yet, is it?" I asked, looking toward our old clock.

9:00. Everyone's here. Why stop the music?

"Attention everyone. Please welcome our benevolent rulers, King Orsand and Prince Edmond of the Winter Lake pack," Alpha Anwar said, bowing as an older gentleman with beautiful greying hair and an incredibly dominating aura walked into the room, followed by a younger version of him.

The young prince was merely nineteen but he had a commanding stare. His lips twitched up into a small smile as the entire room bowed and curtsied to him.

"Oh. My. Goddess," Harmony squealed, clasping a hand over her mouth. "He's the most amazingly gorgeous man I've ever seen."

"He is appealing," I agreed.

"Appealing? Elanor, he's ridiculous!"

She grabbed my hand and drug me to where Alpha Anwar and Alex were standing, talking with the royal wolves.

She cleared her throat and smiled expectantly.

"Oh, my apologies, girls!" Alpha Anwar exclaimed. "Let me introduce you. King Orsand, Prince Edmond, may I introduce you to Beta Kenrick's daughters, Harmony and Elanor."

We both dipped into low curtsies as the two men stared at us.

That's when I felt it. It wasn't strong, but it was there. Something.

I looked up into the face of the prince and saw him staring intently at me. Alex, taking notice, stepped in front of him and started speaking. Harmony and I stood and returned to the dance floor taking that as a cue to leave.

******

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